5.89. Ethelred.
Ethelred.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 [figure appears here on page 208] AFter E|thelbrighte ſucceeded hys brother Ethel|red,Ethel|red. and began his raigne ouer the Weſt Sa|xons, and the more part of ye Engliſhe peo|ple, in the yere of our Lord .867. and in ye twelfth yere of ye Em|peroure Lewes,867 in the .27. yeare of the raigne of Charles Calvus K. of France, and about the .6. yeare of Conſtantine the ſeconde K. of Scottes.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 3 4 This Ethelred was in tyme of peace a moſt curteous prince, and one yt by all kinde of meanes ſought to winne ye harts of his people: but abroade in the warres he was ſharp and ſterne, as he that vnderſtood what apperteined to good order, ſo that he would ſuffer no offence to eſcape vnpuniſhed. By whiche meanes he was famous both in peace and warre: but hee neither liued any long time in the gouernment, nor yet was ſuffered to paſſe the ſhort while that he raigned in reſt or quietneſſe: for wher as he raigned not paſt ſixe yeres,4. yeres fore monethes ſaith [...] VVil. Malm. Ethelred [...] fought with the Danes [...] times in one yeare. he was continually during that tearme vexed with the inuaſion of the Danes, and ſpecially towards the latter end, in ſo much, that as hath bin reported of writers, hee fought with them nine times in one yere: and although with diuers and variable for|tune, yet for the more part he went away with ye victory. Beſide that, he oftentimes lay in awayte for their forragers, and ſuch as ſtrayed abrode to robbe and ſpoile the countrey, whom he met with all, and ouerthrew. There were ſlayne in his time nine Earles of thoſe Danes, and one King, beſide other of the meaner ſort without number. But here is to be vnderſtoode, that in this meane tyme whileſt Ethelred was buſied in warre to reſiſt the inuaſions of the Danes in the South and Weſt EEBO page image 209 partes of this lande the kings and rulers of Mer|cia and Northumberland, taking occaſion ther|of,The kings of Mercia and Northumber|lande neglecte their duties. began to withdraw their couenanted ſubiecti|on from the Weſtſaxons, and tooke vpon them, as it were the abſolute gouernement and rule of their countreys without reſpect to ayde one ano|ther, but rather were contented to ſuſtein the eni|mies within their dominions than to preuent the iniurie with dutifull aſſiſting thoſe to whome by allegiance they were bounde to ſerue and obeye. By reaſon wherof,The Danes grovve in puiſ|ſance. the Danes without reſiſtance grew into greater power amongſt them whyleſt the inhabitantes were ſtill put in feare eche day [...] more than other, and euery late gotten victorie by the enimies by the increaſe of priſoners, mini|ſtred occaſion of ſome other conqueſt to followe. Euen about the beginning of kyng Ethelrede [...] reigne, there arriued vppon the Engliſh coaſtes an huge armie of the Danes, vnder the conducte of two renoumed capitaines Hungar and Hub|ba,Hungar and Vbba. men of meruailous ſtrengthe and valiancie, but bothe of them paſſing cruell of nature. They laye all the Winter ſeaſon in Eaſtangle,H. Hunt. com|pounding with them of the countreye for truce vpon certaine conditions, ſparing for a tyme to ſhewe theyr force for quietneſſe ſake.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 In the ſeconde yeare of king Etheldred the ſaid capitains came with their armie into York|ſhyre, finding the countrey vnprouided of neceſ|ſarie defence bicauſe of the ciuil diſcord that reig|ned amongſt the Northumbers, the whiche had lately expulſed king Oſbrighte,King Osbright depoſed and Ella placed. that had the go|uernement of thoſe parties, and placed one El|la in his roomth: but nowe they were conſtray|ned to reuoke him home agayne, and ſoughte to accorde him and Ella. But it was long ere that myght be brought to paſſe, notwithſtanding yet at lengthe they were made frendes by reaſon of this inuaſion attempted by forain enemies, and then reyſing their powers they came to Yorke, where the Danes, hauing waſted the countrey [...] euen to the ryuer of Tyne, were lodged.