CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I
 What a mirror of cheerfulness and gentleness shines forth in the acts of King Harold. How he was the brother of the Queen, whom the holy Edward married. How his father Godwin, escaping the snare of King Canute, received the latter's sister to wife; and how Harold signally triumphed over the vices of those who brought him up.
How Wales was nearly destroyed by Harold; and how he recovered from paralysis by the virtue of the Holy Cross of Waltham.
CHAPTER III How Harold built, enriched, adorned, and regulated the Church of the Holy Cross at Waltham; and how Henry, King of the English, abolished the secular canons, and distinguished the place by the appointment of regular canons.
CHAPTER IV How it was divinely ordained that this man Should be raised to the position of King, and, after having defeated his enemies, should in his turn be conquered by other enemies, and deposed from his kingdom; and concerning a very pious anchorite, who had been servant of Harold, after he became a hermit himself.
CHAPTER V How a certain Saracen woman found him half dead amongst his assailants, brought him to Winchester and healed him as he lay there concealed for two years; and how he sought out the Saxons and Danes to collect allies against the Normans, but was unsuccessful.
CHAPTER VI How at length, coming to himself, he perceived that God was opposing him in his worldly path; wherefore, conforming himself to the Cross of Christ that he might the better triumph over the old enemy, he rejoices that he has suffered defeat at the hands of men.
CHAPTER VII How he entered on a long pilgrimage to obtain the prayers of holy men; and how, before he became a King, he visited the resting-places of the holy Apostles.
CHAPTER VIII The admiration of the writer, with a brief exclamation on the goodness of God, by which it happens that the sins even of the elect work in them for good.
CHAPTER IX How many things are said by many people about Harold's sin; and concerning the oak hard by Rouen, under which he made the oath, which remains, though stript of its bark, to this day.
CHAPTER X The excuse some make for Harold, whereby, exonerating him from perjury, they assert that it was with the sanction of God and consent of the holy Edward that he became King; and concerning the vision of the Abbot Elfin, in which the holy Edward declared that Harold Should be conqueror over the Norwegians.
CHAPTER XI A wonderful account concerning a Holy Cross which is alleged to have bowed its head to Harold as he was hastening to battle; and certain other very abounding miracles concerning this Cross, proved to be undoubtedly true.
CHAPTER XII Different interpretations of different men concerning the above-mentioned signs of the bowing Cross and the withered oak; and how Harold, by judging himself favourably anticipated the divine judgment and fears not man's.
CHAPTER XIII How, after many years spent abroad, Harold, returning to England for the purpose of exercising his patience and meekness, caused himself to be called CHRISTIAN, and lived ten years in a certain rock insolitude; with a short invective against the Antichrists of that time.
CHAPTER XIV How Harold afterwards spent a long time in various places on the borders of the Welsh, bore their repeated assaults in patience, hiding his face with a cloth, and changing his name for another lest he should by some means be recognized; how at length the cruelty of his persecutors was changed into veneration for him.
CHAPTER XV How Harold, the man of God, avoided the obsequious who persecuted him, whom he had approached, and long borne with; and how a place of rest was appointed for him by a voice that fell from heaven; and how he hinted in ambiguous words to those who asked him that he was Harold; and how the truth of the matter will be shown more fully in the account given by his successor.
CHAPTER XVI The reader despite the reading which he feels differs from the opinions of some; and concerning the three occasions of those who think differently about this present subject; and concerning the threefold mistake of William of Malmesbury on the fate of Harold.
CHAPTER XVII What happened to the people of Waltham in their holy anxiety concerning the burial of their patron; and how they were missed by a woman's mistake.
CHAPTER XVIII How a brother of Harold, Gurth by name, replied to Walter the Abbot, or others, when asked concerning the ashes or the burial of his brother.
CHAPTER XIX How the successor of the man of God, writing a true account of the deeds of the most blessed Harold has on two occasions assigned inappropriate reasons for his actions; with a discussion on the first reason, and a full disapproval of the same by the production of the evidence of various opinions.
CHAPTER XX The weakness of the second reason assigned, and the writer's warning to the reader; and on the difficulty of patching up materials torn indiscriminately by ancient writers.