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From The Annals of Roger de Hoveden, Comprising the History of England and of Other Countries of Europe from A.D. 732 to A.D. 1201, Translated from the Latin with Notes and Illustrations by Henry T. Riley, Esq., Volume I, London: H.G. Bohn, 1853; pp. 9-17.





THE  ANNALS  OF
ROGER  DE  HOVEDEN.
Volume I.

[Part 2: 774-798 A.D.]



[9]


A. D.
774.


DESCRIP-
TION
OF
BEBBAN-
BURGH.

In the year 769, Cataract1 was burnt by the tyrant Carnred, and by the judgment of God, he himself perished by fire in the same year.

In the year 771, Offa, king of Mercia, subdued in war the nation of the East Angles. In the same year, Carloman, the king of the Franks, being attacked by a sudden disease, departed this life, on which his brother Charles,2 who had before possessed half his father’s kingdom, acquired the sovereignty of the whole, and afterwards, by his invincible bravery, obtained the chieftainship of all the peoples of the Franks.

In the year 772, Charles, the king of the Franks, having collected a powerful army and assembled the warlike forces of his kingdom, invaded the nation of the Saxons, and after having lost many of his principal and most noble men, betook himself home.

In the year from the incarnation of our Lord 773, bishop Hadwin3 departed this life, and Leuthfrid was appointed bishop in his room. Wulfeth also, abbat of Beverley, died, and Albert, the archbishop of York, received the pall that had been sent to him by pope Adrian.

In the year 774, duke Eadwulph died, and Alcred being deprived of the counsel and assistance of his own family and his chief men, exchanged the dignity of a crown for exile, and with a few companions of his flight, first betook himself to the city of Bebba,4 and afterwards to the king of the Picts whose name was Cynoth. The city of Bebba is an extremely well fortified place, of no great size, but extending over the space of about two or three fields, having a single approach, hollowed out [of the rock], and in a wonderful manner raised on high and ascended by steps; it has, on the summit of a hill, a church most beautifully built, in which is a precious shrine, wherein, wrapped in a pall, lies the right hand of the holy king Oswald, uncorrupted, as Bede, the historian of this nation, relates. There is on the western side, and in the highest part of the city, a fountain
A. D.
780.
10 hollowed out in a marvellous fashion, the water of which is sweet to drink, and most limpid to the sight.

Ethelred,5 the son of Ethelwald, reigned in his father’s stead, and, as will appear in the sequel, held the government hardly five years. At the same period, Charles, the most invincible king of the Franks, after having harassed it with a siege, took Ticinum, the most noble city of the Lombards, together with king Desiderius himself, and gained possession of the whole of Italy.

In the year 775, Cynoth, king of the Picts, departed this life, and duke Eadulph was fraudulently taken prisoner by stratagem, and after a short time slain, buried, and forgotten. Abbat Ebbi also died, and king Charles, as I have already observed, the most warlike of the Franks, being attended and supported by, and glorying in, the entire might of his army, entered the country of the Saxon in battle array, and accompanied by his legions. This district, raging with fire and sword, he laid waste by most severe conflicts; inflamed with furious anger, with a mighty arm he succeeded in adding to his own supreme empire the cities of Sigeburg and Aresburg,6 and the province of Bohwer,7 which had been previously overrun by the Franks.

In the year 777, Pecwin, bishop of Whitherne, departed to the Lord and was succeeded by Ethelbert.

In the year 779, Ethelred being expelled from the throne,8 and driven into exile, was forced to undergo great trials. On the expulsion of Ethelred, Elfwald, the son of Osulph, received the kingdom of Northumbria, and held it ten years. He was a pious and just king, as a future circumstance will prove.

In the year 780, dukes Osbald and Ethelherd, having collected an army, burned Bearn, the king’s patrician,9 at Seletune,10 on the ninth day before the calends of January. In the same year, archbishop Albert departed from this world unto Christ, Eanbald, while he was yet alive, having been appointed to the
A. D.
787.


