h with the holy father. The young Earl Sidroc,
however, struck with the bearing of the child, and being moved with
compassion, stripped him of his robe and cowl, and threw over him a
long Danish tunic without sleeves, and ordering him to keep close by
him, made his way out of the monastery, the boy being the only one who
was saved from the general massacre.

The Danes, furious at being able to find none of the treasures of the
monastery, broke open all the shrines and levelled the marble tombs,
including those of St. Guthlac, the holy virgin Ethelbritha, and many
others, but found in these none of the treasure searched for. They
piled the bodies of the saints in a heap, and burned them, together
with the church and all the buildings of the monastery; then, with vast
herds of cattle and other plunder, they moved away from Croyland, and
attacked the monastery of Medeshamsted. Here the monks made a brave
resistance. The Danes brought up machines and attacked the monastery on
all sides, and effected a breach in the walls. Their first assault,
however, was repelled, and Fulba, the brother of Earl Hulba, was
desperately wounded by a stone.

Hulba was so infuriated at this that when, at the second assault, the
monastery was captured, he slew with his own hand everyone of the
monks, while all the country people who had taken refuge within the
walls were slaughtered by his companions, not one escaping. The altars
were levelled to the ground, the monuments broken in pieces. The great
library of parchments and charters was burnt. The holy relics were
trodden under foot, and the church itself, with all the monastic
buildings, burnt to the ground. Four days later, the Danes, having
devastated the whole country round and collected an enormous booty,
marched away against Huntingdon.

Edmund and Egbert remained but a few hours with the monks who had
escaped from the sack of Croyland; for, as soon as they saw the flames
mounting up above the church, they knew that the Danes had accomplished
their usual work of massacre, and there being no use in their making
further stay, they started upon their journey. They travelled by easy
stages, for time was of no value to them. For the most part their way
lay among forests, and when once they had passed south of Thetford they
had no fear of meeting with the Danes. Sometimes they slept at
farm-houses or villages, being everywhere hospitably received, the more
so when it was known that Edmund wa