Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great | |
---|---|
Wessex | |
Died | 26 October 899 (aged about 50) |
Burial | c. 1100 , Hampshire, now lost |
Spouse | |
Issue |
|
House | Wessex |
Father | Æthelwulf, King of Wessex |
Mother | Osburh |
Alfred the Great (also spelled Ælfred; c. 849 – 26 October 899) was
After ascending the throne, Alfred spent several years fighting
Alfred had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature who encouraged education, proposing that primary education be conducted in English rather than Latin, and improving the legal system and military structure and his people's quality of life. He was given the epithet "the Great" in the 16th century and is the only English monarch to be labelled as such.
Family
Alfred was a son of
He was the youngest of six children. His eldest brother,
In 868, Alfred married
Background
Alfred's grandfather,
At the beginning of the ninth century, England was almost wholly under the control of the
In 825, Ecgberht sent Æthelwulf to invade the Mercian sub-kingdom of
Viking raids increased in the early 840s on both sides of the English Channel, and in 843 Æthelwulf was defeated at Carhampton.[25] In 850, Æthelstan defeated a Danish fleet off Sandwich in the first recorded naval battle in English history.[27] In 851 Æthelwulf and his second son, Æthelbald, defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Aclea and, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, "there made the greatest slaughter of a heathen raiding-army that we have heard tell of up to this present day, and there took the victory".[28] Æthelwulf died in 858 and was succeeded by his oldest surviving son, Æthelbald, as king of Wessex and by his next oldest son, Æthelberht, as king of Kent. Æthelbald only survived his father by two years, and Æthelberht then for the first time united Wessex and Kent into a single kingdom.[29]
Childhood
According to Asser, in his childhood Alfred won a beautifully decorated book of English poetry, offered as a prize by his mother to the first of her sons able to memorise it. He must have had it read to him because his mother died when he was about six and he did not learn to read until he was 12.
The reigns of Alfred's brothers
Alfred is not mentioned during the short reigns of his older brothers Æthelbald and Æthelberht. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the
Viking invasion
In 868, Alfred was recorded as fighting beside Æthelred in a failed attempt to keep the Great Heathen Army led by
King at war
Early struggles
In April 871 King Æthelred died and Alfred acceded to the throne of Wessex and the burden of its defence, even though Æthelred left two under-age sons,
While he was busy with the burial ceremonies for his brother, the Danes defeated the Saxon army in his absence at an unnamed spot and then again in his presence at Wilton in May.[35] The defeat at Wilton smashed any remaining hope that Alfred could drive the invaders from his kingdom. Alfred was forced instead to make peace with them. Although the terms of the peace are not recorded, Bishop Asser wrote that the pagans agreed to vacate the realm and made good their promise.[38]
The Viking army withdrew from Reading in the autumn of 871 to take up winter quarters in Mercian London. Although not mentioned by Asser or by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Alfred probably paid the Vikings silver to leave, much as the Mercians were to do in the following year.
In 876, under Guthrum, Oscetel and Anwend, the Danes slipped past the Saxon army and attacked and occupied
Alfred blockaded the Viking ships in Devon, and with a relief fleet having been scattered by a storm, the Danes were forced to submit. The Danes withdrew to Mercia. In January 878, the Danes made a sudden attack on
Legend of burnt cake
Having fled to the Somerset Levels, Alfred was purportedly given shelter by a peasant woman who, unaware of his identity, asked him to mind some wheaten cakes she left baking by the fire.[42][43] Preoccupied with the problems of his kingdom, Alfred accidentally let the cakes burn, and was roundly scolded by the woman upon her return. The first written account of the legend appears a century after Alfred's death, though may have earlier origins in folklore.[43]
Counter-attack and victory
In the seventh week after Easter (4–10 May 878), around
Alfred won a decisive victory in the ensuing Battle of Edington which may have been fought near Westbury, Wiltshire. He then pursued the Danes to their stronghold at Chippenham and starved them into submission. One of the terms of the surrender was that Guthrum convert to Christianity. Three weeks later, the Danish king and 29 of his chief men were baptised at Alfred's court at Aller, near Athelney, with Alfred receiving Guthrum as his spiritual son.[35]
According to Asser,
The unbinding of the chrisom[f] on the eighth day took place at a royal estate called Wedmore.
— Keynes & Lapidge 1983, Ch. 56
At Wedmore, Alfred and Guthrum negotiated what some historians have called the Treaty of Wedmore, but it was to be some years after the cessation of hostilities that a formal treaty was signed.[47] Under the terms of the so-called Treaty of Wedmore, the converted Guthrum was required to leave Wessex and return to East Anglia. Consequently, in 879 the Viking army left Chippenham and made its way to Cirencester.[48] The formal Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, preserved in Old English in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (Manuscript 383), and in a Latin compilation known as Quadripartitus, was negotiated later, perhaps in 879 or 880, when King Ceolwulf II of Mercia was deposed.[49]
That treaty divided up the kingdom of Mercia. By its terms, the boundary between Alfred's and Guthrum's kingdoms was to run up the River Thames to the River Lea, follow the Lea to its source (near Luton), from there extend in a straight line to Bedford, and from Bedford follow the River Ouse to Watling Street.[50]
Alfred succeeded to Ceolwulf's kingdom consisting of western Mercia, and Guthrum incorporated the eastern part of Mercia into an enlarged
880s
With the signing of the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, an event most commonly held to have taken place around 880 when Guthrum's people began settling East Anglia, Guthrum was neutralised as a threat.[53] The Viking army, which had stayed at Fulham during the winter of 878–879, sailed for Ghent and was active on the continent from 879 to 892.[54][55]
There were local raids on the coast of Wessex throughout the 880s. In 882, Alfred fought a small sea battle against four Danish ships. Two of the ships were destroyed, and the others surrendered. This was one of four sea battles recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, three of which involved Alfred.[56] Similar small skirmishes with independent Viking raiders would have occurred for much of the period as they had for decades.[57]
In 883, Pope Marinus exempted the Saxon quarter in Rome from taxation, probably in return for Alfred's promise to send alms annually to Rome, which may be the origin of the medieval tax called Peter's Pence. The pope sent gifts to Alfred, including what was reputed to be a piece of the True Cross.[58]
After the signing of the treaty with Guthrum, Alfred was spared any large-scale conflicts for some time. Despite this relative peace, the king was forced to deal with a number of Danish raids and incursions. Among these was a raid in
Not long after the failed Danish raid in Kent, Alfred dispatched his fleet to East Anglia. The purpose of this expedition is debated, but Asser claims that it was for the sake of plunder.[59] After travelling up the River Stour, the fleet was met by Danish vessels that numbered 13 or 16 (sources vary on the number), and a battle ensued.[59] The Anglo-Saxon fleet emerged victorious, and as Henry of Huntingdon writes, "laden with spoils".[60] The victorious fleet was surprised when attempting to leave the River Stour and was attacked by a Danish force at the mouth of the river. The Danish fleet defeated Alfred's fleet, which may have been weakened in the previous engagement.[61]
King of the Anglo-Saxons
A year later, in 886, Alfred reoccupied the city of London and set out to make it habitable again.
