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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dfeb32a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63384 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63384) diff --git a/old/63384-0.txt b/old/63384-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6e8cb19..0000000 --- a/old/63384-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4268 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Asser's Life of Alfred, by John Asser - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Asser's Life of Alfred - -Author: John Asser - -Translator: Albert S. Cook - -Release Date: October 6, 2020 [EBook #63384] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASSER'S LIFE OF ALFRED *** - - - - -Produced by Charlie Howard and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber’s Note - -Italics are indicated by _underscores_, boldface by =equals signs=. - - - - - ASSER’S - LIFE OF KING ALFRED - - - TRANSLATED FROM THE TEXT OF - STEVENSON’S EDITION - - - BY - ALBERT S. COOK - - PROFESSOR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN - YALE UNIVERSITY - - - GINN & COMPANY - BOSTON · NEW YORK · CHICAGO · LONDON - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1906 - BY ALBERT S. COOK - - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - 66.1 - - - The Athenæum Press - GINN & COMPANY · PROPRIETORS - · BOSTON · U.S.A. - - - - - TO THE FRIENDS - OF - HONEST AND CAPABLE GOVERNMENT - IN AMERICA - - - - -PREFACE - - -The issue of Stevenson’s long and eagerly expected edition of Asser’s -_Life of King Alfred_ has provided an opportunity to supply the ever -increasing number of the great king’s admirers with a more satisfactory -rendering into English of this, perhaps the most precious document, -notwithstanding all its faults, for the comprehension of his life and -character. - -The authenticity of the Life was impugned by Thomas Wright in 1841, by -Sir Henry Howorth in 1876–77, and by an unknown writer in 1898, and it -had become somewhat the fashion to regard it as a production of a later -period, and therefore entitled to but little credence. The doubts as to -its authenticity have been satisfactorily dispelled by the two eminent -scholars who have most recently discussed the difficulties, Plummer and -Stevenson. - -The former, in his _Life and Times of Alfred the Great_, Oxford, 1902, -says (p. 52): ‘The work which bears Asser’s name cannot be later than -974, and the attempt to treat it as a forgery of the eleventh or -twelfth century must be regarded as having broken down. I may add that -I started with a strong prejudice against the authenticity of Asser, -so that my conclusions have at any rate been impartially arrived at.’ -The latter, in his noble edition (Oxford, 1904), remarks (p. vii): -‘In discussing the work I have attempted to approach it without any -bias for or against it, and throughout my endeavor has been to subject -every portion of it to as searching an examination as my knowledge and -critical powers would permit. The net result has been to convince me -that, although there may be no very definite proof that the work was -written by Bishop Asser in the lifetime of King Alfred, there is no -anachronism or other proof that it is a spurious compilation of later -date. The serious charges brought against its authenticity break down -altogether under examination, while there remain several features that -point with varying strength to the conclusion that it is, despite its -difficulties and corruptions, really a work of the time it purports -to be. This result is confirmed by the important corroboration of -some of its statements by contemporary Frankish chroniclers. Thus the -profession of belief in its authenticity by such eminent historians as -Kemble, Pauli, Stubbs, and Freeman agrees with my own conclusion.’ - -Notwithstanding their general rehabilitation of the work, however, -neither critic is prepared to trust it implicitly. Plummer says (p. -52): ‘On the whole, then, Asser is an authority to be used with -criticism and caution; partly because we have always to be alive -to the possibility of interpolation, partly because the writer’s -Celtic imagination is apt to run away with him.’ And thus Stevenson -(p. cxxx): ‘The work still presents some difficulties. Carelessness -of transcription may possibly explain those that are merely verbal, -but there still remain certain passages that lay the author open -to the charge of exaggeration, such as his mention of gold-covered -and silver-covered buildings, if that be the literal meaning of the -passage, and his statement that Alfred might, if he had chosen, have -been king before his elder brother Æthelred, with whom, it is clear, he -was on most intimate terms.’ - -The style of the book is not uniform. The passages translated from the -_Chronicle_ are simpler, while in the more original parts the author -displays an unfortunate tendency to a turgid and at times bombastic -manner of writing. Indeed, it displays, in many passages, the traits -of that Hesperic Latinity which, invented or made fashionable in the -sixth century, probably by a British monk in the southwestern part of -England, was more or less current in England from the time of Aldhelm -until the Norman Conquest. This Hesperic, or Celtic, Latinity has -been compared to the mock euphuism of Sir Piercie Shafton in Scott’s -_Monastery_ (Professor H. A. Strong, in _American Journal of Philology_ -26. 205), and may be illustrated by Professor Strong’s translation -into English of certain sentences from the _Hisperica Famina_, the -production, as it is believed, of the monk referred to above: ‘This -precious shower of words glitters, by no awkward barriers confining -the diction, and husbands its strength by an exquisite balance and by -equable device, trilling sweet descant of Ausonian speech through the -speaker’s throat by this shower of words passing through Latin throats; -just as countless swarms of bees go here and there in their hollow -hives, and sip the honey-streams in their homes, and set in order, as -they are wont, their combs with their beaks.’ - -With the passage just quoted may be compared an extract from chapter -88 of Asser, the translation of which is given below (pp. 49, 50): -‘Ac deinde cotidie inter nos sermocinando, ad hæc investigando aliis -inventis æque placabilibus testimoniis, quaternio ille refertus -succrevit, nec immerito, sicut scriptum est, “super modicum fundamentum -ædificat justus et paulatim ad majora defluit,” velut apis fertilissima -longe lateque gronnios interrogando discurrens, multimodos divinæ -scripturæ flosculos inhianter et incessabiliter congregavit, quis -præcordii sui cellulas densatim replevit.’ Such Latin as this is -difficult to translate into satisfactory English. If one renders it -literally, the result is apt to look rather absurd; and beyond a -certain point condensation is impracticable, or else misrepresents the -original, faults and merits alike. - -Hitherto there have been three translations of Asser into English--that -by J. A. Giles in Bohn’s _Six Old English Chronicles_, London, -1848; that by Joseph Stevenson in _Church Historians of England_, -Vol. 2, London, 1854; and that by Edward Conybeare, _Alfred in the -Chroniclers_, London, 1900. As the basis of my work I have taken the -translation of Giles, sometimes following it rather closely, and at -other times departing from it more or less widely. - -The reader familiar with the traditional Asser will miss some matter -with which he is familiar, such as the story of Alfred and the cakes, -that of the raven-banner of the Danes, etc. These are derived from -interpolations made in the manuscript by Archbishop Parker, which -modern critical scholarship has at length excised. For all matters -regarding the manuscript, the earlier editions, etc., as well as for -copious illustrative notes on the text, the reader is referred to -Stevenson’s edition. - -Insertions made in the text by Stevenson, on what he considers -sufficient grounds, are indicated by < >. The chapter-divisions and --numbering are Stevenson’s; the chapter-headings mine. Where modern -forms of proper names exist, I have not hesitated to adopt them, and -in general have tended rather to normalize them than scrupulously to -follow the sometimes various spellings of the text. The notes have -almost always been derived from Stevenson’s edition, whether or not -explicit acknowledgment has been made, but now and then, as in the case -of the long note on chapter 56, are my own. - - YALE UNIVERSITY - July 4, 1905 - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - 