Warkworth's Chronicle 1473
Warkworth's Chronicle 1473 is in Warkworth's Chronicle.
1473. Also in xiij. yere of Kynge Edwarde, ther was a gret hote somère, bothe for manne and beste; by the whiche ther was gret dethe of menne and women, that in feld in harvist tyme men fylle downe sodanly, and unyversalle feveres, axes1, and the blody flyx, in dyverse places of England. And also the hete was so grete, that it brent awey whete and alle other greynis and gresse, in southe partyes of the worlde, in Spayne, Portyngale, Granade, and othere, &c. that a bowsshelle of whete was worthe xx. $; and menne were fayne in that cuntre to yeve away there childeryne for to fynde them. But, blessede be Almighty God, no suche derthe was noʒt in England, ne in Fraunce.
Note 1. Axes = Aches.
1473. Also in the same yere Womere1 watere ranne hugely, withe suche abundaunce of watere, that nevyr manne sawe it renne so moche afore this tyme. Womere is callede the woo watere: for Englyschmen, whenne they dyd fyrst inhabyde this lond, also sone as they see this watere renne, they knewe wele it was a tokene of derthe2, or of pestylence, or of grete batayle; wherefor they callede it Womere; (for we as in Englysche tonge woo, and mere is called watere, whiche signyfieth woo-watere;) for alle that tyme they sawe it renne, they knewe welle that woo was comynge to England. And this Wemere is vij. myle frome Sent Albons, at a place callede Markayate; and this Wemere ranne at every felde afore specifyede, and never so hugely as it dyd this yere, and ranne stylle to the xiij. day of June next yere folowynge. Also ther has ronne dyverse suche other wateres, that betokenethe lykewyse; one at Lavesham3 in Kent, and another byside Canturbury called Naylborne, and another at Croydone in Suthsex4, and another vij. myle a this syde the castelle of Dodley, in the place called Hungerevale; that whenne it betokenethe batayle it rennys foule and trouble watere; and whenne betokenythe derthe or pestylence, it rennyth as clere as any watere, but this yere it ranne ryght trouble and foule watere, &c. Also ther is a pytte in Kent, in Langley Parke5: ayens any batayle he wille be drye, and it rayne never so myche; and if ther be no batayle towarde, he wille be fulle of watere, be it nevyre so drye a wethyre; and this yere he is drye6, &c. Also this same yere, ther was a voyce cryenge in the heyre, betwyx Laicetere and Bambury, uppon Dunmothe, and in dyverse othere places, herde a long tyme cryinge, "Bowes! Bowes!" whiche was herde of xl. menne; and some menne saw that he that cryed soo was a hedles manne; and many other dyverse tokenes have be schewede in England this yere, for amendynge of mennys lyvynge.
Note 1. Womere. So in MS. but should be wemere.
Note 2. A tokene of derthe. See Mr. Thoms's Anecdotes and Traditions (p. 122), for one instance of this curious superstition; Mr. Thoms refers to Grimm's Mythology for more examples.
Note 3. Lavesham, i.e. Lewisham, Kent.
Note 4. Suthsex. A mistake in MS. for Surrey.
Note 5. A pytte in Kent, in Langley Parke. This is probably the place where the small stream mentioned in Hasted's History of Kent (II. 140.) took its rise, and joins the river Medway on the south side of it, about half a mile above Maidstone.
Note 6. And this yere he is drye. This passage shows that these notes of prognosticative prodigies were penned in the same year in which they happened.