This is also the period in which almost all chroniclers agree that the Saxon people of pre-unification England submitted to Alfred.[64] In 888, Æthelred, the archbishop of Canterbury, also died. One year later Guthrum, or Athelstan by his baptismal name, Alfred's former enemy and king of East Anglia, died and was buried in Hadleigh, Suffolk.[65] Guthrum's death changed the political landscape for Alfred. The resulting power vacuum stirred other power-hungry warlords eager to take his place in the following years.
Viking attacks (890s)
After another lull, in the autumn of 892 or 893, the Danes attacked again. Finding their position in mainland Europe precarious, they crossed to England in 330 ships in two divisions. They entrenched themselves, the larger body at
While he was in talks with Hastein, the Danes at Appledore broke out and struck north-westwards. They were overtaken by Alfred's eldest son Edward, and were defeated at the
Alfred had been on his way to relieve his son at Thorney when he heard that the Northumbrian and East Anglian Danes were besieging Exeter and an unnamed stronghold on the North Devon shore. Alfred at once hurried westward and raised the Siege of Exeter. The fate of the other place is not recorded.[68]
The force under Hastein set out to march up the Thames Valley, possibly with the idea of assisting their friends in the west. They were met by a large force under the three great ealdormen of Mercia, Wiltshire and Somerset and forced to head off to the north-west, being finally overtaken and blockaded at Buttington. (Some identify this with Buttington Tump at the mouth of the River Wye, others with Buttington near Welshpool.) An attempt to break through the English lines failed. Those who escaped retreated to Shoebury. After collecting reinforcements, they made a sudden dash across England and occupied the ruined Roman walls of Chester. The English did not attempt a winter blockade but contented themselves with destroying all the supplies in the district.[68]
Early in 894 or 895 lack of food obliged the Danes to retire once more to Essex. At the end of the year, the Danes drew their ships up the River Thames and the River Lea and fortified themselves twenty miles (32 km) north of London. A frontal attack on the Danish lines failed but later in the year, Alfred saw a means of obstructing the river to prevent the egress of the Danish ships. The Danes realised that they were outmanoeuvred, struck off north-westwards and wintered at Cwatbridge near Bridgnorth. The next year, 896 (or 897), they gave up the struggle. Some retired to Northumbria, some to East Anglia. Those who had no connections in England returned to the continent.[68]
Military reorganisation
The Germanic tribes who invaded Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries relied upon the unarmoured infantry supplied by their tribal levy, or fyrd, and it was upon this system that the military power of the several kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England depended.[69] The fyrd was a local militia in the Anglo-Saxon shire in which all freemen had to serve; those who refused military service were subject to fines or loss of their land.[70] According to the law code of King Ine of Wessex, issued in c. 694,
If a nobleman who holds land neglects military service, he shall pay 120 shillings and forfeit his land; a nobleman who holds no land shall pay 60 shillings; a commoner shall pay a fine of 30 shillings for neglecting military service
— Attenborough 1922, pp. 52–53
Wessex's history of failures preceding Alfred's success in 878 emphasised to him that the traditional system of battle he had inherited played to the Danes' advantage. While the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes attacked settlements for plunder, they employed different tactics. In their raids the Anglo-Saxons traditionally preferred to attack head-on by assembling their forces in a shield wall, advancing against their target and overcoming the oncoming wall marshalled against them in defence.[71] The Danes preferred to choose easy targets, mapping cautious forays to avoid risking their plunder with high-stake attacks for more. Alfred determined their tactic was to launch small attacks from a secure base to which they could retreat should their raiders meet strong resistance.[71]
The bases were prepared in advance, often by capturing an estate and augmenting its defences with ditches, ramparts and palisades. Once inside the fortification, Alfred realised, the Danes enjoyed the advantage, better situated to outlast their opponents or crush them with a counter-attack because the provisions and stamina of the besieging forces waned.[71]
The means by which the Anglo-Saxons marshalled forces to defend against marauders also left them vulnerable to the Vikings. It was the responsibility of the shire fyrd to deal with local raids. The king could call up the national militia to defend the kingdom but in the case of the Viking raids, problems with communication and raising supplies meant that the national militia could not be mustered quickly enough. It was only after the raids had begun that a call went out to landowners to gather their men for battle. Large regions could be devastated before the fyrd could assemble and arrive. Although the landowners were obliged to the king to supply these men when called, during the attacks in 878 many of them abandoned their king and collaborated with Guthrum.[72][73]
With these lessons in mind Alfred capitalised on the relatively peaceful years following his victory at Edington with an ambitious restructuring of Saxon defences. On a trip to Rome Alfred had stayed with Charles the Bald, and it is possible that he may have studied how the Carolingian kings had dealt with Viking raiders. Learning from their experiences he was able to establish a system of taxation and defence for Wessex. There had been a system of fortifications in pre-Viking Mercia that may have been an influence. When the Viking raids resumed in 892 Alfred was better prepared to confront them with a standing, mobile field army, a network of garrisons and a small fleet of ships navigating the rivers and estuaries.[74][75][76]
Administration and taxation
Tenants in Anglo-Saxon England had a threefold obligation based on their landholding: the so-called "common burdens" of military service, fortress work, and bridge repair. This threefold obligation has traditionally been called trinoda necessitas or trimoda necessitas.[77] The Old English name for the fine due for neglecting military service was fierdwite.[78] To maintain the burhs, and to reorganise the fyrd as a standing army, Alfred expanded the tax and conscription system based on the productivity of a tenant's landholding. The hide was the basic unit of the system on which the tenant's public obligations were assessed. A hide is thought to represent the amount of land required to support one family. The hide differed in size according to the value and resources of the land and the landowner would have to provide service based on how many hides he owned.[77][79]
Burghal system
The foundation of Alfred's new military defence system was a network of burhs, distributed at tactical points throughout the kingdom.[80] There were thirty-three burhs, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) apart, enabling the military to confront attacks anywhere in the kingdom within a day.[81][82]
Alfred's burhs (of which 22 developed into boroughs) ranged from former Roman towns, such as Winchester, where the stone walls were repaired and ditches added, to massive earthen walls surrounded by wide ditches, probably reinforced with wooden revetments and palisades, such as at Burpham in West Sussex.[83][84][85][g] The size of the burhs ranged from tiny outposts such as Pilton in Devon, to large fortifications in established towns, the largest being at Winchester.[87]