1. Alfred’s Birth and Genealogy 1 - - 2. Genealogy of Alfred’s Mother 2 - - 3. The Danes at Wicganbeorg and Sheppey 3 - - 4. The Danes sack Canterbury 3 - - 5. Battle of Aclea 4 - - 6. Defeat of the Danes at Sandwich 4 - - 7. Æthelwulf assists Burgred 4 - - 8. Alfred at Rome 5 - - 9. Other Events of 853 5 - - 10. The Heathen winter in Sheppey 6 - - 11. Æthelwulf journeys to Rome 6 - - 12. Rebellion of Æthelbald 6 - - 13. Judith’s Position in Wessex 7 - - 14. Offa and Eadburh 8 - - 15. Eadburh’s Further Life 9 - - 16. Æthelwulf’s Will 10 - - 17. Æthelbald marries Judith 11 - - 18. Æthelbert’s Reign 12 - - 19. Æthelbert’s Death 12 - - 20. The Danes in Kent 12 - - 21. Æthelred’s Accession 13 - - 22. Alfred’s Rearing 13 - - 23. Alfred and the Book of Saxon Poems 14 - - 24. Alfred’s Handbook 14 - - 25. Alfred’s Love of Learning 15 - - 26. The Danes occupy York 16 - - 27. Defeat of the Northumbrians 16 - - 28. Death of Ealhstan 17 - - 29. Alfred marries 17 - - 30. The Danes at Nottingham 17 - - 31. The Danes at York 18 - - 32. The Danes at Thetford 18 - - 33. The Danes triumph 18 - - 34. Ceolnoth dies 18 - - 35. The Danes defeated at Englefield 19 - - 36. Battle of Reading 19 - - 37. Battle of Ashdown 20 - - 38. Alfred begins the Attack 20 - - 39. The Heathen Rout and Loss 21 - - 40. Battle of Basing 22 - - 41. Æthelred’s Death 22 - - 42. Alfred comes to the Throne; Battle of Wilton 22 - - 43. Peace made 24 - - 44. The Heathen winter in London 24 - - 45. The Heathen winter in Lindsey 24 - - 46. The Danes in Mercia 24 - - 47. The Danes in Northumbria and Cambridge 25 - - 48. Alfred’s Battle at Sea 25 - - 49. Movements of the Danes 25 - - 50. Halfdene partitions Northumbria 26 - - 51. Division of Mercia 26 - - 52. The Danes at Chippenham 26 - - 53. Alfred in Somersetshire 27 - - 54. The Danes defeated at Cynwit 27 - - 55. Alfred at Athelney 28 - - 56. Battle of Edington, and Treaty with Guthrum 28 - - 57. The Danes go to Cirencester 30 - - 58. Danes at Fulham 31 - - 59. An Eclipse 31 - - 60. The Danes in East Anglia 31 - - 61. The Smaller Army leaves England 31 - - 62. The Danes fight with the Franks 31 - - 63. The Danes on the Meuse 31 - - 64. Alfred’s Naval Battle with the Danes 31 - - 65. The Danes at Condé 32 - - 66. Deliverance of Rochester 32 - - 67. Alfred’s Naval Battle at the Mouth of the Stour 32 - - 68. Death of Carloman, of Louis II, and of Louis III 33 - - 69. The Danes in Old Saxony 33 - - 70. Charles, King of the Alemanni 34 - - 71. Death of Pope Marinus 34 - - 72. The Danes break their Treaty 34 - - 73. Asser makes a New Beginning 34 - - 74. Alfred’s Maladies 35 - - 75. Alfred’s Children and their Education 37 - - 76. Alfred’s Varied Pursuits 38 - - 77. Alfred’s Scholarly Associates: Werfrith, Plegmund, Æthelstan, - and Werwulf 41 - - 78. Grimbald and John, the Old Saxon 42 - - 79. Asser’s Negotiations with King Alfred 42 - - 80. The Welsh Princes who submit to Alfred 44 - - 81. How Alfred rewards Submission 45 - - 82. The Siege of Paris 46 - - 83. Alfred rebuilds London 47 - - 84. The Danes leave Paris 47 - - 85. Division of the Empire 47 - - 86. Alfred sends Alms to Rome 48 - - 87. Alfred begins to translate from Latin 48 - - 88. Alfred’s Manual 48 - - 89. Alfred’s Handbook 50 - - 90. Illustration from the Penitent Thief 51 - - 91. Alfred’s Troubles 51 - - 92. Alfred builds Two Monasteries 54 - - 93. Monasticism was decayed 55 - - 94. Monks brought from beyond Sea 55 - - 95. A Crime committed at Athelney 55 - - 96. The Plot of a Priest and a Deacon 56 - - 97. The Execution of the Plot 57 - - 98. The Convent at Shaftesbury 58 - - 99. Alfred divides his Time and his Revenues 58 - - 100. The Threefold Division of Officers at Court 59 - - 101. The Distribution for Secular Purposes 59 - - 102. The Distribution for Religious Purposes 60 - - 103. Alfred’s Dedication of Personal Service 61 - - 104. Alfred’s Measure of Time 61 - - 105. Alfred judges the Poor with Equity 63 - - 106. His Correction of Unjust and Incompetent Judges 63 - - - APPENDIXES 67 - - Appendix I: Alfred’s Preface to his Translation of - Gregory’s Pastoral Care 69 - - Appendix II: Letter from Fulco, Archbishop of Rheims, - to Alfred 72 - - - INDEX 79 - - - - -ASSER’S LIFE OF KING ALFRED - - _To my lord Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, the worshipful - and pious ruler of all Christians in the island of Britain, - Asser, least of all the servants of God, wisheth thousandfold - prosperity for both lives, according to the desires of his - heart._ - - -=1. Alfred’s Birth and Genealogy.