Tame Weorth, 723 AD
Æthelbald postponed his travel plans until the winter weather gave way to freshness and the firmer roads of spring. It meant he had time aplenty to agonise over which nunnery to “raid”. In truth, this decision eluded him, partly because there was so wide a choice, also for fear of the consequences of his actions. It would not do to offend a nearby abbey. Proximity, for sure, meant added complications. In the end, he decided to leave the selection to what he called “Providence”.
It came in the form of his scir-reeve, an ealdorman charged with surveying the royal income. This official"s report, on the whole, was satisfactory, for he was a scrupulous man. His attention to detail, however, exposed a few important cases of remissness. One, in particular, attracted Æthelbal
