By barbarous knights in wanton fray,
Who wrought the wreck and went their way.
Showed where their godless blades had thrust
Profane defiance; and with ashes
Strewn was the altar, and encrust
Was chalice, pyx, and urn with rust.
No incense breathed its hallowed fume;
And as the rudded eve grew dimmer,
Shadows as ghostly as the tomb
Wrapped choir and nave and aisle in gloom.