Chronicles : The Historie of England | Page 3

Rochester, he made warre against the
same bishop, wasted his lordships, and besieged the citie of Rochester,
till Dunstan procured the bishops peace with paiment of an hundred
pounds in gold. And bicause the K. would not agrée with the bishop
without moneie at the onelie request of Dunstane, the said Dunstane did
send him woord, that sithens he made more account of gold than of
God, more of monie than of S. Andrew, patrone of the church of
Rochester, and more of couetousnesse than of him being the archbishop,
the mischiefs which the Lord had threatned would shortlie fall and

come to passe, but the same should not chance whilest he was aliue,
who died in the yéere following, on the 25 of Maie, being saturdaie.
[Sidenote: _Vita Dunstani._] Of this Dunstane manie things are
recorded by writers, that he should be of such holinesse and vertue, that
God wrought manie miracles by him, both whilest he liued heere on
earth, and also [Sidenote: _Iohn Capgr._ Osborne. _Ran. Higd._] after
his deceasse. He was borne in Westsaxon, his father was named
Heorstan, and his mother Cinifride, who in his youth set him to schoole,
where he so profited, that he excelled all his equals in age. Afterward
he fell sicke of an ague, which vexed him so sore that it draue him into
a frensie: and therefore his parents appointed him to the cure and
charge of a certeine woman, where his disease grew so on him, that he
fell in a trance, as though he had béene dead, and after that he suddenlie
arose, & by chance caught a staffe in his hand, and ran vp and downe
through hils and dales, and laid about him as though he had béene
afraid of mad dogs. The next night (as it is said) he gat him to the top of
the church (by the helpe of certeine ladders that stood there for
woorkemen to mend the roofe) and there ran vp and downe verie
dangerouslie, but in the end came safelie downe, and laid him to sléepe
betwéene two men that watched the church that night, & when he
awaked, he maruelled how he came there. Finallie, recouering his
disease, his parents made him a priest, and placed him in the abbeie of
Glastenburie, where he gaue himselfe to the reading of scriptures and
knowledge of vertue. But as well his kinsmen as certeine other did raise
a report of him, that he gaue not himselfe so much to the reading of
scriptures, as to charming, coniuring and sorcerie, which he vtterlie
denied: howbeit learned he was in déed, & could doo manie pretie
things both in handie woorke and other deuises: he had good skill in
musicke and delighted much therein. At length he grew in such fauour,
that he was aduanced into the seruice of king Adelstane.
Vpon a time, as he came to a gentlewomans house with his harpe, and
hoong the same on the wall, while he shaped a priests stole, the harpe
suddenlie began to plaie a psalme, which draue the whole houshold in
such feare, that they ran out and said, he was too cunning, and knew
more than was expedient: wherevpon he was accused of necromancie,

and so banished out of the court. After this he began to haue a liking to
women, and when Elfeagus then bishop of Winchester and his coosen,
persuaded him to become a moonke, he refused it, for he rather wished
to haue maried a yoong damesell, whose pleasant companie he dailie
inioied. But being soone after striken with such a swelling disease in
his bellie, that all his bodie was brought into such state, as though he
had béene infected with a foule leprosie, he bethought him selfe, and
vpon his recouerie sent to the bishop, who immediatlie shore him a
moonke, in which life he liued in so great opinion of holinesse, as he in
time became abbat of Glastenburie: where on a time as he was in his
praiers before the altar of S. George, he fell asléepe: and imagining in
his dreame, that an vglie rough beare came towards him with open
mouth, and set his forefeet vpon his shoulders readie to deuoure him,
he suddenlie wakening for feare, caught his walking staffe which he
commonlie went with, and laid about him, that all the church rang
[Sidenote: _Polychron._] thereof, to the great woonder of such as stood
by. The common tale of his plucking the diuell by the nose with a paire
of pinsors, for tempting him with women, while he was making a
chalice: the great loue that the ladie Elfleda néere kinswoman to king
Adelstane bare him to hir dieng day, with a great manie of other such
like matters, I leaue