Then the news came to the king that the Danes had landed in large numbers near Rochester and had laid siege to the town.

The king instantly summoned his fighting array, and in a few days moved at the head of a large army towards Kent.

Rochester was defending itself valiantly.

The Danes erected a great tower opposite to the principal gate, and overwhelming the defenders on the walls with their missiles endeavoured to force their way in by battering down the gate.
The inhabitants, however, piled great masses of stone behind it, and even when the gate was battered in the Danes, with all their efforts, were unable to force an entrance.

The Saxon army advanced with such celerity that the Danes had received no news of their coming until they were close at hand.