The French kalends of May lie thus in Radulphus de Diceto, the famous dean of St. Paul’s in K. John’s time, whoſe hiſtory was thought ſo authentic, that the Engliſh parliament, in Edward the firſt’s time, relied upon his teſtimony, amongſt ſome others, in no leſs a point than the claim of the King of England to the ſupreme dominion of the realm of Scotland[1].
I will render the ſenſe of it into Engliſh as near as I can; however, the Latin lies before every man to tranſlate it for himſelf. “From hence-forward the French Kings degenerating from the valour and learning which they uſed to have, the power of the kingdom was adminiſtered by the maſters of the palace, the Kings themſelves being upon the matter only titular; whoſe cuſtom it was to come to the crown indeed; according to their deſcent, and
- ↑ As to our preſent buſineſs, he has theſe words, abbreviat. chronicorum, page 439. Abbinc Francorum regibus a ſolita fortitudine & ſcientia degenerantibus, regni potentia diſponebatur per majores domus, regibus ſolo nomine regnantibus; quibus moris erat principari quidem ſecundum genus, & nil agere vel diſponere praeterquam irrationabiliter edere & bibere domique morari, & kal. Maii praeſidere coram tota gente & ſalutari, obſequia & dona accipere & rependere, & ſic ſecum uſque ad alium Maium permanere.
