[Chronicle of Fabyan] :: :: University of Virginia Library

Whan I aduertyse/in my remembraunce
The manyfolde storyes/in ordre duely sette
Of kyngz & pryncz/that whylom had gouernaūce
Of Rome and Italye/and other further fette
As of Iewes and Grekz/the whiche haue no lette
But that men/may se/in ordre ceryously
Howe longe they reygned/and howe successyuely.

Of Fraunce and other/I myght lykewyse report
To theyr great honour/as of theym doth appere
But to Englande/if I shall resort
Ryght mysty storyes/doughtfull and vndere
Of names of tymes/and of the duraunt yere
That kynges or prynces/ruled that famousyle
Almoste vncertayne/howe I shuld guyde my style.

And for of cunnynge/I am full destytute
To brynge to frame/so great a mysterye
I nyll presume/without other refute
To ioyne suche a werke/or it to rectyfye
To me it semyth/so ferre sette a wrye.
In tyme of yeres/to other discordaunt
That to my dull wytte/it is nat atteynaunt.

To brynge in ordre/a thynge of suche weyght
And cause it to agre/with other olde storyes
But it to remytte/to theym that been sleyght
And sharpe in lecture/and haue kepte theyr studyes
And sought the bookes/of many olde hystoryes
And haue in Cronycles full experyence
To frame suche a werke/by theyr great prudence.

And I lyke the prentyse/that hewyth the rowth stone
And bryngeth it to square/with harde strokes and many
That the mayster after/may it ouer gone
And prynte therin/his fygures and his story
And so to werke it/after his propornary
That it may appere/to all that shall it se
A thynge right parfyth/and well in eche degre.

So haue I nowe/sette out this rude werke
As rough as the stone/nat cōmen to the square
That the lerned/and the studyed clerke
May it ouer polysshe/and clene do it pare
Flowrysshe it with Eloquence/wherof it is bare
And frame it in ordre/that yet is out of ioynt
That it with olde Auctours/may gree in euery poynt.

Besechynge hym/that wyll so take the payne
Or any other/that lyste on this loke
Where any Errour/in this by hym is sayne
It to correct/and mende this rude boke
For by hym/that neuer yet/any ordre toke
Or gre of Scole/or sought for great cunnynge
This werke is gaderyd/with small vnderstandynge.

Nat for any pompe/or yet for great mede
This werke I haue taken/on hande to compyle
But of cause oonly/for that I wolde sprede
The famous honour/of this Fertyle Ile
That hath contynued/by many a longe while
In excellent honour/with many a royall guyde
Of whom the dedys/haue spronge to the worlde wyde.

But of those dedys/me lyste nat here to shewe
For in the Sequele/they shall well appere
And in short processe/and in as wordes fewe
As I goodly may/I shall lyke in fere
The Sturyes of Englande/and Fraunce so dere
That to the reder/it may well be sayne
What kynges togyder/ruled these landes twayne.

And in the pryncipyll/of reygne of euery kynge
As well of one/and other more and lesse
What yere of the worlde/he toke begynnynge
To guyde his Realme/and ferther besynesse
I wyll eke take/to shewe and expresse
What terme of yeres/euery prynce dyde reygne
And in what honour/he dyd his tyme maynteyne.

The tyme also/howe longe the Brytons ruled
And howe by Saxons/they were lastly put oute
Than of Danes/whiche bothe landes defoyled
By theyr outrage/and of theyr fury stoute
Of whom bothe nacions/stode longe in great doute
Tyll Fraunce with theym/allyed by maryage
And Englande lastly/voyded that lynage.

Nota.

Than howe the Normannes/by Wyllyam Conquerour
Entryd this lande/and helde the Sygnory
A certayne of tyme/tyll the hygh gouernour
Restored the blode/of Saxons Enderly
And of the Scottes/that neuer coude apply
To kepe theyr Allegeaunce/but many a tyme rebelled
And to be true/were full often Compelled.

The fatall warre/that hath dured so longe
Twene Fraunce and Englande/to both theyr damage
And of the peas/that hath ben vnderfonge
Bothe by great othes/and Eke by maryage
Of Walys Geryshnesse/and of theyr lyght dotage
Howe they were scourged/for their vnstedfastnesse
With dyuers other/whiche I shall after expresse.

And for that London/that Auncient Cytie
Hath euer parseueryd/in vertuous noblesse
To the great honour/as may consiryd be
Of all this lande/in welth and great largesse
Therfore I thynke/somwhat to expresse
Of their good ordre/and Ciuyle polycy
That they so longe/haue ruled their Cytie by.

