[1] In the meane time, those Englishmen that were fled (as you haue heard) into Denmarke, by continu|all sute made to Sueine then king of that realme,Swetne and Osborne hath Matth. Paris. to procure him to make a iournie into England for recouerie of the right descended to him from his an|cestors, at length obteined their purpose, in so much that king Sueine sent his sonnes Harold and Ca|nutus toward England, who with a nauie of two hundred saile,Thrée hun|dred sailes saith M. W. but Sim. Dun. hath 240. in the companie of Osborne their vn|cle, arriued in the mouth of Humber betwéene the two later ladie daies, and there landing their people with the English outlawes, whom they had brought with them, they straightwaies marched towards Yorke, wasting and spoiling the countrie with great crueltie as they passed. Soone after also came Ed|gar, and such other English exiles as had before fled into Scotland, and ioined their forces with them. When the newes of these things were brought to Yorke, the people there were striken with a maruel|lous feare, insomuch that Aeldred the archbishop (through verie greefe and anguish of mind) departed this life. The Normans also which laie there in gar|rison, after they vnderstood by their spies that the eni|mies were come within two daies iournie of them, began not a little to mistrust the faith of the citi|zens, and bicause the suburbes should not he any aid [page 7] vnto them, they set fire on the same, which by the hugenesse of the wind that suddenlie arose, the flame became so big, and mounted such a height, that it caught the citie also, and consumed a great part ther|of to ashes,Yorke burnt. togither with the minster of S. Peter, and a famous librarie belonging to the same. Here|vpon the Normans and citizens in like maner were constreined to issue foorth at the same time, and being vpon the enimies before they had any knowledge of their approch, were forced to trie the matter by disordered battell: whose number though it was far inferiour vnto theirs, yet they valiantlie defended themselues for a time, till being oppressed with mul|titudes, they were ouercome and slaine, so that there perished in this conflict, to the number of three thou|sand of them.Normans slaine. Manie of the Englishmen also that came with them to the field, were saued by the eni|mies, to the end they might gaine somewhat by their ransomes, as William Mallet shirife of the shire, with his wife, Simon Dun. and two of their children, Gilbert de Gaunt, and diuers other. This slaughter chanced on a saturdaie, being the nineteenth day of Septem|ber; a dismall daie to the Normans.