Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum sextum

EDelstan kynge edwardes oldest sonne was made kynge at kyngeston besydes london in southrey / ••e regned sixten yere In his fyrst yere the noble childe dunstan was borne in the cou¦treye of glastenbury / Al his lyf to his endynge daye he shone by vertues and by myracles / Alfredus / Kynge Edelstan maryed his sus••er to sithricus kynge of the danes of northumberlonde / Sythrycus dyed sone after / and the kynge put oute Sythrycus sonne / and ioyned that kyngdome to his owne / Than by bataylle he made subgett ho••lus kyng of brytons / and Constantyn kynge o•• the Scottes and receyued h••m whan they were yolden / Kyng Ethelstan made this Constantyn kynge of Scotlond / Than Constantyn sayde / It is more worship to make a kynge / than to be a kynge / ¶Willelmus de Regibus libro secundo / Also kynge ethelstan maryed his other suster to Otho the Empe¦rour and receyuyd of him horses and other precious stones /

& a maner vessel of stone callyd Onychynus / that was clere & bryght / and letted not the passynge of lyght / nowther of syghte and it was made subtylly by grauynge crafte that it semed very¦ly that corn growynge therynne waued hyder and thyder / as longe corne doth in feldes / and that vynes bourgened / and yma¦ges of men meoued / Also he receyued of him the grete Constan∣tynes swerde / In that swerde the owners name was redde in lettres of gold / in the hylte therof in grete plates of golde was stykked on of the four yron nayles that cryst was nayled with to the roode / he receyued of hym the grete charles spere / euer whan Charles shoke that spere / he hadde the maystrye / Me sayth that spere opened Crystes owne syde / and seynt moris baner / that ba¦ner Charles vsed ayenst the sarasyns / Also he receyued a parte of the holy crosse and somme of the thorned crowne / Kyng ethel¦stan ordeyned somme of the Relyques to the abbay of malmes∣bury / Mar / The sixth leo was pope four yere & / vij / monethes / Odo is made bisshop of wylton / Willelmus de pontificibus li∣bro secundo / Frystan Bisshop of wynchestre deyde / and Birstan was Bisshop after hym / Of this Byrstan it is redde that he sange as it were euery day for all Crysten sowles / Than he wen¦te on a nyght aboute a chirche yerde and sayd salmes for al cry∣sten sowles / and whan he had al sayde he sayde Requiescant in pa¦ce / And he herde a voys of a grete hoost answer / oute of graues / and sayd Amen / Odo Bisshop of wynchestre is made archebis¦shop of Dorobernia that is Caunterbury. Than Steuen was po¦pe seuen yere / Odo Bisshop of wynchestre is deede / After hym el¦phegus the balled was bisshop of wynchestre / that man was a prophete and nygh of seynt dunstans kyn / Willel / de pontifici∣bus libro secundo / On asshe wonesdaye as the maner is / he putte hem that sholde doo open penaunce oute of chirche / and charged other men that they shold in thylke dayes fast / and be chast and spare lykynge of theyr wyues / Amonge hem al one spake and sayde / Syr I may not at this tyme leue bothe my feste and my wyf / But the wyf that I haue putte awey for the tyme / I shall sone take her ageyn / Wretche sayd the bisshop thou makest me soo¦ry thou knowest not what is for the ordeyned ayēst the morewe / Than on the morn he was founden deed in his bedde / also on a ty¦me this ethelphegus made thre monkes preestes dunstan Ethel¦wold and ethelstan / And whanne the seruyce was done / he spak to hem and sayde / This day byfore god I haue sette myne hande

