Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum primum /

ALuredus the fourth brother of byrthe / was euer holden behynde whyle his bretheren reg¦ned / But he had after hem the hoole kynge∣dome of westsaxons nyne and twenty yere / And ruled it nobly / but with grete trauail

Here take heede of his begynnynge of his forth goynge / and of his last ende / For A¦luredus was fayre of shappe / and more loued of fader and mo∣der than his other bretheren / and dwellyd in his faders courte to the yere of his age twelue / and was not yet lettred / yet after that the chylde lerned ryght wele / and helde saxon poesy•• in mynde / He passed other men in crafte of huntynge / and was a subtyll maister of buildynge and of other werkes / he gadred psalmes and orysons to gyder in a lytel book / and called the book manuel that is an hand booke / he hadde that book with him alwey / He was but a symple Gramaryon / for that tyme was not one techer of gramer in al his kyngdom / Therfor by counseyl of neo∣tus the abbott / whome he vysyted ryght ofte / he was the fyrste that ordeyned comyn scole at oxenford of dyuers artes and sey¦ences / and procured fredome and pryueleges in many articles to that Cyte / he suffred noman to take degre or ordre / to what ma∣ner dygnyte of holy chirche / but he were wel lettred / he tourned the beste lawes in to englyssh tong / Atte last he auentred him to translate the sawter in to Englysshe / But he translated vnneth the fyrste part byfore his deth / whanne he come to age and wolde stable his hert and his thought in goddes heestes / the lechery of his flessh greuyd hym and lette hym of••e tyme / therfor to putte awey temptacion of flesshely lykynge / he wente and vysyted oft temples of hooly sayntes erly and late / and at cokkes crowyng and prayd god that he wolde chastyse his flessh with suche a seke¦nesse that he sholde not be vnprofytable to worldly dedes / and that he myght the more frely serue god almyghty / At goddes or∣denaunce he had many yere the euyl called Fycus ¶Atte laste∣he was out of hoope to be heeled and wente in to Cornewayle to to seynt suerons chirche / there seynt neotus resteth / owther for to ceese owther for to chaunge it ¶ R But somme men saye that seynt modwenna / the yrysshe mayde heled hym of that euyll /

Atte last whanne he had his wyll / a wors euyll toke hym in his wedded tyme / and greued hym wel more from his twenty yere / to his fyue and fourty yere / his quene ethelswyda bare hym / ij / sonnes / Edward the elder / and egelward / And thre doughters Elfleda lady of mercia / ethelgota a menchon and elf••yda and he made hem alle lerne gramer and other fre artes and scyences / Than aluredus yeuer of almes herer of masses / sought besyly loo¦re of arte & of craftees that he knewe not & sent after seynt gyrm¦bald the monk a connyng man of letture & of song and prayde hym to come to hym oute of fraunce in to englond / Also he sente for Iohan monke of seynt dauid abbaye in meuenia to come to hym oute of wales to teche hym clergye / he exyted and comfor∣ted the lordes of his lond to lerne letture ānd clergye / so that they shold sette theyr children to scole / and yf they had no childer / they shold graūte her bonde men fredome / and sette hem to scole / yf they had good wytte and were able to lerne / he enquyred and ••spyed besyly the doynge and dedes of his offycers and seruauntes / and namely of Iugges and of domesmen / And yf he myght vnder∣stande that they erryd or dyde amysse / whether it were for vncon∣nynge or for couetise / he put them oute of offyce / ¶ Also he made Werfredus Bisshop of worsetre translate in to Saxon speche gregoryes bookes dyalogus Will / de Regibus libro pri¦mo / He departed in thre alle that he myght spende / and yet he departed the fyrst part in thre / For the twey partyes of the kyn∣ges ministres were at home for to ordeyne for homly thynges / In the thyrdde moneth euery partye and companye of his hows∣holde shuld serue byfore hym / he assygned the second part of this fyrst part to dyuers werkmen that gadred oute of euery syde / The thyrd pa••te he deled to comers and straungers / Than the se∣cond chyef parte of that he myght spende / he departed in foure / The fyrst part therof he yaue to poure men / and nedy / the second•• to foundynge of abbayes / the thyrd to scolers of oxenford that were gadred and shuld be gadred there / & the fourth parte to a∣mendyng of chirches / and for he wolde weye his owne lif a right he departed in thre the four and twenty howres of the day and nyght / and spende eyght therof in wrytynge and redynge and byddyng of bedes / eyght aboute his bodyly nedes / & eyght about nedes of the kyngdome / And to departe thes howres redyly / h•• sette a candel in his chapel of four and twenty partyes & shold be warned by them that were ordeyned therfore / as ofte as ony of