And of their rulers/as they are yerely chosyn
To rule the Cōmonte/by their discrecion
I shall you shewe/and to you disclosyn
The names of Mayres and Shyriffes of that towne
And all suche actis/as by Reuoluciowne
In their dayes fyll/so that there shall appere
The prynces Actes/whiche chaunged yere by yere.

Of Fraunce also/the Cronycle shall ensewe
In his dewe ordre/so that ye may knowe
Whan they began theyr prynces to renewe
And from the seruage/whan they were kept lowe
Of the Romaynes/whom they dyd ouerthrowe
And of theyr names/that they whylom dyd chaunge
Of theyr firste Baptym/and of theyr maners straunge.

Thus in this boke/may you here or se
Of bothe landes/the Cronycles entiere
With other matiers/whiche Regystred be
Of olde wryters/suche as wrote full clere
Actes of Prynces/done both ferre and nere
And theym engrosed/with great dylygence
Wherby to their folowers/myght growe experyence.

Into .vii. partes/I haue this boke deuyded
So that the Reder/may chose where he wyll
The firste conteyneth/howe the Brytons Guyded
This lande from Brute/Molyuncius vntyll
And from Moliuncius/I haue sette for skyll
To the nyenth yere/of kynge Cassibelan
The seconde parte/for that the Romayns than.

Conquered Bretayne/and thens to Seuerne
The thirde part/I haue also assygned
The fourth endyth/than at Constantyne
The fyft at Cadwaladyr/I haue also diffyned
At the Conquest/I haue Eke determyned
The .vi. part/And of the Seuynth or laste
At our redoubted prynce/I haue the ende caste.

Henry the .vii. whom god preserue and saue
And hym defende/from all aduersytie
Besechynge theym/that wyll the labour haue
This boke to Rede/or any part to se
That where defaute is/it may corrected be
Without disdayne/and that they wyll support
And ayde this werke/with all their comfort.

And for this boke/Includyth Storyes fele
And towchyth thynges/done in sundry place
So that one tyme muste/with an other dele
To kepe the yeres/the tyme and the space
Therfore this name/it shall nowe purchace
(Concordaunce of Storyes) by me prouydyd.
The Auctour Sans Nome/fynally deuysyd.

And for this werke/may haue the better spede
To prayer me thynketh/it is right necessarye
That I shuld falle/Consyderynge my nede
That I muste haue/for lacke of due studye
Where thorough that connynge/and parfyte memorye
Of thynges taken/whan I was yonge and hynde
Ben ferre set of/and put from my mynde.

By this is Ignoraunce/nowe cōmyn in place
And Oblyuyon/hath sette in his foot
Soo that knowlege/from me they done race
Wherby in olde Auctours/I myght fynde some boot
In latyn and Frenche/that in theyr dytees swoot
These olde wryters/haue so Compendyously
Sette the olde Storyes/in ordre dilygently.

But in this prayer/I thynke nat to be vsed
As dyddyn these Peotis/in theyr olde dayes
Whiche made theyr prayers/to goddes abused
As Iupiter and Mars/that in theyr olde lawes
Were named Goddes/and feyned in their sawes
That they were Goddes/of Batayll and rychesse
And had in theym/great vertue and prowesse.

For what may helpe/these fayned goddes all
As Saturne/or Mercury/or yet bryght Appollo
Bachus/or Neptune/or Pluto the thrall
Coelus/or Mynos/or blynde Cupido
Or yet that goddesse/the fayre Iuno
Diana or Pallas/or Ceres the fre
Or yet the Musis/that been thryes thre.

Wherto shuld I calle/vnto Caliope
Moder of Orpheus/with swete Armony
That of Eloquence/hath the Soueraynte
Or to Carmentis/whiche by her firste study
The Latyn letters fande out parfytly
Syne all these/were Mynystris of god Inmortall
And had in theym/no power dyuynall.

Wherfore to the lorde/that is Celestyall
I wyll nowe Crye/that of his Influence
Of grace and mercy/he wyll a drope let fall
And sharpe my wytte/with suche experyence
That this may fynysshe/with his Assystence
With fauour of the virgyn/his Moder moste excellent
To whome I thus praye/with mynde & hole entent.

Assit principio sancta maria meo.

Moste Blyssed lady/comfort to suche as calle
To the for helpe/in eche necessytie
And what thou aydyst/may in no wyse Apalle
But to the best/is formyd in ylke degre
Wherfore good lady/I praye it may please the
At my begynnynge/my penne so to lede
That by thyne ayde/this werke may haue good spede.

Finis.