A document now known as the Burghal Hidage provides an insight into how the system worked. It lists the hidage for each of the fortified towns contained in the document. Wallingford had a hidage of 2,400, which meant that the landowners there were responsible for supplying and feeding 2,400 men, the number sufficient for maintaining 9,900 feet (1.88 miles; 3.0 kilometres) of wall.[88] A total of 27,071 soldiers were needed, approximately one in four of all the free men in Wessex.[89] Many of the burhs were twin towns that straddled a river and were connected by a fortified bridge, like those built by Charles the Bald a generation before.[75] The double-burh blocked passage on the river, forcing Viking ships to navigate under a garrisoned bridge lined with men armed with stones, spears or arrows. Other burhs were sited near fortified royal villas, allowing the king better control over his strongholds.[90]
The burhs were connected by a road system maintained for army use (known as
Alfred also tried his hand at naval design. In 896 he ordered the construction of a small fleet, perhaps a dozen or so longships that, at 60 oars, were twice the size of Viking warships.[96] This was not, as the Victorians asserted, the birth of the English Navy. Wessex had possessed a royal fleet before this. Alfred's older brother sub-king Æthelstan of Kent and Ealdorman Ealhhere had defeated a Viking fleet in 851 capturing nine ships and Alfred had conducted naval actions in 882.[97] The year 897 marked an important development in the naval power of Wessex. The author of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle related that Alfred's ships were larger, swifter, steadier and rode higher in the water than either Danish or Frisian ships. It is probable that, under the classical tutelage of Asser, Alfred used the design of Greek and Roman warships, with high sides, designed for fighting rather than for navigation.[98]
Alfred had seapower in mind; if he could intercept raiding fleets before they landed, he could spare his kingdom from being ravaged. Alfred's ships may have been superior in conception, but in practice they proved to be too large to manoeuvre well in the close waters of estuaries and rivers, the only places in which a naval battle could be fought.[99] The warships of the time were not designed to be ship killers but rather troop carriers. It has been suggested that, like sea battles in late Viking age Scandinavia, these battles may have entailed a ship coming alongside an opposing vessel, lashing the two ships together and then boarding the craft. The result was a land battle involving hand-to-hand fighting on board the two lashed vessels.[100]
In the one recorded naval engagement in 896, Alfred's new fleet of nine ships intercepted six Viking ships at the mouth of an unidentified river in the south of England. The Danes had beached half their ships and gone inland.[101][96] Alfred's ships immediately moved to block their escape. The three Viking ships afloat attempted to break through the English lines. Only one made it; Alfred's ships intercepted the other two.[96] Lashing the Viking boats to their own, the English crew boarded and proceeded to kill the Vikings. One ship escaped because Alfred's heavy ships became grounded when the tide went out.[100] A land battle ensued between the crews. The Danes were heavily outnumbered, but as the tide rose, they returned to their boats which, with shallower drafts, were freed first. The English watched as the Vikings rowed past them but they suffered so many casualties (120 dead against 62 Frisians and English) that they had difficulty putting out to sea.[100] All were too damaged to row around Sussex, and two were driven against the Sussex coast (possibly at Selsey Bill).[96][100] The shipwrecked crew were brought before Alfred at Winchester and hanged.[96]
Legal reform
In the late 880s or early 890s, Alfred issued a long
Alfred singled out in particular the laws that he "found in the days of Ine, my kinsman, or
About a fifth of the law code is taken up by Alfred's introduction which includes translations into English of the Ten Commandments, a few chapters from the Book of Exodus, and the Apostolic Letter from the Acts of the Apostles (15:23–29). The introduction may best be understood as Alfred's meditation upon the meaning of Christian law.[105] It traces the continuity between God's gift of law to Moses to Alfred's own issuance of law to the West Saxon people. By doing so, it linked the holy past to the historical present and represented Alfred's law-giving as a type of divine legislation.[106]
Similarly Alfred divided his code into 120 chapters because 120 was the age at which Moses died and, in the number-symbolism of early medieval biblical exegetes, 120 stood for law.[107] The link between Mosaic law and Alfred's code is the Apostolic Letter which explained that Christ "had come not to shatter or annul the commandments but to fulfill them; and he taught mercy and meekness" (Intro, 49.1). The mercy that Christ infused into Mosaic law underlies the injury tariffs that figure so prominently in barbarian law codes since Christian synods "established, through that mercy which Christ taught, that for almost every misdeed at the first offence secular lords might with their permission receive without sin the monetary compensation which they then fixed".[108]
The only crime that could not be compensated with a payment of money was treachery to a lord "since Almighty God adjudged none for those who despised Him, nor did Christ, the Son of God, adjudge any for the one who betrayed Him to death; and He commanded everyone to love his lord as Himself".[108] Alfred's transformation of Christ's commandment, from "Love your neighbour as yourself" (Matt. 22:39–40) to love your secular lord as you would love the Lord Christ himself, underscores the importance that Alfred placed upon lordship which he understood as a sacred bond instituted by God for the governance of man.[109]
When one turns from the domboc's introduction to the laws themselves, it is difficult to uncover any logical arrangement. The impression is of a hodgepodge of miscellaneous laws. The law code, as it has been preserved, is singularly unsuitable for use in lawsuits. In fact, several of Alfred's laws contradicted the laws of Ine that form an integral part of the code. Patrick Wormald's explanation is that Alfred's law code should be understood not as a legal manual but as an ideological manifesto of kingship "designed more for symbolic impact than for practical direction".[110] In practical terms the most important law in the code may well have been the first: "We enjoin, what is most necessary, that each man keep carefully his oath and his pledge" which expresses a fundamental tenet of Anglo-Saxon law.[111]
Alfred devoted considerable attention and thought to judicial matters. Asser underscores his concern for judicial fairness. Alfred, according to Asser, insisted upon reviewing contested judgments made by his ealdormen and reeves and "would carefully look into nearly all the judgements which were passed [issued] in his absence anywhere in the realm to see whether they were just or unjust".[112] A charter from the reign of his son Edward the Elder depicts Alfred as hearing one such appeal in his chamber while washing his hands.[113]
Asser represents Alfred as a Solomonic judge, painstaking in his own judicial investigations and critical of royal officials who rendered unjust or unwise judgments. Although Asser never mentions Alfred's law code he does say that Alfred insisted that his judges be literate so that they could apply themselves "to the pursuit of wisdom". The failure to comply with this royal order was to be punished by loss of office.[114]
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, commissioned at the time of Alfred, was probably written to promote unification of England,[115] whereas Asser's The Life of King Alfred promoted Alfred's achievements and personal qualities. It was possible that the document was designed this way so that it could be disseminated in Wales because Alfred had acquired overlordship of that country.[115]
Foreign relations
Asser speaks grandiosely of Alfred's relations with foreign powers but little definite information is available.
