Warkworth's Chronicle 1473. 1473. Also in the same yere Womere¹ watere ranne hugely, withe suche abundaunce of watere, that nevyr manne sawe it renne so moche afore this tyme. Womere is callede the woo watere: for Englyschmen, whenne thei dyd fyrst inhabyde this lond, also sone as thei see this watere renne, thei knewe wele it was a tokene of derthe², or of pestylence, or of grete batayle; wherefor thei callede it Womere; (for we as in Englysche tonge woo, and mere is called watere, whiche signyfieth woo-watere;) for alle that tyme thei sawe it renne, thei knewe welle that woo was comynge to Englonde. And this Wemere is vij. myle frome Sent Albons, at a place callede Markayate; and this Wemere ranne at every felde afore specifyede, and nevere so hugely as it dyd this yere, and ranne stylle to the xiij. day of June next yere folowynge. Also ther has ronne dyverse suche other wateres, that betokenethe lykewyse; one at Lavesham³ in Kent, and another byside Canturbury called Naylborne, and another at Croydone in Suthsex⁴, and another vij. myle a this syde the castelle of Dodley, in the place called Hungerevale; that whenne it betokenethe batayle it rennys foule and trouble watere; and whenne betokenythe derthe or pestylence, it rennyth as clere as any watere, but this yere it ranne ryght trouble and foule watere, &c. Also ther is a pytte in Kent, in Langley Parke⁵: ayens any batayle he wille be drye, and it rayne nevere so myche; and if ther be no batayle towarde, he wille be fulle of watere, be it nevyre so drye a wethyre; and this yere he is drye⁶, &c. Also this same yere, ther was a voyce cryenge in the heyre, betwyx Laicetere and Bambury, uppon Dunmothe, and in dyverse othere places, herde a long tyme cryinge, "Bowes! Bowes!" whiche was herde of xl. menne; and some menne saw that he that cryed soo was a hedles manne; and many other dyverse tokenes have be schewede in Englonde this yere, for amendynge of mennys lyvynge.

Note 1. Womere. So in MS. but should be wemere.

Note 2. A tokene of derthe. See Mr. Thoms's Anecdotes and Traditions (p. 122), for one instance of this curious superstition; Mr. Thoms refers to Grimm's Mythology for more examples.

Note 3. Lavesham, i.e. Lewisham, Kent.

Note 4. Suthsex. A mistake in MS. for Surrey.

Note 5. A pytte in Kent, in Langley Parke. This is probably the place where the small stream mentioned in Hasted's History of Kent (II. 140.) took its rise, and joins the river Medway on the south side of it, about half a mile above Maidstone.

Note 6. And this yere he is drye. This passage shows that these notes of prognosticative prodigies were penned in the same year in which they happened.