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 .CXLVII. CHAPITER.

THeodoricus, the whyche of mayster Robert Gagwyne is alowed to be the sonne of y^e seconde Dagobert / began hys reygne ouer y^e Frenchmen, in the yere of grace .vii. hundred and .xxvi / and the seconde yere of Ethelardus than kyng of westsaxōs. The which was from hys yonge and tender age fosteryd and norysshed in a house of nonnys in womans clothynge / and lastly espyed, and by cōsent of Char∣lys mayster of the paleys admytted for kynge.

After the whych solempnyte fynys¦shed / Charlys herynge of the rebel∣lyon of a people called the Sweuys or Swetesers / assembled an hoste, & lastly them subdued. whyche done / he turned hym toward an other part of the Almaynes, and in lyke wyse ouercame them / and after retourned into Fraunce wyth greate tryumphe and ryches, that he hadde wonne at

those two iourneyes.

It was not longe afterward, that Charlys had thus subdued the fore∣sayde people of Almayne, wyth also a greate parte of Germany / but that tydyng came to hym, y^t Endo duke of Gascoyne rebelled agayne y^e kyng of Fraūce. wherfore he in all goodly haste preparyd hys armye, and sped hym into Gascoyne / where he made so cruell warre, that he in short tyme damagyd greatly the countrey / and held the duke Endo so streyte, that he was compellyd to hyde hym in se∣crete places of the countreye / where after greate serche he myghte not be founde, wherfore he settynge the coū¦trey in some restfulnesse, retourned hym into Fraunce.

whan Endo was sure of the re∣tourne of Charlys into Fraunce / for so mych as he had prouyd the mar∣cyall knyghthode of hym, and knew well he myghte not hym selfe wyth∣stand hys knyghtly power / he there∣fore allyed hym wyth the kynge of Spayne than beyng a pagan or mys¦creaunt and named Abyderamus, and excyted and styred hym to make warre vppon the lande of Fraunce / promysynge to hym not all onely vyctory, but also that londe to hym and to hys heyres for euer. Uppon comforte of whyche promyse, and al∣so ayde of the sayde Endo / thys fore¦named Arbyderamus thrystyng cry∣sten mannys blode, and entendynge vtter desolacyon and destruccyon of the realme of Fraunce / assemblyd an excedynge hooste of people, and wyth theyr wyues chyldren and ca∣tayle entryd the londe of Fraunce. And what they wan, they enioyed it as theyr owne. And so in processe came vnto the cytye of Burdeaux / the whych after a certayne tyme of y^e cytesens defendyd, the sayde mys∣creaūtes wan into theyr possessyon, and dystroyed the people thereof, with all theyr chyrches and temples of the same. And from thens passyng the countreye in wastynge it wyth iron and wyth fyre, lastly came vnto Poytiers. whyche cytye as before ye haue harde in the story of the fyrste Dagoberte in the .C. and .xxxii. cha∣pyter, was by hym subuertyd / and at thys daye newely reedyfyed.

Thys cytye also of them posses∣syd / they in lyke maner as they had dalte wyth Burdeaux, so dyd they wyth thys / not sparynge that holy place of saynt Hyllary, but dyd vnto yt greate shame & vylany. And from thens they yode vnto Towers / wa∣stynge and sleynge the people wyth∣out mercy by all the waye that they passyd, and wasted that cytye as they had done the other.

In the whyche passetyme Char∣lys herynge of the cruelte of this Ar∣bideramus / assembled hys power, and shortly met with hym nere vnto Towers. where he bare hym so knyghtely / that he slewe of the Pa∣ganys to excedynge a nomber to be accordaunt wyth reason. But for I se it testyfyed of so many wryters yt boldeth me to expresse the nomber / whyche was .iii. hundred .iiii. score and .v. thousande and odde. And of the Frenchemen were slayne but .xv. hundred onely.

For the whyche vyctoryous acte / the sayde Charlys obteyned a sur¦name, and was called after that day Carolus Martellus, the whyche is to meane Charles the hamer. For lyke as the hamer maketh all metal∣lys plyable / so Charlys made hys foes or enemies pliable to his hestis. And as the hamer cutteth, breketh, or dysseueryth iron and other harde metallys / so dyd thys Charlys dys∣mēber & cut or breke the enemyes of Fraūce thorough his high prowesse.

It is shewyd in the bokes called Cronica cronicarum, Supplemen∣tum cronicarum, Policronica, and other / that this vyctory was obtey∣ned by Charlis of the Sarasins, but not as inhabytauns or incolers of Spayne / but that they were yssuyd out of Africa, and then warryd and hadde wonne great countreys in Spayne. The whyche is more ac∣cordaunt wyth hystoryes. For in the plegys or rehersayllys of the names of kynges of Spayne, I fynde no kynge of that name. Then yt folow∣eth in the story / when Charlis Mar¦tell hadde thus obteyned vyctory, he cōmaūded all y^e pillage to be brought to one place. That done, he deuyded it amonge hys knyghtes. And short¦ly after Endo knowlegynge hys of∣fence, and sekyng meanes of mercy / was agayne restoryd to the lande of Gascoyne.