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MATTHEW OF WESTMINSTER
The flowers of history, especially such as relate to the affairs of Britain. Vol. I. B.C. 4004 to A.D. 1066.
page 515
most wicked man, duke Edric, to guard, that traitor, Edric, a few days afterwards, caused her husband and only son to be murdered by four lances, in her presence, and last of all, he ordered her herself to be beheaded. But the woman, bearing death with a fearless spirit, neither grew pale when about to die, nor even when dead did she lose the calmness of her countenance, because of the effusion of blood. But when dying, she predicted positively that the shedding of her blood would be a great injury to the whole of England. On account of these things, king Sweyn, a cruel man, and ready for the shedding of blood, being animated to revenge, summoned all the warriors throughout his dominions, and sent couriers with letters to foreign nations, in which he invited all warlike soldiers, all who desired gain, and all who were unsettled in their
About this time, also, the holy JSlpheg, a monk of wonderful sanctity, by the management of Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester, with the good-will of king Edgar, who was a lover of monks, and a great founder of monasteries, was made abbot of Deerhurst. But when king Edgar was dead, and when his son Edward was become king in his stead, (who, however, was soon after treacherously slain), then Ethelred succeeded to the kingdom, who gave the blessed ^Elpheg a monastery in the city which is called Bath, where the abbot presided over an order of monks. And, subsequently, at the suggestion of the holy Wolstan, archbishop of Canterbury, the blessed iElpheg was created bishop of Winchester, and afterwards, when the blessed Dunstan departed to the Lord, he was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury, and when, as ruler of that see, he had governed it prosperously for six years, he was slain by the Danes, who incessantly persecuted him. For one of them brained him with a Danish axe, in the Easter week, on the sabbath, towards the evening, and his body was reverently buried in the church of Canterbury, and in consequence of the reverence paid to it, there is also more honourable service paid to God.
A.D. 1013. The giant Sweyn, king of the Danes, put to sea with a powerful fleet, in the month England at the port of Sandwich ; and, having stayed there a few days, he circumnavigated East-Anglia, and entered the mouth of the river Humber, and from that he entered the river Trent, and sailed up to the town of daptmftorougi),
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