that they would help them, that they might fight against the army. And then they went with the West-Saxon power into Mercia as far as Nottingham, and there met with the army within the fortress; and besieged them therein: but there was no great battle; and the Mercians made peace with the army.
A. 869. This year the army again went to York, and sat there one year.
A. 870. This year the army rode across Mercia into East-Anglia, and took up their winter quarters at Thetford: and the same winter king Edmund fought against them, and the Danes got the victory, and slew the king, and subdued all the land, and destroyed all the minsters which they came to. The names of their chiefs who slew the king were Hingwar and Hubba. At that same time they came to Medeshamstede, and burned and beat it down, slew abbat and monks, and all that they found there. And that place, which before was full rich, they reduced to nothing. And the same year died archbishop Ceolnoth. Then went Ethelred and Alfred his brother, and took Athelred bishop of Wiltshire, and appointed him archbishop of Canterbury, because formerly he had been a monk of the same minster of Canterbury. As soon as he came to Canterbury, and he was stablished in his archbishopric, he then thought how he might expel the clerks who (were) there within, whom archbishop the Ceolnoth had (before) placed there for such need . . . as we shall relate. The first year that he was made archbishop there was so great a mortality, that of all the monks whom he found there within, no more than five monks survived. Then for the . . . . he (commanded) his chaplains, and also some priests of his vills, that they should help the few monks who there survived to do Christ's service, because he could not so readily find monks who might of themselves do the service; and for this reason he commanded that the priests, the while, until God should give peace in this land, should help the monks. In that same time was this land much distressed by frequent battles, and hence the archbishop could not there effect it, for there was warfare and sorrow all his time over England; and hence the clerks remained with the monks. Nor was there ever a time that monks were not there within, and they ever had lordship over the priests. Again the archbishop