LEGATES
ARRIVE
FROM
ROME.
11same see. Bishop Kinewulph11 also, having laid aside the cares of the world, this year gave up the government of his church, together with the management of all his household,12 to Higbald. In the same year also, bishop Eanbald, having received the pall which had been sent him from the Apostolic See, was solemnly invested as archbishop.

In the year 781, Alcmund, bishop of Hagulstad, a man of remarkable piety and of great virtues, departed to Christ, in the third year of the reign of the glorious king Elfwald, on the seventh day before the ides of September; Saint Gilbert13 succeeded him.

In the year 783, being the third year of the righteous king Elfwald, Werburg, who had formerly been queen of the Mercians, but was then an abbess, departed this life, to live eternally with Christ. At the same period, bishop Kinewulph departed to the realms of heaven in the fortieth year of his episcopate.

In the year 786, being the eighth year of king Elfwald, Bothwin, the venerable abbat of the church of Ripon, in the sight of his brethren who were present, departed to the kingdom of heaven, and Albert was elected in his room and ordained. In the same year Aldulph was consecrated bishop by archbishop Eanbald, and bishops Gilbert and Higbald, at Corbridge.14 In these days, Rictrith, who was formerly a queen, and afterwards an abbess, departed unto the Lord. At the same period, Kinewulph, king of the West Saxons, was murdered in a dreadful manner by the perfidious tyrant Kinebard, and the cruel assassin, himself, was without mercy slain by duke Osred, the avenger of his master; upon which, Brithric received the kingdom of the West Saxons. At this time, legates from the Apostolic See were sent to Britain (the venerable bishop George being the chief among them) by pope Adrian, to renew among us the ancient ties of friendship and the catholic faith, which Saint Gregory the pope had taught through Saint Augustine: having been honorably received by the kings and archbishops or primates of this country, they returned home in peace, with great presents, as was befitting.

In the year 787, a synod was held at Wincanheale,15 on the
A. D.
791.
12fourth day before the nones of September; at this period, Albert, abbot of Ripon, died, and Sigred succeeded him.

In the year 788, a conspiracy having been formed, king Elfwald was slain by a shocking death, by his patrician16 Sigga, the ninth day before the calends of October, at a place called Siltecester near the wall.17 The body of this excellent king was carried by great crowds of monks to the church of Hagustald, attended with the chaunts of the clergy, and was honorably buried there, in the church of Saint Andrew. He was succeeded by his nephew Osred, the son of king Alcred, who reigned one year. In the place where the good king Elfwald was murdered, a light sent down from heaven, is said to have been seen by great numbers of people. A church was built there by the faithful of that place, and consecrated to the honor of God, and of the saints, Cuthbert the bishop, and Oswald the king and martyr.

In the year 790, Ethelred was recalled from exile, and again, by the grace of Christ, seated on the throne of his kingdom. But king Osred, having been betrayed by the treachery of his nobles, was deprived of his kingdom and shorn in the city of York, and afterwards, compelled by necessity, went into exile. In the second year of his reign, duke Eardulph was taken prisoner, and was taken to Ripon, and there slain without the gate of the church by the above-named king. The brethren having carried his body to the church with Gregorian chaunts, and then placed it in a tent outside thereof, about midnight he was found alive within the church.

In the same year Baldwulph was ordained bishop of Whitherne, at the place which is called Hearrahaldh, which may be translated “the place of the lords.” For in the preceding year, bishop Ethelbert left his own see,18 on the death of Saint Gilbert, and received the bishopric of Hagustald, as his see.

In the year 791, the sons of king Elfwald were dragged away by force from the city of York, and, having been enticed from the principal church by false promises, were shockingly slain by king Ethelred, at Wonwaldremere;19 their names were
A. D.
793.


DESCRIP-
TION
OF
LINDIS-
FARNE.
13Elf and Elfwin. In this year also, Lambert, archbishop of Canterbury, departed to the Lord; Ethelherd, abbat20 of the monastery of Lhuda, was elected his successor and consecrated archbishop.

