by that Spiritual Kinred; he then revealed to his
Wife the whole story, how he had deluded the
King, who had so great a desire to have married
he••; which much abated her after affections to
him, though she made no words thereof.
But at length it so hapned, that the truth of
this Earl Ethelwolfs actings in this business, be∣ing
fully made known at Court, the King hasted
speedily into Devonshire, under colour of
Hunting in those parts, and returned not till he
had seen this fair Lady; with whose beauty he
became so enamored, that he caused a place of
entertainment to be prepared for her and her Hus∣band,
near the Wood wherein he was to hunt;
unto which, he was no sooner returned from his
sports, but he saw her with his little God-son,
whom Ethelwolfe soon presented to him; the
King thereupon embracing her in his Arms,
and kissing her. After which, being enflamed
with the love of her, he had little rest; his
thoughts tending to nothing so much as the full
enjoyment of her: For the accomplishing there∣fore
of that his desire, he calls a Parliament with∣in
eight days following at Salisbury; in
which, all his Nobles of the Land being met,
he proposed to their consideration the safe custody
of Northumberland, against the irruptions of
the Danes: Whereupon this Earl Ethelwolfe was
resolved on for the custody of York, and the
parts adjacent: But so the design was laid, that
he should never return back (as it seems) for
passing through the Forest of Werwelle in
Hantshire, he was set upon by certain armed
Men, sent thither by the King to lie in wait for
him; and there barbarously murthered.
The news whereof was no sooner brought to
the Court, than that the King sent for that beau∣tiful
Lady, and with great joy made her his
wife, the same day both of them wearing
Crowns on their Heads: But on the morrow
morning Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury,
(afterwards better known by the name of Saint
Dunstan) came into the Kings Lodging Chamber,
and boldly asked him, who that was that he had
there in Bed with him; and it being answered,
The Queen; the good Archbishop plainly replied,
That it was against the Laws of God, and Holy
Church, thus adulterously to lie with her whose
Son he had been Godfather to, in regard of their
Spiritual Kinred. After which time she never
loved S. Dunstan; yet he ceased not to admonish
the King of that fault, though to little pur∣pose.
All that I have farther to say of this fair
Alfrida, is; First, That she bore unto King
Edgar two Sons; Edmund who died in his child∣hood;
and Ethelred (commonly called the Vnready)
who at his Baptism pist in the Font; whereupon
this holy Man S. Dunstan prophecied, That in him
the Dominion of the English should have its
period, wherein he was not much wide, as our
Historians do tell. And secondly, That to ex∣piate
the murther of Earl Ethelwold her Husband,
she Founded a Monastery of Nuns at Were∣welle
beforementioned.
To this Earl Ethelwold (so murthered as
hath been said) succeeded Ethelwine (by some
called Egelwine or Ailwine, (his youngest Bro∣ther)
in this Earldome; which Ailwine was the
pious Founder of that great Abbey of Ram∣sey
in Huntingdonshire, at the special instance
of Oswald, Archbishop of York, whereunto he
then gaveTwo hundred Hides of Land.
This is that pious Earl Ethelwine; who, when
Elfare, Earl of Mercia, and divers other great
Men, upon the death of the good King Edgar,
being blinded with gifts, would have turned out
those Abbots and Monks out of the Monasteries
which had been therein placed by that King▪
stoutly stood up with his Brother Alfwold, and
Earl Brithnoth (then Earl of ...) and
opposed the same in an open Synod; affirm∣ing
, That they would never endure, that the Monks
should be expelled the Kingdom, who were the Sup∣porters
of all Religion therein; whereupon he was
termed Dei Amicus.
This was also that famous Ailwine, who had
the title of Totius Angliae Aldermannus, id est, Iu∣stitiarius
Angliae, for so he was; and on whose
Tomb, in that Abbey of Ramsey, was this
Epitaph, Hic requiescit Ailwinus, incliti Regis Ed∣gari
cognatus, totius Angliae Aldermannus, & hujus
Sacri caenobii miraculose fundator.
He had three Wives, the first Ethelfiede, who
gave Saltrey to the Monks of Ramsey, and
died in An. 977. The second Ethelgiva, who
bestowed on them Stow and Brune, and
died in An. 985. The third Wlgiva, who gave
them Brancester for the lining of their Gar∣ments
with Fur, and died in An. 994. He him∣self
died in An. 993.
To this Ailwine succeeded Vlfketell, who in
the year 1004. when Suane, King of Den∣mark,
invaded England, and burnt Nor∣wich,
being so suddenly surprised, that he could
not raise an Army to oppose him, he took coun∣sel
with the great Men of those parts, and made
peace with him: And after he saw that King
Suane most perfidiously had broke his faith, and
burned Cherford, raised what power he could
and marched against him: And notwithstanding
he could not equal them in number, yet did he
adventure to give them Battle. And, though
(with great loss to the Enemy) he had not an
absolute Victory, yet did he destroy so many of
them, that they themselves acknowledged, they
never underwent so sharp a fight.
And in An. 1010. upon another invasion of
the Danes, this Earl Vlfketell fought with them
at a place called Rigmere, near Ipswich, in Suffolk; but being too weak, the Danes, after
very much slaughter on both sides, became
Victors, and possest themselves of this whole
Province of the East Angles.
But afterwards, scil. in An. 1016. he, with
divers other of the English Nobility, lost their
lives in that fatal Battle at Assendune in Essex;
where Canute, the Dane, through the wicked
tr••achery of Eadric Streone, Earl of Mercia,
bec••me Victor; as in my discourse of that Earl
Eadric I have more largely shewed.
I do not find that he had any issue, nor have
I seen mention that he ever married; but of his
munificence to the Monks of St. Edmunds
Bury, there is this memorial, viz. That he
gave to that Abbey, the Lordships and Man∣nors
of Hildercie, Redgrave, Rigenhale,
Wulfpit, ••ougham, and part of Bradfeld,
Fullesham, and Hegsete.
The next Earl of this Province, was Turkil, a
Danish Earl; of whom, the first mention I meet
with, is, That in the year 1009. he landed in
the Isle of Thanet; so came to Sandwich,
afterwards to Canterbury; and thence into