=[1]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 849, Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, was born at the -royal vill of Wantage, in Berkshire (which receives its name from -Berroc Wood, where the box-tree grows very abundantly). His genealogy -is traced in the following order: King Alfred was the son of King -Æthelwulf; he of Egbert; he of Ealhmund; he of Eafa; he of Eoppa; -he of Ingild. Ingild and Ine, the famous king of the West Saxons, -were two brothers. Ine went to Rome, and there ending the present -life honorably, entered into the heavenly fatherland to reign with -Christ. Ingild and Ine were the sons of Cœnred; he of Ceolwald; he of -Cutha[2]; he of Cuthwine; he of Ceawlin; he of Cynric; he of Creoda; -he of Cerdic; he of Elesa; <he of Esla;> he of Gewis, from whom the -Welsh name all that people Gegwis[3]; <he of Wig; he of Freawine; -he of Freothegar;> he of Brond; he of Beldeag; he of Woden; he of -Frithowald; he of Frealaf; he of Frithuwulf; he of Finn<; he of> -Godwulf; he of Geata, which Geta the heathen long worshiped as a god. -Sedulius makes mention of him in his metrical _Paschal Poem_, as -follows: - - If heathen poets rave o’er fancied woe, - While in a turgid stream their numbers flow-- - Whether the tragic buskin tread the stage, - Or waggish Geta all our thoughts engage; - If by the art of song they still revive - The taint of ill, and bid old vices live; - If monumental guilt they sing, and lies - Commit to books in magisterial wise; - Why may not I, who list to David’s lyre, - And reverent stand amid the hallowed choir, - Hymn heavenly things in words of tranquil tone, - And tell the deeds of Christ in accents all my own? - -This Geata was the son of Tætwa; he of Beaw; he of Sceldwea; he of -Heremod; he of Itermod; he of Hathra; he of Hwala; he of Bedwig; he of -Sceaf[4]; he of Noah; he of Lamech; he of Methuselah; he of Enoch; <he -of Jared>; he of Mahalalel; he of Kenan[5]; he of Enosh; he of Seth; he -of Adam. - - -=2. Genealogy of Alfred’s Mother.=[6]--The mother of Alfred was -named Osburh, an extremely devout woman, noble in mind, noble also -by descent; she was daughter to Oslac, the famous cupbearer of King -Æthelwulf. This Oslac was a Goth by nation, descended from the Goths -and Jutes--of the seed, namely, of Stuf and Wihtgar, two brothers and -ealdormen. They, having received possession of the Isle of Wight from -their uncle, King Cerdic, and his son Cynric their cousin,[7] slew the -few British inhabitants whom they could find in that island, at a place -called Wihtgaraburg[8]; for the other inhabitants of the island had -either been slain or had escaped into exile. - - -=3. The Danes at Wicganbeorg and Sheppey.=[9]--In the year of our -Lord’s incarnation 851, which was the third of King Alfred’s life, -Ceorl, Ealdorman of Devon, fought with the men of Devon against the -heathen at a place called Wicganbeorg,[10] and the Christians gained -the victory. In that same year the heathen first wintered in the island -called Sheppey, which means ‘Sheep-island,’ situated in the river -Thames between Essex and Kent, though nearer to Kent than to Essex, and -containing a fair monastery.[11] - - -=4. The Danes sack Canterbury.=[12]--The same year a great army of -heathen came with three hundred and fifty ships to the mouth of the -river Thames, and sacked Dorubernia, or Canterbury,[13] <and also -London> (which lies on the north bank of the river Thames, on the -confines of Essex and Middlesex, though in truth that city belongs to -Essex); and they put to flight Beorhtwulf, King of Mercia, with all the -army which he had led out to oppose them. - - -=5. Battle of Aclea.=[14]--Having done these things there, the -aforesaid heathen host went into Surrey, which is a shire situated -on the south shore of the river Thames, and to the west of Kent. And -Æthelwulf, King of the Saxons, and his son Æthelbald, with the whole -army, fought a long time against them at a place called Aclea,[15] -that is, ‘Oak-plain’; there, after a lengthy battle, which was fought -with much bravery on both sides, the most part of the heathen horde -was utterly destroyed and slain, so that we never heard of their being -so smitten, either before or since, in any region, in one day[16]; and -the Christians gained an honorable victory, and kept possession of the -battle-field. - - -=6. Defeat of the Danes at Sandwich.