Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum 32 /

The second lowys as somme men telle regned fyften yere / But marcus tellyth he regned two and twenty yere / and was crowned of Sergius the pope / and he had two sones / lowis kyng of norykes that ben normans / And charles the yonger that heete grossus akso / This charles was tormented of a fende thre dayes in presence of his fader / And knowleched that he was so tormented / for he had conspyred ayenst his fader / Willelmus de Regibus libro secundo ¶ In this lowys tyme Io¦han scot come in to Fraunce / and translated denys bookes out of grue in to latyn / atte prayer of kynge charles / and made the bo∣ke perefision / that is the book of the departyng of kynde / but there after kynge aluredus sente for hym for he shold come in to En∣glond / and soo he dyde / and taught children at malmesbury / the whiche childeren stykked hym to deth with her poyntels / that ye∣re seynt Edmunde bygan to regne ouer the eeste Angles / but he was slayne in the fourtenth yere Ethelwulfus kyng of west saxons deyde the thyrtenth day of Ianiuer / and was buryed at wynchestre / After hym his oldest sonne ethelwaldus regned but one yere· And that is no wonder / For whan his fader was

dede / he wedded his oune stepmoder ayēst the lawe and vsage of holy chirche / and he was buryed at shirburn / ¶ Marianus After pope leo Iohan englyssh was pope two yere and fyue mo¦nethes / Hit is sayd that Iohan englysshe was a woman / and was in yongthe ladde with her lemman in mannes clothynge to Atthene / and lerned there dyuerse scyences / Soo that ther after she cam to Rome / and hadde there grete men to scolers / and redde ther thre yere / thenne she was chosen by fauour of al men / And her lemman brought her with childe / But for she knewe not her time whan she sholde haue child / as she wente from seynt peters to the chirche of seynt Iohan lateran / she byganne to trauaylle of childe / And had childe bytwene Collosen and seynt Clements ¶ Treuisa Collosen was the place of the ymages of the prouin¦ces and londes / as it is sayd in the fyrst book / capitulo / 24 / Thenne it foloweth in the story that she was buryed there / And for the pope torned there oute of the weye / men suppose that it is for hate of that wonder myshappe / This pope is not rekened in the booke of popes / For she was a woman and ought not to be pope / She was born at magounce in Almayn vpon the Ryn / Aboute that tyme the kynge of bulgares and his men tourned to Crystes feyth and byleue / And was so parfyt that he bytoke his Royamme to his oldest sonne / and bytoke hym self thabyt of a monk / But whanne his sonne torned to maumetrye / he torned to chyualry ageyn & pursued his sonne / & toke hym / & putte oute bothe his eyen and leyde him in prisonne / and closed him there / & made his yonger sonne kynge / and toke the holy habyte ageyn ¶After ethelwaldus his broder ethelbertus was kyng of west saxons fyue yere / In his tyme a grete hooste of danes destroyed wynchestre / and were slayne of the kynges dukes er they might retorne to theyr shippes ¶ After Iohan the thyrdde Benet was pope four yere / ¶ Seynt Swythyn Bisshop of wynchestre deyde and dunbertus was bisshop after hym / Of hem tweyn ben wondres y redde ¶After Benet the fyrst nychol was pope / viij yere / he was lykened to the grete gregory / For in his tyme Cy∣rillus thappostle of sclaues / brought seynt clements bodye oute of Cersona to Rome / and leyd it in seynt Clements chirche / and deyde ther after and dyde many myracles / ¶ That yere lowys kynge of Fraunce wolde leue his rightful wyf for his lemman waldrada that he had to moche louyd in his yongthe in his fa∣ders hows / ¶ Thenne pope nychol atte instaunce of the quenes

