Fabyans cronycle newly prynted, wyth the cronycle, actes, and dedes done in the tyme of the reygne of the moste excellent prynce kynge Henry the vii. father vnto our most drad souerayne lord kynge Henry the .viii. To whom be all honour, reuere[n]ce, and ioyfull contynaunce of his prosperous reygne, to the pleasure of god and weale of this his realme amen

Francia. THE .CCVII. CHAPITER.

HEnry the sonne of Robert / begā hys domynyon ouer the French men, in the yere of our lord. M.xxix / and the .x. yere of Canutus than kynge of Englande. To the whyche Henry / Cōstantyne the mo∣der was so vnkynde, that she by her meanes wolde haue preferred her yonger sonne Roberte duke of Bur∣goyne, to the rule of the lande before thys Henry / so that by her meanes, bothe cytyes and castels were wyth holden from hym, and was by her & suche other as toke her parte so ouer lad, that he was forced to resorte to Robert than duke of Normandy, for to aske helpe of hym to wythstande hys enemyes.

ye shall vnderstande that this Ro∣bert was the .vi. duke of Normandy, and sonne of Richarde the seconde / and also father vnto wyllyā bastard that conquered Englande.

Thys Roberte was lyberall and noble of condycyon / but defamed of y^e deth of hys elder brother Rychard the thyrde. For the whyche murder as wytnessyth dyuers authours / the vii. yere of hys dowchery he went to Iherusalem, and dyd in that pylgre mage many honourable and liberall actes / the whyche in good order ben remembred in the .xix. chapyter of the vi. boke of Polycronicon.

This Robert receyued kyng Hen¦ry wyth all honour, and gaue vnto hym greate and ryche gyftes, & sent for hys frendes and knyghtes / so y^e the kynge had by hys ayde a greate & myghty hoste. And retorned agayn into Fraunce / and in short whyle af∣ter recouered from hys sayde moder bothe cytyes, townes, and castelles, that she and her fautours from hym wythhelde. And fynally agreed so wyth her / that he and she contynued frendes theyr lyfe tymes enduryng. After whyche accorde / about the .v. yere of hys reygne he made warre vppon Eudo erle of Champayne, & vppon Baldewine erle of Flaūders / and in processe of tyme wan frō them certayne cytyes and castelles, the whyche Constance his moder hadde before tymes gyuen to them in tyme of dyscencyon.

In thys warre was slayne Eudo erle of Champayne. wherfore hys .ii. sonnes Stephen & Thybaud mayn∣teyned the warre agayne the kynge / but to theyr bothe harmes in y^e ende. For Stephen loste therby the cytyes of Chartres and towers, and Thy∣baude y^e cytyes of Troyes & Maulx wyth other.

whan Henry hadde ended thys warre & set hys lande in some quyet∣nesse / he thā buylded a monastery of saynt Martyne called Des Chāps besyde Parys, and set therin seculer prestes.

In thys passetyme Robert duke

of Normandy moued in conscyence to vysyte the holy sepulture of oure lorde, called before hym hys lordes of hys lande / wyllynge and cōmaun¦dynge them to owe theyr trewe alle∣gaunce vnto hys yonger sonne wyl∣lyam, and to take hym for theyr lord and duke yf he retorne not agayne. And to thys / he caused to swere Ro∣bert than archbysshop of Roan, with the other of hys lordes / and after de∣parted vppon the sayd iourney, and dyed in the cytye of Bethenia as he was cōmynge homewarde. wherof y^e lordes of Normandy beynge asser∣tayned, accepted the foresayde wylly¦am to theyr lorde and souerayne.

Of thys wyllyams procreacyon / yt is wytnessed of Uyncent hystory all and other, that his father passynge by the cytye or towne of Faloys in Normandy, he sawe a company of maydens daunsynge by the strete. Amonges the whych was one of pas¦synge beautye called Arlet, and dou∣ghter to a skynner. To y^e which duke Robert caste vnlefull loue / in suche wyse y^t he caused her to be broughte to his bed the nyght folowyng, and helde her to his concubyne a certayn of tyme after / & begat on her this wyl¦lyam. whē his moder was wyth him cōceyued / she dremed that her bowel lys were sprad ouer all Normandye and Englande. And when he was borne of his moders wombe / he fyll to the groūde, and closed his handes wyth powder of the flore or paue∣ment. Therfore the mydwyfe made and exclamacyon, and sayd this chyld shall be a kynge.

