A.D. 1088. ODO STJB.EENDEBS PEVENSEY CASTLE. 171 Roger Bigot entered the castle of Norwich, and spread devastation throughout the country.82 Bishop Odo, through whom these evils had arisen, proceeded into Kent, and laid waste the royal vills, and ravaged the lands of all those who preserved their fealty to the king and gained possession of the castle of Bochester. On hearing of these things, the king caused the English to be assembled together, and, pointing out to them the treachery of the Normans, entreated them to give him their assistance, on condition that, if they should prove faithful to him in this emergency, he would grant them better laws, such as they should make choice of; he also forbade all unjust taxes, and returned to aB their woods and right of venison ; but, whatever he promised, he soon withdrew. The English however, then assisted him faithfully. Accordingly, the king assembled his army for marching on Rochester, where he supposed his uncle, bishop Odo, was ; but, when they came to Tunbridge, they found the castle closely shut against the king. However, the English, boldly storming it, destroyed the whole castle, and those who were in it surrendered to the king. After this, the king with his army directed his course towards the castle of Pevensey ; for bishop Odo had withdrawn from Rochester and fled to that castle, whither the king, with a large army, foBowed him, and besieged the castle for six entire weeks. While these things were going on in England, Robert, duke of Normandy, had assembled a considerable force, and was preparing to send it to England, intending shortly to foBow, as though making sure of England through the agency of bishop Odo and the others, who were his partisans there. But WR-Bam the Younger had now taken measures of defence by sea with his cruisers, which slew many of them on their passage to England, and sank others at sea; so much so, that no man can tell the number of those who perished. During the period of these transactions at sea, bishop Odo, and those who were with him, being compeBed by hunger, surrendered the castle of Pevensey, and promised, on oath, that they would leave England and not enter it again, except 83 The words after " Norwich" here arc adopted from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; as the text has " et omnes vicit in malum," words which admit of no sense whatever, and are clearly erroneous.