by an army; he himself with a few followers could move from
steading to steading and enjoy a certain amount of state, but a
pursuing army would have perished.

Evidence in support of this explanation of the secret and character of
the Weald is not far to seek. The Weald lay between the Channel and
its ports, that is to say, the entries into England from the
continent, and the Thames valley; it was then an obstacle that had to
be overcome. Had it been merely a great woodland forest, it would not
have troubled the Romans who would merely have driven a great road
through it. But the Romans had more to face than an impenetrable
woodland or the roughness of the country; they had to overcome the
lack of water, and therefore in the Weald their day's march of some
twelve miles was pressed to double its normal length. The French
armies, according to Mr Belloc, do exactly the same thing in the Plain
of Chalons to-day. And indeed a man may see for himself, even yet,
what exactly the Weald was if in summer he will cross it by any of the
winding byways that often become good roads for a mile or so and then
lapse again into lanes or footpaths. Let him follow one of these afoot
and drink only by the wayside. And then in winter let him follow the
same tracks if he can. He will find plenty of water, but his feet will
be heavy with clay. For an army or even a regiment to go as he goes
would be almost impossible, and this not because of the woodland or
undergrowth, but because of the lack of water, the lack of towns or
large villages and the clay underfoot.

Such then was the nature of the barrier which lay between the ports of
the Channel and the valley of the Thames. The Weald was indeed
inhuman, and this helps to explain why it was not only a barrier but a
refuge.

We read in the rude chronicle of the Saxons of two men who sought
refuge in the Weald, in the seventh and eighth centuries. The first of
the three was Caedwalla, (659?-689) a young man of great energy,
according to Bede, and probably a dangerous aspirant to the West-Saxon
throne. At any rate he was exiled from Wessex and he took refuge with
his followers in the forest of Anderida, that is to say in the Weald.
There about 681 he met St Wilfrid who had fled, too, from the West
Saxon kingdom. Wilfrid was busy converting the South Saxons, and
Caedwalla, going from steading to steading with his followers, saved
from any considerable pursuit by the nature of the country, became