In the year 792, Charles, king of the Franks, sent to Britain a book containing articles agreed upon in a synod, which had been sent to him from Constantinople; in which book, oh shame! there were found many things repugnant and contrary to the true faith, and especially that it had been unanimously agreed to by three hundred, or even more, of the various bishops of the East, that images ought to be worshipped, a thing that the Church of God utterly abhors. Against this Albinus wrote an epistle, wonderfully confirmed by the authority of the Holy Scriptures, and presented it with the same book, in the name of our bishops and princes, to the king of the Franks.

In the same year also, Osred, relying upon the oath and fidelity of certain nobles, came secretly from Eufania,21 the place of his exile; and then, being deserted by his soldiers, was taken prisoner by the said king Ethelred, and by his order slain at a place called Dingburg, on the eighteenth day before the calends of October. His body was carried to Tynemouth,22 and buried in the royal tomb, in the noble monastery there. In the same year king Ethelred took as his queen Elfleda, the daughter of Offa, king of Mercia, at Cataract, on the third day before the calends of October.

In the year 793, being the fourth year of the reign of King Ethelred, dreadful prodigies alarmed the wretched nation of the English, for terrific lightnings, and dragons in the air, and strokes of fire were seen hovering on high and shooting to and fro; which were ominous signs of the great famine and the frightful and ineffable slaughter of multitudes of men which afterwards ensued. In the same year also, duke Sigga, who slew king Elfwald, died a merited death, and his body was carried to the island of Lindisfarne, on the ninth day before the calends of May.

Lindisfarne is a large island, eight miles or thereabouts in circumference. In it was a noble monastery, where the
A. D.
793.
14 illustrious bishop Cuthbert was interred,23 together with other bishops who most worthily succeeded him. With respect to them, the words of the chaunt may be appropriately repeated — “The bodies of the saints are buried in peace.”24 Lindis is the name of a river which, two feet in width, runs into the sea. When it is “Ledon,” or low tide, the river can be seen; but when it is “Malina,” or the high tide of the sea, then the Lindis cannot be seen. The tide of the ocean follows the moon, and, as though by its inhaling, is raised to high water, and then, by its breathing forth, is driven back again. It seems to flow and ebb twice a day, later each time by three quarters and25 half and hour, as Bede testifies. Farne is the name of an island on which the most blessed Cuthbert passed the life of a hermit. It is not so large as Lindisfarne, but is situate out at sea, and is buffeted day and night by huge billows.

In the same year, the pagans,26 coming from the northern regions to Britain with a naval armament, made descents in all quarters, plundering, ravaging, and slaughtering, like most cruel wolves, not only beasts of burthen, oxen and sheep, but priests and Levites as well, and multitudes of monks and nuns. They came, as I have observed, to the church of Lindisfarne and laid waste all places with dreadful havoc, trod down holy places with their polluted feet, undermined the altars, and carried off all the treasures of the holy church. Some of the brethren they slaughtered; some they carried off with them in chains; a very great number, loaded with abuse, they thrust out naked, and some they drowned in the sea. With respect to them, the words may be appropriately quoted: “Fortune bears hard upon the lot of the guiltless. Evil is the due punishment of wickedness. The wrong-doers are seated after their wont on a lofty throne, and the guilty in an unjust manner are treading upon the necks of the righteous. Bright virtue lies concealed in obscure shades, and the just suffer the penalties of the wicked.”
A. D.
796.


DEATH
OF
ALRIC.
15 These having retired, congratulating themselves on their booty and their wicked deeds, I shall recount what misfortunes the succeeding year brought.

In the year 794, the pagans above mentioned having laid waste the harbour of king Egfrid, plundered the monastery of Donum.27 But Saint Cuthbert did not permit them to depart without punishment; for their chief was there slain by the English, and died a cruel death; and, after the interval of a short time, the violence of a tempest wrecked, destroyed, and foundered their ships, and overwhelmed a vast number in the sea. Upon this, some of them were thrown upon shore, and soon dispatched without mercy; and this justly befell them, for they grievously injured those who had not injured them. At that time Ethelherd died, who was formerly a duke, but then a priest in the city of York. In the same year the venerable pope Adrian28 departed unto the Lord on the seventh day before the calends of January. He held the See twenty-six years, ten months, and eleven days. He was buried in the church of Saint Peter, the prince of the Apostles, and over his tomb a tablet of marble, fixed against the wall, recounted his good works, in verses written by the command of king Charles29 in letters of gold.

