A.D. 887. KING ALFRED FOUNDS TWO MONASTERIES. 57 King Alfred, after the burning of cities and the slaughter of the inhabitants, rebuilt London -with great honor, and made it habitable, and gave it into the charge of Ethered, earl of Mercia. To this king all the Angles and Saxons, -who before had been dispersed in all quarters, or were with the pagans" but not in captivity, came, and voluntarily submitted to his sway. At this period, Plegmund was archbishop of Canterbury. In the year 886, the above-mentioned army left Paris, being · unable to gain their object, and steered their fleet thence along the Seine, as far as a place called Chezy. There having taken up their quarters for a year, in the year following they entered the mouth of the river Iona," and, making great ravages to the country, remained there a year. In the same year, Charles, king of the Franks, departed this life, in the sixth week after his expulsion from his kingdom by Ernulph, his brother's son. After his death the kingdom was divided into five parts, but the principal part devolved on Ernulph, to whom the other four, of their own accord, took the oath of fealty ; inasmuch as not one of them could be legitimate heir on his father's side, except Ernulph alone : with him, therefore, remained the supreme power. This, then, was the division of the kingdom : Ernulph received the countries on the eastern side of the river Rhine ; Rhodulph the inland parts of the kingdom ; Odo the west ; and Beorgar and "Wido14 Lombardy and all the lands on that side of the mountains. But these kingdoms, thus divided, afflicted each other with mighty wars, and the kings expeUed one another out from their dominions. In this year Ethelhem,15 earl of "Wiltshire, carried to Rome the alms of king Alfred. • In the year 887, among the numberless good things that king Alfred did, he founded two most noble monasteries ; one for monks, at a place which is caUed Ethelingege,18 or the "the island of nobles," where, coUecting monks of various " Asser seems to say that those submitted " who were in captivity with the heathens." This is clearly wrong, for they had not the opportunity of so doing. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Roger of Wendover agree with our author. 13 Yonne. 14 Witha, or Guido. lS Roger of Wendover erroneously calls this person Athelm, bishop of Winchester. '« Or Athelney, in Somersetshire.