They set the ricks aflame;

They slew the men with axe and sword,

They slew the maids with shame;

Until, to Canterbury town,

Made mad with blood, they came.

Archbishop Alphege walked the wall

And looked down on the foe.

"Now fly, my lord!" his monks implored,

"While yet a man may go!"

"Shame on you, monks of mine," he cried,