6. Egbert had fought a battle with them in Cornwall, and forced them to depart; but, during the reign of Ethelwulf, the next king, and three of his sons, they not only attacked the towns and villages on the sea-coast, but used to seize the horses and ride about the country in search of plunder. 7. They broke into the monasteries, where the people often put their money and jewels for safety; and if the inmates made any resistance they would set the building on fire. 8. Then they set up fortified camps, in many places; that is, a number of tents, arranged together, like a town surrounded with a wall and ditch; and thus a great many of the Danes established themselves in the country, and conquered all the northern part of it. This was the sad state of affairs when Alfred the Great came to the throne. 9. I dare say you have heard of this good prince, who was the youngest and favorite son of king Ethelwulf, for he was the cleverest and best. His mother, being an accomplished lady, tried to teach all her sons to read; but none of them would learn except Alfred, who afterwards went to Rome to study Latin, and learn to write, so that he was a good scholar for those times. 10. His three brothers had all reigned in turn, and were all dead by the time he was twenty-two years old, therefore he was then heir to the crown; but, instead of being able to think about the best way of governing the country, he was obliged to get together as many soldiers as he could, and go out with them to fight the Danes. 11. There was no regular army then, as there is now; but, when the king wanted soldiers, he sent to all the noblemen and landholders in the kingdom, who were obliged to come themselves and bring so many men with them, according to the size of their estates, some on horseback, some on foot, and all well armed. 12. You must remember that people could not buy land then for money, nor have it for paying rent; but large estates were given to the thanes and nobles by the king, on condition that they should perform certain services for him; and you have already seen how the vassals of the nobles held their little farms on similar terms. 13. This was called the feudal system, which means, holding land for services instead of rent; and the person holding the land was called the vassal of him to whom it belonged, whether rich or poor; so the nobles were the vassals of the king, and the ceorls were the vassals of the nobles. 14. I think you now understand what the feudal system was, therefore I shall proceed with the history of Alfred the Great. 15. The war had gone on for several years, and the king was so unfortunate that, at last, he was obliged to hide himself in a woody marsh in Somersetshire, called the Isle of Athelney, because it was surrounded by bogs and rivers.