Penny Dreadfuls, 1602 · page 391 of 400
Penny Dreadful Cover — page 391: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a page of running prose from what appears to be a historical text titled "Historie of England" (page 369). The visible text discusses Danish invasions of England, describing how the King paid tribute money (eventually called "Dane-gelt") to buy peace with Danish enemies who continued raiding the land. The passage explains how this tax was initially levied to fund forces against Danish invasions, then later became a general tax collected into royal treasuries under successive English kings including Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, and Henry I. The text concludes by describing King Ethelred's secret order to massacre all Danes in England on Saint Brice's day—a stratagem the English apparently supported enthusiastically.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
x tee Fe 4 en tS BOT 5 ile eet ee en ae ~{* A ¢ wy = al ° (7 ¢ - Jean J * 2 pe Fee te AE r : Md Pt Ma ¥ . * el tt ml ‘was te » a” heer fcatteringly inhabited, allied themfelues,and srowen in- to one blood with ours,and(whereby they chiefly preuayled) bribing trecherous E/frick or Edvick the Englith Admirall, at {undry times, and fometimes with fenerall Fleetes and forces at one felfefaine time in fundrie places, failed about and in- uaded the Land, burning and doing moft inhumane executi- on wherefoeuer and vpon whomfocuer they were victorious, Infomuch that the King, in thefe extremities not knowing whom to truft nor what to trie, after he had five feueral times with great {ummes,al amounting to 113000.pounds,bought his peace of his enimies, and nevertheleffe found them {till armed againft the Land and of pray or pay infatiable , he -yeelded lattly to the payment of a yeerely Tribute: increafed in {hore {pace from tenne to fortie, or( as hauefome) to 43000. pounds: which many yeeres after, by the name of Dane-gelt,was levied of the Englifh Subiects. The payment whereof was afterwards continued to the Dave-Kings, remit- ted by Edward the Confeflor , renewed by William the Con- queror,and veterly releafed by Henry the firft, This Dave-gelt was in the beginning, before the imploy- ment thereof for the paiment of the aforefaid Tribute,an im- pofition of twelue pence vpon euery Hide , that is, twentie acres of Land,throughout Exgland, to be then expended on- 4 ly vpon continued forces againft the fudden Inuafions, Pil- lages, and Infolences heré of the then incorrigible Danes burafterwards, vntill (asbefore ) releafed, collected into the ~Treafuries of the Kings, England, by payment of this Tribute, breathing awhilea _ miferable peace, Ege/ved {ent forth fecreat Edis, that in the Night of Saint Briczes day inone fame hower ailthe Danes inhabiting throughout the Land fhould fuddenly be flavgh- tered, This Stratagem was not more priuilie authorized and publithed than generally and plaufibly entertayned and exe- | _ cuted by the Englifh, that of long time had thirfted their de-. ‘ 7 q ¥ @ ; | * : e > 7 a 4 M ; Mey © i tan bcs Bi 4 j “4 “ « — ¢ high Chit: i es . »— a oe oF * _ ¢ -" “s , ; i he %, Se b ‘ : ‘ “ : ae at: a7 ’ g pe 2 r) ve. ah ee & —_ es * a al , _ - ; « « - - * at wf 1 - ae a . ¥, 4 7 ek - 7 fi i 0 ( | ‘a : a s 6 ” “s i j ‘ . a s) GoM