as some of them were men of such godlynes and vertue as was declared by their wonderfull miracles, & I hereby (nothyng doubtyng of their holynes) do endeuour to folow their life, order, & discipline. MarginaliaWilfride replieth.Then sayd Wilfride, it is certaine that Anatholius was both a godly & a learned man, and worthy of great commēdacion: but what haue you to do with hym, seyng you obserue not his order. For he folowyng the true rule in keping his Easter, obserueth the circle of xix. yeares. The which either you know not, or if you do, you contemne the common order obserued in the vniuersal Churche of Christ. And moreouer the sayd Anatholius doth so counte the xiiij. day in þ^e obseruatiō of Easter, as he confesseth þ^e same to be þ^e xv. day at night, after the maner of þ^e Egyptiās, & lykewise noteth the xx. day to be in the feast of Easter þ^e xxi. in the euening: the which distinctiō þ^t you know not, as by this may appeare for þ^t you kepe þ^e Easter on þ^e xiij. day before þ^e ful Moone. Or otherwise I can answer you, touching your father Colūba & his successors, whose order you say you followe, moued thereto by their miracles, on this wyse: that þ^e Lord wil answer to many that shal say in þ^e day of iudgement, that in his name they haue prophecied and cast out deuils, & haue done many myracles. &c. that he neuer knew them. MarginaliaThe autoritie of mē is not to be sticked vnto, for their doing of miraclesBut God forbid that I should say so of your fathers, because it is muche better to beleue wel of those we know not, then ill. Whereupon I deny not, but they were the seruauntes of God and holy men, the which loued the Lord of a good intent, though of a rude simplicitie. And I thinke that the order which they vsed in the Easter, did not much hurt them, so long as they had none amongest them, that could shew them the righte obseruation of the same, for them to follow. MarginaliaThe example of them that folow not for lacke of teaching excuseth not thē which beyng taught wyl not folowFor I thinke if the truth had bene declared vnto them, they woulde as well haue receiued it in this matter as they did in others. But you and your fellowes if you refuse the order of the Apostolicall see, or rather of the vniuersall churche, which is confirmed by the holye scripture, without al dout you do sin. And though your forefathers were holy mē, * MarginaliaYea syr, Suffragia ecclesiæ nō numeranda sūt sed ponderanda Aug.what is their fewnes being but a corner of an Ilelād, to be preferred before þ^e vniuersal church of christ dispersed throughout þ^e whole world? And if Colūba your father (& ours also being of Christ) were mightye in myracles, is he therfore to be preferred before þ^e prince of þ holy Apostles? to whō the Lord said: þ^u art Peter, & vpon this rocke wyl I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not preuayle against it, and I wil geue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen.

MarginaliaThe king concludeth.Wilfrid hauing thus ended his argument, the kyng sayd to Colman: Is it true that the Lorde spake these thinges to S. Peter? And Colman answered yea. Then sayd the king: Can you declare any thing that the Lord gaue to Columba? Colman answered no. Then quoth the king, do both of you agree and consent in thys matter without any cōtrouersy, and that these words were principallye spoken to Peter, and that the Lorde gaue hym the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen? And they both answered yea. Then concluded the king on thys wyse: For as muche as S. Peter is the doore keeper of heauen, I wil not gaynsaye him: but in that I am able, I wil obey his orders in euery point, least when I come to the gates of heauen, he shut them against me

MarginaliaMobile mutatur semper cum principe vulgus.Vpon this simple and rude reason of the kyng, the multitude eftsones consented: and with them also Cedda was contented to geue order. Onely Colmannus the Scot, being then Archbishoppe of Yorke, in displeasure left the realme, and departed into Scotlande, carying with him the bones of Aidanus. Bed. lib. 3. cap. 25. And thus muche concerning this matter of Easter.