25 Apr 1472. Also this yere, or a lytelle before, George the ArcheBishop of Yorke (age 40), and brother to the Earl of Warwick, was withe Kynge Edwarde at Wynsoure, and huntede, and hade there ryghte good chere, and supposid he hade stonde in grete favour with the Kynge: for the Kynge seid to the sayde Archebyschope that he wuld come for to hunte and disporte withe him in his manere at Moore; whereof he was ryghte glade, and toke his leve and went home to make purvyaunce therfore; and fett oute of Londone, and dyverse other places, alle his plate and othere stuffe that he hade hyde after Barnet felde and Teukysbury feld; and also borowede more stuff of other menne, and purveyde for the Kynge for two or iij. dayes for mete and drynke and logynge, and arayed as rychely and as plesauntly as he coude. And the day afore the Kynge schulde have comyne to the ArcheBishop, to the seid manere of Moore, whiche the saide Archebisshoppe hade purchasshed and byllede1 it ryghte comodiusly and plesauntly, the Kynge send a gentylman to the seide Archebisshoppe, and commaundyd him to come to Wyndsoure to him; and asone as he came he was arested and apeched of hye treysone, that he schuld helpe the Earl of Oxenforde; and anone ryght he was put to warde. And forthewithe Sere William of Parre, knyghte, and Thomas Vaghan, squyre, withe othere many dyverse gentilmenne and yomen, were sent to the seide manere of Moore; and ther by the Kynges comawndement seysede the seid manere into the Kynges handes, and alle the good that was therin, whiche was worthe xx. Ml. or more, and alle other lordschippes and landes that the seid Bishop hade withein England, and alle his stuff and rychesse withein alle his lordschippes; and sent the same bisschoppe overe the see to Caleis, and from thens to the castelle of Hammys, and ther he was kepte presonere many a day; and the Kynge alle that seasone toke the prophete of the ArcheBishopryche, &c. And anone after the Kynge brake the seyd Archebysschoppes mytere, in the whiche were fulle many ryche stones and preciouse, and made therof a croune for him self. And alle his other juels, plate, and stuff, the Kynge gaff it to his eldest sonne and heyre Prynce Edward: for the sayd Archebisshoppe hade be Chaunselere of Englond many dayes, and he and his brotheres hade the reule of the lande, and hade gaderyde grete rychesse many yeres, whiche in one day was lost; and alle be the hye jugement of ryghtwisnes (as many manne seide be hym) for his grete covetousenes, and had no pyte of Kynge Harry menne, and was cause of many mannys undoynge for Kynge Edwardys sake, if he mighte gete any good by hym. Wherefore suche goodes as were gaderide with synne, were loste with sorwe. And also menne supposid for cause he was duble to Kynge Herry, and kepte hym in Londone, where he wulde a be at Westmynstere, he hade a lettere send frome Kynge Edward to kepe hym oute of sanctuary, and he hade his charture send hym; where he had be a trewe manne to Kynge Herry, as the comons of Londone were, Kynge Edward hade not comene into Londone afore Barnet felde, &c. 
Note 1. Hade purchased and byllede. Moor Park in Hertfordshire, now the seat of the Marquess of Westminster. Clutterbuck (History of Hertfordshire, i. 191) states that the Archbishop had license to inclose 600 acres of pasture and land in Rickmersworth and Watford for a park, and to embattle the site of the manor of Moor in Rickmersworth; and quotes for authority Pat. 9. H. VI. m. 10; but George Neville was then unborn, and on further inquiry we find that the grant was made five years earlier, to Henry (Beaufort) Bishop of Winchester: "Quod Henr' Ep'us Winton' et alii possint kernell' manerium suam de More in Rickmansworth, ac imparcare sexcent, acras terræ, & c. ac liber' warrenn [That Bishop Henry of Winchester and others may enclose their manor of More in Rickmansworth, and impark six hundred acres of land, etc., and have free warren there].' ib'm " 2 Pat. 4 Hen. VI. m. 10.-J.G.N.
