A.D. 837. 'This year Wulfheard the ealdorman fought at Hamtun [Southampton], against the forces of thirty-three ships, and there made great slaughter, and got the victory; and the same year' Wulfheard died. And the same year Aethelhelm the ealdorman fought against the Danish army at Port with the men of Dorset, and for a good while he put the enemy to flight; but the Danish-men had possession of the field of battle, and slew the ealdorman.

A.D. 838. This year Herebryht the ealdorman was slain by the heathen men, and many with him among the Marsh-men;" and afterwards, the same year, in Lindsey, and in East-Anglia, and in Kent, many men were slain by the enemy.

A.D. 839. This year there was great slaughter at London, and at Canterbury,' and at Rochester.

A.D. 840. This year king Aethelwulf fought at Carrum against the crews of thirty-five ships, and the Danish-men maintained possession of the field of battle. And Louis the emperor died. A.D. 841-844.

A.D. 845. This year Eanulf the ealdorman, with the men of Somerset, and bishop Ealchstan, and Osric the_ealdorman, with the men of Dorset, fought at the mouth of the Parret against the Danish army, and there made great slaughter, and got the victory. A.D. 846-850.

A.D. 1851. "This year Ceorl the earldorman, with the men of Devonshire, fought against the heathen men at Wicganbeorg, and there made great slaughter and got the victory. "And the same year king Aethelstan and Ealchere the ealdormen fought on shipboard, and slew a great number of the enemy at Sandwich in Kent, and took nine" ships, and put the others to flight; and the heathen men, for the first time, remained over winter in Thanet. And the same year came three hundred and fifty ships to the mouth of the Thames, and the crews landed and took Canterbury and London by storm, and put to flight Beorhtwulf, king of the Mercians, with his army, and then went south over the Thames into Surrey; and there king Aethelwulf and his son Aethelbald, with the army of the West-Saxons, fought against them at Aclea [Ockley], and there made the greatest slaughter among the heathen army that we have heard reported to the present day, and there got the victory.

A.D. 852. "At this time Ceolred, abbat of Medeshamstede, and 2 Thirty-four, C.D.

1 This whole year is omitted in F.

3 Here begins the fragment of MS. G.

4 E. F. omit the whole of this year.

6 This year is not in F.

5 Mercians, D.

▾ This is the reading of MS. C. The other reading gives Cwantavic, or S. Josse

sur-mer.

9 From F. This was Louis le Debonnaire.

8

A.D. 841, C.

10 A.D. 853, C. The first sentence of the events of this year is not in F.

11 From this period until 887, compare Asser, who has translated and incorporated the Chronicle in his life of Alfred.-P.

12 Transposed to the end of the year in B. C. D. E. F., and partly repeated by insertion in A. at the end of 845. 13 Eight, B. C.

14 The whole of this year from E. The lease here recited may be seen in Kemble's Anglo-Saxon Charters, No. 267.

the monks let to Wulfred the land of Sempigaham, on this condition, that after his decease the land should return to the minster, and that Wulfred should give the land of Sliowaforda to Medeshamstede, and each year should deliver into the minster sixty fother of wood, and twelve fother of coal,' and six fother of faggots, and two tuns full of pure ale, and two beasts fit for slaughter, and six hundred loaves, and ten measures of Welsh ale, and each year a horse, and thirty shillings, and one day's entertainment. At this agreement were present king Burhred, and archbishop Ceolred, and bishop Tunberht, and bishop Cenred, and bishop Alhhun, and abbat Wihtred, and abbat Werhtherd, and Aethelheard, the ealdorman, and Huuberht,. the ealdorman, and many others.

A.D. '853. This year Burhred, king of the Mercians, and his "witan," begged of king Aethelwulf that he would assist him so that he might make the North-Welsh obedient to him. He then did so; and went with an army across Mercia among the NorthWelsh, and made them all obedient to him. And the same year king Aethelwulf sent his son Alfred to Rome. Leo' [IV.] was then pope of Rome; and he consecrated him king, and took him for his son at confirmation. 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 ealdormen were killed. And upon this, after Easter, Aethelwulf, king of the West-Saxons, gave his daughter to Burgred, king of the Mercians.

A.D. 854.

A.D. '855. This year the heathen men, for the first time, re mained over winter in Shepey; and the same year king Aethelwulf gave by charter the tenth part of his land throughout his realm for the glory of God and his own eternal salvation. And the same year he went to Rome in great state, and dwelt there twelve months, and then returned homewards. And then Charles, king of the Franks, gave him his daughter to wife; and after that he came to his people, and they were glad of it. And about two years after he came from France he died, and his body lies at Winchester. And he reigned eighteen years and a half. And Aethelwulf was the son of Ecgbryht, Ecgbryht of Ealhmund,

7

1 Petrie leaves this word in its original form, "græfan," uncertain as to its meaning; but it doubtless is a weak noun (græfa-an), from the verb grafan, to dig. A.D. 754, C. This year is not noticed in F.