=[17]--In that same year Æthelstan -and Ealdorman Ealhere slew a large army of the heathen in Kent, at a -place called Sandwich, and took nine ships of their fleet, the others -escaping by flight. - - -=7. Æthelwulf assists Burgred.=[18]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 853, which was the fifth of King Alfred’s life, Burgred, -King of the Mercians, sent messengers to beseech Æthelwulf, King of -the West Saxons, to come and help him in reducing to his sway the -inhabitants of Mid-Wales, who dwell between Mercia and the western sea, -and who were struggling against him beyond measure. So without delay -King Æthelwulf, on receipt of the embassy, moved his army, and advanced -with King Burgred against Wales[19]; and immediately upon his entrance -he ravaged it, and reduced it under subjection to Burgred. This being -done, he returned home. - - -=8. Alfred at Rome.=[20]--In that same year King Æthelwulf sent his -above-named son Alfred to Rome, with an honorable escort both of nobles -and commoners. Pope Leo at that time presided over the apostolic see, -and he anointed as king[21] the aforesaid child[22] Alfred in the town, -and, adopting him as his son, confirmed him.[23] - - -=9. Other Events of 853.=[24]--That same year also, Ealdorman Ealhere -with the men of Kent, and Huda with the men of Surrey, fought bravely -and resolutely against an army of the heathen in the island which is -called Tenet[25] in the Saxon tongue, but Ruim in the Welsh language. -At first the Christians were victorious. The battle lasted a long -time; many fell on both sides, and were drowned in the water; and both -the ealdormen were there slain. In the same year also, after Easter, -Æthelwulf, King of the West Saxons, gave his daughter to Burgred, King -of the Mercians, as his queen, and the marriage was celebrated in -princely wise at the royal vill of Chippenham. - - -=10. The Heathen winter in Sheppey.=[26]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 855, which was the seventh of the aforesaid king’s life, -a great army of the heathen spent the whole winter in the aforesaid -island of Sheppey. - - -=11. Æthelwulf journeys to Rome.=[27]--In that same year the aforesaid -worshipful King Æthelwulf freed the tenth part of all his kingdom from -every royal service and tribute, and offered it up as an everlasting -grant to God the One and Three, on the cross of Christ, for the -redemption of his own soul and those of his predecessors. In the same -year he went to Rome with much honor; and taking with him his son, the -aforesaid King Alfred, a second time on the same journey, because he -loved him more than his other sons, he remained there a whole year. -After this he returned to his own country, bringing with him Judith, -daughter of Charles, King of the Franks.[28] - - -=12. Rebellion of Æthelbald.=[29]--In the meantime, however, whilst -King Æthelwulf was residing this short time beyond sea, a base deed -was done in the western part of Selwood,[30] repugnant to the morals -of all Christians. For King Æthelbald, Ealhstan, Bishop of the church -of Sherborne, and Eanwulf, Ealdorman of Somerset, are said to have -formed a conspiracy to the end that King Æthelwulf, on his return from -Rome, should not again be received in his kingdom. This unfortunate -occurrence, unheard-of in all previous ages, is ascribed by many to -the bishop and ealdorman alone, since, say they, it resulted from -their counsels. Many also ascribe it solely to the insolence of the -king, because he was headstrong in this matter and in many other -perversities, as I have heard related by certain persons, and as was -proved by the result of that which followed. For on his return from -Rome, Æthelwulf’s son aforesaid, with all his counselors, or rather -waylayers, attempted to perpetrate the crime of repulsing the king from -his own kingdom; but neither did God suffer it, nor did the nobles of -all Wessex consent thereto. For to prevent this irremediable danger to -Wessex of a war between father and son, or rather of the whole nation -waging civil war more fiercely and cruelly from day to day, as they -espoused the cause of the one or the other,--by the extraordinary -clemency of the father, seconded by the consent of all the nobles, the -kingdom which had hitherto been undivided was parted between the two, -the eastern districts being given to the father, and the western to the -son. Thus where the father ought by just right to have reigned, there -did his unjust and obstinate son bear rule; for the western part of -Wessex is always superior to the eastern. - - -=13. Judith’s Position in Wessex.