1021. Before the feast of St. Martin [11th Nov], Canute, king of England and Denmark (age 26), banished from England Thurkill, the earl often mentioned, and his wife Edgitha. Algar, bishop of the East-Angles (of Ehnham) died, and was succeeded by Alwin.

1022. Ethelnoth, archbishop of Canterbury, went to Rome, and was received with great honour by pope Benedict, who gave him the pallium.

1023. The body of St. Alphege, the martyr, was translated from London to Canterbury. Wulfstan, archbishop of York, died at York on the fifth of the calends of June [28th May], but his body was carried to Ely and buried there. He was succeeded by Ælfric Puttuc, provost of Winchester.

1025. Edmund, a monk, was made bishop of Lindisfarne.

1026. Ælfric, archbishop of York, went to Rome, and received the pallium from pope John. Richard II (age 62), duke of Normandy, died, and was succeeded by Richard III (age 24), who, dying the same year, was succeeded by his brother Robert (age 25).

1027. Canute (age 32), king of England and Denmark, received intelligence that the Norwegians held their king Olaf (age 32) in contempt on account of his meekness and simplicity, his justice and piety. In consequence, he sent large sums of gold and silver to certain of them, earnestly entreating them to reject and depose Olaf (age 32), and submitting to him, accept him for their king. They greedily accepted his bribes, and caused a message to be returned to Canute (age 32) that they were prepared to receive him whenever he chose to come.

1028. Canute (age 33), king of England and Denmark, went over to Norway with fifty stout ships, and expelled king Olaf (age 33) from the kingdom, which he subjugated to himself.

The same year was born Marianus, of Ireland, the celebrated Scot, by whose study and pains this excellent Chronicle was compiled from various books.

1029. Canute (age 34), king of England, Denmark, and Norway, returned to England, and after the feast of St. Martin [11 Nov] banished Hakon, a Danish earl, who had married the noble lady Gunilda, his sister's daughter by Wyrtgeorn, king of the Winidi, sending him away under pretence of an embassy; for he feared that the earl would take either his life or his kingdoms.

1030. The before-mentioned earl Haco perished at sea: some, however, say that he was killed in the islands of Orkney. Olaf (age 35), king and martyr, son of Harold, king of Norway, was wickedly slain by the Norwegians.

1032. The church of St. Edmund, king and martyr, was dedicated this year. [Note. Possibly Bury St Edmund's Abbey.]

1033. Leofsy, bishop of the Hwiccas, a devout and humble man, died at the episcopal vill of Rempsey, on Tuesday, the fourteenth of the calends of September [19th August], and, as we may be allowed to hope, ascended to the heavenly realms: his body was buried with honour in the church of St. Mary [Map], at Worcester. Brihteag, abbot of Pershore, sister's son of Wulfstan, archbishop of York, was raised to the vacant see.

1034. Eatheric, bishop of Lincoln [Dorchester], died, and was buried in the abbey of Ramsey; Ednoth succeeded him. Malcolm (age 80), king of the Scots, died.

1035. Robert, duke of Normandy (age 34), died, and was succeeded by his son William the Bastard (age 7), then a minor.

1036. The innocent ethelings Alfred (age 31) and Edward, sons of Ethelred, formerly king of England, sailed from Normandy, where they had been for many years at the court of their uncle Richard, and, attended by many Norman knights, crossed over to England with a small fleet to confer with their mother (age 51), who still abode at Winchester. Some of the men in power were very indignant at this, being much more devoted to Harold (age 20), however unjustly, than to the ethelings: especially, it is said, earl Godwin (age 35). The earl, therefore, arrested Alfred (age 31) on his road to London to confer with King Harold (age 20) as he had commanded, and threw him into prison.

1037. Harold (age 21), king of Mercia and Northumbria, was elected by the nobles, and the whole people, king of all England; Hardicanute (age 19) being entirely deposed, because he wasted his time in Denmark, and deferred coming over, as he was requested. His mother Elfgiva (age 52), formerly queen of England, was banished from the kingdom, without mercy, at the beginning of winter. As soon as a ship could be got ready she sailed for Flanders, where she received an honourable welcome from the noble count Baldwin (age 24), who, with a liberality becoming his rank, took care that she should be freely supplied with all things needful, as long as she required it. A little before this, the same year, Ælfic, dean of Evesham, a man of deep piety, died.

1038. Æthelnoth, archbishop of Canterbury, departed this life on the fourth of the calends of November [29th September]. Seven days after, Ethelric, bishop of Sussex, died; for he had prayed to God that he might not long survive his beloved father Ethelnoth. Grimkytel succeeded him in the bishopric, and Eadsige, one of the king's chaplains, succeeded Ethelnoth in the archbishopric. In the same year died Ælfric, bishop of East-Anglia, and Brihteag, bishop of the Hwiccas [Worcester], ended his days on Wednesday the third of the calends of January [20th December], whose see king Harold (age 22) gave to Living, bishop of Crediton. Stigand, the king's chaplain, was appointed in Ælfric's place, but was afterwards ejected, and Grimkytel chosen in his stead; so that he held for the tune the two dioceses of Sussex and Essex; but Stigand was restored, and Grimkytel ejected, and Stigand kept the bishopric of Sussex for himself, and procured that of East-Anglia for his brother Ethelmar; but not satisfied with this, he was raised to the thrones of Winchester and Canterbury: he also strove hard to hold with them the bishopric of Sussex, and nearly carried his point. Ethelmar; was succeeded by Ærfast, bishop of Elmham, who, lest he should have seemed to have done nothing—for the Normans are very ambitious of future renown—transferred the see from Elmham to Thetford.

