VI. SIMEON OF DURHAM, a monk of Durham, and præcentor of that church, lived about the year 1130, and wrote a Chronicle or Annals of English history from the time of the Saxon Heptarchy down to the year 1129; and for part of this period he wrote a duplicate work, varying in several respects, but principally in phraseology, from the former. There has not yet been any complete edition of the two works.

These six chronicles form the ground work of our authority for the period of English history preceding the times in which their authors lived. In the Harmony' their narratives will be arranged in parallel columns; for which mode of treatment, they are admirably adapted by the tabular form of annals into which they were originally thrown by their authors.

There are, however, several other medieval writers which require to be noticed, because, though mostly later in date, they have added minor facts, which the foregoing principal chroniclers have omitted. These are William of Malmesbury, Ingulf, and the anonymous author of the Chronicle of St Neot's commonly called Asser's Annals.

1. The first of these, WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY, was coeval with some of the six chroniclers before enumerated, as he died in 1140; but the nature of his work, which does not follow the order of chronology, and is not arranged in the form of annals, renders it less adapted for being introduced into a Harmony than those before mentioned. He is the author of a "History of the Kings of England," De gestis Regum Angliæ, and " a History of the bishops," De gestis Pontificum, besides some works of inferior note.

2. INGULF OF CROYLAND, was secretary to William the Conqueror; he has left us a History of Croyland abbey, which has been continued by an anonymous author, said to be Petrus Blesensis, down to A. D. 1118. Doubts of the authenticity of this work have been entertained by many writers [See WRIGHT'S BIOG. vol. ii, page 29]; but this question cannot be discussed within our present limits.

3. The CHRONICLE OF SAINT NEOT, is sometimes called Asser's Annals, because supposed to have been compiled by the same Asser who wrote the Life of Alfred. This, however, is another of those historical difficulties for the solution or even the investigation of which a separate treatise would be required. The most remarkable feature of the Annals, as regards our present subject,

is their identity in language with the Life of Alfred in at least three-fourths of what they have in common: and a second peculiarity of the Annals is that some passages in Alfred's life, of a vague and uncertain character, seem to rest on their authority alone. They omit some things mentioned in the Life, and elsewhere supply additional matter: they end in the year 914.

Such are principally the works which have been brought together to form this Harmony of the Chroniclers during the life of king Alfred; and the mode in which they are arranged, with every other necessary particular, will be readily understood, with the help of the following observations.

1. The six oldest chroniclers are arranged in six parallel columns, so that the different accounts of the same transaction are found side by side.

2. Variations of fact only, and not of mere language, found in the three subsidiary writers, above described, are inserted in smaller type, as near as may be to the six principal narratives.

3. Notes, illustrations, and occasional extracts from later writers, Matthew of Westminster, Matthew Paris, John Brompton, and others, are also, in like manner, given in a smaller type.

Saxon Chronicle

Asser

* Asser's Life of Alfred is super-
scribed thus: To MY VENERABLE
AND MOST PIOUS LORD, RULER OF
ALL THE CHRISTIANS IN THE IS-
LAND OF BRITAIN, TO ALFRED,
KING OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS, As-
SER, THE LAST OF ALL THE SER-
VANTS OF GOD A THOUSAND-FOLD
PROSPERITY IN EITHER LIFE, TO
THE FULFILMENT OF HIS WISHES.

Ethelwerd

849

The Saxon Chronicle does not no

tice the birth of Alfred, or any other

event occurring in 849 and 850. The genealogy, which here follows, is given in connection with the death of Ethelwolf, in the year 855.

And he Ethelwulf was the son of Ecgbreht, Ecgbreht of Ealhmund, Eal

In the year of our Lord's in-
carnation 849, was born ÆL-
FRED, king of the Angul-Sax-
ons, in the royal vill which
is called Wanating, in that
district which is called Ber-
rocscire, which district is so
called from Berroc Wood,
where the box tree grows
most abundantly.

* Wantage in Berkshire.

Ethelwerd, like the Saxon Chronia later year (857).

His genealogy is traced in cle, gives the following genealogy in the following order.

King Alfred was the son of king Ethelwolf, who was the son of Ecgberth, who was the son of Ealhmund, who was

The aforesaid king [ETHELwoLF], therefore, was the son of king Ecgbyrht, and his grandfather was Ealhmund,

4. Words, abbreviated in the manuscripts, are written at length in the Harmony; and the Arabic figures are used, for brevity's sake, instead of the Roman numerals, which are universally found in the manuscripts of the original writers.

