Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum 19 /

ALso this yere dyed the seconde Rycharde / the fourth duc of normandy / ¶ After hym his sone the thyrde rychard was duc of normandy· After one yere of the ducherye / his yon∣ger broder Robert slough hym / with venym / and was duk after

hym / But after the vij yere of his duchery / he was sory for his broders deth and went on pilgremage / barfote to Ierusalem and dyed in Bithinia / Of hym it is seyde / that he was mighti and polytique / in batayle / large & free of yeftes and of mete and drynke / ¶On a tyme it happed at a grete fest that knyghtes of∣fred at masse / but one of hem offred not / The duc trowed ther∣for that he had not that he myght offre / and bad yeue hym an C / pound / he leyd hem holy vpon the aulter / Me axed hym why he dyd soo / for hit was yeuen me for to offre seyd the knyght / The duc herd that and yaf hym a nother hundred pound to his owne vse / ¶ On a nother tyme the same duc pleyed atte chesse / & hym was yeuen a golden Iust / wonderly feyre arayed with perles & with precious stones / and he yaf hit anon to the clerk that pleyed with hym atte chesse / & the clerk dyed anon / Phiscians tolde the cause and seyd / that right as the hert closeth for grete sorow and is cause of deth but the hert be the soner opened / ¶ Also for grete Ioye the hert openeth and is cause of deth / But it be the soner closed / ¶ Also on a tyme one brought to Duc Ro∣bert twey wel fayre knyues / and anon he badde yeue hym an hondred pounde / ¶And while he told the mony / were tweye gentill horses yeuen to the Duc / ¶The Duc yaf hem anon to hym that yaf hym the knyues / Whan he had receyued all thys he sped hym fast his way / lest som lette myght haue fallen In the mene tyme the duc was yeuē acup of seluer that was a ••essel to bere in fruyte / ¶ Than he was sought that brought the knyues and myght not be founden / ¶ Than the Duc made grete moone and sayd / that he had receyued a symple reward that broughte hym the knyues / ¶ Me seyde of thys Ro∣bert / that alle that me yafe hym / but hit were suche a yefte that shold be eten / he wold yeue it to hym / that yafe hym the fyrst worshipfull yefte that day / willelmus de Re / libro 2 / This Robert on a tyme passed by phalesya a cyte of normandye. & sawe a ma••den called Arlett by hir name a skynners doughter daūce among other / & had hir to his bed at nyght & helde hir som∣dele long tyme in stede of his wyf / & bygat on hir wiliā the con∣querour / a sweuē that his moder met signefyed how grete he shold be / for she met that hir bowels were sprad in to al englōd & nor∣mādy / Also whan the child was born it happed that he touched the groūd & toke both his handes ful of the powder of the pamēt & cō¦streyned his ••andes & helde fast the powder / therfor the mydwyf

told that the child shold be a kyng the first night that this mayd•• arlett was brought to the dukes bed / she to rente hir owen smok fro the chynne to the feet / The duc axed whi she dyd so / It is neyther skyll ne curtesye said she that the hemme of my smok that hath byclipped my feet / shold be torned toward my lordes mouth Than duc Robert went to Ierl̄m and had to geder all the lordes of his londe at Fiseanum and made hem swere feuty to his sonne william that was tho vij yere olde & ordeyned erl•• Gilbert the childes tutor & ordeyned the tutor to be maynteyned by the kyng of Fraunce / they held their obeysance to the child til duc robert was deed / But whan they herd of duc Robertus deth / euery of theym toke hede to hym self and rought not of the child / Atte last this Gilbert was slayne of one Rauf that was the chyldes vnkle / Ther was fightyng and man slaughter the countrey was foule faren with / with strif that men had amonge hem self / but william was yong in armes / and one Guye a Bourgyon / was cause and maker of alle that strif / and treson the whyche Gye was williams kynnesman of the second Richardes doughter But william toke hym and did hym to deth / ¶ And Odo the kynges broder of Fraunce come ayenst willyam / but willyam / had the maystrye and chased Odo / and made hym fle•• / henry the kyng of Fraunce herd therof and cam with a grete multitude and was despitously and fouly chased / ¶But mediatours went bitwene and made peas / And the kynges men of fraunce were delyuered that were taken prisoners. / ¶ Here take grete hede that wylliam faught ofte with the kyng of Fraunce / but neuer sodenly as our men doo now a dayes / ¶But the day of batayle shold be sette / and he had euer the victorye / Than whan the kyng of Fraunce was ded / he toke manly the londes of Nor∣mandy thaugh the londes wer long tyme absolute / that by the counte of canouic / & litil bretayn / that kyng charles had yeuen to rollo with his doughter gilla / this will̄m wan it manly / harold an english̄ man was in that batayle asit shal be sayd with in / Duc whert went to Ierl̄m & passed by borgoyne / ther as he went out of the yate / the porter smot hym with a staf / anon he thanked god & forbad his men & charged that none of hem shold tak wre¦che of that dede for I am sayd he wel worthy to haue more harm I loue sayd he this stroke more than al Rothomage / Than he cam for to take the crosse of the pope / and did his noble palle aboute the ymage of the grete Constantyne and scorned there with the

Romayns that wold namely ones a yere yeue theyr lord a clothe Also he made to shooe his mule with gold that he rode on / and forbade al his men that they shold not take vp the shoes / whan they were fallen / Also he cam by themperour of constantinople & whyle he spak with themperour he sawe no benche in al the hous and sate hym down vpon his owne pall in the maner of his ou∣ne countrey· and his knyghtes did the same / And as the duc bad they lefte theyr pallys there / whan they arysen / and sayd that they shold not take awey her benches / the duc was prayd of the emperour to take money for his cost by the wey and he answerd and sayd that he wold in pylgremage lyue by his owne / But whan he cam ageyne he wolde doo the emperours wylle / than the kyng forbade that no man shold selle him fewel to sethe his mete therwith / than the duc bought notes and sethed his mete there with / the kynge wondred of the dukes manhede / and made ben∣ches in his court afterwarde in stede of the forsayd palles / heraf∣ter the duc eueled soo in the weye that he myght neyther goo ne ryde / therfor he hyred pour sarasyns that sholde bere hym by daye / in a litere on her shulders / and charged a norman that wente agayne in to Normandye / that to the normans that wold axe ti¦dynges of the duc / he shold tell that he had sene fendes bere the duc to heuen ward / he called the sarsynes fendes / and the holye lande heuen / Than hit was vsed that no crysten man shold come within the holy Cyte wyth oute grete hyre / ¶ Than many men herd of this dukes comyng and came to hym and prayed hym of helpe and he sware by the herte of hys wombe / that whyle he had one peny / he wold be the laste that shuld entre / That noble Sarsyn the lord of the cyte herde therof and had also herd of this Dukes other manly dedes / and forbad anon that nothyng shuld be taken of hym nowther of ony man that come in his companye and charged and comaunded also to yeue to the duc alle the of∣fryng of a day / He receyued the offryng & yaf hit anon to pore men and dyed sone after in Bithinia as it is before sayd