Sep 1473. Also in the xiij. yere of [the] regne of Kynge Edwarde, Sere Jhon Veere, Earl of Oxenforde, that withdrewe hym frome Barnet felde, and rode into Scottlonde, and frome thens into Fraunce asailed1, and ther he was worschipfully received. And in the same yere he was in the see withe certeyne schippes, and gate grete good and rychesse, and afterwarde came into westecountre, and, with à sotule poynte of werre, gate and enteryd Seynt Michaels Mount in Cornwayle, a strong place and a mygty, and can not be geett yf it be wele vytaled withe a fewe menne to kepe hit; for xxti. menne may kepe it ageyne alle the world. So the seyde Earl, withe xxti, score menne save iij2, the last day of Septembre the yere afore seyd, enteryd fyrst into [the] seyd mount, and he and his menne came doune into cuntre of Cornwale, and hade riyhte good chere of the comons, &c. The Kynge and his counselle sawe that therof myche harme might growe, &c.; comawndyd Bodrygan, scheff reulere of Cornwayle, to besege the seid mount. And so he dyd; and every day the Earl of Oxenfordes menne came doune undere trewis, spake with Bodrynghan and his menne; and at the laste the seid Earl lacked vytayle, and the seyde Bodrygan suffryd him to be vytailed; and anone the Kynge was put in knowlache therof; wherefor the seide Bodrygan was discharged, and Richard Fortescu, squyere for the body, by auctoryte of the Kynge, toke uppone honde to lay sege to the forseide mount, &c.
23 Dec 1473. And so gret dyversione roose betwyx Bodrygan and Fortescu, whiche Fortescu was schreve of Cornwayle, &c.; and the seide Fortescu leyed sege, &c. the xx. xiijti. day of Decembre3 the yere aforseide; and for the most party every day eche of theme faughte withe othere, and the seide Earls menne kylled dyverse of Fortescu menne; and som tyme whenne they hade welle y-foughte, they wulde take a trewis for one day and a night, and some tyme for two or thre dayes, &c. In the whiche trewes eche one of them spake and comaunde4 with other. The Kynge and his counselle sent unto dyverse that were with the Earl of Oxenforde prevely there pardones, and promysede to them grete yeftes and landes and goodes, by the whiche dyverse of them were turned to the Kynge ayens the Earl; and so in conclusione the Earl hade noʒt passynge ane viij. or ix. menne that wolde holde withe hym; the whiche was the undoynge of the Earl. For ther is proverbe and a seyenge, that a castelle that spekythe, and a womane that wille here, they wille be gotene bothe: for menne that bene in a castelle of warr, that wille speke and entrete withe ther enemyes, the conclusione therof [is] the losynge of the castelle; and a womanne that wille here foly spokyne unto hyre, if sche assent nozt at one tyme, sche wille at another. And so this proverbe was prevede trewe by the seide Earl of Oxenforde, whiche was fayne to yelde up the seyde mount, and put him in the Kynges grace; if he hade noʒt do so, his owne menne wulde have brought hym oute. And so Fortescu enterd into the seyd mount, the xv. day of Februarij. the yere afore sayde, in the whiche was vytayle enogh tylle midsomere after. And so was the Earl aforseyd, the Lorde Bemonde, two brotheres of the seide Earls, and Thomas Clyfforde, brought as a presonere to the Kynge; and alle was donne by ther oun foly, &c.
Note 1. Thens into Fraunce asailed. i.e. sailed thence into France.
Note 2. xxti¸ score men save iij. William of Worcester, who is probably correct, says only eighty men (Itin. 122.): "memorandum quod comes de Oxford per quinque annos preteritos die Martis in crastino Sancti Michaelis, tempore quo Fortescue armig. fuit vicecomes Cornubiæ, applicuit ad castrum Mont Mychelle cum LXXX hominibus. Et contra XI millia hominum armatorum ex parte domini Regis Edwardi quarti dictum comitem obsedebant per XXIII septividelicet usque diem sabbati proxima ante diem martis carniprivii voc. le clansyng days pro.... cum domino Rege demittebat fortalicium eundo ad dominum Regem. "
Note that the Earl of Oxford, for the past five years, on the Tuesday following the feast of St. Michael, during the time when Fortescue, esquire, was sheriff of Cornwall, arrived at Castle Mont St Michael with eighty men. And against eleven thousand armed men on the side of King Edward IV, they besieged the said earl for twenty-three weeks, namely until the Saturday before the Tuesday of the meat-market, called the Clansyng days, when he surrendered the fortress by going to the lord King."
Note 3. xx. xiij.. A mistake in MS. for xxiij.
Note 4. comaunde. i.e. communed.