kings bed had stood. Heerevpon
when she had knowledge that euerie thing was ordered according to hir
appointment, she persuaded the king to returne thither againe, feining
occasions great and necessarie.

Now when he was returned to that house, which before seemed to the eie
a palace of most pleasure, and now finding it in such a filthie state
as might loath the stomach of anie man to behold the same, she tooke
occasion therevpon to persuade him to the consideration of the vaine
pleasures of this world, which in a moment turne to naught, togither
with the corruption of the flesh, being a filthie lumpe of claie,
after it should once be disolued by death: and in fine, where before
she had spent much labour to mooue him to renounce the world, though
all in vaine, yet now the beholding of that change in his pleasant
palace, wherein so late he had taken great delight, wrought such an
alteration in his mind, that hir woords lastlie tooke effect: so that
he resigned the kingdome to his coosen Ethelard, and went himselfe to
Rome (as aboue is mentioned) and his wife became a nun in the abbeie
of Barking, where she was made abbesse, and finallie there ended hir
[Sidenote: Peter pence.]
life. This Inas was the first that caused the monie called Peter
pence, to be paid vnto the bishop of Rome, which was for euerie
houshold within his dominion a penie.

[Sidenote: King Ethelred becommeth a moonk.]
In this meane time Edilred or Ethelred, hauing gouerned the
kingdome of Mercia by the tearme of 29 yeeres, became a moonke in the
abbeie of Bardenie, and after was made abbat of that house. He had
[Sidenote: Ostrida.]
to wife one Ostrida the sister of Egfride king of Northumberland, by
whome he had a sonne named Ceolred. But he appointed Kenred the sonne
of his brother Vulfher to succeed him in the kingdome. The said
[Sidenote: _Beda in Epit._ 697.]
Ostrida was cruellie slaine by the treason of hir husbands subiects,
[Sidenote: King Kenred.]
about the yeere of our Lord 697. And as for Kenred, he was a
prince of great vertue, deuout towards God, a furtherer of the
commonwealth of his countrie, and passed his life in great sinceritie
of maners. In the fift yeere of his reigne, he renounced the world,
and went to Rome, togither with Offa king of the Eastsaxons, where
[Sidenote: 711.]
he was made a moonke: and finallie died there, in the yeere of our
[Sidenote: _Nauclerus_. Egwin bishop of Worcester.]
Lord 711. By the aid and furtheranc