the Bullongners, why he refuseth to punish the Canturburie men at the kings commandement for breaking the kings peace; he setteth the king in a furie, his suborned excuse to shift off his comming to the assemblie of lords conuented about the foresaid broile, earle Goodwine bandeth himselfe against the king, he would haue the strangers deliuered into his hands, his request is denied; a battell readie to haue bene fought betweene him and the king, the tumult is pacified and put to a parlement, earle Goodwines retinue forsake him; he, his sonnes, and their wiues take their flight beyond the seas.

THE SECOND CHAPTER.

Robert archbishop of Canturburie.
Frenchmen or Normans first entered into England. Ye must vnderstand, that K. Edward brought diuerse Normans ouer with him, which in time of his banishment had shewed him great friendship, wherefore he now sought to recompense them. Amongst other, the forenamed Robert of Canturburie was one, who before his comming ouer was a moonke in the abbeie of Gemeticum in Normandie, and being by the king first aduanced to gouerne the sée of London, was after made archbishop of Canturburie, and bare great rule vnder the king, so that he could not auoid the enuie of diuerse noble men, and speciallie of earle Goodwine, as shall appéere. About the third yéere of king Edwards reigne, Osgot Clappa was banished the realme. And in the yéere following, that is to 1047.
A great death.
Ran. Higd. say, in the yeere 1047, there fell a maruellous great snow, couering the ground from the beginning of Ianuarie vntill the 17 day of March. Besides this, there hapned the same yéere such tempest and lightnings, that the corne vpon the earth was burnt vp and blasted: by reason whereof, there followed a great dearth in England, and also death of men and cattell.

Swain Goodwines sonne banished.
Edgiua abbesse of Leoffe. About this time Swaine the sonne of earle Goodwine was banished the land, and fled into Flanders. This Swaine kept Edgiua, the abbesse of the monasterie of Leoffe, and forsaking his wife, ment to haue married the foresaid abbesse. Within a certeine time after his banishment,[Page 742] he returned into England, in hope to purchase the kings peace by his fathers meanes and other his friends. This Bearne was the sonne of Vlfusa Dane, vncle to this Swaine by his mother, the sister of K. Swaine.
H. Hunt. But vpon some malicious pretense, he slue his coosen earle Bearne, who was about to labour to the king for his pardon, and so then fled againe into Flanders, till at length Allered the archbishop of Yorke obteined his pardon, and found meanes to reconcile him to the kings fauour.

Hen. Hunt.
The Danes spoile Sandwich. In the meane time, about the sixt yéere of king Edwards reigne, certeine pirats of the Danes arriued in Sandwich hauen, and entring the land, wasted and spoiled all about the coast. There be that write, that the Danes had at that time to their leaders two capteins, the one named Lother, and the other Irling. After they had béene at Sandwich, and brought from thence great riches of gold and siluer, they coasted about vnto the side of Essex, and there spoiling the countrie, went backe to the sea, and sailing into Flanders, made sale of their spoiles and booties there, and so returned to their countries. After this, during the reigne of king Edward, there chanced no warres, neither forren nor ciuill, but that the same was either with small slaughter luckilie ended, or else without anie notable aduenture changed Rise & Griffin princes of Wales. into peace. The Welshmen in déed with their princes Rise and Griffin wrought some trouble, but still they were subdued, and in the end both the said Rise and Griffin were brought vnto confusion: although in the meane time they did much hurt, and namelie Griffin, who with aid of some Irishmen, with whome he was alied, about this time entred into the Seuerne sea, and tooke preies about the riuer of Wie: and after returned without anie battell to him offered.

1049.
Simon Dun. About the same time, to wit, in the yéere 1049, the emperor Henrie the third made warres against Baldwine earle of Flanders, and for that he wished to haue the sea stopped, that the said earle should not escape by flight that waie foorth, he sent to king Edward, willing him to kéepe the sea with some number of ships. King Edward furnishing a nauie, lay with the Hermanus. Contractus.
Ia. Meir. same at Sandwich, and so kept the seas on that side, till the emperor had his will of the earle. At the same time, Swaine, sonne of earle Goodwine came into the realme, and traitorouslie slue his coosen Bearne (as before is said) the which trauelled to agrée him with Simon Dun. the king. Also Gosipat Clappa, who had left his wife at Bruges in Flanders, comming amongst other of the Danish pirats, which had robbed in the coasts of Kent & Essex, as before ye haue heard, receiued his wife, and departed backe into Denmarke with six ships, leauing the residue, being 23 behind him.

Fabian.
1051.
Matth. West.
The earle of Flanders commeth into England.
Ran. Higd.
Wil. Malm. About the tenth yéere of king Edwards reigne, Eustace earle of Bullongne, that was father vnto the valiant Godfrey of Bullongne, & Baldwin, both afterward kings of Hierusalem, came ouer into England in the moneth of September, to visit his brother in law king Edward, Goda sister to K. Edward.
Wil. Malm.
Douer saith
Matth. West. whose sister named Goda, he had maried, she then being the widow of Gualter de Maunt. He found the king at Glocester, and being there ioifullie receiued, after he had once dispatched such matters for the which he chieflie came, he tooke leaue, and returned homeward. But at Canturburie one of his herbingers, dealing roughlie with one of the citizens about a lodging, which he sought to haue rather by force than by intreatance, occasioned his owne death. Whereof when the erle was aduertised, he hasted thither to reuenge the slaughter of his seruant, and slue both that citizen which had killed his man, and eightéene others.

A fraie in Canturburie betwixt the earle Bullongne and the townsmen.
The earle complaineth to the king. The citizens héerewith in a great furie, got them to armor, and set vpon the earle and his retinue, of whom they slue twentie persons out of hand, & wounded a great number of the residue, so that the earle scarce might escape with one or two of his men from the fraie, & with all spéed returned backe to the king, presenting gréeuous information against them of Canturburie, for their cruell vsing of him, not onlie in sleaing of his seruants, but also in putting him in danger of his life. The king crediting the earle, was higlie offended against the citizens, and with all speed sending for earle Goodwine, declared vnto him in greeuous wise, the rebellious act of them of Canturburie, which were vnder his iurisdiction.

The earle who was a man of a bold courage and quicke wit, did perceiue that the matter[Page 743] was made a great deale woorse at the first in the beginning, than of likelihood it would prooue in the end, thought it reason therefore that first the answere of the Kentishmen should be heard, before anie sentence were giuen against them. Héerevpon, although the king commanded him foorthwith to go with an armie into Kent, and to punish them of Canturburie in most rigorous maner, yet he would not be too hastie, but refused to execute the kings