[Sidenote: EDRICKE.] The foresaid Edricke (after Lother was dead) got the dominion of Kent, and ruled as king thereof, but not without ciuill warre, insomuch that before he had reigned the full terme of two yeares, he was slaine in the same warre. Then Ceadwalla king of the Westsaxons being thereof aduertised, supposing the time now to be come that would serue his purpose, as one still coueting to worke the Kentishmen all the displeasure he could, entred with an armie into their countrie, and began to waste and spoile the same on ech side, till finallie the Kentishmen assembled themselues togither, gaue battell to their enimies, and put them to flight. Mollo brother to Ceadwalla was driuen from his companie, and constrained to take an house for his refuge: [Sidenote: Mollo brother to king Ceadwalla burnt to death.] but his enimies that pursued him set fire thereon, and burned both the house and Mollo within it to ashes. Yet did not Ceadwalla herewith depart out of the countrie, but to wreake his wrath, and to reuenge the griefe which he tooke for the death of his brother, he wasted and destroied a great part of Kent yer he returned home, and left (as it were) an occasion to his successor also to pursue the quarell with reuenging. Wherein we see the cankerd nature of man, speciallie in a case of wrong or displeasure; which we are so far from tollerating & forgiuing, that if with tooth and naile we be not permitted to take vengeance, our hearts will breake with a full conceit of wrath. But the law of nature teacheth vs otherwise to be affected, namelie,

———per te nulli vnquam iniuria fiat, Sed verbis alijsque modis fuge laedere quenquam, Quod tibi nolles, alijs fecisse caueto, Quodque tibi velles, alijs praestare studeto; Haec est naturae lex optima, quam nisi ad vnguem Seruabis, non ipse Deo (mihi crede) placebis, Postque obitum infoelix non aurea sydera adibis.

Which lesson taught by nature, and commanded of God, if these men had followed (as they minded nothing lesse in the fier of their furie) they would haue beene content with a competent reuenge, and not in such outragious maner with fier and sword haue afflicted one another, nor (which is more than tigerlike crueltie) haue ministred occasion to posterities to reuenge wrongs giuen and taken of their ancestors. But we will let this passe without further discourse, meaning hereafter in due place to declare the processe.

The Kentishmen being destitute of a king, after that diuers had coueted the place, and sought to atteine thereto, as well by force as otherwise, to the great disquieting of that prouince for the space of 6 yeares togither, at length in the 7 yeare after Edricks death, Withred an other of the sonnes of king Egbert, hauing with diligent [Sidenote: Withred is made king of Kent.] trauell ouercome enuie at home, & with monie redeemed peace abaoad (sic), was with great hope conceiued of his worthinesse made king of Kent, the 11 of Nouember, & 205 after the death of Hengist, he reigned 33 yeares, not deceiuing his subiects of their good conceiued opinion of him: for ouercomming all his aduersaries which were readie to leuie ciuill warre against him, he also purchased peace of Inas king of the Westsaxons, which ment to haue made him warre, till with monie he was made his friend.

[Sidenote: Hen. Hunt. Beda. lib. 5. Suebhard and Nidred kings by vsurpation and not by succession, as Henr. Hunt. writeth.] A little before that Withred was confirmed in the kingdome of Kent, there reigned two kings in that countrie, Suebhard and Nidred, or rather the same Withred, if the printed copie of Bedas booke intituled "Ecclesiastica historia gentis Anglorum" haue not that name corrupted: for where he sheweth that the archbishop Theodorus being of the age of 88 yeares, departed this life in the yeare of our Lord 690, in the next chapter he declareth, that in the yeare 692, the first daie of Iulie one Brightwald was chosen to succeed in the archbishops see of Canturburie, Withredus and Suebhardus as then reigning in Kent: but whether Withredus gouerned as then with Suebhardus, or that some other named Nidred, it forceth not: for certeine it is by the agreement of other writers, that till Withred obteined the whole rule, there was great strife and contention moued about the gouernement, and [Sidenote: Brightwald the first archbishop of the English nation.] diuers there were that sought and fought for it. But this ought to be noted, that the forenamed Brightwald was the eight archbishop in number, and first of the English nation that sat in the see of Canturburie: for the other seuen that were predecessors to him, were strangers borne, and sent hither from Rome.

Here endeth the line and gouernement of the Britains, now called Welshmen, which tooke that name of their duke or leader Wallo or Gallo; or else of a queene of Wales named Gales or Wales. But howsoeuer that name fell first vnto them, now they are called Welshmen, which sometime were called Britains or Brutons, and descended first of the Troians, and after of Brute, and lastlie of Mulmucius Dunwallo: albeit they were mingled with sundrie other nations, as Romans, Picts, &c. And now they be called English that in their beginning were named Saxons or Angles. To conclude therefore with this gouernement, so manie times intercepted by forren power, it appeareth by course of histories treating of these matters, that the last yeare of Cadwallader was the yeare of our Lord 686, which makes the yere of the world 4647. So that (as Fabian saith) the Britains had the greater part of this land in rule (reckoning from Brute till this time) 1822 yeares. Which terme being expired, the whole dominion of this realme was Saxonish.

Thus farre the interrupted regiment of the Britains, ending at the fift booke.



[Transcriber's note: The following words appear to be typos, but were left as they appeared in this book.

whreof => whereof (chapter 8, para. 5) buruished => burnished (chapter 13, para. 3) shost => short (chapter 25, para. 4) Grogories => Gregories (chapter 33, para. 10) abaoad => abroad (chapter 37, para. 6)]

by little little => little by little (chapter 3, para. 1)

THE END