Upon this, Odo, bishop of Bayeux, shut himself up in the city of Rochester with five hundred men of arms, determining to wait for the arrival of Duke Robert with the auxiliary forces he had promised to bring; for the league, although they were very numerous and had great resources in money and arms, and vast supplies, did not dare to meet the king in open fight within his own realm. They therefore, with great prudence, selected Rochester, because if the king did not blockade them in the city, the position was central for making sudden eruptions and plundering London and Canterbury, and they could also take advantage of the sea, which lies very near, and the neighboring islands, to dispatch messengers to obtain assistance. The resolute king, however, anticipated their projects, and in the month of May, invested the place with a powerful army; and erecting two forts, shut up the enemy within the walls so that every avenue of egress was closed. As I have said before, Bishop Odo, Count Eustace, and Robert de Belesme, with many nobles, as well as persons of moderate station, held the place, expecting in vain, succours from Duke Robert, who was detained by sloth and indulgence. However Roger, earl of Mercia, and many other Normans who were in the besieging army gave secret aid to the besieged, as far as it was in their power, although they did not venture to appear openly in arms against the king. All the bishops of England joined the English people in loyally supporting the king, and laboured to restore in the country the tranquility, which good men love. Also Hugh, earl of Chester, Robert de Mowbray, earl of Northumberland, William de Warenne, and Robert Fitz-Hamon, with their loyal and experienced barons, maintained their fealty to their sovereign and gave him useful aid, both with their arms and their counsels, against the enemy.
A plague, like the plague of the Egyptians, made its appearance in the town of Rochester, the Almighty, who, in all ages, superintends human affairs and orders them aright, having chosen to renew an ancient miracle in modern times. For as the flies tormented the Egyptians, and did not cease a moment from whizzing around them, in the same manner these flies grievously annoyed the besieged with their incessant attacks; for all egress from the castle was prevented, and many of those who were thus blockaded fell sick from their various sufferings, and, their disorders increasing, at length died. Innumerable flies were engendered in the dung of men and horses and being nourished by the heat both of the summer, and the atmosphere caused by the breath of so many inhabitants closely pent up, their swarms horribly infested their eyes and noses, food and drink. So severely was the insolent band of rebels afflicted with the annoyance of the swarms that they could not eat their meals, either by day or by night, unless a great number of them were employed, in turn, in flapping them away from their comrades faces. In consequence, Odo and his allies could no longer suffer the miseries of the siege; they therefore sent envoys to the king asking for peace and offering to surrender the place.
Source: Ordericus Vitalis. The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy. Bk. VIII, Ch. II, pp. 436-38.
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