Saron Chronicle 1 And the same year king Æthelwulf sent his son Elfred to Rome. Leo was then pope of Rome, and he consecrated him king, and took him for his son at confirmation. * * See note in page 18. 2 Then, in the same year, Ealhere, with the men of Kent, and Huda, with the men of Surrey, fought in Thanet against the heathen army; and at first they were victorious; and many there were slain, and drowned on either hand, and both the alderman were killed. A. 854. CHARTERS IN 854. 1. ETHEL WOLF, king of Wessex, subscribed also by Alstan, "thred fili. reg." and "Elfred fili. reg." II, 50. This is the celebrated grant of tithes it A. 855. Here the heathen men first sat over winter in Sheppey. And the same year king Æthelwulf gave by charter the tenth part of his land throughout his realm for the glory of God and his own eternal salvation. Asser 853 Ethelwerd 853 In the same year king Atheluulf sent his son Ælfred to Rome in the days of our lord pope Leo, who consecrated him king and named him his son in baptism, as we are accustomed to name little children, receive them 1 In the same year, king 1 Ethelwulf sent his son Ælfred, above-named, to Rome, with an honourable escort both of nobles and commoners. Pope Leo [THE FOURTH] at that time presided over the apostolic see, who ordained and anointed for king the aforesaid child Ælfred, and confirmed him, receiving him as his son of adoption. 2 The same year also, earl Ealhere, with the men of Kent, and Huda with the men of Surrey, fought bravely and resolutely against an army of the pagans, in the island, which is called in the Saxon tongue, Tenet, [THA NET], but Ruim in British. 3 And at first the Christians had the victory, but when the battle was protracted to a great length, many fell on both sides, and also were drowned in the water; and both the earls were there slain. is dated April 22. 2. Another copy of the same charter follows, p. 52, in which the names of Ethelred and Alfred do not appear. Both copies bear the subscription of the celebrated Swithun bishop of Winchester, and Alstan bishop of In the year of our Lord's incarnation 855, which was the seventh after the birth of the aforesaid king, the great army of the pagans passed the whole winter in the afore said isle of Sheppey. In the same year the aforesaid venerable king Æthelwulf released the tenth part of all his kingdom from all royal service and tribute, and with a pen never to be forgotten, offered it up to God the One and the Three in One, in the cross of Christ, for the redemption of his own soul and of his prede cessors. when we from the bishop's hand. In the same year king Athulf gave the tenth of all his possessions to be the Lord's portion, and SO appointed it to be in all the government of his kingdom. INGULF places the grant of tithes in 855, after the return of Ethelwolf from Rome: but, if he started for Rome in 855, and stayed there 12 months, it is certain that he returned in 856, and consequently, if the grant was made in 855, it must have been made before he started. Ethelwolf married Judith on the 1st of October 856. [BOUQUET, vii, 72] 854. Died Eanbert bishop of MATT. WESTMINSTER. In the Lindisfarne, and Eardulf succeeded. year of Grace 854 died WYMUND archbishop of York to whom succeeded WILFER. 7 About this time the pagans tarried the whole winter in Sheppey. 1 Ethelwolf, in the 19th year of his reign, tithed all his land for the service of the churches, on account of his love of God and for the redemption of himself. 3 1 In the same year king Ethelwlf sent over to Rome his son Elfred accompanied by a great band of noble soldiers. At which time the blessed pope Leo presided over the apostolic see who ordained and anointed for king the aforesaid child, and receiving him for his adopted son, confirmed him and sent him back to his country and to his father with the blessing of St Peter the apostle. 2 At that time earl Alchere and Wada, with the men of Kent and Surrey, fought severely against the army of the pagans in the island which is called TENED in the Saxon tongue, but in the British RUIM. At first the Christians had the victory; but, when the battle was protracted to a great length, many fell on both sides, and many were drowned in the river and slain, a number not to be described. Both the aforesaid leaders there fell for the deliverance of their people. In the year of our Lord's incarnation 854, archbishop Wlfere received the pall, and Eardulf undertook the bishopric of Lindisfarne. In the year of our Lord's incarnation 855, and the seventh from the birth of the aforesaid king, the army of the pagans wintered the whole winter in the island of Sheppey. At which time king Ethelwlf tithed all the dominions of his kingdom for the redemption of his soul and that of his ancestors. ANNALS. AN. $55. Eadmund, the most glorious king of the EastAngles, begins to reign on the 8th before the calends of January, i. e. on our Lord's birth-day, in the 14th year of his age. Ethelwerd 855 And in the same year he set out to Rome with great dignity, and stopped there 12 months. CHARTERS IN 855. 1. ETHELWOLF, Nov. 5. mentions that Beorred king of Mercia, and Edmund king of the Eastangles, were present and subscribed. II, 56. 2. ETHELWOLF; subscribed also by " Æthelberht rex," "Alfred filius regis," and others. II, 58. 3. BURGRED of Mercia; signed also by Ethelswith regina," "Mucel dux," and others. II, 58. 4. BURGRED, subscribed also by "Ethelswith regina," and others. II, 60. 