THE XXIJ.  CHAPTER.

[Sidenote:  EDRED. 946.] Edred the brother of Edmund, and sonne to Edward the elder and to Edgiue his last wife, began his reigne ouer the realme of England in the yeere of our Lord 946, or (as other say) 997, which was in the twelfe yeere of the emperor Otho the first, and in the 21 yeere of the reigne of Lewes K. of France, & about the third or fourth yeere of Malcolme the first of that name, king of Scotland.  He was crowned [Sidenote:  Hen.  Hunt.] and annointed the 16 day of August by Odo the archbishop of Canturburie at Kingstone vpon Thames.  In the first yeere of his [Sidenote:  The Northumbers rebell and are subdued.] reigne, the Northumbers rebelled against him, wherevpon he raised an armie, inuaded their countrie, and subdued them by force.  This doone, he went forward into Scotland:  but the Scots without shewing anie resistance submitted themselues vnto him, and so both Scots and Northumbers receiued an oth to be true vnto him, which they obserued but a small while, for he was no sooner returned into the south parts, [Sidenote:  Aulafe returned into Northumberland.] but that Aulafe which had beene chased out of the countrie by king Edmund, as before ye haue heard, returned into Northumberland with a great nauie of ships, and was ioifullie receiued of the inhabitants, and restored againe to the kingdome, which he held by the space of foure yeeres, and then by the accustomed disloialtie of the Northumbers he was by them expelled, and then they set vp one [Sidenote:  Hirke or Hericius. Wil.  Malm. The disloialtie of the Northumbers punished.] Hirke or Hericius the sonne of one Harrold to reigne ouer them, who held not the estate anie long time.  For in the third yeere of his reigne, Edred in the reuenge of such disloiall dealings in the Northumbers, destroied the countrie with fire & swoord, sleaing the most part of the inhabitants.  He burnt the abbeie of Rippon, which was kept against him.

As he was returning homeward, an host of enimies brake out of Yorke, [Sidenote:  Ran.  Higd. Simon Dun. Easterford.] and setting vpon the rereward of the kings armie at a place called Easterford, made great slaughter of the same.  Wherefore the king in his rage ment to haue begun a new spoile and destruction, but the Northumbers humbled themselues so vnto him, that putting awaie their forsaid king Hirke or Hericius, and offering great rewards and gifts to buy their peace, they obteined pardon.  But bicause that Wolstane the archbishop of Yorke was of counsell with his countriemen in reuolting from king Edred, and aduancing of Hericius, king Edred tooke him and kept him in prison a long time after, but at length in respect of the reuerence which he bare to his calling, he set him at libertie, and pardoned him his offense.  Matth.  Westm. reciteth an other [Sidenote:  The archbishop of Yorke imprisoned. Matth.  West. 951.] cause of Wolstans imprisonment, as thus.  In the yeere of Grace, saith he, 951, king Edred put the archbishop of Yorke in close prison, bicause of often complaints exhibited against him, as he which had commanded manie townesmen of Theadford to be put to death, in reuenge of the abbat Aldelme by them vniustlie slaine and murthered.