In the year 795, the same most valiant king Charles, having laid waste their country, with a strong hand, by his arms subdued the nation of the Huns. Their prince having been put to flight, and their army worsted or cut to pieces, he carried away thence fifteen waggons filled with gold, silver, and precious vestments made entirely of silk, each of which was drawn by four oxen. All these the same king, on account of the victory which had been granted him by the Lord, ordered to be divided among the churches of Christ and the poor, returning thanks together with all those who had fought together with him.

In the year 796, being the seventh year of King Ethelred, Alric, who was formerly a duke, but then a priest in the city of York, departed this life; and shortly afterwards, that is
A. D.
797.
16to say, on the fifth day before the calends of April, an eclipse of the moon took place between the time of cock-crow and day-break. In the same year, king Ethelred was slain at Cobre, on the fourteenth day before the calends of May. On this, Osbald, a patrician, was chosen king by some of the nobles of that nation; and after twenty-seven days, being deserted by all the royal household and the nobles, and banished and expelled from the kingdom, he retired with a few followers to the island of Lindisfarne, and went thence with some of the brethren by ship to the king of the Picts.

Then Eardulph, whom I have previously mentioned, the son of Earnulph, having been recalled from exile, received the crown, and on the seventh day before the calends of June, was consecrated at York, in the church of Saint Peter, before the altar of Saint Paul, where that nation had first received the blessings of baptism. Not long after this, that is to say, on the seventh day before the calends of August, Offa, the most mighty king of the Mercians, departed this life, after having reigned thirty-nine years, and was succeeded in the kingdom by his son Egfrith, who died the same year.

Upon this, Kenulph, the father of Kenelm, received the crown of the kingdom of Mercia, and gloriously held it in the invincible power of his might; in the same year also Ceolwulph died at Lindesey, and shortly after, that is to say, on the fourth day before the ides of August, Archbishop Eanbald died at the monastery called Edete, and his body was carried, with a vast concourse accompanying it, to the city of York, and honorably buried there, in the church of Saint Peter the Apostle. Immediately thereupon, another Eanbald, a priest of the same church, was elected archbishop, and consecrated at Sochesburg30 by bishops Ethelbert, Higbald, and Baldwulph.

In the year 797, this last Eanbald, having received the pall from the Apostolic See, was solemnly confirmed in the archbishopric of Northumbria, on the sixth day before the ides of September, being the Nativity of Saint Mary; with regard to which day, the poet says: “With honor shines the day on which Mary the good virgin, proceeding from the line of king David, was born unto the world.”*

In the same year died Ethelbert, bishop of Hagustald, whom 17Eadred succeeded, and was ordained by archbishop Eanbald and bishop Higbald at a place which is called Widford.

In the year 798, a conspiracy having been entered into by the murderers of king Ethelred, Wada, the leader in the plot, together with the others, fought a battle against king Erdulph, at a place which is called by the English Billingahon, near Wallalalege, and after many were slain on either side, earl Wada with his men was put to flight, and king Erdulph bravely gained a victory over his foes. In the same year, London was destroyed by a sudden conflagration, together with a vast multitude of people.

At this period, Kenulph, king of the Mercians, with all the strength of his army, entered the province of Kent, and laid it waste with dreadful slaughter. At the same time, Eadbert, king of Kent, was taken prisoner, and the king of the Mercians ordered his eyes to be put out, and his hands to be cut off without mercy, as a punishment for their pride and treachery; then, having obtained the suffrage of the Lord, he added the rule of his kingdom to his own sway, placing the crown upon his head and the sceptre in his hand. In the same year also, being the third year of the above-named king Kenulph, a synod was held at the place which is called Wincanhele,1 under the presidency of archbishop Eanbald, many ecclesiastics and men of princely dignity attending thereat. They devised many things for the benefit of the Holy Church of God, and of the nation of Northumbria and all the provinces, as to the observance of Easter, feasts, and judgments, both holy and secular. These enactments rendered those days distinguished for just kings, virtuous nobles, and holy bishops, and other wise men, namely, priests and monks; through the foresight and justice of whom, and their holy deeds, the state of the kingdom of Northumbria sent forth a sweet fragrance in those times. The lord archbishop Eanbald commanded the profession of faith in the articles of the five synods to be repeated, concerning which it is thus written in the history of the English: “We do agree to the holy and universal decrees of the five synods of the fathers, holy and acceptable to God, in such form as the text of the present book contains,” &c.



