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counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Warwick, Chester, Derby, Lincoln, Leicester, Oxford, Hereford, Stafford, Northampton, Buckingham, Bedford, Huntingdon, Cambridge, and Hertford. The kings of the West Saxons ruled over the counties of Berks, Dorset, Southampton, Wilton, Salisbury, and Bath. These provinces therefore, being thus distributed among six kings, they were constantly engaged in civil wars, and worse than civil wars, with one another. The two kings who reigned in Northumberland, governed the country to the north of the great river Humber, to the kingdom of Scotland. But we have laid enough about them before. After matters had been arranged in this way, the kings abovementioned determined utterly to destroy Britain and the memory of the Britons, with which view they unanimously agreed that the island should no longer be called Britain, from Brutus, but Anglia, from the Angles. The same year, while Gunthran, king of the Franks, being •eary with hunting, was sleeping in his armour-bearer's lap, near a stream of water, the armour-bearer saw a little animai issue out of the king's mouth. And as it wished to cross the stream and could not do so, the armour-bearer placed bis sword across the water, and so made it a path to go and return. And when it came back into the king's mouth, he woke, and said that he had dreamed that he was passing over an iron bridge, and said that he had seen great treasures under a certain mountain. And when he went to the mountain, in accordance with the faith he placed in his dream, he did find great treasures there ; and when he had acquired them, he appropriated them to the uses of the church. A.D. 587. Clothaire became king of the Gauls, and reigned forty-four years. The same year, Erkenwin, king of the East Saxons, died, and Sledda, his son, reigned in his stead. A.D. 588. Ethelfrid, king of the Bernicians, took for his wife Acca, the daughter of Ella, king of the Deiri, and she, in process of time, brought him seven sons. And the names of his sons are as follows : Eanfrid, Oswald, Oswin, Ossac, Oswid, Osa, and Offa. The same year, Creodda, king of the Mercians died, and Wibba, his son, succeeded him, and reigned three years. A.D. 589. Sledda, king of the East Saxons, became the father of Sebert, who succeeded him in the kingdom, by the daughter of Ermenric, a former king of Kent. VOL. ι. τ

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