The chronicle of Ihon Hardyng in metre, fro[m] the first begynnyng of Engla[n]de, vnto ye reigne of Edwarde ye fourth where he made an end of his chronicle. And from yt time is added with a co[n]tinuacion of the storie in prose to this our tyme, now first emprinted, gathered out of diuerse and sondrie autours of moste certain knowelage [et] substanciall credit, yt either in latin orels in our mother toungue haue writen of ye affaires of Englande.

The .C .vii. Chapiter.

¶ Elfride kyng of Westsex protector of Englande reigned sixe yere, and dyed in the yere of Christ eyght hundred lxvi.

ELfride was kyng, after his brother then * 1.1 That reigned so, with all the dignitee In Westsex whole, and mightely began Protector was as was necessitee For Danes then of greate iniquite His lande foule brent, wasted and destroyed That all Englande, was combred and anoyed

¶ In the east cost of Englande specially In Estangle, wher Edmond then was kyng Ther did greate hurte full cruelly In Northumberlande full felly warryng The people destroiyng, and the lande brennyng Wher Danes then, sleugh the kyng of that lande Byside Yorke, so as Flores dooeth vnderstande

¶ Also thei sleugh, in Northfolke all about The people doune, and in Suffolke also The kyng Edmond thei sleugh without doubt Of Estangland, with arowes sharpe tho Was shot to death, with muche other woo

That is a sainct honored this daye in blisse At Edmondes bury canonyzed I wisse

¶ Hungar and Vbba sleugh hyw full cruelly And brent abbeis throut all England that tyme By North and South, and prestes full cursedly All holy folke fled out of that realme Thei sleugh all people that had take bapteme At Colyngham sainct Ebbe, that was abbesse Their nonnes putte from theim in sore distresse

¶ For dred of the tyrauntes twoo, full cruell And their people cursed and full of malice That rauished nōnes, euer wher their herd tell In hir chaptre, ordeined again their enemies Should not deffoule, their clene virginitees She cut hir nose of, and hir ouer lippe To make hir lothe that she might from hym slipe

¶ And counseled all hir susters to dooe the same To make their fooes to hoge so with the sight And so thei did, afore thenimies came Echon their nose and ouer lipe full right Cut of anone whiche was an hogly sight For whiche tho fooes thabbey and nonnes brent For thei theim self disfigured had shent

¶ Frō Twede to Thamys, abbais then thei brēt And churches hole and people sleugh right doune Wiues maydens widdowes and nonnes shent Through all the lande and the est region People sleyng in euery borough and towne The women euer thei diuiciate

In euery place and fouly defflorate

¶ And in the yere .viii. hundreth fyftie and sixe He died so, and from this worlde expired Whom all his tyme, the Danes full sore did vexe Agayn hym euer, full sore they had conspired Theyr hertes in malice, alwaye sore affcerd Sometyme the worse they had, sometyme y^t better As Flores sayth, and written hath in letter

Notes

• * 1.1

  Kyng Elfride.