Alfred's relations with the Celtic princes in the western half of Great Britain are clearer. Comparatively early in his reign, according to Asser, the
Religion, education and culture
In the 880s, at the same time that he was "cajoling and threatening" his nobles to build and man the burhs, Alfred, perhaps inspired by the example of Charlemagne almost a century before, undertook an equally ambitious effort to revive learning.[68] During this period, the Viking raids were often seen as a divine punishment, and Alfred may have wished to revive religious awe in order to appease God's wrath.[118]
This revival entailed the recruitment of clerical scholars from Mercia, Wales and abroad to enhance the tenor of the court and of the
Very little is known of the church under Alfred. The Danish attacks had been particularly damaging to the monasteries. Although Alfred founded monasteries at Athelney and Shaftesbury, these were the first new monastic houses in Wessex since the beginning of the eighth century.[121] According to Asser, Alfred enticed foreign monks to England for his monastery at Athelney because there was little interest for the locals to take up the monastic life.[122]
Alfred undertook no systematic reform of ecclesiastical institutions or religious practices in Wessex. For him, the key to the kingdom's spiritual revival was to appoint pious, learned, and trustworthy bishops and abbots. As king, he saw himself as responsible for both the temporal and spiritual welfare of his subjects. Secular and spiritual authority were not distinct categories for Alfred.[123][124]
He was equally comfortable distributing his translation of
Effect of Danish raids on education
The Danish raids had a devastating effect on learning in England. Alfred lamented in the preface to his translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care that "learning had declined so thoroughly in England that there were very few men on this side of the Humber who could understand their divine services in English or even translate a single letter from Latin into English: and I suppose that there were not many beyond the Humber either".[126] Alfred undoubtedly exaggerated, for dramatic effect, the abysmal state of learning in England during his youth.[32] That Latin learning had not been obliterated is evidenced by the presence in his court of learned Mercian and West Saxon clerics such as Plegmund, Wæferth, and Wulfsige.[127]
Manuscript production in England dropped off precipitously around the 860s when the Viking invasions began in earnest, not to be revived until the end of the century.
Establishment of a court school
Alfred established a court school for the education of his own children, those of the nobility, and "a good many of lesser birth". There they studied books in both English and Latin and "devoted themselves to writing, to such an extent… they were seen to be devoted and intelligent students of the liberal arts".[130] He recruited scholars from the Continent and from Britain to aid in the revival of Christian learning in Wessex and to provide the king personal instruction. Grimbald and John the Saxon came from Francia; Plegmund (whom Alfred appointed archbishop of Canterbury in 890), Bishop Wærferth of Worcester, Æthelstan, and the royal chaplains Werwulf, from Mercia; and Asser, from St David's in southwestern Wales.[131]
Advocacy of education in English
Alfred's educational ambitions seem to have extended beyond the establishment of a court school. Believing that without Christian wisdom there can be neither prosperity nor success in war, Alfred aimed "to set to learning (as long as they are not useful for some other employment) all the free-born young men now in England who have the means to apply themselves to it".[132] Conscious of the decay of Latin literacy in his realm, Alfred proposed that primary education be taught in English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin.[133]
There were few "books of wisdom" written in English. Alfred sought to remedy this through an ambitious court-centred programme of translating into English the books he deemed "most necessary for all men to know".[133] It is unknown when Alfred launched this programme, but it may have been during the 880s when Wessex was enjoying a respite from Viking attacks. Alfred was, until recently, often considered to have been the author of many of the translations, but this is now considered doubtful in almost all cases.[134] Scholars more often refer to translations as "Alfredian", indicating that they probably had something to do with his patronage, but are unlikely to be his own work.[135]
Apart from the lost Handboc or Encheiridio, which seems to have been a
One might add to this list the translation, in Alfred's law code, of excerpts from the
The preface of Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care[132] explained why he thought it necessary to translate works such as this from Latin into English. Although he described his method as translating "sometimes word for word, sometimes sense for sense", the translation keeps very close to the original although, through his choice of language, he blurred throughout the distinction between spiritual and secular authority. Alfred meant the translation to be used, and circulated it to all his bishops.[138] Interest in Alfred's translation of Pastoral Care was so enduring that copies were still being made in the 11th century.[139]
Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy was the most popular philosophical handbook of the Middle Ages. Unlike the translation of the Pastoral Care, the
The last of the Alfredian works is one which bears the name Blostman ('Blooms') or Anthology. The first half is based mainly on the Soliloquies of St Augustine of Hippo, the remainder is drawn from various sources. The material has traditionally been thought to contain much that is Alfred's own and highly characteristic of him. The last words of it may be quoted; they form a fitting epitaph for the noblest of English kings. "Therefore, he seems to me a very foolish man, and truly wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world, and ever wish and long to reach that endless life where all shall be made clear."[138] Alfred appears as a character in the twelfth- or 13th-century poem The Owl and the Nightingale where his wisdom and skill with proverbs is praised. The Proverbs of Alfred, a 13th-century work, contains sayings that are not likely to have originated with Alfred but attest to his posthumous medieval reputation for wisdom.[145]
The
It was at one time attached to a thin rod or stick based on the hollow socket at its base. The jewel certainly dates from Alfred's reign. Although its function is unknown, it has been often suggested that the jewel was one of the æstels – pointers for reading – that Alfred ordered sent to every bishopric accompanying a copy of his translation of the Pastoral Care. Each æstel was worth the princely sum of 50 mancuses which fits in well with the quality workmanship and expensive materials of the Alfred jewel.[147]
Historian Richard Abels sees Alfred's educational and military reforms as complementary. Restoring religion and learning in Wessex, Abels contends, was to Alfred's mind as essential to the defence of his realm as the building of the burhs.[148] As Alfred observed in the preface to his English translation of Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care, kings who fail to obey their divine duty to promote learning can expect earthly punishments to befall their people.[149] The pursuit of wisdom, he assured his readers of the Boethius, was the surest path to power: "Study wisdom, then, and, when you have learned it, condemn it not, for I tell you that by its means you may without fail attain to power, yea, even though not desiring it".[150]
