Book IV, Chapter 23

OF foresaid Egelred his Sonnes, Alured, and his brother,
Was Edward King: (for Goodwins guile had made away that other.)
Religious, chaste, wise, fortunate, stout, francke, and milde was hee:
And from all Taxes, wrongs, and Foes, did set his Kingdome free.
By ouer-ruling of his Lords, intreating long the same,
Least, dying Issuelesse, he leaue succession out of frame,
He tooke to Queene a Damsell faire: howbeit, by consent,
In vowes of secret chastitie their louing liues they spent.
The Father of this maiden-wife, he sitting by the King,
And seeing one that stumbled, but not falling, vp to spring,
Did laughing say, the brother theare the brother well hath eas'd,
(His meaning was the Stumblers feete.) And haddest thou so pleas'd,
So had my Brother, quoth the King, bin easing vnto me.
The traitrous Earle tooke bread and sayd, so this digested be
As I am guiltlesse of his death: these words he scarcely spoke,
But that in presence of the King the bread did Goodwyn choke.

His sonne Harold, by Hardi-knoghts late daughter, him suruiues,
He, crossed by contrary winds, in Normandie ariues,
Where Goodwins sonne did take an oth, Duke William vrging so,
To keepe vnto the Duke his vse, when Edward hence should go,
The Crowne of England (claimed by Adoption, and by blood.)
But Harold, after Edwards death, not to his promise stood.
And for he was in wealth, in friends, in blood, and Armor strong,
And title had his Mothers right, he forced not the wrong:
But arming him against the Duke, so vrged vnto wroth,
Did seaze the Crowne vnto himselfe, contrary to his oth.
Whil'st William therfore works for war, King Harold had not rest,
For Harold Hare-foote, King of Danes and Norwaies, much opprest
The English with his puissant Bands. But Harold him assailes,
And after fearce and doubtfull fight most valiantly preuailes:
And with the Norgaine Prince he slew his people almost all:
When, for deuision of the spoyle, did much contention fall
Betwixt the King and English-men: and many a noble Knight
Not onely murmur and maligne, but did forsake him quight.

Such malice growing, William with his Normanes taking land,
Found hot hot[…] spur Harold prest in Armes, his puissance to withstand:
And either Battell Marshalled, as either Captaine wild,
The King of England eagerly the Normane Oste behild,
And with his cheerefull speeches thus his men with courage fild.

See valiant (War-friends) yonder be the first, the last, and all
The Agentes of our Enemies: they hencefoorth cannot call
Supplies: for weedes at Normandie by this in Porches groe:
Then Conquer these would Conquer you, and dread no further Foe,
They are no stouter than the Brutes, whom we did hence exile:
Nor stronger than the sturdy Danes, or victory er while:
Not Saxo[…]e could once containe, or scarce the world beside
Our Fathers, who did sway by sword where listed them to bide.
Then doe not ye degenerate, take courage by discent,
And by their burialles, not abode, their force and flight preuent.
Ye haue in hand your Countries cause, a Conquest they pretend,
Which (were ye not the same ye be) euen Cowards would defend.
I graunt that part of vs are fled and linked to the Foe,
And glad I am our Armie is of Traytours cleered so:
Yea pardon hath he to depart that stayeth Mal-content:
I prize the minde aboue the man, like zeale hath like euent.
Yeat troth it is, no well or ill this Iland euer had,
But through the well or ill Support of Subiects good or bad.
Not Caesar, Hengest, Swayn, or now (which neretheles shall fayle)
The Normane Bastard (Albion true) did, could, or can preuaile.
But to be selfe-false in this Isle a selfe-Foe euer is,
Yeat wot I, neuer Traytour did his Treasons S[…]ipend mis.
Shrinke who wil shrinke, let Armor's wayte presse downe the burdned earth,
My Foes, with wondring eyes, shal see I ouer prize my death.
But since ye all (for all, I hope, a like affected bee,
Your Wiues, your Children, liues, and Land from s[…]uitude to free)
Are Armed both in shew and zeale, then gloriously contend,
To winne and weare the home brought Spoyles, of Victorie the end.
Let not the Skinners daughters Sonne possesse what he pretends,
He liues to die a noble death that life for freedome spendes.
As Harold hartned thus his men, so did the Normane his:
And looking wishly on the earth, Duke William speaketh this.
To liue vpon, or lie within, this is my Ground or Graue,
(My louing Souldiers) one of twaine your Duke resolues to haue.
Nor be ye Normanes now to seeke in what you should be stout,
Ye come amidst the English Pikes to hewe your honors out,
Ye come to winne the same by Launce, that is your owne by law,
Ye come, I say, in righteous warre reuenging swords to draw.
Howbeit of more hardie Foes no passed Fight hath spead ye,
Since Rollo to your now-Abode with Bands victorious lead ye
Or Turchus, Sonne of Troylus, in Scythian Fazo bread ye.
Then worthy your Progenitors ye Seede of Pryams sonne
Exployt this businesse: Rollons do that which ye wish be done.
Three People haue as many times got and forgone this shore,
It resteth now ye Conquer it not to be Conqured more:
Fot Normane and the Saxon Blood conioyning, as it may,
From that consorted Seede the Crowne shall neuer passe away.
before vs are our armed Foes, behind vs are the Seas,
On either side the Foe hath Holdes of succour, and for ease.
But that Aduantage shall returne their Disaduantage thus,
If ye obserue no shore is left the which may shelter vs,
And so hold out amidst the Rough, whil'st they hale in for Lee,
Whereas, whil'st men securely sayle, not seldome shipwracks bee.
What should I cite your passed Acts, or tediously incence
To present Armes? your faces shewe your hearts conceiue offence:
Yea euen your courages deuine a Conquest not to faile[…]
Hope then your Duke doth prophecie, and in that hope preuaile.
A People braue, a terren Heauen, both Obiects wroth your warres,
Shall be the Prizes of your Prow's, and mount your fame to Starres.
Let not a Traytors periur'd Sonne ex[…]rude vs from our right:
He dyes to liue a famous life, that doth for Conquest fight.

