2

Condé, and sat there one year. 'And Marinus the pope then sent "lignum Domini " to king Aelfred; and that same year Sighelm and Aethelstan carried to Rome the alms which the king had vowed to send thither, and also to India, to St. Thomas and to St. Bartholomew, when they sat down against the army at London; and there, thanks be to God, they largely obtained the object of their prayer after the vow. A.D. 884. This year the army the Somme to Amiens, and there sat one year. This year 'the benevolent bishop Aethelwold died.

5

went up

A.D. 885. This year the fore-mentioned army divided itself into two; the one part went eastward, the other part to Rochester, and besieged the city, and wrought another fortress about themselves. And, notwithstanding this, the townsmen defended the city till king Aelfred came out with his forces. Then went the army to their ships, and abandoned their fortress; and they were there deprived of their horses, and soon after, in that same manner, departed over sea. And that same year king Aelfred sent a fleet from Kent to East-Anglia. So soon as they came to the mouth of the Stour, there met them sixteen ships of pirates; and they fought against them, and captured all the ships and killed the men. As they afterwards returned homeward with the booty, a large fleet of pirates met them, and then fought against them that same day, and the Danish-men had the victory. That same year, before midwinter, Charles, king of the French, died; he was killed by a wild boar; and one year before this, his brother died he too had the western kingdom: and they were both sons of Louis, who likewise had the western kingdom, and died that year when the sun was eclipsed: he was son of Charles, whose daughter Aethelwulf, king of the West-Saxons, had for his queen. And that same year a large fleet drew together against the Old Saxons; and there was a great battle twice in that year, and the Saxons had the victory, and the Frisians were there with them. That same year Charles" succeeded to the western kingdom, and to all the kingdom on this side the Wendel-sea [the Tuscan Sea], and beyond this sea, in like manner as his great-grandfather had it, with the exception of the Lid-wiccas [the Bretons]. Charles was Louis's son; Louis was Charles's brother, who was father of Judith, whom king Aethelwulf had; and they were sons of Louis, Louis was son of the elder Charles, Charles was Pepin's son. "And that same year died the 1 The remainder of the year is from B.C.D.E.F.

2 F. explains this as meaning a portion of our Lord's cross.

3 The conclusion from MS. F., the Latin text of which reads thus, "Here died Adelwold bishop of Winchester, and in his place was chosen Alfee, who was called by another name Godwin."

The account of the death of Ethelwold bishop of Winchester, here inserted in MS. F., is anticipated a century by the carelessness of the scribe: the name of his successor in the Latin puts this beyond all doubt. See A. 984.—P.

5 Asser omits the events of A. 884 of the Chronicle, and places those of 885 under that year. At any rate the foreign transactions are rightly so placed.—P. The passage as far as "victory" is not in F.

6 Carloman.

7 Louis III.

9 As far as "Pepin's son," not in E. F. 11 This sentence is not in B. C. D. E.

8 Charles the Bald.

10 Surnamed the Fat.

good pope Marinus, who, at the prayer of Aelfred, king of the West-Saxons, freed the English school; and he sent him great gifts, and part of the rood on which Christ suffered. 'And that same year the army in East-Anglia broke the peace with king Aelfred.

A.D. 886. This year the army which before had drawn eastward, went westward again, and thence up the Seine, and there took up their winter quarters near the town of Paris. That same year king Aelfred' repaired London; and all the English submitted to him, except those who were under the bondage of the Danishmen; and then he committed the town to the keeping of Aethered the ealdorman.

6

A.D. 5887. This year the army went up through the bridge at Paris, and thence up along the Seine as far as the Marne, and thence up the Marne to Chezy, and then sat down there, and on the Yonne, two winters in the two places. And that same year Charles king of the French died; and six weeks before he died, Earnulf his brother's son bereaved him of the kingdom. And then was that kingdom divided into five, and five kings were consecrated thereto. This, however, was done by permission of Earnulf and they said that they would hold it from his hand, because none of them on the father's side was born thereto except him alone. Earnulf then dwelt in the land east of the Rhine: and Rodulf then succeeded to the 'middle kingdom, and Oda to the western part, and Beorngar and Witha to the land of the Lombards, and to the lands on that side of the mountain: and that they held in great discord, and fought two general battles, and oft and many times laid waste the land, and each repeatedly drove out the other. And that same year that the army went up beyond the bridge at Paris, Aethelhelm the ealdorman1o carried the alms of the West-Saxons and of king Aelfred to Rome."1

A.D. 12888. This year Beocca the ealdorman carried the alms of the West-Saxons and of king Aelfred to Rome; and queen 13 Aethelswith, who was king Aelfred's sister, died on the way to Rome, and her body lies at Pavia. And that same year Aethelred archbishop of Canterbury, and Aethelwold the ealdorman, died in the same month.