bretheren that pleyned to hym of that dede sente his tresorer Ar∣senius in to fraunce / and he made a counceyl of bisshops and com¦pellid the kyng to take his wyf ageyne / And made him swe•••• vp on the booke / that he sholde neuer take that other woman / But whan the legate of Rome was a goo / the kinge putte awey the quene / and toke ageyne waldrada / therfor in playne consistory the pope cursyd waldrada & al that comende with her / R / But marianus tellyth this of lotharius and not of lowys Ethel∣dredus the thyrdde broder of byrthe was kynge of westsaxons after his two bretheren eyght yere / In his fyrst yere a grete na∣uy of danes londed in eest englond / and laye there / there after at yorke they were compellyd to defende hem self / For whanne the northumbres had do awey her kyng Osbrucus / as the deuyl hem radde / and made a tyraunt their kynge that hete ella / Atte laste for drede of enemyes / they were somdele ceeced / and wente wyth theyr eyther kynge to fyght ayenst the danes / & compellyd hem to fle to the cyte of yorke that was not ful wel walled / thēne the northumbres disarayd hem self / and werryd vnwysely / and we¦re beten doune / somme in one place and somme in another and her kynges were slayne / So they that myght escape made pees with the danes / and soo fayled kynges of northumberlond / That yere the danes lefte northumberlond / and come in to kyngdome of mer¦cia / and dwellyd al a yere at snotyngham / that is nowe callyd nothyngham / there Burdredus kynge of mercia and the kynge of westsaxons cam ayenst hem / But the danes were within the strengthe of the tour and wolde yeue no bataylle / and englyssh men myght not spede to breke the wal / thenne pees was made / and the kynges torned home ayene / and the danes wente ayen to yorke / and dwellyd there al a yere / ¶After nychol / the second Adryan was pope two yere / To hym the second lowys kynge of Fraunce that was somtyme acursyd of pope nychol wrote lettres and prayd hym that he wolde resseyue hym with grace / The pope wrote to hym in this maner ageyne / yf thou knowe thy self gylt¦les / come to Rome / And yf thou knowe thy self gylty / make the redy to doo worthy penaunce / thenne the kynge come / and the po∣pe axyd of him / yf he had holden his oth and pope nycholas hees¦tes / The kynge and his fautours sayd / yes al atte ful / thenne quod the pope / ye must come with vs that ye be vnyed to cristes lymes from the whiche that ye were kyt and departed / & whan the masse was y doo / he hou••cled h••m and saide / yf ye be gyltles

this comyng be to you remission and foryeuenes and ellys damp nacion Thenne it happed that none of hem alle lyued ouer yere But the kyng was anone taken with a sekenes and deyde in the cyte placencia / there after fyll a grete pestylence on the peple / After that yere the danes destroyed the Cyte Aclint / and wente oute of northumberlond to ecstenglond / and laye al a yere at tet∣ford / ¶That yere hungar and hubba two danes slough seynt Edmond the kynge at eglyston Willelmus de Regibus libro secundo ¶Seynt edmondes heede laye hyd amonge busshes and spak to hem that sought him in the countrey langage and sei¦de / here / here / here / ther was a wolf founden that beclypped the kynges heede / and folowed mekely the men that cam theder / Willelmus de Regibus Et de pontificibus / libro secundo / After the sleynge of the kynge / his broder•• edwoldus hated the lykynge of the world for hard fortune toke hym and his broder And lyued an heremytes lyf only by breede and water atte ab¦baye of Cern in dorsete by the clere welle that seynt Austyn by his prayers made sprynge somtyme for to Cristen the peple that tourned to Crysten byleue / hit falleth ful ofte that a gentil herte warned by hard happes and meschyef of this world / tourneth the more besyly to god that can not begyle / nor be begyled / The abbaye that was there bylde was afterward ryche ynough yf they that shold gouerne hit deled it to goddes seruauntes / and not to glotons / But in our tyme couetyse & pryde hath so chaun∣ged al thynge in englond that thynges that were yeue to Ab∣bayes in old tyme ben now more wasted in glotonye and outra¦ge of owners / than in sustenaunce and helpe of nedy men and of ghestes / but certaynly the yeuers shal not lese her mede / For her wylle and her entente is weyed in goddes balaunce /