vpon thre men / Tweyne of hem shal be bisshops / but the thirde shall make a wretchid ende / Than ethelstan was the more home∣ly by cause of kynrade and spake and sayd / Shal I be a bisshop thou shalt haue no part in this ordre sayd elphegus / nowther thou shal bere longe this clothynge / ¶For Constantyn kynge of Scottes hadde broken couenaunt / Kynge ethelstan arayd hym to¦ward Scotland and inthe wey he went on pylgremage to saint Iohan of beuerley / and leyd his knyf to wedde vpon seynt Io∣hans auter / and sayd yf he come ageyne with the vyctory be shold raunsonne his knyf with a worthy prys After the vyctory whanne he come ageyne / he prayd god that he wolde thurgh the prayer of seint iohan of beuerley shewe som open tokē / by which token they that be and shal be maye knowe that the Scottes by right shold be subget to englisshmen / Thanne the kynge with his swerde smote on a grete stone faste by the Castel of dunbar / In that stone yet to this day is seen of that stroke a chynne of an elne long / Than the kyng cam ageyn and raunsonned his kynf with worthy doynge / the enleuenth Iohan was pope one yere / After hym the seuenth leo was pope thre yere and six monethes Lowys the sone of charles the symple and of kynge edwardes doughter regned in Fraunce after his fader in westfraunce nyn¦ten yere / ¶ Willelmus de r / libro secundo / ¶ He was on a ty¦me pursued of one Isenbardus / and axed helpe of the lordes of his londe / & they yaf hym none answer / Than hughe a symple knyght of Erle Robberts of mount desyre / toke wylfully the ba¦taylle for his lord & slough hym withynne lystes that wolde ne¦des fyght therfor sone ater whanne the kyng was feble / he made this hugh his heyr / and soo ceesed the ofsprynge of charles / ow¦ther for his wyf was barayne / owther for he lyuede but a shorte tyme / than this hugh wedded kynge Edwardes other doughter The fyrst Otho the sonne of the fyrst harry / was the fyrste Em∣perour of duchemen / and regned seuen and tthyrty yere / On an eester tyme he made a grete feste to his prynces and lor∣des / And er they were all seruyd a prynces sonne toke a messe of the bord as a childe shuld / and the kynges sewer smote the child with a staf / the childes mayster sawe that / and slough the sewer anone / than the emperour wold haue dampned hym withoute au¦dyence / he threwe downe the emperour to the erth / and straunge∣led hym al moost / the Emperour was vnnethe delyuerd oute of the chyldes maystres handes / but whan he bade saue the chlides

maysters lyf / and cryed and sayd that he hym self was to bla¦me / for he hadde not spared hym for so grete a feste / That yere Anlaf a paynym kynge of Irlond and of many ylondes Syh¦tricus sonne by exytynge of his wyues fader that was Constan∣tyn kyng of Scotlande / Anlaf entred in to the mouth of the ry∣uer of humbre with a stronge nanye / kynge Edelstan and his brother Edmond mette hym at Brymford / Willelmus de Regi∣bus libro secundo / ¶Whan the hoostes were gadryd Anlaf by∣thought hym of a queyn•• gyle / and toke an harpe in his hande / & cam to ethelstanes tenth / in harpers arraye / Ther atte mete tyme he espyed all that he wolde / and hadde money for his harpynge He had the money ayenst his hert / and buryed it pryuely vnder hym in the erthe / That was espyed of one that hadde be somtyme a soudyour with anlaf / and he warned ethelstan / whan Anlaf was a goo / The kynge blamed hym for he warned hym noo ra∣ther / he answerde and sayd O kynge the same feyth that I owe now to the I yaf to Anlaf somtyme / Therfor yf I had broken that feyth to hym thou woldest wene that I wolde doo the same to the another tyme / But now take heede to my counseylle / Re∣meoue thy tent fro this place / that whanne he cometh vnwysely he may fayle of his purpos / than thou may ouercome hym with grete sobrenes / This was doo / and Anlaf cam hastely by nyght and in the wey he slough a Bisshop that remeoued his tente / & his meyny / and passed forth and fylle on the kynges tente / But the kynge was waked with soo grete noyse and his swerd fylle forth of his skaberd / and he cryed to god and to seynt Aldelm And atte prayer of odo the Archebisshop that was than with the kynge / the kynge fonde his swerd fallen in to his scaberd ayene That swerde is yet kepte in the kynges tresorye / that swerde is keruyng on that one side / and reyceueth in no place neyther gold ne siluer / By that yefte of god the kynge was thenne holpen / & chaced his enemyes al that dawynge and al daye on the morow / there the kynge Constantyn was slayne / & fyue other smal kyn∣ges and twelue dukes / & wele nygh al the gadrynge of straun∣ge nacions / here after he chaced the north brytons at herford / soo that they shuld pay hym euery yere twenty pound of gold and and thre honderd pound of syluer / and fyue and twenty honderd heede of neete / thān he toke to his subiection Cornugallia / and a∣mended excetre ¶ / In praysynge of hym / one made this dyte / ¶ Kynges bloode brought forth a full noble knyght / Bryght

precious stone / tho byshone our derk so bryght / Grete Ethelsta∣nus hight of lande path to the ryght / Noble worthynes the sothe forsake ne myght / After leo the thyrd martyn was pope thre ye¦re and six monethes / Also that yere Ethelstan dyed at gloucet••e and hadde no chylde / and was buryed at madulf / ¶ Marianus