Ewart li juz e li verais, Qui Engleterre tint en pais, Cume hauz reis, veirs crestiens, Pleins de duçur et de toz biens.] [Footnote 12: The pope.] [Footnote 13: Wace's Saxon, where it occurs, is very imperfect, and probably his French transcribers (we having no original MSS.) have made it worse than it was. Zonee or Zon-ey is of course Thorn-ey; the Saxon 'th' being turned into 'z.' An old Latin chronicle, quoted by M. Pluquet, has, 'in loco qui Thornie tune dicebatur, et sonat quasi--spinarum insula,' One of William's first religious donations was to this his predecessor's favourite establishment; and he records in the charter his title to the kingdom of England, and the mode he adopted for vindicating it. 'In nomine sanctæ et individuæ Trinitatis, anno Dom. incarn. mixº vijº. Ego Willelmus Dei gratiâ dux Normannorum, per misericordiam divinam, et auxilium beatissimi apostoli Petri pii fauctoris nostri, favente justo Dei judicio, Angliam veniens, _in ore gladii_ regnum adeptus sum, anglorum devicto Haroldo rege, cum suis complicibus; qui michi regnum, providentiâ Dei destinatum, et beneficio concessionis domini et cognati mei gloriosi regis Edwardi concessum, conati sunt auferre,' See MSS. Cott. Faust. A. III. fol. 37, quoted in Ellis, _Domesday_, i. 312.] [Illustration] CHAPTER VIII. OF HAROLD'S JOURNEY TO NORMANDY, AND WHAT HE DID THERE. Now in that country of England there was a seneschal[1], Heraut[2] by name, a noble vassal, who on account of his worth and merits, had great influence, and was in truth the most powerful man in all the land. He was strong in his own men, and strong in his friends, and managed all England as a man does land of which he has the seneschalsy. On his father's side he was English, and on his mother's Danish; Gite[3] his mother being a Danish woman, born and brought up in great wealth, a very gentle lady, the sister of King Kenut. She was wife to Godwin, mother to Harold, and her daughter Edif[4] was queen. Harold himself was the favourite of his lord, who had his sister to wife. When his father had died (being choked at the feast), Harold, pitying the hostages, was desirous to cross over into Normandy, to bring them home. So he went to take leave[5] of the king. But Edward strictly forbade him, and charged and conjured him not to go to Normandy, nor to speak with duke William; for he might soon be drawn into some snare, as the duke was very shrewd; and he told him, that if he wished to have the hostages home, he would choose some messenger for the purpose. So at least I have found the story written[6]. But another book tells me that the king ordered him to go, for the purpose of assuring duke William, his cousin, that he should have the realm after his death. How the matter really was I never knew, and I find it written both the one way and the other. [Illustration]