A man shall come into England,
But the son of a king crown’d with thorns
Shall take from him the victory.
Many nobles shall fight,
But a bastard Duke shall win the day,
And so without delay,
Set England in a right way.
A wolf from the East shall right eagerly come,
On the South side of Sandford, on a grey Monday morn,
Where groves shall grow upon a green,
Beside green grey they shall flee
Into rocks, and many die.
They shall flee into Salt strand,
And twenty thousand, without sword, shall die each man.
The dark dragon over Sudsbrown,
Shall bring with him a royal band;
But their lives shall be forlorn,
His head shall be in Stafford town,
His tail in Ireland.
He boldly shall bring his men, thinking to win renown:
Beside a wall in forest fair he shall be beaten down.
On Hine’s heath they shall begin this bloody fight,
And with train’d steed shall hew each others’ helmet bright:
But who shall win that day no one can tell.
A Duke out of Denmark shall him dight,
On a day in England, and make many a lord full low to light,
And the ladies cry, ‘Well away,’
And the black fleet with main and might
Their enemies full boldly their assail.
In Britain’s land shall be a knight,
On them shall make a cruel fight,
A bitter boar with main and might
Shall bring a royal rout that day.
There shall die many a worthy knight,
And be driven into the fields green and grey,
They shall lose both field and fight.
The weary eagle shall to an island in the sea retire
Where leaves and herbs grow fresh and green.
There shall he meet a lady fair,
Who shall say, ‘Go help thy friend in battle slain:’
Then by the counsel of that fair,
He eagerly will make to flee
Twenty-six standard of the enemy,
A rampant lion in silver set, in armour fair,
Shall help the eagle in that tide,
When many a knight shall die.
The bear that hath been long tied to a stake shall shake his chains,
That every man shall hear, and shall cause much debate.
The bull and red rose shall stand in strife,
That shall turn England to much woe,
And cause many a man to lose his life.
In a forest stand oaks three,
Beside a headless cross.
A well of blood shall run and ree,
Its cover shall be brass,
Which shall ne’er appear,
Till horses’ feet have trod it bare;
Who wins it will declare,
The eagle shall so fight that day,
That ne’er a friend’s from him away.
A hound without delay shall run the chase far and near.
The dark dragon shall die in fight.
A lofty head the bear shall rear,
The wide wolf so shall light,
The bridled steed against his enemies will fiercely fight.
A fleet shall come out of the North,
Riding on a horse of trees,
A white hind beareth he,
And there wreaths so free,
That day the eagle shall him slay,
And on a hill set his banner straightway.
That lion who’s forsaken been and forced to flee,
Shall hear a woman shrilly say,
‘Thy friends are killed on yonder hill,’
Death to many a knight this day.
With that the lion bears his banner to a hill,
Within a forest that’s so plain,
Beside a headless cross of stone,
There shall the eagle die that day,
And the red lion get renown.
A great battle shall be fought by crowned Kings three;
One shall die and a bastard Duke will win the day.
In Sandyford there lies a stone,
A crowned King shall lose his head on.