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 The Engliſh hoſte entryng the citie, beganne to fyghte wyth the Danes, by reaſon whereof a ſore battayle enſued betwixte them:Osbright and Ella kinges of Northumber|lande ſlayne. but in the ende the two kynges Oſbrighte and Ella were ſlayn, and a great number of the Northumbers what within the Citie, and what without, loſte theyr lyues at that tyme, the reſidue were con|ſtrayned to take truce with the Danes.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 It muſt be vpõ the .10. calendes of April, or elſe it vvil not cõ|curie vvith Palmeſunday. Se Ma. VVeſt.Thys battayle was fought the .xxj. daye of Marche, on the Fryday before Palmeſundaye, in the yeare .657.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 Some haue written otherwyſe of thys bat|tayle, reportyng that the Northumbers reuo|kyng home king Oſbright (whome before they hadde banyſhed) encounter wyth the Danes in the fielde, without the walles of Yorke, but they were eaſyly beaten backe, and chaſed into the Citie, the whyche by the Danes purſuyng the victorie, was ſette on fyre and brente,Yorke bren [...] by Danes. togyther with the king and people that were fledde into it for ſuccour.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 Howe ſoeuer it came aboute, certayne it is, that the Danes gotte the victorie, and now ha|uyng ſubdued the Northumbers, appoynted one Egberte to reygne ouer them as kyng, vn|der their protection, whiche Egberte reigned in that ſorte ſixe yeeres ouer thoſe whyche inhabi|ted beyonde the riuer of Tyne.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 The ſame yeare Adelſtane, the Biſhoppe of Shirborne departed this lyfe, hauyng gouerned that ſea the terme of fiftie yeares.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 This Adelſtane was a man of hyghe wyſe|dome,The cõmenda|tion of Adel|ſtan bishop of Shirborne. and one that had borne no ſmall rule in the kingdome of the Weaſtſaxons, as hereby it may be coniectured, that when kyng Ethelwolf returned from Rome, hee would not ſuffer him to bee admitted king, bycauſe he hadde doons in certayne poynts conttarie to the ordinance and lawes of the ſame kingdome, whervpon by this biſhops meanes Ethelbald the ſonne of the ſame king Ethelwolfe was eſtabliſhed Kyng, and ſo continued till by agreement the kingdome was deuided betwixte them, as beefore is mencio|ned.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 He greatly enriched the ſea of Shirborne,Bishop Adel|ſtan couetous. H. Hunt. and yet thoughe hee was feruentely ſette on coue|touſneſſe, hee was neuertheleſſe verye free and liberall.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 In the yeare followyng, that is to witte, in the thyrde yeare of Etheldredes reygne,Burthred king of Mercia. the ſame Ethelred, wyth hys brother Alvred, went to ayde Burthred Kyng of Mercia, agaynſte the two foreſayde Daniſh Capitaynes Hungar and Vbba, the whiche were entered into Mer|cia, and had wonne the towne of Notingham, and lodged within the ſame towne for the win|ter ſeaſon. Wherevppon the foreſayde Ethelred and Burthred with their powers came to No|tingham, and beſieged the Danes within it.Danes beſie|ged in Noting|ham.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 The Danes perceiuing themſelues in daun|ger, made ſuite for a truce and abſtinence of of warre, whiche they obteyned, and then de|parted backe to Yorke, where they ſoiourned the moſte parte of all that yeare.