The portrayal of the West-Saxon resistance to the Vikings by Asser and the chronicler as a Christian holy war was more than mere rhetoric or propaganda. It reflected Alfred's own belief in a doctrine of divine rewards and punishments rooted in a vision of a hierarchical Christian world order in which God is the Lord to whom kings owe obedience and through whom they derive their authority over their followers. The need to persuade his nobles to undertake work for the 'common good' led Alfred and his court scholars to strengthen and deepen the conception of Christian kingship that he had inherited by building upon the legacy of earlier kings including Offa, clerical writers including Bede, and Alcuin and various participants in the Carolingian Renaissance. This was not a cynical use of religion to manipulate his subjects into obedience but an intrinsic element in Alfred's worldview. He believed, as did other kings in ninth-century England and Francia, that God had entrusted him with the spiritual as well as physical welfare of his people. If the Christian faith fell into ruin in his kingdom, if the clergy were too ignorant to understand the Latin words they butchered in their offices and liturgies, if the ancient monasteries and collegiate churches lay deserted out of indifference, he was answerable before God, as Josiah had been. Alfred's ultimate responsibility was the pastoral care of his people.[148]
Appearance and character
Asser wrote of Alfred in his Life of King Alfred,
Now, he was greatly loved, more than all his brothers, by his father and mother—indeed, by everybody—with a universal and profound love, and he was always brought up in the royal court and nowhere else...[He] was seen to be more comely in appearance than his other brothers, and more pleasing in manner, speech and behaviour...[and] in spite of all the demands of the present life, it has been the desire for wisdom, more than anything else, together with the nobility of his birth, which have characterized the nature of his noble mind.
— Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 74–75
It is also written by Asser that Alfred did not learn to read until he was 12 years old or later, which is described as "shameful negligence" of his parents and tutors. Alfred was an excellent listener and had an incredible memory and he retained poetry and psalms very well. A story is told by Asser about how his mother held up a book of Saxon poetry to him and his brothers, and said; "I shall give this book to whichever one of you can learn it the fastest." After excitedly asking, "Will you really give this book to the one of us who can understand it the soonest and recite it to you?" Alfred then took it to his teacher, learned it, and recited it back to his mother.[151]
Alfred is noted as carrying around a small book, probably a medieval version of a small pocket notebook, that contained psalms and many prayers that he often collected. Asser writes: these "he collected in a single book, as I have seen for myself; amid all the affairs of the present life he took it around with him everywhere for the sake of prayer, and was inseparable from it."[151] An excellent hunter in every branch of the sport, Alfred is remembered as an enthusiastic huntsman against whom nobody's skills could compare.[151]
He was the youngest of his brothers, and he was probably the most open-minded. He was an early advocate for education. His desire for learning could have come from his early love of English poetry and inability to read or physically record it until later in life. Asser writes that Alfred "could not satisfy his craving for what he desired the most, namely the liberal arts; for, as he used to say, there were no good scholars in the entire kingdom of the West Saxons at that time".[151]
Family
In 868, Alfred married Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini. The Gaini were probably one of the tribal groups of the Mercians. Ealhswith's mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal family.[152]
They had five or six children together, including
Osferth was described as a relative in King Alfred's will and he attested charters in a high position until 934. A charter of King Edward's reign described him as the king's brother – mistakenly according to Keynes and Lapidge, but in the view of Janet Nelson, he probably was an illegitimate son of King Alfred.[153][154]
Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Æthelflæd | c. 870 | 12 June 918 | Married c. 886, Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians d. 911; had issue |
Edward | c. 874 | 17 July 924 | Married (1) Ælfflæd, (3) 919 Eadgifu
|
Æthelgifu
|
Abbess of Shaftesbury | ||
Æthelweard | c. 880 | 16 October 922(?) | Married and had issue |
Ælfthryth | 929 | Married Baldwin II d. 918; had issue
|
Death and burial
Alfred died on 26 October 899 at the age of 50 or 51.
Alfred was temporarily buried at the Old Minster in Winchester with his wife Ealhswith and later, his son Edward the Elder. Before his death he had ordered the construction of the New Minster hoping that it would become a mausoleum for him and his family.[160] Four years after his death, the bodies of Alfred and his family were exhumed and moved to their new resting place in the New Minster and remained there for 211 years. When William the Conqueror rose to the English throne after the Norman conquest in 1066, many Anglo-Saxon abbeys were demolished and replaced with Norman cathedrals. One of those unfortunate abbeys was the very New Minster abbey where Alfred was laid to rest.[160] Before demolition, the monks at the New Minster exhumed the bodies of Alfred and his family to safely transfer them to a new location. The New Minster monks moved to Hyde in 1110 a little north of the city, and they transferred to Hyde Abbey along with Alfred's body and those of his wife and children, which were interred before the high altar.[160]
In 1536, many Roman Catholic churches were vandalised by the people of England, spurred by disillusionment with the church during the
Before construction began, convicts that would later be imprisoned at the site were sent in to prepare the ground, to ready it for building. While digging the foundation trenches, the convicts discovered the coffins of Alfred and his family. The local Catholic priest, Dr. Milner recounts this event:
Thus miscreants couch amidst the ashes of our Alfreds and Edwards; and where once religious silence and contemplation were only interrupted by the bell of regular observance, the chanting of devotion, now alone resound the clank of the captives chains and the oaths of the profligate! In digging for the foundation of that mournful edifice, at almost every stroke of the mattock or spade some ancient sepulchre was violated, the venerable contents of which were treated with marked indignity. On this occasion a great number of stone coffins were dug up, with a variety of other curious articles, such as chalices, patens, rings, buckles, the leather of shoes and boots, velvet and gold lace belonging to chasubles and other vestments; as also the crook, rims, and joints of a beautiful crosier double gilt.[162]
The convicts broke the stone coffins into pieces, the lead, which lined the coffins, was sold for two guineas, and the bones within scattered around the area.[161]
The prison was demolished between 1846 and 1850.[163] Further excavations were inconclusive in 1866 and 1897.[164][165] In 1866, amateur antiquarian John Mellor claimed to have recovered a number of bones from the site which he said were those of Alfred. These came into the possession of the vicar of nearby St Bartholomew's Church who reburied them in an unmarked grave in the church graveyard.[163]
Excavations conducted by the Winchester Museums Service of the Hyde Abbey site in 1999 located a second pit dug in front of where the high altar would have been located, which was identified as probably dating to Mellor's 1866 excavation.
