The Westminster annalist did not stand alone. Other monastic chroniclers took up and accepted his story. It became the accepted monastic doctrine that one robber only had stolen the king’s treasure, and that therefore the monks of Westminster were unwarrantably accused. One writer added to his text a crude illustration of how, it was imagined, Pudlicott effected his purpose. You may see opposite this page his rude pictorial representation of the “one robber” kneeling on the grass in the churchyard, and picking up by a hand and arm extended through the broken window the precious stores within. But Pudlicott’s arm must have been longer than the arm of justice to effect this operation, and must have been twice or thrice the length of a tall man. This same chronicler was not contented with repeating the parallel now recognised between the sufferings of the monks of Westminster, under their unjust accusations, and the passion of pope Boniface, five months later, at the hands of the robbers hired by the ruthless king of France. He must give a picture of the Anagni outrage as well as of the orthodox version of the Westminster burglary. How far he has succeeded, you may gather from the rude sketch figured on the opposite page. Not only does he give us so vivid a picture of pope Boniface’s sufferings from the rude soldiery that the drawing might well be used as a representation of a martyrdom, like that of St. Thomas of Canterbury. His sketch of three other sacrilegious warriors, rifling the huge chest that contained the papal treasures, skilfully suggests that robbery was the common motive that united the outrage at Anagni to the outrage at Westminster. He leaves us to draw the deeper moral that the sinful desire of unhallowed laymen to bring holy church and her ministers into discredit was the ultimate root of both these scandals. Edward was satisfied with his Scottish campaign; he was becoming old and tired; he was pleased to know that a great deal of the lost treasure had been recovered; and he was always anxious to avoid scandal, and to minimise any disagreement with the monks of his father’s foundation. He, therefore, condoned what he could not remedy. He soon released all the monks from prison. He even restored Shenche to his hereditary office of the keepership of the palace. Richard of Pudlicott alone was offered up to vengeance. In October, 1305, Richard was hanged, regardless of his clergy. [Illustration: The Outrage at Anagni.]