After that king Egfride was slaine (as before is mentioned) his
[Sidenote: ALFRIDE.]
[Sidenote: 685.]
brother Alfride was made king of Northumberland. This Alfride was the
bastard sonne of king Oswie, and in his brothers daies (either
willinglie, or by violent means constreined) he liued as a banished
man in Ireland, where applieng himselfe to studie, he became an
excellent philosopher. And therfore being iudged to be better able to
haue the rule of a kingdome, he was receiued by the Northumbers, and
made king, gouerning his subiects the space of 20 yeares and more,
with great wisedome and policie, but not with such large bounds as his
ancestors had doone: for the Picts (as before is mentioned) had cut
off one péece of the north part of the ancient limits of that
[Sidenote: 698.]
kingdome. About the 13 yeare of his reigne, that is to say, in the
yeare of our Lord 698, one of his capteins named earle Berthred, or
Bertus, was slaine in battell by the Picts, whose confins he had as
[Sidenote: _Matt. West._]
then inuaded. The curse of the Irish men, whose countrie in the daies
of king Egfrid he had cruellie wasted (as before is mentioned) was
thought at this time to take place. Finallie king Alfride, after he
[Sidenote: 705.]
had reigned 20 yeares & od months, departed this life, in the yeare of
our Lord 705.
[Sidenote: _Beda._]
In the beginning of king Alfrids daies, Eata the bishop of Hexham
being dead, one Iohn a man of great holinesse was admitted bishop, and
after that, bishop Wilfrid was restored, when he had remained a long
[Sidenote: Iohn archbishop of Yorke.]
time in exile. The said Iohn was remoued to the church of Yorke, the
same being then void by the death of the archbishop Bosa. At length
[Sidenote: He resigneth his sée.]
the foresaid Iohn wearied with the cares of publike affaires resigned
his sée, and got him to Beuerley, where he liued a solitarie life for
[Sidenote: 721.]
the space of foure yeares, and then died, about the yeare of our Lord
721, king Osrike as then reigning in Northumberland. He continued
bishop for the space of 24 yeares, and builded a church, and founded a
colledge of priests at Beuerley aforsaid, in which church he lieth
buried.
[Sidenote: 686 saith _Matt. West._]
[Sidenote: Lother king of Kent dieth of a wound.]
The same yeare, or in the yeare after that king Egfrid was slaine,
Lother king of Kent departed this life, the 8 Ides of Februarie, of a
wound by him receiued in a battell which he fought against the
Southsaxons, the which came in aid of Edrike, that was sonne vnto his
brother Egbert, and had mainteined warre against his vncle the said
Lother, euen from the beginning of his reigne, till finallie he was
now in the said battell striken thorough the bodie with a dart, and so
died thereof, after he had reigned 11 yeares, and seuen moneths. It
was thought that he was disquieted with continuall warres and
troubles, and finallie brought to his end before the naturall course
[Sidenote: _Wil. Malm._]
of his time, for a punishment of his wicked consent giuen to the
putting to death of his cousins Ethelbert & Ethelbrit, as appeared, in
that when they were reported to be martyrs, because it was knowen they
died innocentlie, he mocked them and made but a iest at it, although
his brother in acknowledging his fault, repented him thereof, and gaue
[Sidenote: _Capgraue_ saith, their sister.]
in recompense to their mother a part of the Ile of Thanet to the
building of a monasterie.
[Sidenote: EDRICKE.]
The foresaid Edricke (after Lother was dead) got the dominion of Kent,
and ruled as king thereof, but not without ciuill warre, insomuch that
before he had reigned the full terme of two yeares, he was slaine in
the same warre. Then Ceadwalla king of the Westsaxons being thereof
aduertised, supposing the time now to be come that would serue his
purpose, as one still coueting to worke the Kentishmen all the
displeasure he could, entred with an armie into their countrie, and
began to waste and spoile the same on ech side, till finallie the
Kentishmen assembled themselues togither, gaue battell to their
enimies, and put them to flight. Mollo brother to Ceadwalla was driuen
from his companie, and constrained to take an house for his refuge:
but his enimies that pursued him set fire thereon, and burned both the
[Sidenote: Mollo brother to king Ceadwalla burnt to death.]
