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KYng wylliā the rede vsed lēmans alwey & deyde without children / & his yonger broder henry was kyng after hym / And waschose at wynchestre the fyfthe daye of August / and crowned at •• westmynstre of morys bisshop of london for Ancelm was not there / this was gete in wedlok the thyrdde yere of his faders kyngdome / He spente his fyrst yougthe in lyberal artes and scyences / ¶ His broder wylliam hadde greued hym
in a tyme & his fader conforted him in this maner / Sonne wepe thou not for thou shalt be a kynge / Than in the laste yere of his faders kyngdō / & in the / xix / yere of his age he was made kniʒt of his owne fader and wente with his owne fader in to norman¦dy and was at his faders dyeng / Sone therafter as it is sayd by fore / and his other bretheren were goon euery in his syde as it happed hym at that tyme / therfore he had his faders blessyng & his moders herytage and tresoure and drad the pryde of his br••∣theren but lytel / he bowyd hym alweye to his brother robert fo•• myldenesse of hert / but robert groned alwey and trowyd lyghtly tale tellers· and also Robert spente in his knyghtes soudyou•••• thre thousand pounde that were byquethe henry in his fad•••••• testamente / Thenne henry was made kynge moost by the helpe of henry Erle of warwyk that was byfore his meyneal / He made hooly chirche free / but he helde the forestes in his owne hand / he helde edwardes lawe with the amendyng therof he yaue the gre¦uous pencions / he put oute of his court the men that vsed wim∣mens maner & restored ageyn in his court candel lyght / by night that was lefte of in his faders tyme. & closed ranulph bisshop of durham in the toure of london & reconcyled ancelm archebisshop of caunterbury that was so exiled / he chasted the fals mesures of marchauntes and brought forth the length of his owne arme / he wold fyght more gladly with counseyl than with swerd / he wol¦de ete to staunche his honger and not for gloteny / he wolde neuer drynke but he were a thurste / In him self and in his meyne al∣weye he hated outrage of mete and of drynke / After grete stryf that was bytwene hym and ancelm the archebisshop / he resigned to god and to saynt peter the inuestiture of prelates that was ••••∣ne by seculer honde / Atte last was made a counseyl of bisshops at london / and strompettes were put awey and remeoued & he wed∣ded mold the doughter of malcolyn kynge of Scotland / Ancelm crowned her quene vpon a saynt martyns day / Willelmus de p / li / tercio / This yere deyd thomas archebisshop of york & gyralde was archebisshop after him a lecherous man a wytche and euyl doer as the fame tellyth / For vnder his pyle whan he deyde in an erber was founde a book of curyous craftes / the booke hight Iulius frumeus / In that booke he radde pryuely in the vnder tydes / therfor vnnethe the clerkes of his chirche wold suffre him be buryed vnder heuene without hooly chirche / Willelmus de re / li / 5 / In the mene tyme Erle Robert the kynges broder herde of
the deth of kynge william the reede / and cam ageyne oute of the hooly londe in to apulea and thennes in to normandy and arayed hym to wende in to englond / Than it was knowen / and many of the lordes fayned somme smale occasions and withdrew hem pri¦uely and openly from kyng henry & clepyd hym godryche god∣fader and sente pryuely for erle Robert / And herto Rauf bisshop of durham that had ben byfore prysonned / gate a roope and esca¦ped oute of the toure of london / and wente in to normandy and encouraged duc Robert ayenste kyng henry / Will de regibus libro quarto ¶This Robert was kyng william the conque∣rours eldest sonne a lytel man of bodye with a fatte wombe / In his fyrst knyghthode he vsyd his faders maners / but afterward by heete of his yong blode and coūseyll of fooles prycked hym & he founded to haue normandy while his fader was alyue / and whanne his fader warned it hym / he wente awey for wreche and made ofte restes vpon the countray. Fyrst his fader scorned hym but afterward he swore by the resurection of Cryst and sayde Ro¦bert schort boot my sonne shal be a noble man / For ellys had ro∣bert not that shuld he blamed / For he was curtoys and fayre of face of shap and of speche / myghty of strength and sad of coun∣seyl / but at laste his fader was so wroth with hym that he pry∣ued hym of the herytage of englond and lefte hym vnnethe ther••¦dom of normandy / he dyde many grete dedes in the hooly londe / & was so wonderful in euery place that he myght neuer be vnhor¦sed by crysten man nother by paynym / ¶Also at Ierusalem in an ester euen he stoode amonge other men and abode the fyere that was wonte to come from heuene and tende somme mannes taper / Than his taper was y tende by doyng and vertu of god / Ther∣for al men chose hym kynge of Ierusalem· But whanne he herde of the deth of his broder william kyng of englond / he refused the kyngdome of Ierusalem / not by cause of reuerence but for drede of trauaylle or couetyse of the kyngdome of Englonde / Therfore hym happed neuer wel therafter in batayll / Also in the comyng ageyne from Ierusalem he wedded the doughter of william de a¦uersana in Apulea a fayre woman of shap and loste hyr by an euyl after fewe yeres / yet was sayd that he was begyled by coū∣seyll of a mydwyf that kytte her brestes for grete plente of mylk that ranne of her brestes whanne she hadde childe / but she hadde a sone tha thight william noble mā of wit / Robert toke grete mo¦ney for that maryage & wasted it sone therafter / Than he gadryd
a grete hooste in euery syde and cam in to englond for to reue his broder henry the kyngdome / and londed at portesmouth but by mene of the wysest men of the kyngdome pees was made vppon such a condicion that Robert shold haue euery yere thre thousand marc / and whether of hem lyued longest shold be others heyr / yf he deyde withoute heyr male / but the nexte yere after Robert cam in to englond / and atte request of molde the quene he forya•• that pension of thre thousande marc / Thenne Robert wente ageyne & was lytel y told of amonge the normans / soo that the normans prayed kynge henry to come ageynst Robert / The kyng c••m and bynam hym al normandy lytel and lytel / Rone / Cane and fa∣leys in the whiche cytees Robert wente burethely vp and doun Therfor they of ca••e were wroth and prayd kyng henry for to co∣me to them and closed theyr yates ayenst Robert / Thenne Robert fledde to Rone with one squyer alone and prayd help of the kyn∣ge of Fraunce / and of the Erle of Flaundres / but Robert was helpeles for theym and founded to yeue his broder a batayll and was ouercome and taken and kepte in warde seuen yere to his lyues ende / and deyd in the castel of Cardef and. was buryed at Gloucestre