Prolicionycion [sic]

Capitulum 17 /

WHan Suanus was dede the danes made his sone canutus kyng / But the englysshmen sente in to normandy to kynge Egelredus / & promysed yf he wold be more goodly to hem than he was wonte / hem were leuer to put aweye Canutus and take hym to kyng / he assented to the profre / and sente his son•• edward before for to stable the pees / therafter about lente tyme / the kyng come with grete spede / and droof canutus oute of lyndesey / Thenne canutus toke hym to rede for fo flee at Sandwyche in kente / he made kytte of handes and noses of alle the Englysshe pledgys that were delyuerd to his fader somtyme / & falled ayene in to deumarche / and come ayene the next yere after / ¶ This yere Canutus sayled aboute eestenglond and toke prayes in the southe countrey / The noble knyght edmund yrensyde cam manly ayenst hym / But edmond withdrough hym whan he was ware of Edricus treason / Edrycus yaue hym / and his to canutus /

The westsaxons sawe that / and delyuerd hym pledgys / and dyde the same / Kynge egelredus dyed at london eyght dayes bi¦fore maij / and was buryed in paules chirche / After his deth bisshops abbotes and lordes of the lande forsooke his yssue / and progenye / and knouleched at Southampton / that Canutus sholde be her kynge / and he sware that he wolde be to hem a true lord both to god warde and to the worlde / ¶But the londoners and many of the lordes made her kynge edmund yrensyde / And anone he made the westsaxons subgette / somme for drede / and somme by her owne good wylle / In the mene tyme canutus bysieged london / but be was putte of ther / & he fought with ed∣monde in dorsette besydes gyllyngham & was ouercomen there / Therafter after the myddel of the somer Edmond with a greete hoost fought more sharply with canutus in the prouynce of wic¦cyes / that is the prouynce of wircetre / ther they fought so strong∣ly that eyther hooste / withdrough hem from other for / pure wery¦nesse / Alfred / and marianus / But the morowe Edmond had ouercome the danes / ne had the fals Edrycus shewed a knygh∣tes hede that was moost lyke to kyng edmōd / Edrycus shewed that heede & sayde / flee englysshmen / loo here is the heede of Ed∣mond your kyng / but whan edmonde was ware therof / be leyde

one more sharply and faster and fought vnto nyght / ¶ By nyght canutus wente to london warde / But Edmonde folowed after / and saued the cyte and passed temse / the thyrd tyme / and ouercome the danes at brentford / Than duc Edrycus swar few∣te to kynge Edmond / yet the fyfthe tyme whan the danes rob∣bed and reued & toke prayes / edmond ouercome hem at okeford in kente and chaced hem vnto the yland of shepeheye / Thenne while Edward torned in to westsaxon Canutus toke prayes in mercia / therfore edmōd mette hym vpon asshdon / ther was strong fyghtynge on eyther syde / Duc Edrycus sawe the danes downe∣ward / and fledde as a traytour sholde / soo that many noble men were slayn on edmondes syde / ther was slayne the bisshop of lin∣coln and the Abbot of Ramesey that were come to praye for the knyght / Than by counseyll of Edrycus pees was made bytwene the kynges / and pledgys taken on eyther syde / ¶At Durhurst vpon the brynk of Seuarn / the pees was made in thys maner / One of the knyghtes stode vp in the myddel of the hoost / & sayd alwey we dye / no man hath the vyctorye / Edmond maye not be ouercome for his grece strengthe / Canutus may not be ouercome for fauoure of fortune / But what shal be the fruyte of this con∣tynuel stryf / but whan the knyghtes he slayne on eyther syde / than the dukes compellyd by nede shal acord· owther certeynly they shal fyghte withoute knyghtes alone / eyther with other / Than why doo they not now one of these tweyne / If they acord why is not the kyngdome now more suffycient for hem tweyne / that was somtyme ynowe for fyue / If her couetyse of lordship is soo grete that eyther hath indygnacion to take and haue part with other / owther to be vnder / than late hem fyghte alone / that wol be lordes alone / lest yf al men fyght al men be slayne / and soo shold leue no knyghtes vnder the heestes of dukes / nowther to defende the kyng ayenste straunge alyenes / Thenne the dukes with her hoostes come to geder atte yland of olneye besydes Glou¦cestre / there alle men cryed owther they sholde acorde / or fyght a•• one / Than both the kynges come to geder in middel of the ylād & the peple stode / & behelde on eyther syde / The kynges fought first on hors / and than on fote / There canutus espyed that Edmonde myght not be ouercome and acorded to be partyner of the kyng¦dom / and they threw awey her wepens and kyssed eyther other Thenne al men wondred / and were ioyeful therof / whanne this was done the traytour Edrycus desyred to make hym self leeue

Canutus / And at oxenford whanne edmonde was at pryny to clense his wombe / as nede of kynde axeth / Edrycus was pryue∣ly hydde vnder the place / and stykked the kynge vpwarde / that sate on the sege / And than edrycus wente to canutus and sayd hayle kyng aloone / Whanne the kyng knewe how it stode / he sa∣yd to Edrycus / For thou trowest to plese me with suche manere seruyce / and hast slayne the best body of the world / I shal arere¦thyn hede aboue all the lordes of englond / Than anone Edrycus heede was smyten of / and sette aboue the highest yate of london /

¶ R But somme storyes say / and specially marianus / that Edmond dyed not in that manere / But after that the acorde was made / and stabled bytwene the kynges / and the kyngd••me deled bytwene hem tweyn / Edmond dyed at london aboute seynt andrews tyde / & was buryed at glastēbury with his grauntsir edgar / That semeth soth / For comune cronykes tellen / that af¦ter edmundus deth / Canutus yaue mercia to the fals Edrycus / and exyled edmundes broder / by his counseylle and dyde many other dedes / and that myght not stande / yf he had beheded Edry¦cus byfore /