house and Mollo within it to ashes. Yet did not Ceadwalla herewith
depart out of the countrie, but to wreake his wrath, and to reuenge
the griefe which he tooke for the death of his brother, he wasted and
destroied a great part of Kent yer he returned home, and left (as it
were) an occasion to his successor also to pursue the quarell with
reuenging. Wherein we sée the cankerd nature of man, speciallie in a
case of wrong or displeasure; which we are so far from tollerating &
forgiuing, that if with tooth and naile we be not permitted to take
vengeance, our hearts will breake with a full conceit of wrath. But
the law of nature teacheth vs otherwise to be affected, namelie,
------ per te nulli vnquam iniuria fiat,
Sed verbis alijsque modis fuge lædere quenquam,
Quod tibi nolles, alijs fecisse caueto,
Quódque tibi velles, alijs præstare studeto;
Hæc est naturæ lex optima, quam nisi ad vnguem
Seruabis, non ipse Deo (mihi crede) placebis,
Póstque obitum infoelix non aurea sydera adibis.
Which lesson taught by nature, and commanded of God, if these men had
followed (as they minded nothing lesse in the fier of their furie)
they would haue béene content with a competent reuenge, and not in
such outragious maner with fier and sword haue afflicted one another,
nor (which is more than tigerlike crueltie) haue ministred occasion to
posterities to reuenge wrongs giuen and taken of their ancestors. But
we will let this passe without further discourse, meaning hereafter in
due place to declare the processe.
The Kentishmen being destitute of a king, after that diuers had
coueted the place, and sought to atteine thereto, as well by force as
otherwise, to the great disquieting of that prouince for the space of
6 yeares togither, at length in the 7 yeare after Edricks death,
Withred an other of the sonnes of king Egbert, hauing with diligent
trauell ouercome enuie at home, & with monie redéemed peace abroad,
[Sidenote: Withred is made king of Kent.]
was with great hope conceiued of his worthinesse made king of Kent,
the 11 of Nouember, & 205 after the death of Hengist, he reigned 33
yeares, not deceiuing his subiects of their good conceiued opinion of
him: for ouercomming all his aduersaries which were readie to leuie
ciuill warre against him, he also purchased peace of Inas king of the
Westsaxons, which ment to haue made him warre, till with monie he was
made his friend.
[Sidenote: _Hen. Hunt._]
[Sidenote: _Beda. lib._ 5.]
[Sidenote: Suebhard and Nidred kings by vsurpation and not by
succession, as _Henr. Hunt._ writeth.]
A little before that Withred was confirmed in the kingdome of Kent,
there reigned two kings in that countrie, Suebhard and Nidred, or
rather the same Withred, if the printed copie of Bedas booke intituled
"Ecclesiastica historia gentis Anglorum" haue not that name corrupted:
for where he sheweth that the archbishop Theodorus being of the age of
88 yeares, departed this life in the yeare of our Lord 690, in the
next chapter he declareth, that in the yeare 692, the first daie of
Iulie one Brightwald was chosen to succéed in the archbishops sée of
Canturburie, Withredus and Suebhardus as then reigning in Kent: but
whether Withredus gouerned as then with Suebhardus, or that some other
named Nidred, it forceth not: for certeine it is by the agréement of
other writers, that till Withred obteined the whole rule, there was
great strife and contention moued about the gouernement, and diuers
[Sidenote: Brightwald the first archbishop of the English nation.]
there were that sought and fought for it. But this ought to be noted,
that the forenamed Brightwald was the eight archbishop in number, and
first of the English nation that sat in the sée of Canturburie: for
the other seuen that were predecessors to him, were strangers borne,
and sent hither from Rome.
¶ Here endeth the line and gouernement of the Britains, now called
Welshmen, which tooke that name of their duke or leader Wallo or
Gallo; or else of a queene of Wales named Gales or Wales. But
howsoeuer that name fell first vnto them, now they are called
Welshmen, which sometime were called Britains or Brutons, and
descended first of the Troians, and after of Brute, and lastlie of
Mulmucius Dunwallo: albeit they were mingled with sundrie other
nations, as Romans, Picts, &c. And now they be called English that in
their beginning were named Saxons or Angles. To conclude therefore
with this gouernement, so manie times intercepted by forren power, it
appeareth by course of histories treating of these matters, that the
last yeare of Cadwallader was the yeare of our Lord 686, which makes
the yere of the world 4647. So that (as Fabian saith) the Britains had
the greater part of this land in rule (reckoning from Brute till this
time) 1822 yeares. Which terme being expired, the whole dominion of
this realme was Saxonish.
_Thus farre the interrupted regiment of the Britains, ending at
the fift booke._
* * * * *