In the fourthe yeare of kyng Ethelred, the Danes comming into Eaſtangle, cruelly ſlewe that bleſſed man king Edmunde, as after ſhall be ſhewed, 4. Nouemb. feria. 2.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 In the ſixte yeare of kyng Ethelreds reigne a newe armye of greate force and power came into the countrey of the Weaſtſaxons vnder two leaders or kyngs of Danes,Baſreeg and Halden. Baſreeg and Haldene.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 They lodged at R [...]ding wt their mayn army, & EEBO page image 210 within .iij. days after the Earle of Barrockſhire Edelwolf fought at Englefield with two earles of thoſe Danes,Edelvvolfe Erle of Barke| [...]hire fought at Englefielde vvith the Da|nes. vanquiſhed them, and ſlewe the one of thoſe Erles, whoſe name was Sidracke. After this king Ethelred and his brother Alvred came with a great hoſt vnto Reding, & ther gaue bataile vnto the armie of Danes, ſo that an huge number of people dyed on bothe partes, but the Danes had the victorie.The Danes vvan the vic|torie at Rea|ding.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 After this alſo king Ethelred and his brother Alvred fought again with thoſe Danes at Aſch|don, where the armies on both ſides were diuided into .ij. parts, ſo yt the two Daniſh kings led the one part of their armie, & certain of their Earles led the other parte. Likewiſe on the Engliſhe ſide king Ethelred was placed with one parte of the hoſt againſt ye Daniſh kings, & Alvred with the other parte was appointed to encounter with the Erles. Herevpon they being on both parts ready to giue batail, the euening cõming on cauſed thẽ to deferre it till the morrow. And ſo early in the morning when the armies ſhoulde ioyne, Kyng Etheldred ſtayed in his tente to heare diuine ſer|uice, whyleſt his brother vpon a forwarde cou|rage haſted to encounter his enimies, the whiche receyued him ſo ſharply, and with ſo cruel fight, [figure appears here on page 210] that at length, the Engliſhmen were at poynte to haue turned their backes: but herewith came king Ethelred and manfully renued the battaile, ſtayed his people from renning away, and ſo en|couraged them, and diſcoraged the enimies, that by the power of God, (whõ as was thought in the morning he hadde ſerued) the Danes finally were chaſed and put to flight,The Danes diſcomfited. loſing one of their kings (that is to ſay) Baſreeg or Oſrec, and .v. Erles, Sidroc the elder, and Sidroc the yonger, Oſbern, Freyn, and Harold. This battayl was fore foughten and continued tyll night, with the ſlaughter of many thouſandes of Danes.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 About .xiiij. days after, king Ethelred and his brother Alvred fought eftſoones with the Daniſh armie at Baſing, where the Danes hadde the victorie.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 Alſo two moneths after this, they lykewiſe fought with the Danes at Merton.A battayle at Merton. And there the Danes after they had bene put to the worſe, and purſued in chaſe a long tyme, yet at lengthe they alſo got the victorie,He vvas bi|shop of Shir|borne as Math. VVeſt. hath noted. in which battayle Ed|mund biſhop of Shirborne was ſlayn, and ma|ny other that were men of woorthye fame and good accompte.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 In ſommer following, a mightie hoſte of the Danes came to Reding, and there ſoiorned for a tyme.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 Theſe thinges agree not (I remember wel) with that whiche Polidore Vergile hathe writ|ten of theſe warres whiche king Ethelred hadde with the Danes:Polid. Verg. for he maketh mencion of one Ivarus a king of the Danes,Ivarus. who landed (as he writeth) at the mouthe of Humber, and lyke a ſtoute enimie inuadeth the countrey adioyning, Againſt whom Etheldred with his brother Al|vred came with an armie, and encountring the Danes, fought with thẽ by the ſpace of a whole day togither, and was in daunger to haue bin put to the worſſe, but that the nighte ſeuered them aſunder.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 In the morning they ioyned againe: but the death of Ivarus, who chaunced to be ſlayne in the begynnyng of the battayle, diſcouraged the Danes, ſo that they were eaſily put to flighte,Danes put to flight. of whome (before they coulde get out of danger) a great number were ſlayne.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 But after that they had recouered themſelues togither, and found out a cõuenient place where to pitche theyr campe, they choſe to theyr Capi|pitaynes Agnerus, and Hubo, two bretherne,Agnerus and Hubo. whiche indeuoured them ſelues by all meanes poſſible to repayre theyr armie: ſo that within fifteene dayes after, the Danes eftſoones fought wyth the Engliſhmenne, and gaue them ſuche an ouerthrowe, that little wanted of makyng an ende of all encounters to bee attempted after by the Engliſhemen.