Chronicles (1 of 6): The Historie of England (4 of 8): The Fovrth Booke Of The Historie Of EnglandHolinshed, Raphael
History
Chronicles (1 of 6): The Historie of England (4 of 8): The Fovrth Booke Of The Historie Of England
Holinshed, Raphael
Great Britain -- History -- Roman period, 55 B.C.-449 A.D.
"To be short, he was brought into such feare, and as it were still
looking behind him, for doubt of your comming after him, that as one
out of his wits and amazed, he wist not what to doo, he hasted forward
to his death, so that he neither set his men in order of battell, nor
marshalled such power as he had about him, but onlie with the old
authors of that conspiracie, and the hired bands of the barbarous
nations, as one forgetfull of so great preparation which he had made,
ran headlong forwards to his destruction, insomuch (noble emperour)
your felicitie yeeldeth this good hap to the common wealth, that the
victorie being atchiued in the behalfe of the Romane empire, there
almost died not one Romane: for as I heare, all those fields and
hills lay couered with none but onelie with the bodies of most wicked
enimies, the same being of the barbarous nations, or at the leastwise
apparelled in the counterfet shapes of barbarous garments, glistering
with their long yellow haires, but now with gashes of wounds and bloud
all deformed, and lieng in sundrie manners, as the pangs of death
occasioned by their wounds had caused them to stretch foorth or draw
in their maimed lims and mangled parts of their dieng bodies. And
[Sidenote: Alectus found dead.]
among these, the chiefe ringleader of the theeues was found, who
had put off those robes which in his life time he had vsurped and
[Sidenote: He had despoiled himselfe of the imperiall robes, bicause
he would not be knowne if he chanced to be slaine.]
dishonoured, so as scarse was he couered with one peece of apparell
whereby he might be knowne, so neere were his words true, vttered at
the houre of his death, which he saw at hand, that he would not haue
it vnderstood how he was slaine.
"Thus verelie (most inuincible emperour) so great a victorie was
appointed to you by consent of the immortall gods ouer all the enimies
whome you assailed, but namelie the slaughter of the Frankeners and
those your souldiers also, which (as before I haue said) 24 through
[Sidenote Francones slue Franci.]
missing their course by reason of the mist that lay on the seas, were
now come to the citie of London, where they slue downe right in ech
part of the same citie, what multitude soeuer remained of those hired
barbarous people, which escaping from the battell, ment (after they
had spoiled the citie) to haue got awaie by flight. But now being thus
slaine by your souldiers, the subiects of your prouince were both
preserued from further danger, and tooke pleasure to behold the
slaughter of such cruell enimies. O what a manifold victorie was this,
worthie vndoubtedlie of innumerable triumphes! by which victorie
Britaine is restored to the empire, by which victorie the nation of
the Frankeners is vtterlie destroied, & by which manie other nations
found accessaries in the conspiracie of that wicked practise, are
compelled to obedience. To conclude, the seas are purged and brought
to perpetuall quietnesse.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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