[1] [2] [3] [4] On S. Lucies daie, there fell a great snowe, and withall a winters thunder, for a token of some euill to follow.Winter thunder. The king to settle the state of the countrie of Gascoigne in better order, tarried there all the winter, and repared certeine decaied townes and ca|stels. The quéene kept hir Christmasse at London, where she laie in child-bed, and was purified on the euen of the Epiphanie, making a roiall feast, at the which manie great lords were present, as the archbi|shop of Canturburie, the bishop of Elie, the earls of Cornewall and Glocester, and manie other. She sent ouer at the same time to hir husband for a new yeers gift the summe of fiue hundred marks of hir owne reuenues,The quéenes liberalitie to|wards the K. towards the maintenance of his warres. On the euen of the Circumcision of our Lord,A strang sight in the aire. in the night season, whilest the aire was most cleare and bright with shining starres, the moone being eight daies old, there appeared in the element the perfect forme and likenesse of a mightie great ship, which was first séene of certeine moonks of saint Albons, who remaining at saint Amphibalus,Redborne. were got vp to behold by the starres, if it were time for them to go to mattens; but perceiuing that strange sight, they called vp such of their acquaintance as lodged néere at hand, to view the same. At length it séemed as the bourds and ioints thereof had gone in sunder, and so it vanished awaie. There followed a maruellous sore later end of a winter, through cold and ouer|sharpe weather, which continued till the feast of S. Gregorie in March next insuing.A death of sheepe. Also there chanced the same yeare a great murren and death of shéepe and deere, so that of whole flocks and heards scarse the one halfe escaped.