The pastyme of people The cronycles of dyuers realmys and most specyally of the realme of Englond breuely co[m]pylyd [and] empryntyd in chepesyde at the sygne of the mearemayd next to pollys gate. Cum priuilegio.

Prologus.

WH•• so wyll rede in auncyon cronycles & historyes / shall fynde y^t after the distructyon of Troye Eneas with his son Ascanius begotten of his wyfe 〈◊〉〈◊〉 doughter to 〈…〉〈…〉 kyng of Troy / came into Italye & there maryed Lauina doughter to kyng 〈…〉〈…〉 of La∣tinus was there kinge & reyned .iii. yere. After whome succeded 〈◊〉〈◊〉 son 〈…〉〈…〉 of Alba in Italye / & reyned there .xxviii. yere / & after Ascani•••• reyned 〈…〉〈…〉 borne in y^e wodd{is} / & for y^• cause he was called Siluius / which Siluius was 〈…〉〈…〉 y^• reyned after in Alba. He was also by some wryters called 〈…〉〈…〉 was 〈…〉〈…〉 deth of his father. Of this Siluius there be dyuers opinyons / for some say 〈…〉〈…〉 to A••canius / •• some holde y^t he was son ••o ••neas by his wyfe Lauina / & also some wryters holde y^t Lauina ha•• by Eneas a son called Ascaniu••▪ But whether y^t Ascanius son to Eneas & Lauina / or Ascanius son to Eneas / and Crusa was the kynge of Latyns. There be dyuers opinyons but all wryters agre that Ascanius was kyng of Latyn nexte after Eneas / & that Siluius reyned next Ascanius / & was the .iii. kyng of La∣tyns after kyng Latinus / of whome Romuius discended y^t fyrst bylded the citye of Rome / and of hym toke the name of Rome fyrst / as after shall appere in the processe of this worke.

