Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum quintum

COnradus after lowys was made prynce amonge the alma¦yns / But for he was not emperour in ytaly / he is not reke¦ned among emperours / ne he is not enhaunced with sacryng & blessynges / but he regned seuen yere / In this yere bygan thempy¦re to passe from frensshmen to the Almayns / For lowys predeces¦sour of this myght not defende the Romaynes ayenste the Lon∣gobardes / thempyre passyd from the Frensshmen / And soo were twey Emperours / one in Almayne and another in ytaly / vnto the fyrst otho that was Emperour of bothe / That yere in the pro∣uynce of stafford at toten hale the Englysshmen ouercome the da¦nes and afterward at wodenysfelde / kyng edward slough of the danes twey kynges / twey erles / and many thousandes of danes of northumberlond / Etheldredus duc & leder vnder kyng of mer¦cia deyde / & his wyf elfleda kyng Edwardes suster regn••d no¦bly longe tyme in al mercia / oute take london and ox••nford / the whiche the kynge helde to hym selfward / she buylde many cytees & townes and amended many one / that be brymmesbury bridge vpon seuarn / thomworth besydes lychefelde / stafford / warwyk she¦resbury / watrisbury / Edysbury in the forest besyde Chestre / that now is al destroyed / Also she bylde a Cyte with a Castel in the north endes of mercia vpon the Ryuer merce that than was na∣med Runcofan / But now it is called Runcorn / Willelmus de re¦gibus libro secundo ¶ This strong vyrago Elfleda fauour of cyteseyn•• and drede of enemyes halpe moche the kyng / hir broder in yeuyng of counseyl and buyldyng of Cytees / whanne she had ones assayed the wo and the sorowe only of one childe / that she bare / she hated the enbracyng of a man after for euermo∣re / And toke wytnesse of god and sayde / that it was not semely

to a kynges doughter to vse flesshely lykynge where suche sorowe shold come after / The ••er theues of danes that wente oute of en∣glond in to Fraunce aboute nynten yere byfore / come ageyne in to Englond / and sayled aboute Cornewayle and come in to Se∣uarn see / and toke prayes / and teke a bryttyssh bisshop in Irchen¦felde / the whiche Bisshop kynge edward raunsoned for fourty pound / and chaced the enemyes in to yrlond / and made a castel atte mouth of the water of auene and other Castels at Bokyn∣gham in eyther syde of the Ryuer ouse / and made subget the da∣nes that dwellyd at betford and at northhampton and her kynge Turketillus / Anastasius was pope two yere / After hym lando was pope fyne monethes / ¶That yere the hungaryes that be by the Ryuer of danubins / destroyed ytaly / The tenth Iohan was pope fourten yere / This was pope Sergius sonne and Bisshop of Rauen / By his helpe Albericus the markys put the sauasyns oute of ytalye / Atte laste fyl stryf and discorde bytwene hem & the pope put the markys oute of the cyte / therfor he was wroth & brought the hungaryes that had destroyed ytalye / therfore the markys was ••slayn but the pope was straungled of the markys knyghtes / That yere deyde Rollo the fyrst duc of normandye af∣ter the fourtenth yere of his duchery / his sone wiliam longa spa¦ta was duc after hym fiue & twenty yere / Elfleda quene of mer¦cia toke prayes in the londe of brytons at brechnok / and toke the kynges wif of wales and ren••wed legecestre that is chestre / kyn¦ge edward bylde the Cytees of Toucetre and of wygmore and des¦troyed the castel that the danes had made at Temesforde / Elfle¦da toke the cyte of derby vpon the dan••s / hir four mynystres we∣re slayn / Harry the sone of duc Otho of saxō regned eyght••n yere ouer the almayns / but not in ytaly / & therfor he is not acōpted amonge the emperours / this ouercome the hungaryes and torned to the feyth the duc of normandy / wiliam longa spata / longa spata is a longe swerde in englysshe / ¶Will / de Regibus libro secundo / That yere deyde elfleda eygten dayes byfore Iulij / fyue yere byfore the deth of her broder kyng edward / And she was buryed in gloucestre in saynt peters chirche that she & hir husbōd had bylde vpon kynge oswaldes boones / that they had brought thyder from bardeny / But the danes destroyed that chirche / and aldredus bisshop both of yorke and of worcestre reparayled ano∣ther that is now the chyef abbay of the cyte / kynge Edward to¦ke the power of mercia from elswyna the doughter of Elfleda /

and ledde hir with hym in to westsaxon R ¶In praysyng of this elfleda / Henricu•• libro quinto / O Elflede myghty o mayde mennes drede / vyctryce of kynde wele worthy the name of a mā And the wele bryghter / now kynde hath made a mayde / go••dnes hath the mayde to haue the name of a man / kynde techeth the to chaunge nothynge but the name / myghty kynge and quene vic¦toryes to arraye / Cesars tryumphes were not soo moche worthy / Nobler than Cesar / mayde vyrago Fare wele / whan kynge Edward herde the deth of his suster / he made subget to hym thom worth and snotyngham that now is nothyngham / there he byld a newe cyte in the south syde right ayenst the olde cyte / and sette a brygge vpon trente bytwene the twey cyte••s / ther after in the same yere twey kynges yelde hem frely to hym· / that were the kynges of Scotlonde / of danes / and of wales / That yere kynge Edwarde buyld a cyte at thylwal / that is in the north endes of mers••a by the water of mersee / & there he sette kepynge of knigh∣tes / Than he passed the water of mersee / and restored the Cyte of manchestre / that is in the south endes of northumberlond / kynge Edward dyed at faryndon twelue myle by west oxenford and was buryed at wynchestre in the newe abbay /