Father Godric succeeded him, under whose paternal rule we enjoyed peace for ten years.  Truly the memory of the just is blessed.  He died in 985, and then was I chosen by the votes of the chapter to be their prior, and my election was confirmed by the holy Dunstan, who himself admitted me to mine office.

And truly the lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places, dark although—­as I have said—­the times are.  The priory lies on the banks of the glorious Avon, where the forests come nearly down to its banks.  Above us rises a noble hill, crowned with the oak and the beech, beneath whose shade many a deer and boar repose, and their flesh, when brought thither to gladden our festivals, is indeed toothsome and savoury.

Our buildings are chiefly of wood, although the foundations are of stone.  The great hall is floored and lined with oak, while the chapel—­the Priory Church the people call it—­excels for limning and gilding, as well as for the beauty of its tapestry, any church in this part of Mercia.  Our richest altar cloth is made of the purple robe which King Edgar wore at his consecration, and which he sent to the thane Alfred of Aescendune for the Priory Church as a token of the respect and favour he bore him.  And also he gave a veil of gold embroidery which representeth the destruction of Troy.  It is hung upon great days over the dais at the high table of the hall.

The monastery is well endowed with lands by the liberality of its first founder, as appears in the deeds preserved in our great muniment chest.  We have ten hides of woodland, wherein none may cut wood save for our use in the winter; five hides of arable land, and the same extent of pasturage for cattle.  Now for the care of the culture thereof we have a hundred serfs attached to the glebe, who, we trust, do not find us unkind lords.

There are twenty brethren who have taken the final vows according to the rule of St. Benedict, and ten novices, besides six lay brethren, and other our chief servitors.  We keep the monastic hours, duly rising at daybreak to sing our lauds, and lying down after compline, with the peace and blessing of Him who alone maketh us dwell in safety.

Our daily work is not light.  We preach on Sundays and festivals in the priory church.  We visit the sick.  We instruct the youth in the elements of Christian doctrine.  We superintend the labours of those who till the soil.  We copy the sacred writings.  In short, we have a great deal to do, and I fear do it very imperfectly sometimes.

I will add a few words only about myself.  I am the third son of Alfred {i}, thane of Aescendune, and his wife the Lady Alftrude of Rollrich.  Elfric, my eldest brother, died young.  Elfwyn is now thane, and I, the third boy, was given to the Church, for which I had ever felt a vocation, perhaps from my love to my godfather.  We only had one sister, Bertha, and she has married the Thane Herstan of Clifton, near Dorchester, the seat of our good bishop Aelfhelm, and the shrine of holy Birinus.