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 But yet within a fewe dayes after this, as the Danes attended theyr market to ſpoyle the countrey and raunge ſomewhat licenciouſly a|broade, they fell wythin the daunger of ſuche ambuſhes as were layd for them by king Ethel|dred, that no ſmalle ſlaughter was made of them, but yet not withoute ſome loſſe of the Engliſhmenne. Emongſt other, Ethelred him|ſelfe receyued a wounde, whereof he ſhortely af|ter dyed.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 EEBO page image 211Thus hath Polyd. touching the warres which king Etheldred had wyth the Danes, who yet confeſſeth as the truth is, that ſuche Authors as he herein folowed, varie muche from that which the Daniſh writers do recorde of theſe matters, and namely touching the doings of Ivarus, as in the Danyſhe hiſtorye you maye ſee more at large.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 But now to oure purpoſe touching the death of king Ethelred, whether by reaſon of hurt re|ceyued in fight againſt the Danes (as Polydore ſayth) or otherwiſe, certain it is, that Etheldred anone after Eaſter departed this lyfe, in the ſixte yeare of his reigne,VVynborne abbey. and was buried at Wyn|born abbey.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 Agnere. Fabian. In the days of this Ethelred, the forſaid Da|niſhe capitaines, Hungar, otherwiſe called Ag|nerus, and Hubba returning from the Northe parties into the countrey of Eaſtangles,870. came vnto Thetford, wherof Edmunde, who reigned as king in that ſeaſon ouer the Eaſtangles, being aduertiſed,Edmund K. of the Eaſt angles. he rayſed an armie of men, and wente foorthe to giue battayle vnto this armie of the Danes.Framyngham caſtell. But he with his people was chaſed out of the fielde and fled to the caſtell of Framyng|ham, where being enuironed with a ſiege by his enimies, hee yelded him ſelfe vnto them. And bicauſe he would not renounce the chriſtian faith they bound him to a tree,King Edmund ſhot to death. & ſhot arrows at him til he dyed: & afterwards cut off his head from his bodie, and threw the ſame into a thicke groue of buſhes But afterwards his frẽds tooke the bodie with the head,Egleſdone. and buried the ſame at Egleſdon: where afterwarde alſo a faire monaſterie was buylded by one biſhop Aſwyn, and chaungyng the name of the place, it was after called Sainte Edmundeſbury. Thus was king Edmund put to death by the cruel Danes for his conſtant cõ|feſſing the name of Chriſte in the .xvj. yeare of his reigne, and fo ceaſed the kingdome of Eaſt|angles.VVil. Mal. For after that the Danes hadde thus ſlaine that bliſſed man, they conquered the hole countrey,Eaſtãgle vvith|out a gouernor and waſted it ſo that through their ty|rãnie it remayned without any gouernor by the ſpace of nine yeares, and then they appoynted a king to rule ouer it,Guthrun a Da|ne king of eaſt angle. whoſe name was Guthrun, one of their owne nation, who gouerned bothe the Eaſtangles and the Eaſtſaxons.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 Ye haue heard how the Danes ſlew Oſryke & Ella kings of Northumberland. After which victorie by them obteyned, they did muche hurte in the north parties of this lande and amongeſt other cruell deedes,Polychron. they deſtroyed the Citie of Acl [...]yd, which was a famous Citie in the tyme of the olde Saxons, as by Beda and other wry|ters it dothe manifeſtly appeare.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 Here is to be remembred, that ſome wryters reherſe the cauſe to be this:Caxton.
Compare 1587 edition: 1 Oſbright or Oſricke king of Northumber|lande rauiſhed the wyfe of one Bearne that was a noble man of the countrey about Yorke, who tookeſuche great deſpite thereat, that hee fledde out of the lande, and went into Denmarke, and there complained vnto the king of Denmarke that was his couſin, of the [...] done to hym by king Oſbright. Whervpon the king of Den+mark glad to haue ſo iuſt a quarell againſt them of Northumberlande, furnyſhed foorthe an ar|mie, and ſente the ſame by Sea, (vnder the lea|dyng of hys two brethren Hungar and Hub|ba) into Northumberland, where they flew firſt the ſayd kyng Oſbrighte, and after king Ella, at a place beſides Yorke, whiche vnto thys daye is called Elles crofte, takyng that name of the ſayde Elle, beeing there ſlayne in defence of hys countrey againſt the Danes. Whyche Ella (as we fynde regiſtred by wryters) was elected king by ſuche of the Northumbers, as in fauour of Berne had refuſed to be ſubiect vnto Oſbright.