Legacy
Henry VI of England attempted unsuccessfully to have Alfred canonised by Pope Eugene IV in 1441. The current "Roman Martyrology" does not mention Alfred.[170] The Anglican Communion venerates him as a Christian hero, with a Lesser Festival on 26 October,[171] and he may often be found depicted in stained glass in Church of England parish churches.[172]
In 2007 the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church canonised "All Saints of the British Isles" including King Alfred.[173][174] He is honoured during the Feast of all Saints of the British Isles on the third Sunday after Pentecost and on his feast day of 26 October.[174][175] There is an Orthodox Mission named after St Alfred in Middleburg, Florida.[176]
Alfred commissioned Bishop Asser to write his biography, which inevitably emphasised Alfred's positive aspects. Later medieval historians such as Geoffrey of Monmouth also reinforced Alfred's favourable image. By the time of the Reformation, Alfred was seen as a pious Christian ruler who promoted the use of English rather than Latin, and so the translations that he commissioned were viewed as untainted by the later Roman Catholic influences of the Normans. Consequently, it was writers of the 16th century who gave Alfred his epithet as "the Great", not any of Alfred's contemporaries.[177] The epithet was retained by succeeding generations who admired Alfred's patriotism, success against barbarism, promotion of education, and establishment of the rule of law.[177]
A number of educational establishments are named in Alfred's honour:
- The University of Winchester created from the former King Alfred's College, Winchester (1928 to 2004)
- Alfred University and Alfred State College in Alfred, New York; the local telephone exchange for Alfred University is 871 in commemoration of the year of Alfred's ascension to the throne. Additionally, the mascot of Alfred University is named Lil' Alf and is modelled after the king
- The University of Liverpool created a King Alfred Chair of English Literature
- King Alfred's Academy, a secondary school in Wantage, Oxfordshire, the birthplace of Alfred
- King's Lodge School in Chippenham, Wiltshire, so named because King Alfred's hunting lodge is reputed to have stood on or near the site of the school
- The King Alfred School and Specialist Sports Academy, Burnham Road, Highbridge, so named due to its rough proximity to Brent Knoll (a Beacon site) and Athelney
- The King Alfred School in Barnet, North London, UK
- King Alfred's house in Bishop Stopford's School at Enfield
- King Alfred Swimming Pool & Leisure complex in Hove, Brighton UK
The Royal Navy named one ship and two shore establishments HMS King Alfred, and one of the early ships of the U.S. Navy was named USS Alfred in his honour. In 2002, Alfred was ranked number 14 in the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons following a UK-wide vote.[178]
Statues
Pewsey
A prominent statue of King Alfred the Great stands in the middle of Pewsey. It was unveiled in June 1913 to commemorate the coronation of King George V.[179]
Southwark
A
Wantage
A statue of Alfred the Great, situated in the
Winchester
A bronze statue of Alfred the Great stands at the eastern end of The Broadway, close to the site of Winchester's medieval East Gate. The statue was designed by Hamo Thornycroft, cast in bronze by Singer & Sons of Frome and erected in 1899 to mark one thousand years since Alfred's death.[182][183] The statue is placed on a pedestal consisting of two immense blocks of grey Cornish granite.[184]
Alfred University, New York
The centerpiece of Alfred University's quad is a bronze statue of the king, created in 1990 by then-professor William Underhill. It features the king as a young man, holding a shield in his left hand and an open book in his right.[185]
Cleveland, Ohio
A marble statue of Alfred the Great stands on the North side of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio. It was sculpted by Isidore Konti in 1910.[186]
Chronology
Date | Event |
---|---|
c. 848 | Alfred is born in Wantage, Berkshire. |
c. 852 | Alfred's oldest brother Æthelstan of Kent dies. |
c. 853 | Alfred's sister, Æthelswith marries Burgred, the king of Mercians. |
c. 854 | Alfred's father |
Alfred's mother Osburh dies. | |
c. 855 | Æthelwulf goes on a pilgrimage with Alfred, after dividing his realm between his sons, Æthelberht.[188]
|
c. 856 | Preteen Æthelwulf marries her.[188]
|
Æthelwulf returns home, but Æthelbald refuses to give up his position, forcing Æthelwulf to retire to Kent with Æthelberht.[189] | |
c. 858 | Æthelwulf dies. |
c. 860 | Æthelbald dies and is succeeded by his brother Æthelberht .
|
c. 865 | Æthelberht dies and is succeeded by his brother Æthelred. |
The Great Heathen Army lands in East Anglia. | |
c. 868 | Æthelred aids Burgred against the Danes. |
Alfred marries Ealhswith in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. | |
c. 870 | Alfred's first child Æthelflæd is born. |
c. 871 | Æthelred dies and is succeeded by Alfred. |
Alfred makes peace with the Danes and takes Winchester as his residence. | |
c. 872 | Burgred pays tribute to the Danes. |
c. 873 | The Danes invade Mercia and seize Repton. |
c. 874 | Danes sack Tamworth, exiling Burgred. |
Alfred's first son Edward is born. | |
The Great Heathen Army splits as Halfdan retires to Northumbria.
