The Benedictine monks were originally laymen, working in a very praiseworthy manner with their hands to support themselves. Some were ordained as the needs of the monastery required, and although ordained, they were still monks, and resided within the walls of their convent. The monastic life had taken a great hold as early as the seventh century upon the Anglo-Saxon kings and nobles. But we must look to the Norman period for the full development of monastic institutions in this country. The mode of life and dress of the monks and nuns fascinated the Anglo-Saxons, and struck them with awe. The monasteries were richly endowed with estates. They also monopolized the rich mortuary fees. The treasures of the Anglo-Saxon kings, of their families, and of wealthy laymen, were poured into the monasteries. But the time was fast approaching when all those costly buildings, rich treasures, and priceless libraries, were to be swept away and destroyed by foreign savage hordes. The Danes made their first appearance in England A.D. 787. They were implacable enemies of the Christian religion. Between A.D. 858 and 878 they rifled and burnt the British monasteries. Plunder was always their game, and therefore they first attacked the monasteries because they were defenceless, and contained immense wealth. This vandalism was disastrous to the nation, because it dried up the only channel of learning and education in the land, and destroyed the only existing libraries. The monasteries were the treasure-houses for charters and privileges granted by kings and nobles from time to time, which were deposited for safety in these sanctuaries. A carefully-written history of the country was also kept in many of the monastic libraries. The destruction of the monasteries by the Danes, and the dispersion of their inmates among the villages, gave a powerful impetus to the erection of more parish churches; for, after the departure of the Vandals, it was much cheaper to build a wooden church than to rebuild a monastery. The monastic churches served, up to the time of their destruction, as the parochial churches in many places. When these were destroyed, the nobility, wealthy landowners and bishops, exerted themselves to supply not only the deficiencies, but to increase the number of parish churches. The inmates of the monasteries scattered through the villages took, no doubt, an active part in church-building.