190 ANNALS OP KOGEB ΓΕ HO YE DEN. A.D. 1100. qnence, on the fourth day before the nones of August, being the fifth day of the week, in the eighth year of the indie-tion. The body was carried to Winchester, and buried at the old monastery there, in the church of Saint Peter. And not undeservedly did this befall him, for, as popular rumour affirmed, this was undoubtedly the great might of God and his vengeance. Por, in ancient times, that is to say, in the days of king Edward and the other kings of England, his predecessors, that same district flourished most abundantly in inhabitants, and worshippers of God, and churches, but, by the command of king William the Elder, the people being driven away, the houses half destntyed, and the churches pulled down, the land was rendered fit only for the habitation of wild beasts; and this, according to general belief, was the cause of the mishap ; for it was the fact that, some time before, Richard, the brother of this same king William the Younger, lost his life in the same forest ; and a short time previously, his cousin Richard, son of Robert duke of Nor-mandy, while hunting there, was pierced by an arrow discharged by one of his knights, of which wound he died. In the place, also, where the king fell, in former times a church had been built, but, as previously stated, in his father's time, it was levelled with the ground. In the days of this king, as in part already mentioned, there were many portentous signs beheld in the sun, moon, and stars ; the sea, also, frequently flowed beyond its usual limits on the shore, and swept away men and animals, towns, and a vast number of houses. In a village which is called Berkshire,29 just before the king's death, blood flowed from a spring during a period of three weeks.29 The devil, also, showed himself frequently, in a frightful shape, to many Normans in the woods, and made many communications to them respecting the king and Banulph and some other persons. Nor is this to be wondered at, for in their time almost all equity on part of the laws was silent, and all grounds for justice being suppressed, money alone held sway with the men in power. In fine, at this period, some persons paid more obedience to the royal wishes than to justice; so much so, that Banulph, con- 23 Some words are evidently omitted in the text. William of Malmes-hury says that this took place at the village of Finchampstead, in the county of Berks. 29 William of Malmesbury says fifteen days.