¶And also of the begynnyng of y^e inhabytacion of this realme of Englāde somtyme called Britteyn / & before y^t called Albion / there be dyuers opinyons we rede in the englysshe cronycle / y^• one Diocles••an kyng of Siriens had .xxxii. doughters / which were maryed vpō one day to .xxxii. king{is} / which women all waxed stoberne & disobedyent / y^t their husbādes cōplayned to their father therof / which father called them all to gether & therfore foule rebuked thē / but all they beyng incorrygyble waxed more frowarde & by one assent y^e same nyght after for anger slewe all their husbandes / & cut theyr throtes / wherfore the said Dioclesyan was so sore moued / y^t he intended to put them all to dethe / but yet by the aduyse of his coūsell refrayned that & put them all in a shyp in y^e see & no nother {per}son w^t ther•• / which women after by aduenture a ryued here in this realme / whiche than was all wyldernes & desolate of people / & called the lāde Albyon after y^e name of y^e eldyst syster called Albyon / & after y^t the deuyll takyng bodyes of y^e eyre & mans nature ī other cōtreys shed by polusyō / came & lay by those women here & begat of thē horryble Gyant{is} / which there cōtynued tyll y^e cōmyng of Brute. But this story semeth more meruaylous than trewe / & though it hath cōtynued here in englāde & taken for treuth amōge vs englysshemen / yet other people do therfore laugh vs to scorne / & so me semeth they may right well / & I meruayle ī my mynde y^t men hauyng any good naturall reason wyll to such a thīge gyue credēce / for no man can tell who is y^e Auctour of this story / nor of whome it shulde come / nor of any wryter of name in this lande that euer wrote therof. Nor also we rede in no historyes of any other coūtrey of any suche kyng in Siria nor of any 〈◊〉〈◊〉 story / which story yf it were trewe wolde haue ben put ī wrytyng by some historyer in y^e same 〈…〉〈…〉 some other contrey / cōsyderyng that in euery cōtrey they wryte of many other thyng{is} of 〈…〉〈…〉 wonder. And also a man hauynge reason may well iudge y^t the thynges nat onely vnlyke to be trewe / but almost impossyble y^t a great kyng shulde haue .xxxii. doughters all to be maryed at one day / & also as vnlykely y^t there shulde be .xxxii. kynges maryed at one day. And also very vnlyke y^t all those womē shuld be of so yuell disposicyō / & at one tyme so cruelly mynded to do such an abhominable dede / but y^t amōge all thē there shuld be one of those systers at y^e lest somwhat disposed to goodnesse & to refrayne from y^e doynge of suche a cruell dede (In the whiche I trowe that women at this day wyll take my parte) & also very vnlykly y^t suche a shyp comyng frō so farre a cōtrey shuld neuer touche lāde tyll it came hyther / cōsideryng y^t the cours is so longe / aboue .iii. or .iiii.M. myles by see / & dyuers other land{is} & Ilādes betwene / & also y^e passage so strayte & daūgerous / y^t they must nedes come thorow many stray••{is} & shawlles / & lykly to touche lande ī many other places or they coude come into this Occian see as they that be sene in Cosmografye may well {per}ceyue by y^e syght of the quart or Mappa mundi. And also it standeth nother w^t good fayth nor reason y^t the deuyll shuld by suche maner ingender w^t women whiche if the deuyll had suche power than / why shuld he nat nowe haue lyke power at this day / wherof nowe a days we se no suche generacyon / & also if y^e deuyll had suche power I se nat why those chylderne so gendred shuld be Gyauntes & excede all other in greatnesse / cōsideryng that y^e sede & the place where it was sowne / was no nother but suche wherof chylderne be ingendred at this day / wherfore I suppose no nother but that it is but a fayned fable that this lande shulde be called Albyon for that cause. But yet other wryters of historyes there be / whiche say that this lande was fyrst called Albyon / by reason of y^e whyte Cleues & rockes at Douer whiche be sene farre in a bryght day / & was so called Albyon of the Latyns / as it were the whyte lāde / for Albus is latyn for whyte. ¶But ferthermore howe this lande after that toke the name of Britteyn there by dyuers opinyons / howe be it y^• comen opinyons is that Brute son to Siluius son to Ascanius son to Eneas whiche came frō Troye / was y^e fyrst y^t inhabyted this lāde whā there was no people here but onely Gyaunt{is} / which sayeng we haue onely of one Ga••tri¦dus monumetensis / which wrote y^t storye in the tyme of kyng Henry the .ii. about y^e yere of chryst .M.C.lxx. and as it appereth by his prologe / he directed his boke to Robert erle of Glocester / which was vncle to the sayd kyng Henry / affyrmynge in the same prologe y^• one water Archedeacon of Oxforde

