lawe; that if anie Welshman from thencefoorth should presume to passe the limits ouer Offas ditch with anie weapon about him, he should lose his right hand.  To conclude, by the valiant conduct of this chieftaine, the Welshmen were then so sore brought vnder, that in maner the whole nation might seeme to faile, and to be almost vtterlie destroied.  And therefore by permission of the king of England, the Women of Wales ioined themselues in marriage with Englishmen.  Finallie, heereby the bloud of the Saxons ceassed to reigne in England after they had continued possession of the same, from the first comming of Hengist, which was about the yeere of our Sauiour 450, or 449, vntill that present yeere of king Harolds death, [Sidenote:  1069.] which chanced in the yeere 1069.  So that from the beginning of Hengist his reigne, vnto Harolds death, are reckoned 916 yeeres, or (after some) 617, as by the supputation of the time will easilie appeere.  By all the which time there reigned kings of the Saxons bloud within this land, except that for the space of twentie yeeres and somewhat more, the Danes had the dominion of the realme in their possession:  for there are reckoned from the beginning of K. Swaines reigne (which was the first Dane that gouerned England) vnto the last yeere of K. Hardicnute (the last Dane that ruled heere) 28 yeeres, in which meane space Egelred recouering the kingdome reigned 2 yeeres, then after him his sonne Edmund Ironside continued in the rule one yeere; so that the Danes had the whole possession of the land but 25 yeeres in all.  Touching this alteration, and others incident to this Iland, read a short aduertisement annexed (by waie of conclusion) to this historie, comprising a short summarie of the most notable conquests of this countrie one after an other, by distances of times successiuelie.

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The rule of this realme by Gods prouidence allotted to duke William, his descent from Rollo the first duke of Normandie downewards to his particular linage, he was base begotten vpon the bodie of Arlete duke Roberts concubine, a pleasant speech of hirs to duke Robert on a time when he was to haue the vse of hir person, a conclusion introductorie for the sequele of the chronicle from the said duke of Normandies coronation, &c:  with a summarie of the notable conquests of this Iland.

THE TWELFE CHAPTER.

Now, forsomuch as it pleased God by his hid and secret iudgement so to dispose the realme of England, and in such wise, as that the gouernance thereof should fall after this maner into the hands of William duke of Normandie, I haue thought good before I enter further into this historie (being now come to the conquest of the realme, made by the foresaid duke of Normandie) to set downe his pedegree, thereby to shew how he descended from the first duke of that countrie, who was named Rollo, and after by receiving baptisme called Robert.