1040. Godwin (age 39), to obtain the king's favour, presented him with a galley of admirable workmanship, with a gilded figure-head, rigged with the best materials, and manned with eighty chosen soldiers splendidly armed. Every one of them had on each arm a golden bracelet weighing six ounces, and wore a triple coat of mail and a helmet partly gilt, and a sword with gilded hilt girt to his side, and a Danish battle-axe inlaid with gold and silver hanging from his left shoulder; in his left hand he bore a shield, the boss and studs of which were also gilt, and in his right hand a lance, called in the English tongue "Atagar."⁶¹ Moreover, he made oath to the king (age 22), with almost all the chief men and greater thanes in England, that it was not by his counsel, or at his instance, that his brother's eyes were put out, but that he had only obeyed the commands of his lord, king Harold (age 24).

Note 61. Anglo-Saxon, atgar; old Norsk, atgeirr.

1041. This year Hardicanute (age 23), king of England, sent his house-carls⁶² through all the provinces of his kingdom to collect the tribute which he had imposed. Two of them, Feader and Thurstan, were slain on the 4th of the ides [the 4th] of May, by the citizens of Worcester, Worcestershire [Map] and the people of that neighbourhood, in an upper chamber of the abbey-tower, where they had concealed themselves during a tumult. This so incensed the king, that to avenge their deaths he sent Thorold, earl of Middlesex, Leofric, earl of Mercia, Godwin (age 40), earl of Wessex, Siward (age 31), earl of Northumbria, Boni, earl of Hereford, and all the other English earls, with almost all his house-carls, and a large body of troops, to Worcester, Worcestershire [Map], where Ælfric was still bishop, with orders to put to death all the inhabitants they could find, to plunder and burn the city, and lay waste the whole province.

Note 62. The Danish body-guards.

12 Nov 1041. They arrived there on the second of the ides [the 12th] of November, and beginning their work of destruction through the city and province continued it for four days; but very few of the citizens or provincials were taken or slain, because, having notice of their coming, the people fled in all directions. A great number of the citizens took refuge in a small island, called Beverege, situated in the middle of the river Severn, and having fortified it, defended themselves so stoutly against their enemies that they obtained terms of peace, and were allowed free liberty to return home. On the fifth day, the city having been burnt, every one marched off loaded with plunder, and the king's wrath was satisfied. Soon afterwards, Edward (age 38), son of Ethelred the late king of England, came over from Normandy, where he had been an exile many years, and being honourably received by his brother [Note. Half-brother. Both sons of Emma aka Ælfgyfu of Normandy Queen Consort England (age 56).], king Hardicanute (age 23), remained at his court.

1042.Abbot Elias, a Scot, died on the second of the ides [the 12th] of April. Being a prudent and religious man, he was entrusted with the government of the monastery of St. Pantaleon, as well as of his own abbey of St. Martin. He committed to the flames, in the monastery of St. Pantaleon, a beautiful missal which a French monk had copied, without leave, in the communal tongue for the use of the community, that no one in future might dare to do it without permission. He was succeeded by Maiolus the Scot, a holy man.

1043. Animchadus, a Scottish monk, who led a life of seclusion in the monastery at Fulda, died on the third of the calends of February [30th January]. Over his tomb lights were seen, and there was the voice of psalmody. Marianus, the author of this chronicle, took up his station as a recluse for ten years at his feet, and sang masses over his tomb. He has related, what follows respecting this Animchadus: "When I was in Ireland," says Marianus, "in an island called Keltra, he entertained, with the permission of his superior, named Cortram, certain brethren who came there. Some of them departed after their meal, but those who remained sat warming themselves at the fire, and asked him for something to drink, and on his refusing to give it without leave, they urged him to comply. At last he consented, but first sent some of the beverage to his superior, as for his blessing. On the morrow, being asked for what reason he sent it, he related all the circumstances. But his superior, for this slight fault, immediately ordered him to quit Ireland, and he humbly obeyed. He then came to Fulda, and lived a life of holy seclusion, as I have already said, until his death.

"This was told us by the superior, Tigernah, on my committing some slight fault in his presence. Moreover, I myself heard, while I was in seclusion at Fulda, a very devout monk of that monastery, whose name was William, implore the aforesaid Animchadus, who was then in his tomb, to give him his benediction; and, as he afterwards told me, he saw him in a vision standing in his tomb, shining with great brightness, and giving him his benediction with outstretched arms; and I too passed the whole of that night in the midst of a mellifluous odour." These are the words of Marianus.

1044. Ælfward, bishop of London, who was abbot of Evesham, both before and while he was bishop, being unable to perform duly his episcopal functions, by reason of his infirmities, wished to retire to [his abbey of] Evesham, but the monks of that house would by no means consent.⁶³ Wherefore he removed the greatest part of the books and ornaments which he had collected in that place, and some, it is said, which others had contributed, and withdrawing to the abbey of Ramsey, took up his abode there, and offered all he had brought with him to St. Benedict. He died on Wednesday, the eighth of the calends of August (the 25th July), in this same year, and is buried there.

Note 63. Because he was afflicted with the leprosy. See Hist. Rames., c. civ.