thylke four and twenty were spente / After the moneth of his kyngdome he fought with the danes at wyl̄ton with grete harme of both the hoostes / For englissmen were destroyed with eyght ba¦tayllis in one yere and were moche febled / therfore engli••shm••n made that yere pees with the danes on the coneuaunt / that they shold wende from hem / and so they dyde / for that yere they dwel¦lid at london / and the nexte yere after at lindesaye / And the mer¦ces made pees with the danes also at that tyme / but in the thirde yere the danes brake the pees / and wente oute of lind••seye to R••∣••yndon Charles the elder the third lowes broder toke the weye to Rome whanne his broder was dede / and was crowned Empe¦rour of pope Iohan and regned two yere / For whyles he ordey¦ned at papye for the comune prouffyt of the Empyre / he herde of the comynge of charlemayne / that was his owne broders sonne And his herte byganne to falle for drede / and wente towarde Fraunce / and deide amonge the grete hilles / called the Alpes / After hym his sonne lowys balbus regned two yere / After him Charles the yonger that was called grossus / that is grete / the so¦ne of the thirde lowys regned ten yere / That yere the danes lef••e lindeseye and cam to Rependon / there they putte oute burdredus kynge of mercia / and bitoke the kyngdom to one Colwulfus / that was Burdredus seruaunt vpon suche a condicion / that they sholde haue the kingdome ayene whanne they wolde / But after thre yere they departed somme of the kyngdome bitwene hem / & somme they lefte to colwulfus / and this Colwulfus was the last kyng of mercia / ¶After his deth Aluredus ioyned lon∣don first / & Colwulfus part to his owne kyngdome / Also that yere the danes cam ofte to Rependon / and the men of hamburgh that is fyue myle fro Rependon were wonder soore a∣ferd and toke the body of seynt werburgh the mayde that hadde long tyme ley buryed there / & was alwey hool & soūde / vnto that tyme & translated her to chestre as to a seker place / ¶Also that yere kynge Aluredus made pees with the danes and they slough the kynges horsmen al in one nyght ¶Therfore the kynge was meoued and chaced hem vnto chestre / And the danes delyuerd and yaue efte pledges and dwellyd a yere there / ¶ Henricus libro quinto / That yere Rollo the dane cam fyrst in to normandye and regned there fourty yere / ¶Willelmus de Regibus libro / 2 / First one hastynges and than Rollo noricus / that is a dane that had no countrey of his owne / but by heste of the kynge / he ••xyted

mysdo••••s that coneyted other mennes goddes and catayls and brought hem in grete hoope of grete wynnyng and led hem with him and warryd on lond and on see from brittyssh occean vn¦to the see called mare tirenum / that is the see that stretcheth to yta¦ly / thenne he come to Carnotum / there the Cy••eseyns trust not on her walles nowther on her strength / but they toke our lady smoc¦ke that charles the balled had brought with other relyques out of constantinople and sette the smocke vpon a pynacle / as it we¦re a baner / the enemyes scorned the smock / ands hotten ther at & were smyten with blyndenes / but Roll escaped and occupyed Ro¦thomage the yere of oure lorde eyght honderd / lxxvij / that was one yere byfore the deth of charles the balled / his sonne Lo¦wys ouercome the normans but he put hem not oute· And Char¦les simplex otherwyse callyd Grossus / this lowys broder and neuew to charles the balled was oft ouersette in batayllis with Rollo / and toke counseyl atte laste / and acorded with Rollo· soo that he sholde be cristened and knowlege that he helde n••omādye & Armorica / that is lytel britayne of the kynge of Fraunce as of the chyef lorde / whanne that was doo men that stode by coun∣seylled rollo that he sholde kysse the kynges feete that yafe hym suche a yefte / But he hadde indignacion & was to prowde to falle downe on his knees / but toke vp the kynges foote to his mouth soo that he threwe the kynge vpright / For that hap normans be∣ganne to laugh & the frensshmen waxe right wroth / Rollo excu∣syd hym of that boystous dede / & alledged the manere and vsa¦ge of his countreye Thanne Rollo wente ayene to Rotomage / & ordeyned for his catell and thynges / & deyde sone therafter /