| |
c. 875 | Guthrum invades Alfred's realm. |
c. 876 | Guthrum takes Wareham, but is besieged by Alfred. The Danes abandon Wareham, only to take Exeter instead. |
c. 877 | Alfred besieges Exeter and is able to expel the Danes from his realm. |
c. 878 | Alfred is forced to flee to Somerset Levels and begin guerilla warfare. |
Alfred defeats Guthrum decisively in the Battle of Edington, causing Guthrum's conversion to Christianity. | |
Alfred's subject defeats another Danish invasion in the Battle of Cynwit. | |
c. 886 | Alfred conquers London and declares himself the king of the Anglo-Saxons. |
c. 888 | Æthelswith dies in Pavia. |
c. 893 | Edward marries Ecgwynn. |
c. 894 | Alfred becomes a grandfather when Ecgwynn gives birth to Æthelstan, the son of Edward. |
899 | Alfred dies. |
Notes
- ^ a b Since 1974 Wantage has been in Oxfordshire.[1]
- ^ Tomas Kalmar argues that we do know when Alfred was born. He regards the date of birth of 849 in Asser's biography is a later interpolation, and considers that the period of 23 years in the genealogy (in MS A of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) is not Alfred's age when he acceded to the throne, but the period from his succession to the date the genealogy was compiled.[10]
- ^ According to Richard Abels, Ealhswith was descended from King Cenwulf of Mercia.[14]
- ^ Historians have expressed doubt both whether the genealogy for Ecgberht going back to Cerdic was fabricated to legitimise his seizure of the West Saxon throne,[16] and broadly whether Cerdic was a real person or if the story of Cerdic is a "foundation myth".[17]
- ^ The inscription reads "ALFRED THE GREAT AD 879 on this Summit Erected his Standard Against Danish Invaders To him We owe The Origin of Juries The Establishment of a Militia The Creation of a Naval Force ALFRED The Light of a Benighted Age Was a Philosopher and a Christian The Father of his People The Founder of the English MONARCHY and LIBERTY".[44]
- ^ A chrisom was the face-cloth or piece of linen laid over a child's head when he or she was baptised or christened. Originally the purpose of the chrisom-cloth was to keep the chrism, a consecrated oil, from accidentally rubbing off.[46]
- ^ The Alfredian burh represented a stage in the evolution of English medieval towns and boroughs. Of the twenty two burhs that became boroughs three did not attain full town status.[83][86]
- Iudea".[116]
- ^ According to St Dunstan's apprentice, "poor King Eadred would suck the juice out of the food, chew what remained for a little while and spit it out: a nasty practice that often turned the stomachs of the thegns who dined with him."[159]
Citations
- ^ "Wantage". British Museum. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ Molyneaux 2015, p. [page needed].
- ^ Yorke 2001, pp. 27–28.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 26.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 13, 67, 101.
- ^ Dumville 1996, p. 23; Huscroft 2019, p. xii.
- ^ Swanton 2000, p. 4; Dumville 1986, p. 25.
- ^ Smyth 1995, p. 3.
- ^ Wormald 2006; Keynes 2014, p. 51.
- ^ Kalmar 2016a; Kalmar 2016b.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 26, 45–46; Wormald 2006.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 45–50, 55; Nelson 2003, p. 295; Wormald 2006; Miller 2004.
- ^ Costambeys 2004.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 121.
- ^ a b Wormald 2006.
- ^ Edwards 2004.
- ^ Yorke 2004.
- ^ Abels 2002, pp. 84–85; Dumville 1979, pp. 17–18; Yorke 1990, pp. 142–143, 148–149.
- ^ Keynes 1995, pp. 28, 39–41.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Kirby 2000, p. 161.
- ^ Keynes 1993, pp. 120–121; Kirby 2000, pp. 155–156.
- ^ Edwards 2004; Kirby 2000, p. 171.
- ^ Charles-Edwards 2013, p. 431.
- ^ a b Nelson 2004.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 31.
- ^ Stenton 1971, p. 244.
- ^ Swanton 2000, p. 64.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 89–94.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 55–56.
- ^ Giles & Ingram 1996, Year 853.
- ^ a b Abels 1998, p. 55.
- ^ Crofton 2006, p. 8.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 16–17.
- ^ a b c d e f g Plummer 1911, pp. 582–584.
- ^ Giles & Ingram 1996, Year 868.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 135.
- ^ a b Abels 1998, pp. 140–141.
- ^ Brooks & Graham-Campbell 1986, pp. 91–110.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 148–50.
- ^ a b Giles & Ingram 1996, Year 878.
- ^ a b Savage 1988, p. 101.
- ^ a b Horspool 2006, p. 2.
- ^ Horspool 2006, p. 73.
- ^ Lavelle 2010, pp. 187–191.
- ^ Nares 1859, p. 160.
- ^ Horspool 2006, pp. 123–124.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, Ch. 60.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 163.
- ^ Attenborough 1922, pp. 98–101, Treaty of Alfred and Gunthrum.
- ^ Blackburn 1998, pp. 105–124.
- ^ Smyth 1995, pp. 303–304.
- ^ Pratt 2007, p. 94.
- ^ a b Keynes & Lapidge 1983, p. 86.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 250–151.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 171.
- ^ Smyth 1995, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 190–91.
- ^ a b c Keynes & Lapidge 1983, p. 87.
- ^ Henry of Huntingdon 1969, p. 81.
- ^ Woodruff 1993, p. 86.
- ^ Keynes 1998, p. 24.
- ^ Keynes 1998, p. 23.
- ^ Pratt 2007, p. 106.
- ^ Woodruff 1993, p. 89.
- ^ a b Merkle 2009, p. 220.
- ^ a b Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 115–116, 286.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Plummer 1911, p. 583.
- ^ Preston, Wise & Werner 1956, p. 70.
- ^ Hollister 1962, pp. 59–60.
- ^ a b c Abels 1998, pp. 194–195.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 139, 152.
- ^ Cannon 1997, p. 398.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 194.
- ^ a b c Keynes & Lapidge 1983, p. 14.
- ^ Lavelle 2010, p. 212.
- ^ a b Lavelle 2010, pp. 70–73.
- ^ Attenborough 1922, pp. 52–53.
- ^ Lapidge 2001.
- ^ Pratt 2007, p. 95.
- ^ Hull 2006, p. xx.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 203.
- ^ a b Tait 1999, p. 18.
- ^ Welch 1992, p. 127.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 304.
- ^ Loyn 1991, p. 138.
- ^ Bradshaw 1999, which is referenced in Hull 2006, p. xx
- ^ Hill & Rumble 1996, p. 5.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 204–207.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 198–202.
- ^ Lavelle 2003, p. 26.
- ^ Abels 1988, pp. 204, 304.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 287, 304.
- ^ Asser, translated by Keynes & Lapidge 1983
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 206.