1044. At a general synod, held about that time in London, Wulfmar, a devout monk of Evesham, also called Manni, was elected abbot of that monastery. The same year, the noble lady, Gunhilda, daughter of king Wyrtgeorn, by king Canute's sister, and successively the wife of earls Hakon and Harold, was banished from England with her two sons, Hemming and Thurkill. She went over to Flanders, and resided for some time at a place called Bruges [Map], and then went to Denmark. Stigand, the king's chaplain, was appointed bishop of East-Anglia.

1045. Brihtwold, bishop of Wilton, died; and was succeeded by the king's chaplain, Heriman, a native of Lorraine. The same year, Edward (age 42), king of England, assembled a very powerful fleet at the port of Sandwich, Kent [Map], to oppose Magnus (age 21), king of Norway, who threatened to invade England; but the expedition was abandoned in consequence of Sweyn (age 26), king of Denmark, having commenced hostilities against him.

1046. Living, bishop of the Hwiccas, Devonshire, and Cornwall, died on Sunday, the tenth of the calends of April [the 23rd March]. Soon after his death, the bishoprics of Crediton and Cornwall were given to Leofric the Briton, who was the king's chancellor; and Aldred, who had been a monk of Winchester and was then abbot of Tavistock, was made bishop of the Hwiccas. Osgod Clapa was banished from England. Magnus (age 22), king of Norway, son of St. Olaf the king, defeated Sweyn (age 27), king of the Danes, and reduced Denmark under his own dominion.

1047. So much snow fell in the West, that it crushed the woods, and this year the winter was very severe. Grimkytel, bishop of Sussex, died, and was succeeded by Heca, the king's chaplain. Ælfwine, bishop of Winchester, also died, and Stigand, bishop of East-Anglia, was translated to his see. Sweyn (age 28), king of Denmark, sent ambassadors to Edward (age 44), king of England, requesting that he would send a fleet to join him against Magnus (age 23), king of Norway. Then earl Godwin (age 46) counselled the king to send at least fifty ships, full of soldiers; but as the proposal was objected to by earl Leofric and all the people, he declined to furnish any. After this Magnus (age 23), king of Norway, having collected a numerous and powerful fleet, fought a battle with Sweyn (age 28), in which a vast number of troops were killed on both sides, and having driven him out of Denmark, reigned there himself, and made the Danes pay him a heavy tribute: shortly afterwards he died.

1048. Sweyn (age 29) recovered Denmark, and Harold Harfaager (age 33)⁶⁴, a son of Siward, king of Norway, and brother of St. Olaf by the mother's side, and by the father's uncle to king Magnus, returned to Norway, and shortly afterwards sent ambassadors to king Edward, making offers of peace and amity, which were accepted.

Note 64. It should be Harold Hardrada, a common blunder of the English chroniclers. King Harold Harfaager reigned from about a.d. 861 to about 931.

01 May 1048. There was a great earthquake on Sunday the first of May, at Worcester [Map], Wick, Derby [Map], and many other places. Many districts of England were visited with a mortality among men and cattle; and a fire in the air, commonly called wild-fire, burnt many vills and cornfields in Derbyshire and some other districts. Edmund, bishop of Lindisfarne, died at Gloucester, but was carried by his people to Durham, and buried there. Edred succeeded him, but being struck by the divine vengeance, Ethelric, a monk of Peterborough, was appointed in his stead.

1049. The emperor Henry (age 31) assembled a vast army against Baldwin (age 36), count of Flanders, chiefly because he had burnt and ruined his stately palace at Nimeguen. In this expedition were pope Leo, and many great and noble men from various countries. Sweyn (age 30), king of Denmark, was also there with his fleet at the emperor's command, and swore fealty to the emperor for that occasion. He sent also to Edward (age 46), king of England, and requested him not to let Baldwin (age 36) escape, if he should retreat to the sea. In consequence, the king went with a large fleet to the port of Sandwich, Kent [Map], and remained there until the emperor had obtained of Baldwin (age 36) all he desired. Meanwhile, earl Sweyn (age 28), son of earl Godwin (age 48) and Githa, who had left England and gone to Denmark, because he was not permitted to marry Edgiva, abbess of the monastery of Leominster, whom he had debauched, returned with eight ships, alleging falsely that he would now remain loyally with the king.

1049. Earl Beorn, son of his uncle Ulf, a Danish earl, who was son of Spracing, who was son of Urso, and brother of Sweyn (age 30), king of Denmark, promised him to obtain from the king the restoration of his earldom Earl Baldwin having made peace with the emperor, the earls Godwin (age 48) and Beorn, by the king's permission, came to Pevensey [Map] with forty-two ships; but he ordered the rest of the fleet to return home, with the exception of a few ships which he retained there. When, however, he was informed that Osgod Clapa lay at Wulpe⁶⁵ with twenty-nine ships, he recalled as many as possible of the ships he had sent away. But Osgod, taking with him his wife whom he had left for safety at Bruges, returned to Denmark with six ships; the rest sailed over to Essex, and returned with no small plunder, which they carried off from the neighbourhood of Eadulfs Ness; however, a violent tempest overtook and sunk all except two, which were captured at sea, and all on board perished.

Note 65. A village on the coast of Flanders, N.W. of Sluys.