MarginaliaEgfride or Edfride of Northumberland.After the decease of Oswy, Egfride his sonne was king after him in Northumberland. xv. yeares. By this Egfride Cutbert was promoted to the byshopricke of of the Ile of Farne. And Wilfrid which before had benMarginaliaMamesber. Huntyngt. Fabian, cap. 135.
Wilfride Archb. of Yorke.Archbishop of York, was displaced through the meanes of Theodore archbishop of Canterburye: and Cedda possessed that see. Wilfride when he was put out, went to Rome, and complayned of him to Agathon þ^e byshop, and was well allowed in some thinges. But the kyng and Theodorus had there suche Proctors and friendes, that he returned without speeding of his cause. Wherfore he returned vnto þ^e Southsaxons, & builded an Abbey in Silesey, and preached vnto the Southsaxons. xv. yeres. The king of the Southsaxons at þ^t tyme was Ethelwold: to whom we declared a litle before, þ^t Wolferus king of the Mercians, gaue the Ile of wight, vppon condicion, that he would be christened, and so was baptised by Birinus: the said Wolfer being his Godfather and sonne in law, both in one day. MarginaliaSouthsaxons conuerted to Christes fayth.Wherfore Wolferus now being licensed by Ethelwold the king, preached vnto his nobles and people of Southsexe, & conuerted them to Christ. In the time of whose baptising the rayn which before they lacked. iij. yeares together, was geuen them plentifully: whereby their great famine slaked, and the country was made fruitful, which before was dryed vp with barrennes: In so much þ^t as in some stories is said, MarginaliaH. Huntyngt. lib. 3.the people penured with famine woulde go. xl. together vpon the rockes by the sea syde, and taking handes together, would throw them selues down to the sea. Moreouer, wher thei lacked before the arte of fishing, the foresaid Wilfride taught them how with nets to fish.

MarginaliaThe yle of Wight last conuerted to Christ.And thus by proces haue we discoursed from tyme to tyme how & by what meanes þ^e idolatrous people were induced to þ^e true faith of Christ: of whom these Southsaxons with the Ile of wyght was the last.

MarginaliaAlfride kyng of Northūb.After Egfride, who was slayne in the straightes of Scotland, next succeded Alfride his brother, and bastard sonne to Oswy, and raygned. xviij. or. xix. yeares in Northumberland. This Alfride restored agayne the foresaid MarginaliaWilfride restored again to the see of YorkWilfride to the sea of Yorke, whom his brother had before expelled, and put in Cedda. Notwithstanding, the same king within. v. yeares after, expulsed the said Wilfride againe: and so went he to Rome. But at length by Osryke hys successor was placed agayne the Archbyshop of Yorke: and Cedda was ordayned by Theodorus, bishop of Mercia. MarginaliaMercia deuided into v. bishoprikes.This which prouince of Mercia, the sayd Theodorus Archbishop of Canturbury by the authoritie of the Synode holden at Hatfielde, did after diuide into. v. bishoprickes: that is, one to Chester, the second to Worceter, the third to Lichfielde, the fourth to Cederna in Lindesey, the fift to Dorchester, which was after translated to Lincolne.

MarginaliaThe wycked sect of Mahumet.Neare aboute this tyme, in the yeare of our Lorde D. C. lxvj. the detestable secte of Mahumet, began to take strength and place: Although Polychronicon differing a litle in yeares, accounteth the beginning of thys secte somewhat before. But the moste diligent searchers of them which write now, referreth it to thys yeare, which well agreeth with the number of the beast, signed in the Apocalips. xxx. That is. 666. MarginaliaApocal. 13
Anno. 666Of this Machumet came the kingdome of Agarenes (whom he after named Saracenes) to whom he gaue sondry lawes, patched of many sectes and religions together, he taught them to pray euer to the South: And as we kepe the Sondaye, so they kepe the Fryday: which they call the day of Venus. He permitted them to haue as many wyues as they were able to maintaine: to haue as many concubines as they liste: to absteine from vse of wyne, except vpon certaine solemne dayes in the yeares: to haue and worship onely one God omnipotent: saying, that Moses & the Prophetes were great men, but Christ was greater, and greatest of all the Prophetes: as being borne of the virgine Mary by the power of God, without mans seede: and at laste was taken vp to heauen, but was not slaine: but an other in hys lykenes for hym, with many other wicked blasphemies in hys lawe contayned. MarginaliaEx Polychron.
Ex Giraldo Cambrensi.
Ex Stephano Cātuariensi.At length