5. As the Harmony is intended for historical and not philological purposes, the text of the chronicles is given, not in the original Latin, but in an English literal translation. But the spelling of proper names, both in the Saxon column, which gives a vernacular idiom, and in the other chroniclers, who wrote in Latin, has been carefully retained, except in cases of manifest error.

6. The whole text of the six principal chroniclers between the years 849 and 901 has been given; and, in the same way, the whole of the supplementary chronicles, and all the Charters between the same dates, have been noticed in the Harmony.

7. Wherever, in either of the columns, a paragraph has been displaced for the purpose of juxta-position, small figures, denoting the original order, have been prefixed to each paragraph, or an explanatory note has been attached. By these means the reader may for himself reconstruct the chronicle, in its original state.

Saxon Chronicle mund of Eafa, Eafa of Eoppa, Eoppa of Ingild; Ingild was brother of Ine king of the West-Saxons, he who held the kingdom thirty seven winters, 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 Cuthwine, Cuthwine of Ceaulin, Ceawlin 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 Bældææg, Bældæg of Woden, Woden of Frithowald, Frithuwald of Frealaf, Frealaf of Frithuwulf, Frithuwulf of Fin, Fin of Godwulf, Godwulf of Geat,

Or Ina. His memory is still preserved as a "household word," by the verger of Wells cathedral.

¶ Gewissæ, the West-Saxons.

Geat of
Tætwa, Tætwa of Beaw,
Beaw of Sceldwa, Sceldwea

of Heremod, Heremod of Itermon, Itermon of Hathra, Hathra of Hwala, Hwala of Bedwig, Bedwig of Sceaf, that is, the son of Noe, he was born in Noe's ark; Lamech, Matusalem, Enoh, Iae

Asser

Ethelwerd 849

his great-grandfather Eafa, whose father was Eoppa, and his great-grandfather's grandfather was Ingild, brother of Ine, king of the WesternAngles, who ended his life at Rome; and the abovenamed kings. derived their origin from king Cenred. Cenred was the son of Ceolwald, son of Cuthwine, son of Ceaulin, son of Cynric, son of Cerdic, who also was the first possessor of the western part of Britain, after he had defeated the armies of the Britons his father was Elesa, son of Esla, son of Geuuis, son of Wig, son of Freauuine, son of Frithogar, son of Brond, son of Balder, son of Uuothen, son of Frithouuald, son of Frealaf, son of Frithouulf, son of Fin, son of Goduulfe, son of Geat,

the son of Eafa, who was the
son of Eowwa, who was the
son of Ingild,-Ingild, and
Ine, the famous king of
the West-Saxons, were two
brothers. Ine went to Rome,
and there ending this life
honourably, entered the hea-
venly kingdom, to reign
there for ever with Christ-
Ingild and Ine were the sons
of Coenred, who was the son
of Ceolwalde, who was the son
of Cudam, who was the son
of Cuthwine, who was the son
of Ceaulin, who was the son
of Cynric, who was the son
of Creoda, who was the son
of Cerdic, who was the son
of Elesa, who was the son of
Gewis, from whom the Bri-
tons name all that nation
Gegwis, who was the son
of Brond, who was the son
of Belde, who was the son
of Woden, who was the son
of Frithowalde, who was the
son of Frealaf, who was the
son of Frithuwulf, who was
the son of Fin | Godwulf,
who was the son of Geat,
which Geat the pagans long father and son. There are many

worshipped as a god.

Sedulius makes mention of
him in his metrical poem, as
follows:

:

Here are omitted the words 'who was the son of'; for Fin and Godwulf were two distinct persons,

other similar errors in all the six chronicles; but it will be unnecessary to notice them: the parallel columns of the others will, in almost every case, indicate and correct the

error.

When gentile poets with their fictions vain
In tragic language and bombastic strain
To their god Geta, comic deity.
Loud praises sing, &c.

Geata was the son of Catwa,
who was the son of Beaw,
who was the son of Sceldwea,

who was the son of Heremod,
who was the son of Itermod,
who was the son of Hathra,
who was the son of Huala,
who was the son of Bedwig,
who was the son of Sem,
who was the son of Noe,
who was the son of Lamech,

son of Tetuua, son of Beo, son of Scyld, son of Scef. This Scef came with one ship to an island of the ocean named Scani, sheathed in arms, and he was a young boy, and unknown to the people of that land; but he was received by them, and they guarded him as their own with much care, and afterwards chose him for their king. It is from him that king Athulf derives

his descent.