1049. During these occurrences earl Sweyn (age 28) went to Pevensey [Map], and perfidiously requested earl Beorn, his cousin, to go with him to the port of Sandwich, Kent [Map], and make his peace with the king (age 46), according to promise. Beorn, relying on his relationship, accompanied him with only three attendants; but Sweyn (age 28) conducted him to Bosham, where his ships lay, and, taking him on board one of them, ordered him to be bound with thongs, and kept him on board until they reached the mouth of the river Dart. There they slew him, and threw him into a deep trench, and covered him with earth. They then sent away six of the ships, two of which were soon afterwards taken by the men of Hastings, who, having killed all on board, carried them to Sandwich, Kent [Map] and presented them to the king (age 46). Sweyn (age 28), however, escaped to Flanders with two ships, and remained there until he was brought back by Aldred, bishop of Worcester, who reconciled him with the king.

1049. In the month of August of the same year, some Irish pirates, entering the mouth of the river Severn with thirty-six ships, landed at a place called Wylesc-Eaxan, and, with the aid of Griffyth, king of South-Wales, plundered in that neighbourhood, and did considerable damage. Then, joining their forces, the king and the pirates crossed the river Wye and burnt Dymedham, massacring all they found there. Aldred, bishop of Worcester, with a few of the people of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, flew to arms against them; but the Welshmen who were in their ranks, and had promised to be faithful to them, sent a messenger privately to king Griffyth, begging him to lose no time in attacking the English; in consequence of which he hastened to the spot with his own followers and the Irish pirates, and falling on the English before day-break, slew many of them and put the rest to flight.

1049. Eadnoth, bishop of Dorchester, died, and was succeeded by Ulf, the king's chaplain, a native of Normandy. Oswy, abbot of Thorney, and Wulfnoth, abbot of Westminster, died; also Siward, coadjutor-bishop of Eadsige, archbishop of Canterbury, and he was buried at Abingdon. Moreover, in this year pope St. Leo came to France, at the request of the most excellent abbot Herimar, having in his company the prefect and some of the principal persons of Rome, and dedicated with great ceremony the monastery of St. Remigius, the apostle of the Franks, built at Rheims, in which city he afterwards held a numerous synod of archbishops, bishops, and abbots, which lasted six days. There were present at this synod Alfwine, abbot of Ramsey, and the abbot of St. Augustine's monastery [at Canterbury], who were sent there by Edward, king of England.

1050. Macbeth (age 45), king of Scotland, distributed freely large sums of money at Rome. Eadsige, archbishop of Canterbury, died, and was succeeded by Robert, bishop of London, a Norman by birth. Spearheafoc, abbot of Abingdon, was elected bishop of London, but was ejected by king Edward before consecration. Heriman, bishop of Wilton, and Aldred, bishop of Worcester, went to Rome.

1052. Marianus, the chronicler, departed this life.

06 Mar 1052. Elfgiva Emma (age 67), wife of the kings Ethelred and Canute, died at Winchester, Hampshire [Map] on the second of the nones [the 6th] of March, and was buried there.

After 06 Mar 1052. In the same year, Griffyth, king of Wales, ravaged a great part of Herefordshire: the inhabitants of that province, with some Normans from a castle, flew to arms and attacked him; but, having slain a great number of them, he obtained the victory and carried off much plunder. This battle was fought on the same day on which, fourteen years before, the Welsh slew Edwin, earl Leofric's brother, in an ambuscade.

After 06 Mar 1052. A short time afterwards, earl Harold (age 30) and his brother Leofwine (age 17), returning from Ireland, and sailing into the mouth of the river Severn with a large fleet, landed on the borders of Somersetshire and Dorsetshire, and plundered many villages and farms in those parts. A great number of the people of Devonshire and Somersetshire gathered together in arms against them; but Harold (age 30) defeated them with the loss of more than thirty noble thanes, and many others. He then returned to his fleet with the booty, and sailed round Penwithsteort.⁶⁸ Thereupon, king Edward (age 49) quickly despatched forty ships, well provisioned, and having on board a chosen body of soldiers, to the port of Sandwich, Kent [Map], with orders to wait and look out for the arrival of earl Godwin (age 51). Notwithstanding this, he escaped observation, and, returning with a few ships, landed in Kent; and, by his secret emissaries, gained over to espouse his cause, first, the Kentishmen, and then the people of Sussex, Essex, and Surrey, with all the seamen⁶⁹ of Hastings and other places on the sea-coast, besides some others. All these, with one voice, declared that they were ready to live or die with him.

Note 68. Penwith-Steort—the Land's End.

Note 69. Butsecarles—Boats-carles. Our author uses the word again, a few sentences later, in the general sense of mariners, seamen.

1052. The alliance being renewed, and peace established, they promised right law to all the people, and banished all the Normans, who had introduced unjust laws and given unrighteous judgements, and in many things had influenced the king (age 49) to the disadvantage of his English subjects. A few of them only were allowed to stay in England, namely, Robert the deacon, and his son-in-law Richard Fitz-Scrope [Note. Possibly Richard Fitzscrope 1st Baron Burford (age 37)], Alfred, the king's horse-thane, Anfrid, surnamed Cock's-foot, with some others who had been the king's greatest favourites, and had remained faithful to him and the commonwealth. But Robert, archbishop of Canterbury, William, bishop of London, and Ulf, bishop of Lincoln, with their Normans, had some difficulty in making their escape and getting beyond sea. William, however, was, for his worth, soon afterwards recalled and reinstated in his bishopric. Osbern, surnamed Pentecost, and his companion Hugh, surrendered their castles; and, being allowed by earl Leofric to pass through his territories in their way to Scotland, received a welcome from Macbeth (age 47), king of the Scots. The same year there was such a violent wind in the night of the feast of St. Thomas the apostle [the 21st December], that it threw down many churches and houses, and shattered or tore up by the roots trees without number.