3 Here in MS. A. is painted on each side-margin a red cross. Similar crosses are added on the death of king Ethelbryht, A.D. 860, and bishop Asser, A.D. 910. A few others in ink have been added by a later hand.-P.

A.D. 856, C. F.; 854 G.

5 For Aethelwulf's grant, which has given rise to much controversy, see Asser, A.D. 855; Kemble's Saxon Charters, Nos. 270, 271, 275, 276; and Monast. Anglic. i. 100: and for an examination into the authenticity of the charter, Collier's Eccl. Hist. i. 156, 157, may be consulted.

• See next page, note

7 Aethelwulf married Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, on 1st Oct. 856, and died in January (or, as one MS. of Florence of Worcester reads, June), 858. See Asser, A.D. 855.-P.

To the end of the genealogy is omitted in E. F.

Ealhmund of Eafa, Eafa of Eoppa, Eoppa of Ingild; Ingild was Ine's brother, king of the West-Saxons, he who held the kingdom 'thirty-seven years, and afterwards went to St. Peter, and there resigned his life; and they were the sons of Cenred, Cenred of Ceolwald, Ceolwald of Cutha, Cutha of Cuthwin, Cuthwin of Ceaulin, Ceaulin of Cynric, Cynric of Cerdic, Cerdic of Elesa, Elesa of Esla, Esla of Gewis, Gewis of Wig, Wig of Freawine, Freawine of Frithogar, Frithogar of Brond, Brond of Baeldaeg, Baeldaeg of Woden, Woden of Frithowald, Frithowald of Frealaf, Frealaf of Frithuwulf, Frithuwulf of Finn, Finn of Godwulf, Godwulf of Geat, Geat of Taetwa, Taetwa of Beaw, Beaw of Sceldwa, Sceldwa of Heremod, Heremod of Itermon, Itermon of Hathra, Hathra of Hwala, Hwala of Bedwig, Bedwig of Sceaf, that is, the son of Noah, he was born in Noah's ark; Lamech, Matusalem, Enoh, Jaered, Malalahel, Camon, Enos, Seth, Adam the first man, and our Father, that is, Christ. Amen. And then Aethelwulf's two sons succeeded to the kingdom; Aethelbald succeeded to the kingdom of the West-Saxons; and Aethelbryht to the kingdom of the Kentish-men, and to the kingdom of the East-Saxons, and to Surrey, and to the kingdom of the South-Saxons; and then Aethelbald reigned five years. 'Aelfred his third' son he had sent to Rome: and when pope Leo [IV.] heard say that he [Aethelwulf] was dead, he consecrated Alfred king, and held him as his spiritual son at confirmation, even as his father Athewulf had requested on sending him thither.

A.D. 855. And on his return homewards he took to (wife) the daughter of Charles, king of the French, whose name was Judith, and he came home safe. And then in about two years he died, and his body lies at Winchester; and he reigned 'eighteen years and a half, and he was the son of Ecgbryht. And then his two sons succeeded to the kingdom; Aethelbald to the kingdom of the West-Saxons, and Aethelbryht to the kingdom of the Kentish-men, and of the East-Saxons, and of Surrey, and of the SouthSaxons. And he reigned five years."

A.D. 856-859.

A.D. '860. This year died king Aethelbald, and his body lies at Sherborne; and Aethelbryht succeeded to all the realm of his brother, and he held it in goodly concord and in great tranquillity. And in his days a large ship-army came to land, and stormed Winchester. And Osric the ealdorman, with the men of Hampshire, Aethelwulf the ealdorman, with the men of Berkshire, fought against the army, and put the army to flight, and had possession of the place of carnage. And Aethelbryht reigned five years, and his body lies at Sherborne.

A.D. 861. 'This year
A.D. 862-864.

died St. Swithun the bishop.

A.D. 1865. This year the heathen

1 The duration of his reign is from B. C. D.

2 To the end of the year from F.

D. E. F., after p. 41, note 6.

5 Nine years, E; twenty years, F.

army

sat down in Thanet, and

Read, "his fourth son."-P.

6 As at the beginning of the pedigree in the text given above.

8 F. in continuation of A.D. 861.

made peace with the men of Kent, and the men of Kent promised them money for the peace; and during the peace and the promise of money the army stole away by night, and ravaged all Kent to the eastward.

A.D. '866. This year Aethered, Aethelbyrht's brother, succeeded to the kingdom of the West-Saxons: 'and the same year a great heathen army came to the land of the English nation, and took up their winter quarters among the East-Angles, and there they were horsed; and the East-Angles made peace with them.