A.D. 1889. In this year there was no journey to Rome, except that king Aelfred sent two couriers with letters.

A.D. 15890. 16 This year abbot Beornhelm carried the alms of the West-Saxons and of king Aelfred to Rome. And Godrum the

1 F. does not contain this sentence.

2 The whole of this year is omitted by F.

3 The remainder of the sentence from B. C. D. E.

The Latin text of F. here reads, "King Alfred resided in London."

Northern king died, whose 'baptismal name was Aethelstan; he was king Aelfred's godson, and he abode in East-Anglia, and first3 settled that country. And that same year the army went from the Seine to St. Lo, which is between Brittany and France; and the Bretons fought against them, and had the victory, and drove them out into a river and drowned many of them. This year Plegmund was chosen of God and of all the people to be archbishop of Canterbury.

A.D. 891. This year the army went eastward; and king Earnulf, with the East-Franks and Saxons and Bavarians, fought against that part which was mounted, before the ships came up, and put them to flight. And three Scots came to king Aelfred in a boat without any rudder from Ireland, whence they had stolen away, because they desired for the love of God to be in a state of pilgrimage, they recked not where. The boat in which they came was made of two hides and a half; and they took with them provisions sufficient for seven days; and then about the seventh day they came on shore in Cornwall, and soon after went to king Aelfred. Thus they were named: Dubslane, and Macbeth, and Maclinmum. 'And Swifneh, the best teacher among the Scots, died.

A.D. 892. And that same year after Easter, about Rogation week [29th May], or before, the star appeared which in Latin is called Cometa; some men say in English that it is a hairy star, because a long radiance streams from it, sometimes on the one side, and sometimes on each side.

11

A.D. 10893. In this year the great army, about which we formerly spoke, came again from the eastern kingdom westward to Boulogne, and there was shipped; so that they came over in one passage, horses and all; and they came to land at Limene-mouth with two hundred and fifty ships. This port is in the eastern part of Kent, at the east end of the great wood which we call Andred; the wood is in length from east to west one hundred and twelve12 miles, or longer, and thirty miles broad: the river of which we before spoke flows out of the weald. On this river they towed up their ships as far as the weald, four miles from the outward harbour, and there stormed a fortress: within the fortress a few ceorlish men were stationed, and it was in part only constructed.

Then

7 "For their fourth companion named Swifneh, who was a most skilful doctor, died. And in the same year a comet, about the ascension of the Lord." F. Latin addition. See the Annals of Ulster, A.D. 891.

8 Here ends the first, or original hand in MS. A. The date of A.D. D.CCC.XCII. is written beneath, and the commencement of the narrative of the year follows at the top of the next page, on the reverse of the leaf, in a fresh hand, which continues during a portion of 894, and is followed at intervals by various others.-P. 9 In continuation of the preceding year, B. C. D. The whole year is omitted in E. F.

10 In MS. A. this was originally A.D. 892, but it has been altered as the text now stands, and each successive year to A.D. 923 inclusively has been altered in like manner.-P. 11 A.D. 891.

12 One hundred and twenty, B. C. D.; one hundred and twenty-four, F. Lat.

soon after that Haesten, with eighty ships, landed at the mouth of the Thames, and wrought himself a fortress at Middetun; and the other army did the like at Apuldre.'

