Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum 14 /

THis yere the fourth henry the sonne of the thyrdde henry be¦ganne to be emperour among duche men / and regned nyntē yere / he cast his owne fader in boundes in the which his fader de••d Also he toke and prysonned pope paschal and the cardynals as it is sayd byfore / therfor men trowyd that he deyde withoute childrē though he hadde wedded mold whan she was but fyue yere old Henryes doughter kyng of englond / At last he reputed and re∣sygned vp the ryghtes of hooly chirche frely to pope calyx•• / and so as the sothe oppynyon tellyth ••e exyled hym self by his owne fre wylle vnwyttyng his wyf and deyd at chestre / Ancelm made a counseylle at london and there it was ordeygned by assente of the kynge that neuer after that tyme the kynge shold not nother other lewd persone make inuestiture with croos other with ryng

That tyme gyrald archebisshop of york / put his hondes bytwe¦ne the hondes of Ancelm Archebisshop of caunterbury / and dyde hym obedyence. Than the tenth day of August at london Ancelm sacred fyue bisshops in one day / the bisshop of wynchestre / Of sa∣lesbury of excetre / of herford and of glamorgan / That happed not after plegyndus tyme This yere kyng henry ordeyned that theues shold be hanged and that fals money and fals seel ma∣kers shold l••se theyr eyen and her pryuy stones / and that penyes and half penyes shold be rounde / Philip kyng of fraunce deyed / and his sonne lowys was kyng after hym / Girald archebisshop of york deyd and thomas the neuewe of the elder thomas was archebisshop after hym seuen yere / kynge henry made a bisshops

see at Ely and ordeyned there henry that had be bisshop of bangor And for in that doyng hee toke a grete dele of the bisshopryche of lyncoln / and gaf Cambryggeshire to the see of ely / therfore he yaf the bisshop of lyncoln his owne ryal towne of spaldyng That yere dyed saynt hugh abbot of cluny in the eester weke / After that oure lady and saint peter and saynt hillarye had apey¦red to hym ¶ Willelmus de pontificibus libro primo / / That yere dyed ancelm Archebisshop of Caunterbury / And the next day after that fyll the Cene thoursday / he was enoynt with bawme that god sente downe from heuene / And so he was bery¦ed / And than the see of Caunterbury was voyde ful fyue yere / And in the mene tyme holy chirche good was spente in the kyn¦ges vse / ¶ And whanne the kynge was meoued to helpe the chirche that soo was hedles as it were a wydowe / he wold putte it of with a meke answer / and say that his fader and his broder hadde made Archebisshops the best men that they coude fynde / and that he wold not goo oute of kynde / but he wold make archebis∣shop the best man that he myght fynde / Suche answer semed ful of lawe & of ryght / but the grete sōme of money that was ar••red of the archebisshoprych•• plesyd the kyngis herte· though emerus monk of Caunterbury had wryte and descryued saynt ancelms lyf at full / yet by the help of william malmesbury somwhat mot be sayde of soo noble a man / Than ancelm was born in the Cyte August fast by the hilles that hight Alpes / and was lettred & chaste of his childehode & had his fader•• wrethe and myght plese hym in no maner wyse / wherfor he fledde awey fer from his fader and cam to becco in normandy / And was fauoured vnder lāfrāk priour of becco / and was made monke there in his six and twen¦ty yere / After thre yere lanfrank pryour of becco was translated to the abbaye of Cadony / And ancelm was made pryour vnder abbotte herlewyn / Thenne Ancelm yaf hym to penaunce and to fastyng and to techyng of children namely fyften yere and wold say ful oft that hym was leuer to be in helle without synne than in heuen with synne / he made many bokes of clergy in the which oure byleue that other men make hem besy to wynne with aucteri¦te / he strengthed with reasons and argumentes that maye not be assoylled / Soo that he passyd not only her werkes that were by¦fore him· but also be gadred her werkes al in to one hepe / Also ly witte & pacyence he ouercome the malyce of his enemyes / Af∣ter the fyftenthe yere of his priory herlewin Abbot of becco deide

and ancelm was made abbot in his stede and helde hym fyue ye¦re oute of englonde / though his comynge were nedeful for many maner causes lest that it shold be demed that he conuerted the ar¦chebisshopryche of caunterbury that wided tho by lanfranks deth But atte last for thre maner causes he was compellyd for to co∣me in to englond as it is sayd byfore / That tyme in ••nglonde was Robberye vnder kyng william the reed and pr••scripcions / and exylynges and takyng in to the kynges honde / For it were esyer to by waill the Empyre of one man alone than be vnder ne¦we lordes that comen one after other / Amonge al this was gre¦te sylence amonge the bisshops / The ryghtful dome was choked within the conscience of hem that might not other durst not spek•• for drede of one man / For what prouffyt is hit for to speke there thou shalt arere wreth / and wynne noo proufyt / thenne was ho∣pe for to escape al this meschyef yf the banyonr ancelm that was fyrst comyn childe were made archebisshop / Kyng William put of al that was wel said to him with swellyng wreth other with myrthe and curtosye of speche / he suffryd doo noo bedes for hym / nother for the state of hooly chirche / but he sayde praye ye what ye wol / I shal do what me lyketh / ¶At last he was take with a grete sekenesse and sent for Ancelm / and by assent of bisshops he ordeyned that he sholde be Archebisshop and he wythsayde it / & alayde for hym in this maner / yf a yonge shepe that is Ancelm shal be coupled and yocked to a wylde boole that is william the reede / for they drawe not al lyke / the solouh of hooly chirche shal not goo a ryght / But Ancelm toke the inuestiture and was sa∣cred / but he recouered of his sekenesse and was wors after than before / his frendes coūseylled hym to good / and he vsed to answe¦re and saye / per vultum de luca / god shal neuer haue me good / for the harme that he doth me / Also this kyng was a Raue∣nour in gadryng and a grete waster in spendyng / he fered despy¦tously euery man that proferyd hym ought / but the yefte were grete and acordyng to his owne hert / So in a tyme seynt ancelm profered the kyng fyue honderd pounde / and he wold not take it / Than Ancelm deled it to pore men / dyuers wondres were seen in to al englond / for at shrowesbury was a grete erth shakyng / & a•• notyngham from the erly morow tyde to vnder of the daye / The Ryuer of Trente was so fordryed that men myght goo therouer drye foote / And stella cometa that is a sterre with bright bemyng creste was seen thre hoole wekes in the moneth of Iuyn /

Than was an hard wynter / strong honger. deth of men / pestylence of beestes & fyghtyng of foules that fought to geders / kyng hen¦ry buylded the abbay of hyde withoute the walles of wynchestre that was byfore within the cyte / This yere the fourth henry em∣perour of almayne / wedded molde kyng henryes doughter at ma¦gounce the syxth day of Ianuar /