that the archbishop required of him he
humbly fulfilled, and afterwards received consecration. This
year Earl Waltheof agreed with the king; but in the Lent of the
same year the king ordered all the monasteries in England to be
plundered. In the same year came King Sweyne from Denmark into
the Humber; and the landsmen came to meet him, and made a treaty
with him; thinking that he would overrun the land. Then came
into Ely Christien, the Danish bishop, and Earl Osbern, and the
Danish domestics with them; and the English people from all the
fen-lands came to them; supposing that they should win all that
land. Then the monks of Peterborough heard say, that their own
men would plunder the minster; namely Hereward and his gang:
because they understood that the king had given the abbacy to a
French abbot, whose name was Thorold;--that he was a very stern
man, and was then come into Stamford with all his Frenchmen. Now
there was a churchwarden, whose name was Yware; who took away by
night all that he could, testaments, mass-hackles, cantel-copes,
and reefs, and such other small things, whatsoever he could; and
went early, before day, to the Abbot Thorold; telling him that he
sought his protection, and informing him how the outlaws were
coming to Peterborough, and that he did all by advice of the
monks. Early in the morning came all the outlaws with many
ships, resolving to enter the minster; but the monks withstood,
so that they could not come in. Then they laid on fire, and
burned all the houses of the monks, and all the town except one
house. Then came they in through fire at the Bull-hithe gate;
where the monks met them, and besought peace of them. But they
regarded nothing. They went into the minster, climbed up to the
holy rood, took away the diadem from our Lord's head, all of pure
gold, and seized the bracket that was underneath his feet, which
was all of red gold. They climbed up to the steeple, brought
down the table that was hid there, which was all of gold and
silver, seized two golden shrines, and nine of silver, and took
away fifteen large crucifixes, of gold and of silver; in short,
they seized there so much gold and silver, and so many treasures,
in money, in raiment, and in books, as no man could tell another;
and said, that they did it from their attachment to the minster.
Afterwards they went to their ships, proceeded to Ely, and
deposited there all the treasure. The Danes, believing that they