onks on the other, was brought about by his arbitrary assumption of
power; the bishop throughout, ostensibly preferring the safer game of a
somewhat anomalous position of neutrality, is nevertheless believed to
have covertly sanctioned his proceedings.

A fair was held in Tombland--to the west of the precincts--annually on
Trinity Sunday, and by right of ancient custom the priors reaped large
revenues by the imposition of tolls on the sales. Tombland, derived from
_Tomeland_, a vacant space, had originally formed part of the estate
bequeathed by Herbert, the founder, to the monks; the boundaries in
course of time had become matters of controversy, and it is probable
that the citizens felt the imposition of these tolls and dues to be a
real and serious grievance. A riot broke out and the monks were driven
within their gates. Had the prior at this juncture chosen to act
peacefully, it is probable that history would contain no record of the
sacrilege that followed. He, however, decided to resist force by force,
and carefully generaled his monks, disposing them at the various
strategic points of his domain. At the same time he sent to Yarmouth for
mercenaries--these arrived and the tables were turned; the prior's
forces sallied forth from the gates and robbed and pillaged the town.

The citizens, roused to a pitch of madness, drove them and the soldiers
back again within the walls of the monastery; the bishop, instead of
acting as peacemaker, appears to have preserved his position of
neutrality and quietly stopped in his palace. There was a short interval
of truce, but it only served as a breath to fan the flames; the citizens
besieged the cathedral precincts, and by the means probably of slings
succeeded in hurling combustible materials into the buildings, with a
result that the whole of the monastery and the cathedral itself was soon
in flames. It seems to be an established fact that the prior had placed
men in the tower to shoot at the citizens, and it is conjectured that
they, and not the citizens, were the cause of the outbreak here.

The only part of the cathedral that escaped was the Lady Chapel; the
rest was gutted, vestments and ornaments were carried off, and the monks
for the most part slain.

So ended the first part of this lamentable chapter in the history of
Norwich. A sentence of excommunication was passed on the city, and King
Henry hastened to Norwich to preside at the trial of the prisoners.

The accou