Note 63 — Chapter II · THE FORMATION OF THE KINGDOM OF ENGLAND. 449–975.
Reading edition
See Earle, p. xix. It is much to be lamented that the prose entries in the Chronicles for this important reign are so meagre. On the other hand, William of Malmesbury evidently worked out the life of Æthelstan with unusual care, seemingly from lost sources, and, amidst a great deal of fable, we recover some truth.