Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum 23

THan edward come in to englond and was crowned kyng at westmynstre of edsius the archebisshop of Caunterbury and regned aboute four and twenty yere / This kyng wedded

Godytha / Goodwyns doughter / and by ladde hir by suche crafte soo that he put hir not from his bedde / nowther lay by hir fles∣shely / whether he dyde it for hate of hir meyny / owther for loue of chastyte / I knowe not for certayne / but that solempne doyng is told of hym / that he lyued alwey withoute gylt of woman / This kynge worshiped not his owne moder atte full / no wther shamed hir openly / but by counseyll of goodwyn he toke of her all the precious thynges and Iewels that she hadde / Owther for she had be to harde with hym somtyme / owther for she wolde yeue hym ryght nought / Also he hadde to hym oute of normandy somme that were with hym famylyer there / for they sholde be re∣warded / Among the which he toke one Robert gemeticus a mōk and made hym fyrst bisshop of london and than Archebisshop of Caunterbury / The kyng was symple and dyde so moche by this Robertes counsayle that he awaited his tyme. and outlawed his wyues fader goodwyn and his sonnes also / and toke fro his ou∣ne moder al that she had / and closed hyr in thabbaye. of werwel for suspection that she was to homely with the Bisshop of wyn∣chestre / and prysonned the bisshop alwyn / But emma was easy¦ly kepte / and somdele at hyr large. and wrote to the Bisshops of Englonde / in the whiche she hadde trust of frendship / And sayd that hit greued hyr more the despyte that the bisshop had than hyr owne shame / and sayd that she was redy by goddes owne dome and by thassay of fyre hoote yron / that the bisshop was wronge∣fully defamed / Thenne the bisshops come to geder to the kyng & shold haue had of the kyng al that they prayed / ne hadde be Ro∣bert tharchebisshop of Caunterbury spake ayenst hem / My bre¦theren bisshops said Robert / how dar ye defende hir that is a wil∣de beest / and not a woman / she hath defamed hir owne sonne the kyng / and nempned hir lecherous lemman goddes owne crist / But be it / that the woman wold purge the bisshop / But who shal purge the woman that is accused that was assentyng to the deth of hir sonne Egelredus and procured venym to the poyse∣nynge of Edward / But be it that she had auctoryte and power vpon the condicion of proprete of kynde of male owther female / Yet yf she wold goo barfote for her self four steppes / and for the bisshop fyue steppes continuelly vpon nyne solow shares bren∣nyng and fyre hoote / Thenne yf she escape harmeles ouer all the∣se steppes / he shal be quytte / and assoyled of this chalenge / Anone the day of thassay of this purgacion was appoynted / till

that day come the kyng and all the lordes were there / out take Robert all one / but the nyght before the day of this purgacōn / the woman was in her prayers at wynchester at seynt Swythy∣tes tombe / and was comforted there / Than on the morowe hir eyen were hidde / and she passed the fyre in hote solowe shares / and escaped harmeles / ¶ Than the kyng began to grone and axed mercy and was disciplyned of eyther bisshop / and of his moder also and than he restored to his moder all that he had taken fro hir before / Thenne Quene Emma yaf saynt Swithyne ix maners and the bisshop yafe other ix bicause of the ix solow shares that Emma had ouer passed / But Robert bisshop of Caunterburye fledde in to normandye / Marianus / Elfword bisshop of london that was somtyme abbot of euessham / wax vnsuffisaunt for elde feblenes and sekenesse to gouerne and rule so grete a bisshopriche and wold haue be abbot of Euesham ayene / but the brether of the place wold not assente / Than he toke with hym bokes and other thynges that he owther his successours had yeuen to the abbey of Euesham / and went hym to thabbey of Ramesay / ther he dyed sone after / and was buryed there / ¶ After hym came Robert / I••em Marianus / kyng edward gadred a strong na∣uey in the hauen of sandewiche / ayenste harolde harfager kyng of the Noreganes / that arrayed hym for to com and werr in En¦glonde but by the betaylle that Suanus kyng of Danes / yafe hym / all that purpos was lette / Me sayth that in a nother tyme kyng edward lough at messe / as he was not wonte / they that were present wondred / and axed why hit was / The Noreganes and the danes sayd the kyng / were accorded for to come & werre in Englond / But whan they all were arrayed forto sayle one profred hem a bolle with meede for to drynke and prayed hem in a dispitous name / but yf they wold drynke / Than cam bolle after bolle and dronkenesse torned into Ianglyng and Ianglyng into stryf and strif into fyghtyng and so they be departed and to shufte a twynne / And I hope that in my tyme shall non aliens werre in my londe / After grego the x benet was pope / aboute two yere / he had bought the poperiche. and therfor harry them¦perour put hym oute and brought in the second Clement that dyed after one year & poppo was pope after hym two monethes This poppo was cleped the second damasius whan he was dede the ix leo was pope v yere / The forsayd harrold kyng of Noreganes was sent to Olauus hys broder on the moder syde / He chased

Swanus kyng of denmarche / and made denmarche subgiet to hym self / kyng Swanus that was so put out / axed helpe of the kyng of englond / ¶ And erle Godwyn was assentyng / But other lordes counselled Nay / But kyng har••old dyed and Suanus recouered Denmarche agayn / This yere lyuyn∣gus the bisshop of wirceter dyed & Aldredus was bisshop after hym / ¶ This Aldredus had be first / monke at wynchester and than abbot of tauestok / Grete snowe fille in the west con∣treyes of Englond / So that hit brake grete trees of the woodes and dured from the first day of Ianuar to seynt patriques day After that fell grete pestilence of men / & deth of beestes & light∣nyng forscalded cornes / This yere was a bateyle bitwene henri kyng of Fraunce & the lordes of Normandy / For they wold not receyue william to be duc / whan they wer ouercom / Duc william outlawed som of hem / and heng som of hem by the throtes / Aboute that tyme erlewynus a knyght of Normandy forsoke the worldly cheualrye and byld an abbey at beccum in Normandy that yet is called Becherlewyn / ¶ Hym shamed nought abbot & ruler / to bere ston and morter to the werke and bake brede and doo other werkes of clennes and of honeste / God sent hym the twey lanterns of the worlde / to his helpe and counseyl lanfranke & Ancelme / twey men of grete clergy and lettrure / Eyther of hem was pryour in that place / one after a∣nother and afterward Archebisshop of caunterbury / Marianus This yere pope leo and Swanus kyng of danes· went with har¦ry themperour ayenst baldwyn Erle of Flaundres / ¶ And Edward the kyng of englond kepte the see with his Nauey til themperour had all his wylle / ¶ Also this ix pope leo had a wemme in his conscyence for the emperour had made hym pope somdele by mastrye / therfor he resygned the poperiche but than he was laufully chosen pope agayne / Also this yere the theues of Irland cam in to seuarn see with helpe of Griffyn kyng of wales and toke many prayes aboute the riuer vaga / In the meane tyme swanus / Godwynes eldest sone / that had somtyme leyne by Edgyna / the Abbesse of leofmonaster / and cast for to wedde hir and forsoke his wyf therfore he cam to Englond / Yf he myght haue grace / to make his peas with the kyng / But in his comyng / he slough Erle Beornus that was his Cosyn that was aboute to make his peas wyth the kyng / Than he fled in to flaundres til he was reconcyled by helpe of Aldredus

the Archebisshop of york and of worcetre / Marianus /