By this the furious Battels ioyne, a bloody day to eyther,
And long they fight, the victory inclining vnto neyther:
At length the English had the ods, who keeping close aray,
Vnto the Duchie Forces gaue no entraunce any way:
Who fayning feare, and Martially retyring as opprest,
The English so became secure, and follow on disperst.
To which aduantage, furiously the Normanes did returne,
And got a bloody victorie. In vayne the English spurne
Amidst the Pikes against the pricke: King Harold then was slayne:
From whom began the Normanes sole, but soone conioyned rayne:
For second Henry, Mawd her Sonne, freed Englands blood agayne.
Since when (and euer may they so) that Of-spring ruled vs:
Of whose Coniunction in the Crowne, the Genalogue is thus.
King Edmund Irn-side Issue had Edward the Out-law: he
Had Margaret: Mawd by Malcolme (thē the King of Scots) had she:
Mawd to the Conqueror his Sonne first Henry, Mawd did bei[…]e:
This second Mawd the Angeos wife, had second Henry heire.

EDward, King Harolds Preregnant, of the same Change foretold,
Who present and succeeding times thus, dying, did vnfold:
It is a world, to note (quoth he) the wayes that men adore,
And how Hypocrisie hath bred of Godlike Deuils store,
That speake to seeme, that seeme to shift, that shift to spoyle by guile,
That smooth, & sooth, & yeat deceiue with Scriptum est meane while.
But let them heaue their hands to Heauen, they haue their hier in Hell,
That seeme deuout to cloake deceit, and say, but doe not well.
The Rich are retchles in their willes, their liking is for law:
The Poore repine, and Goods, not theirs, by idle shiftings claw.
The Lords and Landed ouer-rent, and cunningly the same
The Parasite doth ouer-reach, and beares away the game.
One riseth by anothers fall, and some doe clime so fast,
That in the Clowdes they doe forget what Climates they haue past.
But Eagle-winged mindes that fly to nestle in the Sunne,
Their lofty heads haue leaden heeles, and end where they begun.
It is a common point on which the aged grossely ronne,
Once to haue dared, sayd, and seene, more then was euer done.
The Youth are foolish-hardie, or lesse hardie then they ought,
Effeminate, phantasticall, in few, not few are nought.
At Cyprus not the wanton Saint, nor yeat her wylie Sonne,
Did want her Orgies: nor at Rome did Vesta lacke her Nonne:
The Lampsacens gaue Pryapus his filthie Rites, and Create
To Ioue his Bulles: and Sicilie to Ceres tithed Wheat:
The Thracians with their Bacchanales did Lybers Temple fill:
And Italie did blood of Babes on Saturnes Altars spill:
And fatall wreathes of Myr[…]ill boughes were sacred vnto Dys:
In fewe, there was no Pagane God his Sacrifice did mis.
But English-men, nay Christian men, not onely seeme prophane,
But Man to Man, as Beast to Beast, holds ciuill dueties vayne.
Yea Pulpits some, like Pedlers packs, yeeld forth as men affect,
And what a Synode shall conclude, a Sowter will correct.
The rude thus boasting Litrature, one Schisme begets another,
And grossely though a Sehis[…]e, yeat hath cach Schismatike his Soother.
Meane while the learned want their Meed, & none with profit heares
The tedious Doult, whose artles tongue doth preach to weary eares.
Here could I enter in a Field of matter more than much:
But gesse that all is out of frame, and long time hath bin such:
And what shall be let time disclose. This onely will I touch:
A Greene Tree cut from withered Stock, deuided Furlongs three
From proper Roote, it shall reioyne, and after fruitfull bee:
Thus sayd the King. And thus doe some expound that Prophesee:
The Tree this Land, the Stock and Roote the thralled English line:
King Harold, and the Williams twaine, the Furlongs some define:
Henry the Normane that begot on Mawde his English Queene
Mawde, second Henries Mother, was the Trees Returne to greene.
King Stephen first, though not so firme, did in this Turne proceede:
But second Henrie perfectly restalled Wodens Seede.