centre of the fort, and by this means an ample supply of water was
secured, however large might be the number within it.

A very short time after the commencement of the work the news arrived
that King Edmund of East Anglia had gathered his forces together and
had met the Danes in a great battle near Thetford on Sunday the 20th of
November, and had been totally defeated by them, Edmund himself having
been taken prisoner. The captive king, after having been for a long
time cruelly tortured by the Danes, was shot to death with arrows. It
was not long after this that news came that the whole of East Anglia
had fallen into the hands of the Danes.

Early in the month of February, 871, just as the walls of his fort had
begun to rise, a messenger arrived from the king bidding Edmund
assemble all the men in his earlship and march at once to join him near
Devizes, as the news had come that a great Danish fleet had sailed up
the Thames and had already captured the royal town of Reading.

Messengers were sent out in all directions, and early the next morning,
400 men having assembled, Edmund and his kinsman marched away with them
towards Devizes. Upon their arrival at that town they found the king
and his brother with 8000 men, and the following day the army moved
east towards Reading.

They had not marched many miles before a messenger arrived saying that
two of the Danish jarls with a great following had gone out to plunder
the country, that they had been encountered by Aethelwulf, Earl of
Berkshire, with his men at Englefield, and a fierce battle had taken
place. The Saxons had gained the victory, and great numbers of the
Danes had been slain, Sidroc, one of their jarls, being among the
fallen.

Three days later the royal army arrived in sight of Reading, being
joined on their march by Aethelwulf and his men. The Danes had thrown
up a great rampart between the Thames and the Kennet, and many were
still at work on this fortification. These were speedily slain by the
Saxons, but their success was a short one. The main body of the
invaders swarmed out from the city and a desperate engagement took
place.

The Saxons fought valiantly, led by the king and Prince Alfred; but
being wholly undisciplined and unaccustomed to war they were unable to
withstand the onslaught of the Danes, who fought in better order,
keeping together in ranks: after four hours' hard fighting the Saxons
were compelled to fall back.

They rallied aga