8. A story is told of a worthy person living near St. Alban's monastery at a time when a visit from marauding Danes was expected. One market-day he sent a number of heavy iron-bound chests, guarded by armed men, through the market to the monastery. Everybody, of course, turned to look, and talked about the affair. As a matter of fact the chests only contained stones; the treasure was carefully hidden somewhere else, till all danger was thought to be over. That plan was used to put the Danes "off the scent", as we should say. 9. All the land that did not go with the tuns and vills in early days was apparently regarded as belonging to the people, and was called the =folk-land=. The king came to be regarded as the custodian or guardian of these folk-lands. Little by little they became the =property of the king=, until practically he could do what he pleased with them. It was from these folk-lands--which in early times were probably scraps of land which nobody thought to be worth very much, since the nearest vills and tuns had never taken them in--that kings gave land to bishoprics and monasteries. By and by these rough lands became very valuable; but in most cases it was the labour, the skill, and the brains of the monks of the early days which turned the waste lands into fruitful fields. =Summary.=--Each vill had its church, but there are none of these old churches now standing. Bits of stone-work belonging to that time are sometimes found built into old church walls. The early churches were mostly of wood. The monastery churches were often very large, but they were not public churches. In times of danger, monasteries were looked upon as places of safety. The waste lands which did not belong to any tun or vill in early times were called _folk-land_, and belonged to the people. The king was regarded as the guardian of these lands, but in time they were looked upon as his private property. Land given to monasteries was often very rough, but the care the monks gave to it in time made it fertile. CHAPTER XV LATER SAXON TIMES 1. Every old town and village has got its oldest house, of course. You will most likely have heard people trying to be funny about it, and saying they think it must have been built in the year One. There is, we may pretty safely say, no house now standing exactly as it was in the days of King Cnut and the later Saxon times. But even yet there are some buildings standing, and still in use, which have certain parts which were erected in those times. These buildings are mostly churches, and in various parts of the country, indeed in almost every county, something belonging to this age can be pointed out.