FOOTNOTES

 1  Catterick, in Yorkshire.

 2  Known in history as Charlemagne.

 3  The words in the original are “Episcopus Migensis.” It is not improbable that the bishop of Orleans is here alluded to; probably the same that is mentioned under the year 768.

 4  Bamborough.

 5  By some called Ethelbert.

 6  Probably Arensberg, in Westphalia.

 7  Probably a mistake for Roer, or Rohwer, a river of Westphalia, the allusion being to the province through which it flows.

 8  Of Northumbria.

 9  See the note under the year 788.

10  Lambarde says, “I take this place to be Salton, now in Yorkshire, and yet the conjecture were not unreasonable to think it Salston, in Nottinghamshire.”

11  Bishop of Lindisfarne.

12  “Familiæ;” alluding probably to the community of monks at Lindisfarne.

photograph of the ruins of Lindisfarne Abbey, on Holy Island in England, built in 1093 century by the Benedictine order.

Ruins of Lindisfarne Abbey, Holy Island, England.

(From, The Abbeys of Great Britain, by H. Claiborne Dixon, London: T. Werner Laurie, p. 17.)

13  Roger of Wendover says Tilbert.

14  In Northumberland.

15  See under the the year 765.

16  The Patricians of the Anglo-Saxon kings were probably nobles of high rank, attached to the royal household.

17  The wall of Severus is alluded to. The author of the chronicles of Durham and Lindisfarne calls the place Thirlwall. Perhaps Benwell, in Northumberland, is the place alluded to.

18  Of Whitherne.

19  Said by Lambarde to be Winandermere, near Kendal, in Westmoreland.

20  Roger of Wendover says, that he was previously bishop of Winchester.

21  Probably either the Hebrides, a name of which was Evania, or the Isle of Man, which was called Ebonia.

22  In Northumberland.

23  “Positus erat” may either mean that they were located there during their lives, or that they were buried there. Probably the latter is the meaning.

24  “Corpora defunctorum in pace sepulta sunt.”

25  In the original it is “et.” “Aut,” “or,” would seem to be a more appropriate reading. The whole passage is involved in considerable obscurity.

26  The Danes.

27  This passage is evidently corrupt. The words are “Portum Egfredi regis vastantes, Monasterium Doni annis prædarerunt.” The corresponding passage in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is, “and plundered Egfert’s monastery at the mouth of the Wear.”

28  The First.

29  Charlemagne.

30  Socburgh, in the diocese of Durham.


ELF.ED. NOTES

*  Splendet honore dies est in quo virgo Maria, Stirpe David regis procedans, edita Mundo. The poet referred to appears to be unknown. These lines are taken from Simeon of Durham, and the editor of his work, Thomas Arnold, states in a note, (Symeonis Monachi, Opera Omnia, Historia regum, Volume II, London: Rolls Series, 1885; p. 58 sq: “The authorship of these lines, and of those below, at p. 61, might perhaps be discovered by means of a patient perusal of Juvencus, Sedulius, Fortunatus, St. Aldhelm, and other Christian poets. The time that I have been able to give to the search has hitherto been fruitless.” An online search today, Jan. 4, 2014, is equally fruitless.

  According to the note by Bishop Stubbs, in the Latin text of Hoveden (Chronica Magestri Rogeri de Houedene, Volume I, Rolls Series, 1868; p. 17), the English History referred to is that by Bede, The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, iv. 17 (on this site, too). It refers to the Council of Haethfeld [Heathfield].




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