- ^ a b c d e Savage 1988, p. 111.
- ^ Savage 1988, pp. 86–88, 97.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 305–307 Cf. the much more positive view of the capabilities of these ships in Gifford & Gifford 2003, pp. 281–289
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 305–307.
- ^ a b c d Lavelle 2010, pp. 286–297.
- ^ Giles & Ingram 1996, Year 896.
- ^ Attenborough 1922, pp. 62–93.
- ^ "Alfred" Intro. 49.9, trans. Keynes & Lapidge 1983, p. 164.
- ^ Wormald 2001, pp. 280–281.
- ^ Pratt 2007, p. 215.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 248.
- ^ Wormald 2001, p. 417.
- ^ a b "Alfred" Intro, 49.7, trans. Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 164–165
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 250 cites "Alfred's Pastoral Care" ch. 28
- ^ Wormald 2001, p. 427.
- ^ "Alfred" 2, in Keynes & Lapidge 1983, p. 164.
- ^ Asser chap. 106, in Keynes & Lapidge 1983, p. 109
- ^ The charter is Sawyer 1445 and is printed in Whitelock 1996, pp. 544–546.
- ^ Asser, chap. 106, in Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 109–110.
- ^ a b Parker 2007, pp. 48–50.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 190–192.
- ^ Orosius & Hampson 1855, p. 16.
- ^ Keynes 1999, "King Alfred the Great and Shaftesbury Abbey".
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Gransden 1996, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Yorke 1995, p. 201.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 101–102.
- ^ Ranft 2012, pp. 78–79.
- ^ a b Sweet 1871, pp. 1–9.
- ^ Fleming 1985.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, p. 125.
- ^ Abels 1998, pp. 265–268.
- ^ Dumville 1992, p. 190.
- ^ Brooks 1984, pp. 172–173.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 35–36, 90–91.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 92–93.
- ^ a b "Translation of Alfred's Prose". www.departments.bucknell.edu. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ a b Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 125–126.
- ^ Godden 2007, pp. 1–23.
- ^ Bately 2014, pp. 113–142.
- ^ a b Bately 1970, pp. 433–460; Bately 1990, pp. 45–78.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 33–34.
- ^ a b Plummer 1911, p. 584.
- ^ Paul 2015, MS Ii.2.4.
- ^ Schepss 1895, pp. 149–160.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, p. 133.
- ^ MS Bodley 180, Oxford Bodleian Library
- ^ Cotton MS Otho A. Vol. vi. British Library.
- ^ Kiernan 1998, Alfred the Great's Burnt "Boethius".
- ^ Parker 2007, pp. 115–126.
- ^ Pratt 2007, pp. 189–191.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 203–206.
- ^ a b Abels 1998, pp. 219–257.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 124–145.
- ^ Sedgefield 1900, p. 35.
- ^ a b c d Keynes & Lapidge 1983, p. 75.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, pp. 77, 240–241.
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge 1983, p. 322, n. 79.
- ^ Nelson 1999, pp. 60–62.
- ^ Abels 1998, p. 308.
- ^ Craig 1991, pp. 303–305.
- ^ Jackson 1992, p. 58.
- ^ Malmesbury 1904, p. 145.
- ^ Dunstan 1992, p. 248.
- ^ a b c d Doubleday & Page 1903, pp. 116–122.
- ^ a b Oliver, Neil (17 February 2019). "The Search for Alfred the Great". YouTube. BBC Documentary. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021.
- ^ Wall 1900, p. 78.
- ^ a b The Church Monuments Society.
- ^ a b Winchester Museums Service 2009, Hyde Community Archaeology Project.
- ^ Dodson 2004, p. 37.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2013.
- ^ Cohen 2013.
- ^ BBC staff 2014.
- ^ Keys 2014.
- ^ Foot 2011, p. 231.
- ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ Horspool 2006, pp. 190–191.
- ^ British and Western European Diocese (ROCOR)
- ^ a b Phillips 2016.
- ^ Hutchison-Hall 2017, p. 85-88.
- ^ Eastern American Diocese Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
- ^ a b Yorke 1999.
- ^ BBC Top 100 2002.
- ^ "Pewsey.uk website: Village History". Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ^ "Alfred the Great's Southwark statue is partly Roman goddess". BBC News. 11 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ a b Townsend 2008.
- ^ Ross 2016.
- ^ "Visit Winchester: King Alfred the Great". Archived from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ^ "Victorian Web: Alfred the Great – Sculpture by Sir W. Hamo Thornycroft". Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ^ "About the Statue of King Alfred". Archived from the original on 27 November 2017 – via Alfred University.
- ^ "Alfred the Great", Isidore Konti, 1910 Archived 3 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Sculpture Center. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ Giles & Ingram 1996, Year 854.
- ^ a b Hill 2009, p. 17-18.
- ^ Keynes 1998, p. 7; Hunt 1889, p. 16.
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Attribution:
- public domain: Plummer, Charles (1911). "Alfred the Great". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 582–584. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Discenza, Nicole; Szarmach, Paul, eds. (2015). A Companion to Alfred the Great. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 978-9-0042-7484-6.
- Fry, Fred (2006). Patterns of Power: The Military Campaigns of Alfred the Great. Melrose Books. ISBN 978-1-9052-2693-1.
- Giles, J. A., ed. (1858). The Whole Works of King Alfred the Great (Jubilee in 3 vols ed.). Oxford and Cambridge.
- Heathorn, Stephen (December 2002). "The Highest Type of Englishman: Gender, War, and the Alfred the Great Commemoration of 1901". Canadian Journal of History. 37 (3): 459–484. PMID 20690214.
- Irvine, Susan (2006). "Beginnings and Transitions: Old English". In Mugglestone, Lynda (ed.). The Oxford History of English. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1995-4439-4.
- ISBN 0-1991-0035-7.
- Peddie, John (1989). Alfred the Good Soldier. Bath, UK: Millstream Books. ISBN 978-0-9489-7519-6.
- Pollard, Justin (2006). Alfred the Great: the man who made England. Hodder. ISBN 0-7195-6666-5.
- Reuter, Timothy, ed. (2003). Alfred the Great. Studies in early medieval Britain. ISBN 978-0-7546-0957-5.
External links
- Alfred the Great at the official website of the British monarchy
- Alfred the Great at BBC History
- Alfred 8 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
- Portraits of King Alfred ('The Great') at the National Portrait Gallery, London