brought hym ā olde boke writē in y^e britteyn speche which he translatyd in to latē cōprehendī•• y^• s••yd story of Brute al beit he writ••th not y^e name of y^e boke nor who was y^e auctor therof / but y^e oldest wri∣tyng y^t we rede of āny auctor is y^e boke of y^e cōmētaryes of Iuli{us} Cesar which indytyd y^• work hī selfe at y^e tyme when he cōqueryd this land & made it subiect to the romayns which was .xlviii. yere before the byrth of cryst In the which he toke grete dylygēce to dyscrybe the realme in so mych y^t he shewyth playnly •• truly furst y^e form & faciō of this lād & y^e quantyte therof how māny myle it cōteyneth euery wey how y^e greate ryuers re•••• & also he dyscrybyth y^e maner of y^e vse of the people how be it he spekyth nothīg of Brute nor for al the ••••rch that he made he cowd neuer come to the knowlege how this lād was furst inhabytyd Also Gyldas that wrot de gestis brittonū about the yere after the byrth of cryst .vi.C. & also holy Beda that wrot historia ecclesiastica gētis anglorū about the yere ••••rist .vii.C.xxx speke nothyng that this Brute shuld be the furst inhabytor of this lād somtyme callyd gret brytteyn yet Beda writyth presysely in his seyd boke that the furst ••n habytors of this lād that cawsyd it to be callyd brytteyn were the brytteyns that cam frō lytyll brytteyn thā callyd Armonicā / & also that the Pictis that cam from cythia were the furst that inhabydid the lād of skotlād / Also we can not fynde in the Cronycles of the Italyons nor of the romayns that euer there was any kīg callyd Silui{us} that had āny sych sonne callyd Brutus which sholde sle his fader as Galfridus wrytith which thyng men thynk yf it had be trew they wold haue put that ī theyre Cronycles as well as they dyd other thyngis of lasse meruell cōsyderyng that they touch & speke both of ascanius & of Siluius & of all theyre chyl∣dern & what became of them & how they endyd that succedid thē as kyngis / Also it is not ōly affirmid by y^e seyd Galfridus but also by diuers other y^t the cōtrey of Gallia was gretely inhabytid with peple at y^e sege of troy & lōg & many yeris before y^e time supposid y^t Brute shuld enter this land of brytteyn wherefore diuers greate lernid men thynke it is not lykely but in maner inpossible that this lande of britteyn shulde be so lōg after that desolate with out people tyll the tyme supposid of the comyng of Brute cōsideryng that the rokkis and mounteyns about douer be so grete and dayly opynly seen of them of Gallya and so small dystauns a sonder and the see so narrow that it may welbe sayled ī lesse than .iii. howris and this cōtrey of bryttayn so fayre so plesaunt & so fertell that it is most likely that the people of Gallia shuld come ouer other to fyssh or for desyre of knolege of the land and to make some habytaciō therin and not to suffer it to be all desolate and vnknowyn till the comyng of Brute Therfore some men at this day therbe which what for these resons and dyuers other take that story of galfrid{us} but for a feyned fable supposyng that because this galfridus was a welchman born that he shuld fayn that story hī self for the ōly preys of his cōtremē because we rede of no writer of storis before his dais yat euer wrot yerof or spekith of yis Brut{us} nor makith yerof no mēciō / But yat not with stōdīg I will not deny that story of galfridus nor I will not precisely affirme it for all thoughe that many men suppose it to be but a feined story yet I will not let here in this littell worke to reherse hit some what after galfridus seing not only for this cawse that I wold haue euery man precisely to belefe it but because y^t ī the same story reding a man may se many notable examples of diuers noble princes y^t wisely & vertuesly gouernid theire people which may be an example to prīcis now liuing to vse the same & also a mā reding in the same shall see how y^t the stroke of god fell euer vppō the people other by battell darth or deth for their vice and misleuing and also how diuers princis and grete mē exaltid in pride and ambicion vsing tiranny & cruelte or ells being neclygēt in gouernyng of theyre people or giffing them self to vicious liffing were euer by the stroke of god ponished for the same yer fore accordīg to my promise I shall breuely reherse y^e seid story as here aft{er} ī yis {pro}ces doth apere.

¶Also as to wchyng the begynnyng of the Frenchmen the comyn opinion amonge them is it y^t they were furst callid Sicābri & y^t they shuld discend of Ector of Troy that is to sey of Franc{us} or Frācion son of Ector which after the distrucciō of Troy cā in to gallia and maried the doughter of Rhemus kyng of gallia but as to that opinion I can nother affyrm it nor denye but yet accordyng as the com∣myn opynyon is moste among them I shall reher••e it as here after shall appere.

¶Also for the more playn explanacion of this presēt work they that lyst to rede herin must note y^t be∣fore the byrth of cryst the namis of the kyng{is} of Albaynis of whom the romayns descendyd & also the romayns stand euer in the hyghyst part off this boke & the namis off the brytteyns in the myddis & the namis of the frēchmē stād beneth / And after y^e byrth of crist the namis of the popis stād in the hyghyst part of this boke aboue the romayns & thē the ē{per}ours of rome / And next the brytteyns or Engleshmē And next beneth thē he frēchmē / & next beneth them the dukis of Braban & Erlys off flaūders & after¦ward the Normayns stand lowyst of all as more pleynly shall appere by theyr lynis and letters which well markyd shall dyrect you Iustly from one to a nother ∴