A.D. 867. This year the army went from East-Anglia over the mouth of the Humber to the city of York in North-humbria. And there was much dissension among that people, and they had cast out their king Osbryht, and had taken to themselves a king, Aella, not of royal blood; but late in the year they resolved that they would fight against the army; and therefore they gathered a large force, and sought the army at the city of York, and stormed the town, and some of them got within, and there was an excessive slaughter made on the North-humbrians, some within, some without, and the kings were both slain; and the remainder made peace with the army. And the same year bishop Ealchstan died; and he had the bishopric of Sherborne fifty years, and his body lies in the town.

A.D. '868. This year the same army went into Mercia to Nottingham, and there took up their winter quarters. And Burgraed, king of the Mercians, and his "witan," begged of Ethered, king of the West-Saxons, and of Aelfred his brother, that they would help them, that they might fight against the army. And then they went with the West-Saxon power into Mercia as far as Nottingham, and there met with the army within the fortress; and besieged them therein but there was no great battle; and the Mercians made peace with the army.

A.D. '869. This year the army again went to York, and sat there one year.

A.D. 870. This year the army rode across Mercia into EastAnglia, and took up their winter quarters at Thetford; and the same winter king Eadmund fought against them, and the Danes got the victory, and slew the king, and subdued all the land, and destroyed all the minsters which they came to. The names of their chiefs who slew the king were Ingwair and Ubba. At that same time they came to Medeshamstede, and burned and beat it down, slew abbat and monks, and all that they found there. And that place, which before was full rich, they reduced to nothing. And the same year died archbishop Ceolnoth. Then went Aethered and Aelfred his brother, and took Aethelred bishop of Wiltshire," and appointed him archbishop of Canterbury, because formerly he had

A.D. 870, C. This year is blank in F.

7 As far as "nothing" from E.

F. in the margin.

4

A.D. 869, C.

6

A.D. 871, C.

This sentence occurs in F. also.

10 Of this Wiltshire seo, nothing occurs elsewhere before the beginning of the

following century.-P.

been a monk of the same minster of Canterbury. As soon as he came to Canterbury, and was established in his archbishopric, he then thought how he might expel the clerks who (were) there within, whom the archbishop Ceolnoth had (before) placed there for such need . . . as we shall relate. The first year that he was made archbishop there was so great a mortality, that of all the monks whom he found there within, no more than five monks survived. Then for the . . . . he (commanded) his chaplains, and also some priests of his vills, that they should help the few monks who there survived to do Christ's service, because he could not so readily find monks who might of themselves do the service; and for this reason he commanded that the priests, the while, until God should give peace in this land, should help the monks. In that same time was this land much distressed by frequent battles, and hence the archbishop could not there effect it, for there was warfare and sorrow all his time over England; and hence the clerks remained with the monks. Nor was there ever a time that monks were not there within, and they ever had lordship over the priests. Again the archbishop Ceolnoth thought, and also said to those who were with him, "As soon as ever God shall give peace in this land, either these priests shall be monks, or from elsewhere I will place within the minster as many monks as may do the service of themselves; for God knows that I .....

1

A.D. 2871. This year the army came to Reading 'in Wessex; and about three days after this, two of their earls rode forth. Then Aethelwulf the ealdorman met them at Englafield, and there fought against them, and got the victory: 'and there one of them, whose name was Sidroc, was slain. About four days after this, king Aethered and Aelfred his brother led a large force to Reading, and fought against the army, and there was great slaughter made on either hand. And Aethelwulf the ealdorman was slain, and the Danish-men had possession of the place of carnage. And about four days after this, king Aethered and Aelfred his brother fought against the whole army at Aescesdune; and 'they were in two bodies in the one were Bachsecg and Halfdene, the heathen kings, and in the other were the earls. And then king Aethered fought against the division of the kings, and there king Bagsecg was slain; and Aelfred his brother against the division of the earls, and there earl Sidroc the elder was slain, earl Sidroc the younger, and earl Osbearn, and earl Fraena, and earl Hareld; and both divisions of the army were put to fight, and many thousands slain: and they continued fighting until night. And 'about fourteen days after this, king Aethered and Aelfred his brother fought against the army at Basing, and there the Danes obtained the victory. And about two months after this, king Aethered and Aelfred his brother fought 1 The text of the MS. is here slightly imperfect, and the corresponding Latin text does not enable us satisfactorily to supply the defect. 2 A.D. 872, C.

As far as "victory" not in F.

B. C. D. E. give the remainder of the sentence.

5 Seven, G ; but this number is expuncted in the MS., and "four" placed over it.

6 See at the end of the year, p. 45, note.

7 See at the end of the year, p. 45, note 5.