Osrike king of Northumberland leaueth the kingdome to Edelbert reuoked out of exile, king Alfwalds sons miserablie slaine, Osred is put to death, Ethelbert putteth away his wife and marieth another, his people rise against him therefore and kill him, Oswald succeeding him is driuen out of the land; Ardulfe king of Northumberland, duke Wade raiseth warre against him and is discomfited; duke Aldred is slaine; a sore battell fought in Northumberland, the English men aflict one another with ciuill warres; king Ardulfe deposed from his estate; the regiment of the Northumbers refused as dangerous and deadlie by destinie, what befell them in lieu of their disloialtie; the Danes inuade their land and are vanquished; the roiall race of the Kentish kings decaieth, the state of that kingdome; the primasie restored to the see of Canturburie, Egbert (after the death of Britricus) is sent for to vndertake the gouernement of the Westsaxons, his linage.
THE EIGHT CHAPTER.
OSRED. 788. When Aswald king of Northumberland was made away, his brother Osred the sonne of Alred tooke vpon him the rule of that kingdom anno 788, and within one yeere was expelled, Wil. Malm.
Matth. West.
Hen. Hunt.
Simon Dun. and left the kingdome to Ethelbert or Edelred as then reuoked out of exile, in which he had remained for the space of 12 yéeres, and now being restored, he continued in gouernement of the Northumbers 4 yéeres, or (as some say) 7 yéeres; in the second yéere Duke Ardulf taken and wounded. whereof duke Eardulfe was taken and led to Ripon, and there without the gate of the monasterie wounded (as was thought) to death by the said king, but the moonks taking his bodie, and laieng it in a tent without the church, after midnight he was found aliue in the church.
Moreouer, about the same time the sonnes of king Alfwald were by force drawne out of the citie of Yorke, but first by a wile they were trained out of the head church where they had taken sanctuarie, and so at length miserablie slaine by king Ethelbert in Wonwaldremere, 792 one of them was named Alfus, & the other Alfwin. In the yéere of our Lord 792, Osred vpon trust of the others and promises of diuerse noble men, secretly returned into Northumberland, but his owne souldiers forsooke him, and so was he taken, and by king Ethelberts commandment put to death at Cunbridge on the 14 day of September.
The same yéere king Ethelbert maried the ladie Alfled the daughter of Offa king of Mercia, forsaking his former wife which he had, & hauing no iust cause of diuorce giuen on hir part, wherby his people tooke such displeasure against him, that finallie after he had reigned now this second time 4 yéeres, or (as other say) seuen yéeres, he could not auoid the destinie of his predecessors, but was miserablie killed by his owne subiects at Cobre, the 18 of Aprill. After whome, one Oswald a noble man was ordeined king, and within 27 or 28 daies after Holie Iland. was expelled, and constreined to flie first into the Ile of Lindesferne, and from thence vnto the king of the Picts.
Ardulfe. Then Ardulfe that was a duke and sonne to one Arnulfe was reuoked out of exile, made king, & consecrated also at Yorke by the archbishop Cumhald, and thrée other bishops, the 796. 25 of June, in the yéere 796. About two yeeres after, to wit, in the yéere 798 one duke Wade, and other conspirators which had beene also partakers in the murthering of king Walalege. Ethelbert, raised warre against king Ardulfe, and fought a battell with him at Walleg, but king Ardulfe got the vpper hand, and chased Wade and other his enimies out of the 799. field. In the yéere 799, duke Aldred that had murthered Ethelbert or Athelred king of Northumberland, was slaine by another duke called Chorthmond in reuenge of the death of his maister the said Ethelbert. Shortlie after, about the same time that Brightrike king of Westsaxons departed this life, there was a sore battell foughten in Northumberland at Wellehare, in the which Alricke the sonne of Herbert, and manie other with him were slaine: but to rehearse all the battels with their successes and issues, it should be too tedious and irkesome to the readers, for the English people being naturallie hard and high-minded, The English men afflicted each other with ciuill warre. continuallie scourged each other with intestine warres. About six or seuen yéeres after this battell, king Ardulfe was expelled out of the state.
¶ Thus ye may consider in what plight things stood in Northumberland, by the often seditions, tumults and changings of gouernors, so that there be which haue written, how after the death of king Ethelbert, otherwise called Edelred, diuers bishops and other of the chiefest nobles of the countrie disdaining such traitorous prince-killings, ciuill seditions, and iniurious dealings, as it were put in dailie practise amongst the Northumbers, departed out of their natiue borders into voluntarie exile, and that from thencefoorth there was not anie of the nobilitie that durst take vpon him the kinglie gouernement amongst them, fearing the fatall prerogatiue thereof, as if it had béene Scians horsse, whose rider came euer to some euill end. But yet by that which is héeretofore shewed out of Simon Dunelm, it is euident, that there reigned kings ouer the Northumbers, but in what authoritie and power to command, it may be doubted.
Howbeit this is certeine, that the sundrie murtherings and banishments of their kings and dukes giue vs greatlie to gesse, that there was but sorie obedience vsed in the countrie, whereby for no small space of time that kingdome remained without an head gouernor, being set open to the prey and iniurie of them that were borderers vnto it, and likewise vnto strangers. For the Danes, which in those daies were great rouers, had landed before in the This chanced in the yéere of our Lord 700, as Simon Dun. saith. north parts, & spoiled the abbeie of Lindesferne otherwise called holie Iland, and perceiuing the fruitfulnesse of the countrie, and easinesse for their people to inuade it (bicause that through their priuate quarelling there was little publike resistance to be looked for) at their The Danes inuade Northumberland. comming home, entised their countriemen to make voiages into England, and so landing in Northumberland did much hurt, and obtained a great part of the countrie in manner without resistance, bicause there was no ruler there able to raise anie power of men by publike authoritie to incounter with the common enimies, whereby the countrie was brought into great miserie, partlie with war of the Danes, and ciuill dissention amongest the nobles and people themselues, no man being of authoritie (I say) able to reforme such misorders. Yet we find The Danes vanquished. This was in anno 794 as Simon Dun. saith. that the nobles and capteines of the countrie assembling togither at one time against the Danes that were landed about Tinmouth, constreined them by sharpe fight to flée backe to their ships, and tooke certeine of them in the field, whose heads they stroke off there vpon the shore. The other that got to their ships, suffered great losse of men, and likewise of their vessels by tempest.
¶ Here then we are taught that the safest way to mainteine a monarchie, is when all degrées liue in loialtie. And that it is necessarie there should be one supereminent, vnto whome all the residue should stoope: this fraile bodie of ours may giue vs sufficient instruction. For reason ruleth in the mind as souereigne, and hath subiect vnto it all the affections and inward motions, yea the naturall actions are directed by hir gouernement: whereto if the will be obedient there cannot créepe in anie outrage or disorder. Such should be the sole regiment of a king in his kingdome; otherwise he may be called "Rex á regendo, as Mons a mouendo." For there is not a greater enimie to that estate, than to admit participants in roialtie, which as it is a readie way to cause a subuersion of a monarchie; so it is the shortest cut ouer to a disordered anarchie. But to procéed in the historie.