5. EALHWINE bishop of Worcester. II, 61. (8) A. 856. After which he returned to On his way back to his own country, Charles king of the Franks gave to him in marriage his daughter, whom he received and brought into his own country. In the meantime, however, whilst king Ethelwulf was residing beyond the sea, a base deed was done, repugnant to the morals of all Christians, in the western part of Selwood. For king Æthelbald and Ealhstan, bishop of the church of Sherborne, with Eanwulf, earl of the district of Somerton, f are said to have made a conspiracy together, that king Ethelwulf, on his return from Rome, should never again be received into his kingdom. This crime, unheard-of in all previous ages, is ascribed by many to the bishop and earl alone, as resulting from their counsels. Many also ascribe it solely to the insolence of the king, because that king was pertinacious in this matter, and in many other perversities, as we have heard related by certain persons; as also was Earl of Somersetshire, of which Somerton was once the chief town. The most holy Edmund, beloved by God, sprung from the lineage of the old Saxons, and a true worshipper of the Christian faith, affable to all by his sweet mode of speech, and deeply imbued with the grace of humility, liberal to the needy, and a most merci ful father to orphans and widows, obtained the government of the province of East-Anglia. 2 In the meantime, however, whilst king Etheluulf was residing beyond the sea, a base deed was done, repugnant to the morals of all Christians, in the western part of Selwood. For king Ethelbald and Ealhstan, bishop of the church of Sherborne, with Eanwulf, earl of the district of Somerton, are said to have made a conspiracy together, that king Etheluulf, on his return from Rome, should never again be 3 And return- this country. received into his kingdom. This crime, unheard-of in all previous ages, is ascribed by many to the bishop and earl alone, as resulting from their counsels. Many also ascribed it solely to the insolence of the king, because that king was pertinacious in this matter, and in many other perversities, as we have heard related by certain persons; as also was When he [ETHELWOLF] Was returning to his ountry, ANNALS. AN. 856. In the 18th year of the reign of Adhelwlf king of the West-Saxons, HUMBERCHT bishop of the East Angles anointed with oil, and consecrated for king, the most glorious Eadmund with great joy and the greatest honour, in the royal vill which is called Burna, because the royal seat was then there, in the 15th year of his age, the sixth day of the week, 24th moon, being the day of our Lord's birth. he became hateful to his son Ethelbald, and Ealhstan bishop of Sherborne, and many others. CHARTERS IN 856. None are extant. Saron Chronicle Asser Ethelwerd 856 * proved by the result of that which follows. For, as he was returning from Rome, his son aforesaid, with all his counsellors, or, as I ought to say, his conspirators, attempted to perpetrate the crime of repulsing the king from his own kingdom; but neither did God permit the deed, nor would the nobles of Saxony consent to it. For to pervent this irremediable evil to Saxony, of a son warring against his father, or rather of the whole nation carrying on civil war, either on the side of the one or the other, the extraordinary mildness of the father, seconded by the consent of all the nobles, divided between the two the kingdom which had hitherto been undivided; the eastern parts were given to the father, and the western to the son; contrariwise: for where the father ought by just right to reign, there his unjust and obstinate son did reign; for the western part of Saxony is always preferable to the eastern. When Ethelwulf, therefore, was coming from Rome, that nation, as was fitting, so delighted in the arrival of the old man, that, if he permitted them, they would have expelled his rebellious son Æthelbald, with all his counsellors, out of the kingdom. But he, as we have said, acting with great clemency and prudent counsel, so wished things to be done, that the kingdom might not come into danger; and he placed Judith, daughter of king Charles, whom he had received from her father, by his own side on the regal throne, without any controversy or enmity from his nobles, even to the end of his life, contrary to the perverse custom of that nation. For the nation of the West-Saxons do not allow a queen to sit beside the king, nor to be called a queen, but only the king's wife; which stigma the elders of that land say arose from a certain obstinate and malevolent queen of the same nation, who did all things so contrary to her lord, and to all the people, that she not only earned for herself exclusion from the royal seat, but also entailed the same stigma upon those who came after her; for, in consequence of the wickedness of that queen, all the nobles of that land swore together, that they would never let any king reign over them, who should attempt to place a queen on the throne by his side. And because, as I think, it is not known to many whence this perverse and detestable custom arose in Saxony, contrary to the custom of all the Theotiscan nations, it seems to me right to explain a little more fully what I have heard from my lord Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, as he also had heard it from many men of truth, who in great part recorded that fact. There was in Mercia, in recent times, a certain valiant king, who was feared by all the kings and neighbouring states around. His name was Offa, and it was he who had the great rampart made from sea to sea between Britain and Mercia. His daughter, named Eadburgh, was married to Berhtric, king of the West-Saxons; who immediately, having the king's affections, and the control of almost all the kingdom, began to live tyrannically like her father, and to execrate every man whom Beorhtric loved, and to do all things hateful to God and man, and to accuse all she could before the king, and so to deprive them insidiously of their life or power; and if she could not obtain the king's consent, she used to take them off by poison: as is ascertained to have been the case with a certain young man beloved by the king, whom she poisoned, finding that the king would not listen to any accusation against him. It is said, moreover, * i, e. ENGLAND. "I Tedeschi "-Teutonic. i. e. WALES. |