Chronicles : The Historie of England

Chronicles : The Historie of
England

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chronicles (1 of 6): The Historie of
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Title: Chronicles (1 of 6): The Historie of England (8 of 8) The Eight
Booke of the Historie of England
Author: Raphael Holinshed
Release Date: September 7, 2005 [EBook #16669]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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OF ENGLAND ***

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THE EIGHT BOOKE

OF THE
HISTORIE OF ENGLAND.
* * * * *

_Edward the third of that name is chosen king of England by a generall
consent, ambassadours are sent to attend him homewardes to his
kingdome, and to informe him of his election, William duke of
Normandie accompanieth him, Edward is crowned king, the subtill
ambition or ambitious subtiltie of earle Goodwine in preferring Edward
to the crowne and betraieng Alfred; the Danes expelled and rid out of
this land by decree; whether earle Goodwine was guiltie of Alfreds
death, king Edward marieth the said earles daughter, he forbeareth to
haue carnall knowledge with hir, and why? he useth his mother queene
Emma verie hardlie, accusations brought against hir, she is
dispossessed of hir goods, and imprisoned for suffering bishop Alwine
to haue the vse of hir bodie, she purgeth and cleareth hir selfe after a
strange sort, hir couetousnesse: mothers are taught (by hir example) to
loue their children with equalitie: hir liberall deuotion to Winchester
church cleared hir from infamie of couetousnesse, king Edward loued
hir after hir purgation, why Robert archbishop of Canturburie fled out
of England into Normandie._
THE FIRST CHAPTER.
[Sidenote: EDWARD. _Hen. Hunt._] Immediatlie vpon the deth of
Hardiknought, and before his corps was committed to buriall, his halfe
brother Edward, sonne of king Egelred [Sidenote: _Polydor_] begotten
of quéene Emma, was chosen to be K. of England, by the generall
consent of all the nobles and commons of the realme. Therevpon were
ambassadours sent with all spéed into Normandie, to signifie vnto him
his election, and to bring him from thence into England in deliuering
pledges for more assurance, that no fraud nor deceit was ment of the
Englishmen, but that vpon his comming thither, he should receiue the
crowne without all contradiction. Edward then aided by his coosine

William duke of Normandie, tooke the sea, & with a small companie of
Normans came into England, where he was [Sidenote: _Henr. Hunt._
_Wil. Malm._ The third of Aprill. 1043.] receiued with great ioy as
king of the realme, & immediatlie after was crowned at Winchester by
Edsinus then archbishop of Canturburie, on Easter day in the yeare of
our Lord 1043, which fell also about the fourth yeare of the emperour
Henrie the third, surnamed Niger, in the 12 yeare of Henrie the first of
that name king of France, and about the third yeare of Macbeth king of
Scotland.
This Edward the third of that name before the conquest, was of nature
more méeke and simple than apt for the gouernement of the realme, &
therefore did earle Goodwine not onelie séeke the destruction of his
elder brother Alfred, but holpe all that he might to aduance this Edward
to the crowne, in hope to beare great rule in the realme vnder him,
whome he knew to be soft, gentle, and easie to be persuaded. But
whatsoeuer writers doo report hereof, sure it is, that Edward was the
elder brother, and not Alfred: so that if earle Goodwine did shew his
furtherance by his pretended cloake of offering his friendship vnto
Alfred to betraie him, he did it by king Harolds commandement, and
yet it may be that he meant to haue vsurped the crowne to him selfe, if
each point had answered his expectation in the sequele of things, as he
hoped they would; and therfore had not passed if both the brethren had
béene in heauen. But yet when the world framed contrarie
(peraduenture) to his purpose, he did his best to aduance Edward,
trusting to beare no small rule vnder him, being knowen to be a man
more appliable to be gouerned by other than to trust to his owne wit:
and so chieflie by the assistance of earle Goodwine (whose authoritie,
as appeareth, was not small within the realme of England in those daies)
Edward came to atteine the crowne: wherevnto the earle of Chester
Leofrike also shewed all the furtherance that in him