for when king Harold being elected of the nobles and peeres, required the said archbishop that he might be of him consecrated, and receiue at his hands the regall scepter with the crowne, which the archbishop had in his custodie, and to whome it onelie did apperteine to inuest him therewith, the archbishop flatlie refused, and with an oth protested, that he would not consecrate anie other for king, so long as the queenes children liued:  “for (saith he) Cnute committed them to my trust and assurance, and to them will I keepe my faith and loiall obedience.  The scepter and crowne I heere lay downe vpon the altar, and neither doo I denie nor deliuer them vnto you:  but I forbid by the apostolike authoritie all the bishops, that none of them presume to take the same awaie, and deliuer them to you, or consecrate you for king.  As for your selfe, if you dare, you maie vsurpe that which I haue committed vnto God and his table.”

But whether afterwards the king by one meane or other, caused the archbishop to crowne him king, or that he was consecrated of some other, he was admitted king of all the English people, beginning [Sidenote:  1036.] his reigne in the yeere of our Lord a thousand thirtie and six, in the fouretenth yeere of the emperor Conrad the second, in the sixt yeere of Henrie the first, king of France, and about the seuen and twentith yeere of Malcolme the second, king of Scots.  This Harold for his [Sidenote:  Harold why he is surnamed Harefoot.] great swiftnesse, was surnamed Harefoot, of whome little is written touching his dooings, sauing that he is noted to haue beene an oppressor of his people, and spotted with manie notable vices.  It [Sidenote:  Harold euill spoken of. Ran.  Higd. ex Mariano.] was spoken of diuerse in those daies, that this Harold was not the sonne of Cnute, but of a shoomaker, and that his supposed mother Elgina, king Cnutes concubine, to bring the king further in loue with hir, feined that she was with child:  and about the time that she should be brought to bed (as she made hir account) caused the said shoemakers son to be secretlie brought into hir chamber, and then vntrulie caused it to be reported that she was deliuered, and the child so reputed to be the kings sonne.

[Sidenote:  Matth.  West.] Immediatlie vpon aduertisement had of Cnutes death, Alfred the sonne of king Egelred, with fiftie saile landed at Sandwich, meaning to challenge the crowne, and to obteine it by lawfull claime with quietnesse, if he might; if not, then to vse force by aid of his friends, and to assaie that waie foorth to win it, if he might not otherwise obteine it.  From Sandwich he came to Canturburie:  and shortlie after, earle Goodwine feining to receiue him as a friend, came to meet him, and at Gilford in the night season appointed a number of armed men to fall vpon the Normans as they were asleepe, and so tooke them togither with Alfred, & slue the Normans by the poll, in such wise that nine were shine, & the tenth reserued.  But yet when those that were reserued, seemed to him a greater number than he wished to escape, he fell to and againe tithed them as before.  Alfred had his eies put out, and was conueied to the Ile of Elie, where shortlie after he died.