1053. Rhys, the brother of Griffyth, king of South Wales, was put to death by order of king Edward (age 50) at a place called Bullington, Hampshire [Map], on account of the plundering inroads he had frequently made, and his head was brought to the king at Gloucester on the eve of our Lord's Epiphany [5th January]. In the same year, on the second day of the festival of Easter [12th April], which was celebrated at Winchester, Hampshire [Map], earl Godwin (age 52) came to his end while he was sitting at table with the king, according to his usual custom; for, being suddenly seized with a violent illness, he fell speechless from his seat. His sons, earl Harold (age 31), Tosti (age 27), and Gurth (age 21), perceiving it, carried him into the king's chamber, hoping that he would presently recover; but his strength failing, he died in great suffering on the fifth day afterwards [15th April], and was buried in the Old Minster. His son Harold (age 31) succeeded to his earldom, and Harold's (age 31) earldom was given to Algar, son of earl Leofric.

1053. In the month of October died Wulfsige, bishop of Litchfield, Godwin (age 52), abbot of Winchcombe, and Ethelward, abbot of Glastonbury. Leofwine, abbot of Coventry, succeeded Wulfsige; and Ethelnoth, a monk of the same monastery, succeeded Ethelward. But Aldred, bishop of Worcester, kept the abbey of Winchcombe in his own hands until such tune as he appointed Godric, the son of Goodman, the king's chaplain, to be abbot. Ælfric, brother of earl Odda (age 60), died at Deerhurst on the eleventh of the calends of January [22nd December], but he was buried in the monastery at Pershore [Map].

1053. Aed, a long-bearded clerk in Ireland, a man of great eminence and earnest piety, had a large school of clerks, maidens, and laymen; but he subjected the maidens to the tonsure in the same manner as clerks, on which account he was compelled to leave Ireland.

17 Jul 1054. The same year, on the feast of St. Kenelm, the martyr, [17th July], Aldred, bishop of Worcester, instituted Godric as abbot of Winchcombe. The bishop was then sent by the king as ambassador to the emperor, with rich presents; and being received with great honour by him, and also by Heriman, archbishop of Cologne, he remained at his court for a whole year, and in the king's name proposed to the emperor to send envoys to Hungary to bring back Edward (age 38), the king's cousin, son of king Edmund Ironside, and have him conducted to England.

1055. Siward (age 45), earl of Northumberland, died at York, and was buried in the monastery at Galmanho [Map]⁷², which he had himself founded: his earldom was given to Tosti (age 29), earl Harold's (age 33) brother. Shortly afterwards, king Edward (age 52), in a council held at London, banished earl Algar, earl Leofric's son, without any just cause of offence. Algar presently went to Ireland, and having collected eighteen pirate ships, returned with them to Wales, where he implored Griffyth the king to lend him his aid against king Edward. Griffyth immediately assembled a numerous army from all parts of his dominions, and directed Algar to join him and his army at a place appointed with his own troops; and having united their forces they entered Herefordshire, intending to lay waste the English marshes.

Note 72. An abbey at York, afterwards restored, and called St. Mary's [Map].

1055. On receiving intelligence of this calamity, the king immediately commanded an army to be levied from every part of England, and on its being assembled at Gloucester, gave the command of it to the brave earl Harold (age 33), who, zealously obeying the king's orders, was unwearied in his pursuit of Griffyth and Algar, and boldly crossing the Welsh border, encamped beyond Straddell [Snowdon]; but they knowing him to be an intrepid and daring warrior, did not venture to wait his attack, but retreated into South Wales. On learning this, he left there the greatest part of his army, with orders to make a stout resistance to the enemy if circumstances should require it; and returning with the remainder of his host to Hereford, he surrounded it with a wide and deep trench, and fortified it with gates and bars. Meanwhile, after an interchange of messages, Griffyth, Algar, and Harold (age 33), with their attendants, met at a place called Biligesteagea, and peace being proposed and accepted, they contracted a firm alliance with each other. After these events, earl Algar's fleet [of pirates] sailed to Chester [Map], and waited there for the hire he had engaged to pay them; but he himself went to court and restored by the king to his earldom. At that time died Tremerin, a Welsh bishop,[Bishop of St Davids] who had been a monk. He was, for a long time, coadjutor to Athelstan, bishop of Hereford, after Athelstan became incapable of performing his episcopal functions, having been blind for thirteen years. Heriman, bishop of Wiltshire, being offended at the king's refusing to allow him to remove the seat of his bishopric from the vill called Ramsbury to the abbey of Malmesbury, resigned his bishopric and, going beyond sea, took the monastic habit at St. Bertin, [an abbey near St Omer] in which monastery he abode for three years.

1056. Marianus, becoming a pilgrim for the sake of his heavenly country, went to Cologne and took the habit of a monk in the monastery of St. Martin, belonging to the Scots, on Thursday, which was the calends [the 1st] of August.

