120 A CITY OF MANY WATERS 



as he could conveniently carry, made a most offensive 

 harangue to the ladies, seized hold on the king, rammed 

 the crown on his head, and, assisted by Cynesius, forcibly 

 carried him back into the banqueting-hall. Edwy had 

 plenty of spirit ; he chastised Dunstan for this outrage by 

 stripping him of his abbotcy, and sent him into banish- 

 ment. But he was not strong enough to fight the Church : 

 all his kingdom north of the Thames slipped from his 

 grasp, and the virulent Odo pronounced a divorce between 

 him and his queen. 



Ill-starred Elgiva ! not content with thus ruining her 

 fame, Odo caused her to be seized in her palace of Wol- 

 vesey, branded in her beautiful face, and banished to 

 Ireland. Worse was in store for her. ' After a while,' as 

 Osberne, with redundance of vituperation, ungallantly 

 describes, 'her wounds being healed, but with the deformity 

 of her shameless mind still gaping, she left Ireland and 

 came to Gloucester, steeped in the obstinacy of a black 

 heart.' Homo homini lupus: the vengeance of the 

 Church which she had incurred was wreaked with devilish 

 atrocity. Elgiva was seized ab hominibus servis Dei — by 

 men in the service of God — acting, that is, under orders 

 from Odo and Dunstan — and the sinews of her legs were 

 severed, so that she might wander no more. Incredible as 

 it might seem, were it not testified by the writings of 

 Osberne, who was briefed by the clerical party, the young 

 queen was actually hamstrung by these fiends. Of course, 

 to palliate such severity, Elgiva is made to appear a dis- 

 solute, unworthy female ; but the testimony of men who 

 could carry out such abominations as their own annalist 

 describes is not worth much against the character of their 

 victim. She died under her torments ; and Edwy himself 



