Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum secundum /

LOwys balbus regned in Fraunce two yere / In his first yere the danes sailed from warham towarde ••xcestre / and lost ••••x score shippes in a tempeste of the see / But somme of the danes occupyed the Royal Cyte Chypenham and the countreye about / and chaced awey many englysshemen / owther made them subgette / In the meschyef of that tyme king aluredus with fewe men ledde vncertayne and vnnesy lyf in the wode countreyes of Somersete / For he had right nought to lyue by / but what he

myghte wynne by prayes / owther with huntyng / owther with fyss••yng•• / ¶ On a tyme whyle his felawes were a fysshynge / and he comforted his vncertayn and vnstidfast lyf with comfort of ••okes / ¶ A pylgrym cam to hym and axed almes in goddes name / The kynge lyft vp his handes to heuen and sayde I thank god that vysyted his pore man this daye / by a pore mā That he wol vouchsauf this day to axe of me that he hath yeuen me / and restore ageyne with encreace / that he axeth of me / Anone the kynge called his seruaunt that hadde but one looff and lytel what of wyne / and hadde hym yeue the half therof / to the pore man / The pore man thanked hym and vanysshed so¦denly awaye / and noo steppe was seen of his goynge in the nes∣she more / ¶ And also alle that was yeuen hym / was foun∣den hoole an•• sounde / And they that were a ffysshynge brought grete plentye of ffysshe / ¶ Thenne whanne the kynge was slepynge / one appered to hym in a Bisshops wede / and charged hym that he shold loue god / and kepe ryghtwysenesse and be mer¦ciable ayenst pore men / and worship•• preestes / And sayd moore to / myne Aluredus Cryst knoweth thy conscyence / and thy wyll and putteth an ende of thy sorowe and care for to morow stronge helpers shal be with the / By helpe of hem thou shalt ouercome thyne enemyes / who art thou sayde the kynge / I am Cutberth sayde he / thy pylgrym that yisterdaye was here with the / to who∣me thou yaue breede and wyn / I am besy for the and for thy∣ne / haue mynde herof / whanne it is wele with the / But how he made mynde of his pylgrym by the fredom and possession of the chirche of durham / it is now sene / Willelmus de regibus libro / 2

¶Than Aluredus cam oute of prysonne / and putte hym to a peryll of grete fraude and gyle / For he wente in to the kynge of Danes pauylons and tentes / in myustralles weede / and espyed all that he wolde / and come ageyne to ethelynge and declared to his felawe the slewthe of his enemyes / ¶ Thenne be fylle sodenly on his enemyes / and slough moo of hem than me wolde trowe / For the daye after cam to hym the men of wyl••shir / of So merse••te / and of Hampshyre / ¶ By helpe of hem / he buylde a tour at Ethlynge / that is to saye in Englysshe that now is vsed the ylelande of noble men / Oute of that tour ••e ••ee∣sed ofte his enemyes and ouercome hem / and namely besyde•• Selwode that is a grete wode in Englysshe that now is vsed /

So that he receyued hostages and pledgis the best that he wold•• ch••ese / And Guttrun kynge of Danes was Crysten••d / and twenty of the grettest that were with hym ¶the whiche kynge Alfredus receyued of the colde water / and yaue hym a name / and callyd hym Adelstan / Therfor to kynge Guttrun that we calle Gurmundus were yeuen the prouynces of Eest Angles / and of northumberlonde for to dwelle ynne / But for the blewe man chaungeth not lyghtly his skynne / This Guttrun destroyed the landes with tyrannye / / and with pryde enleuen yere / and dyede the twellyfth yere / ¶ The other Danys that wolde not be Crysten wente in to Fraūce / That place that hete Ethlyng or Ethelyngeseye is not an Ilelande of the see / but it standeth in water marreys and moores / soo that me maye not come ther to but by shippe owther by boote / ¶ The place conteyneth vn∣nethe the space of twey dayes iourney of erthe in breede / and yet there ben wylde beestes / and veneson / ¶ Charles the yonger otherwyse callyd Grossus / that is grete was the thyrdde Lowys sonne / and regned in Fraunce after his came lowys bal¦bus / ten yere / he wente oute of Almayne and occupyed ytaly fy∣ue dayes and cam to Rome and was sacred emperour of pope Ia¦han / In his tyme byganne the Erldomme of Flaundrys / For that tyme Flaundrys was not of grete name / but it was ruled by the kynges Forsters of Fraunce /

Also this Charles putte fro hym his wyf / for it semed that she was to pryue with the bisshop of Versell / ¶Therfore the kyng of Fraunce knowleched openly that he hymself hadde neuer ley¦ne by her flessbely / And she was gladde of her maydenhode / and and wente in to an Abbaye whanne she was forsaken / Atte la∣ste / the tenthe yere of his kyngdome / this Charles wente oute of Fraunce in to ytaly / and was poysoned of a Iewe callyd Se∣dechias / and dyed atte hilles Alpes / ¶Ranulphus ¶ It semeth that this is that Charles that maryed his doughter Gilla that he hadde by his rather wyf / to duc Rollo / and graunted with hir the ducheryes of normandye and of lytel Brytayne

¶ Willelmus de pontificibus libro secundo /

Also that yere dyede Du••bertus Bisshop of Wynchestre / And kynge Aluredus made Dunewolfus Bisshop in his stede / that be founde in the woode in his hydynge tyme kepyng•• beestes / But whanne he knewe his good wylle after g••e••t•• age / he putte hym to scole to lerne lettrure / and clergye / That yere the kyng

aluredus amended the cyte of Septon / that is shaftesbury / as a greete stone wytnessyth / that there in the Chapytre hows of Nonnes lyeth aboue erthe ¶ After Iohan / martyn was pope one yere / He relessyd to the Scole of Saxons al ma¦ner trybute atte prayer of kynge Aluredus / ¶ Also he sen••te to Aluredus a grete parte of the hooly crosse / After marty•• agapitus was pope one yere / the which yere the danes cam ou•••• of Fraunce / and besyeged Rochestre / and buylde a tour ayenst•• the yates of the cyt•• / But the Cyteseyns defended the Cyte til•• that Aluredus come and toke alle the horses of Danes / and compellyd hem to flee / Thenne the danes wente in to Fraunce ayene / and the kyng sente his nauy full of men of armes oute of kente in to Eest englond / and toke sixten shippes of danes / But in the comyng ageyne the kynges nauye was ouercome•• / ¶Treuisa / ¶ Eeste Engelonde / conteyneth Northfolke / and Southfolke / Looke more herof in the fyrste booke capitulo iji / ¶ It foloweth in the storye / that yere the danes rowed in the water of Seyne and besyeged parys a yere all hoole / That yere Aluredus reparayled london / and bytoke it to the k••¦pynge of Etheldredus Erle of mercia / ¶ Than the Englyssh¦men that were disparpled yaf hem self to the kyng Aluredus /

¶ That tyme the kynge sente his almes to Rome and to Inde and buylde twey Abbayes one of men at Ethelyngesley and another of women at Shaftesbury and made his doughte•• Etholgof Abbes there / After Agapytus / the thyrdde Adryan•• was pope one yere / After hym Basilius one yere / After hym Stephen six yere /