16 Jun 1056. Earl Ethelwin (age 63), that is Odda, [Earl of Devon] a the friend of the churches, the solace of the poor, the protector of widows and orphans, the enemy of oppression, the shield of virginity, died at Deerhurst on the second of the calends of September [31st August], having been made a monk by Aldred, bishop of Worcester, before his death; but he lies in the abbey of Pershore [Map], where he was buried with great pomp. Æthelric, bishop of Durham, voluntarily resigned his see and retired to his monastery of Peterborough, where he had been brought up and made a monk; and there he lived twelve years, having been succeeded in his bishopric by his brother, Ægelwin, a monk of the same abbey.

1057. Edward the etheling (age 41), son of king Edmund Ironside, accepting the invitation of his uncle, king Edward (age 54), returned to England from Hungary, where he had been exiled many years before. For the king had determined to appoint him his successor and heir to the crown; but he died at London soon after his arrival.

1057. The renowned Leofric, son of the ealdorman Leofwine, of blessed memory, died in a good old age, at his own vill of Bromley, on the second of the calends of September [31st August], and was buried with great pomp at Coventry; which monastery, among the other good deeds of his life, he and his wife, the noble countess Godiva, a worshipper of God, and devoted friend of St. Mary, Ever-a-Virgin, had founded, and amply endowing it with lands on their own patrimony, had so enriched with all kinds of ornament, that no monastery could be found in England possessed of such abundance of gold, silver, jewels, and precious stones as it contained at that time. They also enriched, with valuable ornaments, the monasteries of Leominster and Wenlock, and those at Chester dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. Werburgh, the virgin, and the church which Eadnoth, bishop of Lincoln, had built on a remarkable spot, called in English St. Mary's Stow [Map]⁷³, which means in Latin St. Mary's place. They also gave lands to the monastery at Worcester, and added to the buildings, ornaments, and endowments of Evesham abbey. During his whole life, this earl's sagacity was of the utmost advantage to the kings and the whole commonwealth of England. His son Algar was appointed to his earldom.

Note 73. Henry of Huntingdon describes it as "under the hill at Lincoln;" but Bishop Farmer says that "Stowe was in the bishop's manor by Trent side." The priory of Stowe, or Mary-Stowe, was annexed to Eynsham abbey, in Oxfordshire.

1057. Hakon, bishop of Essex, died, and Æthelric, a monk of Christ-church at Canterbury, was appointed in his stead. The afore-mentioned earl Ralph died on the twelfth of the calends of January [21st December], and was buried in the abbey of Peterborough.

10 Apr 1058. Six days before Palm-Sunday [10th April], the city of Paderborn, and two monasteries, that of the cathedral and that of the monks, were destroyed by fire. In the monks' monastery there was a Scottish monk named Paternus, who had been in the cloister for a great number of years, and had foretold this fire; yet such was his desire of martyrdom that nothing could induce him to leave the place, and he was burnt to death in his cell, passing through the flames to the cool refreshment of paradise. Some blessed things are related concerning his tomb. "Within a few days after this occurrence, on the Tuesday after the octave of Easter [26th of April], as I was departing from Cologne on the road to Fulda in company with the abbot of Fulda, for the sake of seclusion, prayed on the very mat on which he was burnt." Thus saith Marianus, the Scottish recluse.

1058. Algar, earl of Mercia, was outlawed by king Edward (age 55) for the second time, but, supported by Griffyth, king of Wales, and aided by a Norwegian fleet, which unexpectedly came to his relief, he speedily recovered his earldom by force of arms. Pope Stephen died on the third of the calends of April [30th March]. He was succeeded by Benedict, who sent the pallium to Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury. Æthelric was ordained bishop of Sussex; and abbot Siward was consecrated bishop of Rochester. Aldred, bishop of Worcester, dedicated with great ceremony to Peter, prince of the apostles, the church [Map] which he had built from the foundations in the city of Worcester, and afterwards, with the king's license, appointed Wulfstan (age 50), a monk of Worcester, ordained by him, abbot of the new foundation. Then, having resigned the bishopric of Wilton, which he held in commendam, and restored it to Heriman, before mentioned, he crossed the sea, and went through Hungary to Jerusalem; a pilgrimage which no English archbishop or bishop is known to have performed before.

1059. Nicholas, bishop of Florence, was elected pope, and Benedict was deposed. Marianus having shut himself up in the cloister with Sigefrid, abbot of Fulda, was ordained priest at the tomb of St. Kilian, at Wurtzburg, on Saturday in Mid-Lent, the third of the ides [the 13th] of March, and on Friday after Our Lord's Ascension, being the day before the ides [the 14th] of May, he entered on his ten years' inclosure in the abbey of Fulda.

1060. Henry (age 51), king of the Franks, died, and was succeeded by his eldest son Philip (age 7). Duduc, bishop of Wells, died, and was succeeded by Giso, the king's chaplain; they were both natives of Lorraine. Kinsi, archbishop of York, died at York on the eleventh of the calends of January [22nd December]. His body was carried to the abbey of Peterborough Cathedral [Map], and buried there with great pomp. Aldred, bishop of Worcester, was elected his successor as archbishop of York at Christmas; and the see of Hereford, which had been entrusted to his administration on account of his great diligence, was given to Walter, a Lorrainer, and chaplain to queen Edgitha (age 34).

1061. Aldred, archbishop of York, went to Rome in company with earl Tosti (age 35), and received the pallium from pope Nicholas. There, also, Giso of Wells, and Walter of Hereford, were consecrated bishops by the same pope. Until John, the successor of Giso, all the bishops of Wells had their episcopal see at Wells, in the church of St. Andrew the Apostle. Maiolus, abbot of the Scots, died at Cologne; Foilan succeeded him.

