ΑΛ. 735—73β.] OFFA AND HIS DEEDS. other party are without. The prince asks a truce, and makes ample promises; his object is future sovereignty. The king's friends spurn these offers, and rather seek to separate from the prince their relations who were in his company. These reject their proposals ; on the contrary they answer their friends thus :* " No tie is so powerful as that which binds us to our lord ; and whereas you ask us to depart, we tell you that we made the same proposal to thosewho were slain with your king, and they would not accede to it." To this the other party rejoined, " But you will remain unhurt, if you only depart, nor share in the vengeance which we shall inflict for those who were slain with the king." They returned no answer to this, but silently begin the battle ; shield punishes shield, and arms are laced in bucklers, relation falls by his kinsman ; they smash the doors, one pursues after another, and a lamentable fight ensues. Alas ! they slay the prince ; all his companions are laid low before his face, except one, and he was the baptismal son of duke Osric, but half alive, and covered with wounds. Now Cynewulf reigned thirty-one years, and his body lies entombed in the city of Winchester. The above-named prince also reposes in the church commonly called Axanminster.f Both their families trace to Cerdic. A . 765. In the same year Ethelbald, king of Mercia, was slain at a place called Seccandune,| and his body rests in a monastery called Reopandune.§ Bernred succeeded to the kingdom, and not long after he also died. CHAP. XIX.— O f the reign of king Offa and of hit deeds. A . 756. In the revolution of the same year, Offa succeeded to the kingdom, a remarkable man, son of Thingferth ; his grandfather was Enwulf, his great-grandfather Osmod, his great-grandfather's father Pybba, his great-grandfather's grandfather was IceL his sixth ancestor Eomaer, the " This is a sort of paraphrase rather than a translation : the original is not only bad in style and ungrammatical, but exceedingly corrupt and rerf obscure. t Now Axminster. The syllable an or en occurs similarly in many ancient Saxon towns ; thus Bedanford, Oxenford, Sec, and Seccandune, Reopsndune below. Î Now Seckington. $ Now Repton. C