A.D. 894. "In this year, that was about a twelvemonth after these had wrought the fortress in the eastern district, the Northhumbrians and the East-Angles had given oaths to king Aelfred, and the East-Angles six hostages; and nevertheless, contrary to their plighted troth, as oft as the other armies went out with all their force, they also went out, either with them or on their own part. On this king Aelfred gathered together his forces, and proceeded until he encamped between the two armies, as near as he could have space, for the wood fastnesses, and for the water fastnesses, so that he might be able to reach either of them in case they should seek any open country. From this time the enemy always went out along the weald in bands and troops, by whichever border was at the time without forces: and they also were sought out by other bands, almost every day, either by day or night, as well from the [king's] force as from the towns. The king had divided his forces into two, so that one half was constantly at home, the other half in the fields; besides those men whose duty it was to defend the towns. The army did not come out of their stations with their whole force oftener than twice: once when they first came to land, before the forces were assembled; a second time when they would go away from their stations. Then had they taken much booty, and would at that time go northward over the Thames into Essex towards their ships. Then the king's forces outrode and got before them, and fought against them at Farnham, and put the army to flight, and retook the booty; and they fled over the Thames, where there was no ford; then up along the Colne into an island. Then the forces there beset them about so long as they there had any provisions: but at length they had stayed their term of service, and had consumed their provisions; and the king was then on his way thitherwards with the division which warred along with him. While he was on his way thither, and the other force was gone homewards, and the Danish-men remained there behind, because their king had been wounded in the battle, so that they could not carry him away, then those who dwell among the North-humbrians and among the East-Anglians gathered some hundred ships and went about south, and some forty ships about to the north, and besieged a fortress in Devonshire by the north sea; and those who went about to the south besieged Exeter. When the king heard that, then turned he westward towards Exeter with all his force, except a very strong body of the people eastward. These went onwards until they came to London; and then with the townsmen, and the aid which came to them from the west, they went east to Beamfleet. Haesten was then come there with his band which before sat at Middletun; and the great army was also come thereto, which before sat at Apuldre near Limene-mouth. The fortress at Beamfleet had been before this

2

1 "In this year also died Wlfer the archbishop of the Northumbrians." F. Lat. Nothing further occurs in MSS. E. and F. until the year 901.

constructed by Haesten, and he was at that time gone out to plunder; and the great army was at home [therein]. Then came they thereto, and put the army to flight, and stormed the fortress, and took all that was within it, as well the property, as the women, and the children also, and brought the whole to London; and all the ships they either broke in pieces or burned, or brought to London or to Rochester; and they brought the wife of Haesten and his two sons to the king: and he afterwards gave them up to him again, because one of them was his godson, and the other Aethered, the ealdorman's. They had become their godfathers before Haesten came to Beamfleet, and at that time Haesten had delivered to him hostages and taken oaths: and the king had also given him many gifts; and so likewise when he gave up the youth and the woman. But as soon as they came to Beamfleet, and the fortress was constructed, then plundered he that very part of the king's realm which was in the keeping of Aethered his compater;' and again, this second time, he had gone out to plunder that very same district when his fortress was stormed. Now the king with his force had turned westward towards Exeter, as I said before, and the army had beset the city; but when he arrived there, then went they to their ships. While the king was thus busied with the army there, in the west, and both the other armies had drawn together at Shoebury in Essex, and there had constructed a fortress, then both together went up along the Thames, and a great addition came to them, as well from the East-Anglians as from the Northhumbrians. They then went up along the Thames till they reached the Severn; then up along the Severn. Then Aethered the ealdorman, and Aethelm the ealdorman, and Aethelnoth the ealdorman, and the king's thanes who were then at home in the fortified places, gathered forces from every town east of the Parret, and as well west as east of Selwood, and also north of the Thames, and west of the Severn, and also some part of the North-Welsh people. When they had all drawn together, then they came up with the army at Buttington on the banks of the Severn, and there beset them about, on either side, in a fastness. When they had now sat there many weeks on both sides of the river, and the king was in the west in Devon, against the fleet, then were the enemy distressed for want of food; and having eaten a great part of their horses, the others being starved with hunger, then went they out against the men who were encamped on the east bank of the river, and fought against them and the Christians had the victory. And Ordheh, a king's thane, was there slain, and also many other king's thanes were slain; and of the Danish-men there was very great slaughter made: and that part which got away thence was saved by flight. When they had come into Essex to their fortress and to their ships, then the survivors again gathered a great army from among the East-Angles and the North-humbrians before winter, and committed their wives, and their ships, and their wealth, to the East

:

2

1 One who stands as sponsor at baptism along with another.

2 This sentence does not occur in B. C.

3 This clause, as far as "made," is from B. C. D.