1063. When Christmas was over, Harold (age 41), the brave earl of Wessex, by king Edward's (age 60) order, put himself at the head of a small troop of horse, and proceeded by rapid marches from Gloucester, where the king then was, to Rhuddlan [Map], [Flintshire] with the determination to punish Griffyth, king of Wales, for his continual ravages on the English marshes, and his many insults to his lord, king Edward, by taking his life. But Griffyth, being forewarned of the earl's approach, fled with his attendants, and escaped by getting aboard a ship, but not without extreme difficulty. Harold (age 41), finding he was gone, ordered his palace to be burnt, and setting fire to his ships and all their rigging, began his march homeward the same day. But about Rogation days [20 May] he sailed from Bristol with a naval force, and circumnavigated a great part of Wales. His brother met him, by the king's command, with a body of cavalry, and uniting their forces, they began to lay waste that part of the country. In consequence, the Welsh were reduced to submission, and, giving hostages, engaged to pay him tribute, and they deposed and banished their king, Griffyth.

05 Aug 1064. Griffyth, king of Wales, was slain by his own people, on the nones [the 5th] of August, and his head and the beak of his ship, with its ornaments, were sent to earl Harold (age 42), who, shortly afterwards, presented them to king Edward (age 61). The king then gave the territories of the Welsh king to his brothers Blethgent (age 51) and Rithwalon⁷⁷, and they swore to be faithful to him and Harold (age 42), and promised to be ready to obey their orders by sea and land, and that they would faithfully pay whatever was paid before from that country to former kings.

Note 77. Blethyn and Rhywallon, princes of North Wales and Powis, 1060—1066.

1065. Æthelwin, the reverend bishop of Durham, raised the bones of St. Oswin, formerly king of Bernicia, from the tomb in which they had lain for four hundred and fifteen years, in the monastery [Map] which stands at the mouth of the river Tyne, and placed them in a shrine with great ceremony.

24 Aug 1065. In the month of August, Harold (age 43), the brave earl of Wessex, ordered a large mansion to be built at a place called Portascith⁷⁸, on the territory of the Welsh, and gave directions that it should be well stored with meat and drink, that his lord, king Edward (age 62), might sometimes reside there for the sake of hunting. But Caradoc, son of Griffyth, king of South Wales, who a few years before had slain Griffyth, king of North Wales, and usurped his kingdom, came there with the whole force he could gather, on the feast-day of St. Bartholomew, the apostle [24th August], and slew all the workmen and their overseers, and carried off all the materials which had been collected there.

Note 78. Portskewet, on the coast of Monmouthshire, where there are some relics of a church supposed to have been built by Harold.

24 Apr 1066. The same year a comet was seen on the eighth of the calends of May [24th April], not only in England, but, as it is reported, all over the world: it shone with excessive brilliance for seven days. Soon afterwards earl Tosti (age 40) returned from Flanders, and landed in the Isle of Wight [Map]; and, having compelled the islanders to give him pay and tribute, he departed, and plundered along the sea-coast, until he arrived at Sandwich, Kent [Map]. King Harold (age 44), who was then at London, having been informed of this, ordered a considerable fleet and a body of horse to be got ready, and prepared to go in person to the port of Sandwich, Kent [Map]. On receiving this intelligence, Tosti (age 40) took some of the boatmen of the place, willing or unwilling, into his service, and, departing thence, shaped his course for Lindsey [Map], where he burnt several vills and slew a number of men. Thereupon Edwin, earl of Mercia, and Morcar, earl of Northumbria, flew to the spot with some troops, and drove him out of that neighbourhood; and, on his departure, he repaired to Malcolm (age 35), king of the Scots, and remained with him during the whole summer. Meanwhile king Harold (age 44) arrived at the port of Sandwich, Kent [Map], and waited there for his fleet. When it was assembled, he sailed to the Isle of Wight [Map]; and as William (age 38), earl of Normandy, king Edward's cousin, was preparing an army for the invasion of England, he kept watch all the summer and autumn, to prevent his landing; besides which, he stationed a land army at suitable points along the sea-coast; but provisions failing towards the time of the feast of the Nativity of St. Mary [8th September], both the fleet and army were disbanded.

Sep 1066. Harold (age 44) reigned nine months and as many days. The earls Edwin and Morcar, who had withdrawn with their troops from the battle on hearing that he was dead, went to London, and sent off their sister, queen Elgitha (age 42), to Chester; but Aldred, archbishop of York, and the earls just mentioned, with the citizens of London and the seamen, were desirous to proclaim Edgar (age 15) the etheling king, he being nephew of king Edmund Ironside; and promised that they would renew the war under his banner. But while many were preparing to go forth to battle, the earls withdrew their support, and returned home with their army.

1067. Lent drawing near [21st February], king William (age 39) returned to Normandy, taking with him Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury, Athelnoth, abbot of Glastonbury, Edgar (age 16) the etheling, the earls Edwin and Morcar, Waltheof, son of earl Siward, the noble Ethelnoth, reeve of Kent, and many others of the chief men of England; leaving his brother Odo, bishop of Bayeux, and William Fitz-Osborne, whom he had created earl of Hereford, governors of England, with orders to build strong castles in suitable places.

