"And Pope Marinus sent some wood of the Cross to King Alfred. And that same year Sigehelm and Athelstan took to Rome the alms which King Alfred had promised thither, and also to India to St Thomas and St Bartholomew, when the English were encamped against the enemy army at London; and there, by the grace of God, their prayers were well answered after that promise."
"Some historians have suggested that text might originally have referred to Judea, another name for the Holy Land, arguing that Indea/India could be a scribal mistake influenced by manuscript variants that read Iudea. In fact, two of the five manuscripts have the word Iudea, but Green argues these two versions are garbled with missing words, while the three with India are indeed the correct version."
A record for 883 reports Sigehelm and Athelstan carrying alms promised by King Alfred to Rome and to India to St Thomas and St Bartholomew while English forces were encamped near London. Five manuscript versions preserve this entry; three read 'India' while two read 'Iudea' (Judea). The two versions reading 'Iudea' display missing or garbled words, whereas the three reading 'India' present coherent wording. Consideration of possible motives for an embassy, historical connections between England and distant eastern regions, and hints that the envoys returned support the plausibility of a voyage to India.
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