Then yt foloweth / when thys wyl¦lyam was thus admitted duke, some of his lordes by the meane of y^e kyng of Fraūce, began to wythdraw them from hym. In so myche y^e erle Gyl∣bert to whome duke Robert had be∣taken hys ponge sonne to gyde was slayne, and other that were especyall frendes to the chylde. There was fyghtyng and manslaughter and the countrey fowle faren with, by reason of the opynyons that were amonges them selfe / wherof Guy a Burgoyn was one of the chefe causers. For he with his adherentes sayde alwayes; that they wolde haue no bastarde to be ruler of them.

This Guy as saith the frēche boke was nere kynnesman vnto y^e yonge duke, descendyd of the doughter of the seconde Rycharde / and entended to haue ben duke hym selfe. For the which he ensensed y^e kyng of Fraūce agayn hym in all that he myght / but at length duke wyllyam toke hym and put hym to deth.

Thus the Frenche kynge forget∣tynge y^e kyndnesse shewyd to hym by duke Robert hys father, toke partye agayne hym to the vttermoste / and ordeyned hym .ii. hostes. wherof one he delyueryd to his brother Alma∣ryk / and warned hym to eutre y^e coun¦trey of Caus / and he hym selfe ladde that other, and entred with it the coū¦trey of Eurour.

But wyllyam not ferynge the kyn¦ges great power / beynge growen wele towarde mannes stature, lyke a luste yonge knyght made towarde the kynges brother / & gaue to hym batayll, & hym ouercame, and chased the Frenchemen to theyr great byla∣ny. wherof heryng the Frenche kyng wyth his people spedde hym toward wyllyam to reuenge the shame done to his men. But in cōclusyon he wan there no honoure. Then peace was made betwene the kyng and y^e duke / and the Frenche prysoners were de∣lyueryd.

But this peace enduryed not long / for the Frēch kyng callynge to remē¦braūce the losse of hys men at Mort mere or dede see, wyth other dysa∣uauntages

by hym sustayned of the sayde duke wyllyam / called to hys ayde Geoffrey erle of Aungiers. And whan hys hoste was assembled / they entred y^e prouynce of Normādy, & cō¦tynued theyr iourney tyll they came to an arme of the see, where the hoste shulde passe ouer.

Of thys new warre duke wyllyā beynge warned / in all haste assem∣bled hys Normans and sped hym y^e next waye to mete the Frenchemen. In thys meane whyle the Frenche kynge had passed the water wyth cer¦tayne of hys hoste, trustyng that the remenauaūt shulde haue folowed. But soone after the water flowed so faste that hys people myghte not passe. And in thys whyle came the duke and set vpon the kynges hoste, and bet theym downe cruelly / so that at length the kynge was compelled to flee, and loste a great nomber of his knyghtes, to consyder them y^e were slayne wyth the other that were ta∣ken prysoners.

whan kynge Henry had well dys∣gested in hys mynde, the wrongfull trouble that he by enuyous persons hadde put the duke vnto, and remē∣bred the yll expedycyon that he had in that warre / he recōsyled hym selfe, and made meanes that the duke and he myghte be agreed and accorded. The whyche by dyscrete solycytours was shortely after brought to good effecte / so that they contynued as frē¦des durynge theyr lyues after.

Than Henry abstayned hym from all warre / & vsed the reste of hys lyfe in peas and quyetnesse. Thys Hen∣ry had two wyues / and of the laste whyche was doughter to the kynge of Russy, he had .iii. sonnes / that is to say Phylyp, y^• whych he made kyng of Fraunce by hys lyfe, Robert that was after duke of Burgoyne, and Hughe that was after named Hugh le graunde, and was fader to Raufe erle of Uermendoyse.

And in thys kynges dayes / Bur∣goyne that had ben vnder y^e Frenche kynges obeysaunce ouer a hundred and .xxx. yeres, refused the Frenche kynge, aparte of them, & torned vnto Conradus the seconde of that name than emperour. So that that parte whyche stretched to Champayne be∣longed to Fraunce / and that other parte whyche stretched toward Ba∣saynz belonged to the Almayns.

And that yere that the kynge had admytted hys sonne Phylyp to the gydynge of the realme / he dyed, and was buryed at saynt Denys / leuyng after hym the issue forenamed, whan he hadde reygned after moste wry∣ters .xxxi. yeres.