1067. Wulfwi, bishop of Dorchester, died at Winchester, but was buried at Dorchester [Map].

15 Aug 1067. There lived at that time a very powerful thane, Edric, surnamed the Forester, the son of Ælfric, brother of Edric Streon, whose lands were frequently ravaged by the garrison of Hereford and Richard Fitz-Scrope, because he disdained submission to the king; but as often as they made inroads on his territories, they lost many of their knights and squires. This Edric, therefore, having summoned to his aid Blethgent and Rithwallon, kings of the Welsh, about the feast of the Assumption of St. Mary [15th August], laid waste the county of Hereford as far as the bridge on the river Lugg, and carried off a great booty.

Around Sep 1067. After this, winter being near at hand, king William (age 39) returned from Normandy to England, and imposed on the English an insupportable tax. He then marched troops into Devonshire, and besieged and speedily reduced the city of Exeter, Devon [Map], which the citizens and some English thanes held against him. But the countess Githa, mother of Harold, king of England, and sister [Note. Aunt] of Sweyn (age 48), king of Denmark, escaped from the city, with many others, and retired to Flanders; and the citizens submitted to the king, and paid him fealty. Siward, nineteenth bishop of Rochester, died.

03 Apr 1069. Marianus, after his ten years seclusion at Fulda, came to Mentz, by order of the bishop of Mentz and the abbot of Fulda, on the third of the nones [the 3rd] of April, being the Friday before Palm-Sunday.

10 Jul 1069. On the sixth of the ides [the 10th] of July, being the Friday in the Nativity of the Seven Holy Brothers, Marianus secluded himself near the principal monastery in the same city [Mentz].

08 Sep 1069. Before the Nativity of St. Mary [8th September] Harold (age 29) and Canute (age 27), sons of Sweyn (age 50), king of Denmark, and their uncle, earl Asbiorn, with earl Thurkill, arriving from Denmark with two hundred and forty ships, landed at the mouth of the river Humber, where they were met by Edgar (age 18) the etheling, earl Waltheof, Marlesweyn, and many others, with a fleet they had assembled. Aldred, archbishop of York, was so distressed at their arrival, that he fell dangerously sick, and departed this life, as he besought of God, on Friday the third of the ides [the 11th] of September, in the tenth year after he became archbishop, and was buried in the church of St. Peter on the eighth day afterwards, namely, on Saturday the thirteenth of the calends of October [19th September]. The Normans, who garrisoned the forts, set fire to the adjacent houses, fearing that they might be of service to the Danes in filling up the trenches; and the flames spreading, destroyed the whole city, together with the monastery of St. Peter. But they were speedily punished for this by an infliction of the divine vengeance; for on Monday the Danish fleet arrived before the city was entirely consumed, and the forts being stormed the same day, and more than three thousand of the Normans killed (the lives of William Malet and his wife and two children, with very few others, being spared), the ships drew off laden with plunder.

After 08 Sep 1069. King William (age 41), receiving intelligence of this, immediately assembled an army, and hastened into Northumbria, giving way to his resentment; and spent the whole winter in laying waste the country, slaughtering the inhabitants, and inflicting every sort of evil, without cessation. Meanwhile, he despatched messengers to the Danish carl, Asbiorn, and promised to pay him secretly a large sum of money, and grant permission for his army to forage freely along the sea-coast, on condition that he would depart without fighting when the winter was over; and he, in his extreme greediness for lucre, and to his utter disgrace, consented to the proposal. In consequence of the ravages of the Normans, first, in Northumbria the preceding year, and again in the present and following year, throughout nearly the whole of England, so severe a famine prevailed in most parts of the kingdom, but chiefly in Northumbria and the adjacent provinces, that men were driven to feed on the flesh of horses, dogs, cats, and even of human beings.

17 Feb 1070. By the advice of William (age 50), earl of Hereford, and some others, king William (age 42), during Lent [17th February], caused all the monasteries of England to be searched, and the money deposited in them by the richer sort of the English, for security against his violence and rapacity, to be seized and carried to his own treasury.

After 24 Jun 1070. Ethelwine, bishop of Durham, was taken by king William's (age 42) retainers, and thrown into prison, where, refusing all food in the depth of his distress, he died of grief and starvation.80 On the death of Siward, bishop of Rochester, Arnostus, a monk of Bee, succeeded him, and was himself succeeded by Gundulf, a monk of the same church.

Note 80. The death of Ethelwine is here anticipated, as we find him the following year with Morcar, Hereward (age 35), and their associates at Ely, and thrown into prison at Abingdon, where he died.

1071. Lanfranc (age 66) and Thomas went to Rome, and received the pallium from pope Alexander.

After 15 Aug 1072. After the Assumption of St. Mary [15th August], William (age 44), king of England, attended by Edric the Forester, made an expedition into Scotland with a naval force and an army of cavalry, and reduced it under his own dominion; and Malcolm (age 41), king of Scots, met him at a place called Abernethy, and did him homage. Ethelric, formerly bishop of Durham, died at Westminster, where king William (age 44) had sent him into confinement, on Monday, the ides [the 15th] of October. Walchere, a native of Lorraine, succeeded Ethelwine in the see of Durham.

1073. William (age 45), king of England, reduced to subjection the city of Mans [Map], and the province belonging to it, chiefly by the aid of the English whom he had taken over with him. Edgar (age 22) the etheling came from Scotland to Normandy, passing through England; and was reconciled to the king (age 45).