s down upon him, and at last, finding the struggle hopeless, he
had gone as a pilgrim to Rome, where he had died. The Danes acted in
Mercia as they had done in Northumbria. They did not care, themselves,
to settle down for any length of time, and therefore appointed a weak
Saxon thane, Ceolwulf, as the King of Mercia. He ruled cruelly and
extorted large revenues from the land-owners, and robbed the
monasteries, which had escaped destruction, of their treasures.

The Danes suffered him to pursue this course until he had amassed great
wealth, when they swooped down upon him, robbed him of all he
possessed, and took away the nominal kingship he had held. As there was
now but little fresh scope for plundering in England many of the Danes
both in Anglia and Mercia settled down in the cities and on the lands
which they had taken from the Saxons.

The Danes who had gone from Exeter were now joined by another band
which had landed in South Wales. The latter, finding but small plunder
was to be obtained among the mountains of that country, moved to
Gloucester, and joining the band there proposed a fresh invasion of
Wessex. The Danes, in spite of the oaths they had sworn to Alfred, and
the hostages they had left in his hands, agreed to the proposal; and
early in the spring of 878 the bands, swollen by reinforcements from
Mercia, marched into Wiltshire and captured the royal castle of
Chippenham on the Avon. From this point they spread over the country
and destroyed everything with fire and sword. A general panic seized
the inhabitants. The better class, with the bishops, priests, and
monks, made for the sea-coasts and thence crossed to France, taking
with them all their portable goods, with the relics, precious stones,
and ornaments of the churches and monasteries.

Another party of Danes in twenty-three ships had landed in Devonshire.
Here the ealdorman Adda had constructed a castle similar to that which
Edmund had built. It was fortified by nature on three sides and had a
strong rampart of earth on another. The Danes tried to starve out the
defenders of the fort; but the Saxons held out for a long time,
although sorely pressed by want of water. At last they sallied out one
morning at daybreak and fell upon the Danes and utterly defeated them,
only a few stragglers regaining their ships.

A thousand Danes are said to have been slain at Kynwith; but this was
an isolated success; in all other parts of the kingdom panic appeared