a place in Canterbury, which was
the chief city of all his kingdom, and as he had promised to give them a
livelihood and their worldly needs, he likewise gave them leave that
they might preach and teach the Christian faith. It is said that when
they went and drew nigh to the city, as their custom was, with Christ's
holy cross, and with the likeness of the great King our Lord Jesus
Christ, they sung with a harmonious voice this Litany and Antiphony:
_Deprecamur te_, etc. "We beseech thee, Lord, in all thy mercy, that thy
fury and thy wrath be taken off from this city and [from] thy holy
house, because we have sinned. Alleluia."

Then it was soon after they had entered into the dwelling place which
had been granted to them in the royal city, when they began to imitate
the apostolic life of the primitive church--that is, served the Lord in
constant prayers, and waking and fasting, and preached and taught God's
word to whom they might, and slighted all things of this world as
foreign; but those things only which were seen [to be] needful for their
livelihood they received from those whom they taught; according to that
which they taught, they [themselves] through everything lived; and they
had a ready mind to suffer adversity, yea likewise death [it] self, for
the truth which they preached and taught. Then was no delay that many
believed and were baptized. They also wondered at the simplicity of
[their] harmless life and the sweetness of their heavenly lore.

There was by east well-nigh the city a church built in honor of St.
Martin long ago, while the Romans yet dwelt in Britain [in which church
the Queen (was) wont to pray, of whom we said before that she was a
Christian]. In this church at first the holy teachers began to meet and
sing and pray, and do mass-song, and teach men and baptize, until the
King was converted to the faith, and they obtained more leave to teach
everywhere, and to build and repair churches.

Then came it about through the grace of God that the King likewise among
others began to delight in the cleanest life of holy [men] and their
sweetest promises, and they also gave confirmation that those were true
by the showing of many wonders; and he then, being glad, was baptized.
Then began many daily to hasten and flock together to hear God's word,
and to forsake the manner of heathenism, and joined themselves, through
belief, to the oneness of Christ's holy Church. Of their belief and
conversion [it] i