=[31]--When Æthelwulf, therefore, -returned from Rome, the whole nation, as was fitting, so rejoiced[32] -in the arrival of the ruler that, if he had allowed them, they would -have expelled his unruly son Æthelbald, with all his counselors, from -the kingdom. But he, as I have said, acting with great clemency and -prudent counsel, would not act in this way, lest the kingdom should be -exposed to peril. He likewise bade Judith, daughter of King Charles, -whom he had received from her father, take her seat by his own side on -the royal throne, without any dispute or enmity from his nobles even -to the end of his life, though contrary to the perverse custom of that -nation.[33] For the nation of the West Saxons does not allow the queen -to sit beside the king, nor to be called queen, but only the king’s -wife; which refusal, or rather reproach, the chief persons of that land -say arose from a certain headstrong and malevolent queen of the nation, -who did all things so contrary to her lord and to the whole people -that not only did the hatred which she brought upon herself bring to -pass her exclusion from the queenly throne, but also entailed the same -corruption upon those who came after her, since, in consequence of -the extreme malignity of that queen, all the inhabitants of the land -banded themselves together by an oath never in their lives to let any -king reign over them who should bid his queen take her seat on the -royal throne by his side. And because, as I think, it is not known to -many whence this perverse and detestable custom first arose in Wessex, -contrary to the custom of all the Germanic peoples, it seems to me -right to explain it a little more fully, as I have heard it from my -lord Alfred the truth-teller, King of the Anglo-Saxons, who often told -me about it, as he also had heard it from many men of truth who related -the fact, or, I should rather say, expressly preserved the remembrance -of it. - - -=14. Offa and Eadburh.=[34]--There was in Mercia in recent times a -certain valiant king, who was dreaded by all the neighboring kings -and states. His name was Offa, and it was he who had the great dike -made from sea to sea between Wales and Mercia.[35] His daughter, named -Eadburh, was married to Beorhtric, King of the West Saxons. The moment -she had possessed herself of the king’s good will, and practically -the whole power of the realm, she began to live tyrannically, after -the manner of her father. Every man whom Beorhtric loved she would -execrate, and would do all things hateful to God and man, accusing to -the king all whom she could, thus depriving them insidiously either of -life or of power. And if she could not obtain the king’s consent, she -used to take them off by poison, as is ascertained to have been the -case with a certain young man beloved by the king, whom she poisoned, -seeing that she could not accuse him to the king. It is said, moreover, -that King Beorhtric unwittingly tasted of the poison, though the queen -had intended to give it, not to him, but to the young man; the king, -however, was beforehand with him, and so both perished. - - -=15. Eadburh’s Further Life.=[36]--King Beorhtric therefore being dead, -the queen, since she could no longer remain among the Saxons, sailed -beyond sea with countless treasures, and came to Charles,[37] King of -the Franks. As she stood before the dais, bringing many gifts to the -king, Charles said to her: ‘Choose, Eadburh, between me and my son, -who stands with me on this dais.’ She, without deliberation, foolishly -replied: ‘If I am to have my choice, I choose your son, because he -is younger than you.’ At which Charles smiled and answered: ‘If you -had chosen me, you should have had my son; but since you have chosen -him, you shall have neither me nor him.’ However, he gave her a large -convent of nuns, in which, having laid aside her secular habit, and -assumed the dress worn by the nuns, she discharged the office of abbess -for a few years. As she is said to have lived irrationally in her own -country, so she appears to have acted much more so among a foreign -people; for, being finally caught in illicit intercourse with a man -of her own nation, she was expelled from the monastery by order of -King Charles. Henceforward she lived a life of shame in poverty and -misery until her death; so that at last, accompanied only by one slave, -as I have heard from many who saw her, she begged her bread daily at -Pavia,[38] and so wretchedly died. - - -=16. Æthelwulf’s Will.=[39]--Now King Æthelwulf lived two years after -his return from Rome; during which, among many other good deeds of -this present life, reflecting on his departure according to the way of -all flesh, that his sons might not quarrel unreasonably after their -father’s death, he ordered a will or letter of instructions to be -written,[40] in which he commanded that his kingdom should be duly -divided between his two eldest sons; his private heritage between his -sons, his daughter, and his relatives; and the money which he should -leave behind him between his soul[41] and his sons and nobles. Of this -prudent policy I have thought fit to record a few instances out of many -for posterity to imitate, namely, such as are understood to belong -principally to the needs of the soul; for the others, which relate -only to human stewardship, it is not necessary to insert in this -little work, lest prolixity should create disgust in those who read or -wish to hear. For the benefit of his soul, then, which he studied to -promote in all things from the first flower of his youth, he directed -that, through all his hereditary land, one poor man to every ten -hides,[42] either native or foreigner, should be supplied with food, -drink, and clothing by his successors unto the final Day of Judgment; -on condition, however, that that land should still be inhabited both -by men and cattle, and should not become deserted. He commanded also a -large sum of money, namely, three hundred mancuses,[43] to be carried -annually to Rome for the good of his soul, to be there distributed -in the following manner: a hundred mancuses in honor of St. Peter, -especially to buy oil for the lights of that apostolic church on Easter -Eve, and also at cockcrow; a hundred mancuses in honor of St. Paul, for -the same purpose of buying oil for the church of St. Paul the apostle, -to fill the lamps for Easter Eve and cockcrow; and a hundred mancuses -for the universal apostolic Pope. - - -=17. Æthelbald marries Judith.=[44]--But when King Æthelwulf was dead -<and buried at Winchester>,[45] his son Æthelbald, contrary to God’s -prohibition and the dignity of a Christian, contrary also to the custom -of all the heathen,[46] ascended his father’s bed, and married Judith, -daughter of Charles, King of the Franks, incurring much infamy from all -who heard of it. During two years and a half of lawlessness he held -after his father the government of the West Saxons. - - -=18. Æthelbert’s Reign.=[47]--In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -860, which was the twelfth of King Alfred’s life, <King> Æthelbald -<died, and> was buried at Sherborne. His brother Æthelbert, as was -right, added Kent, Surrey, and Sussex to his realm. In his days a great -army of heathen came from the sea, and attacked and laid waste the city -of Winchester. As they were returning laden with booty to their ships, -Osric, Ealdorman of Hampshire, with his men, and Ealdorman Æthelwulf, -with the men of Berkshire, faced them bravely. Battle was then joined -in the town, and the heathen were slain on every side; and finding -themselves unable to resist, they took to flight like women, and the -Christians held the battle-field. - - -=19. Æthelbert’s Death.=[48]--So Æthelbert governed his kingdom five -years in peace and love and honor; and went the way of all flesh, to -the great grief of his subjects. He rests interred in honorable wise at -Sherborne, by the side of his brother. - - -=20. The Danes in Kent.=[49]--In the year of our Lord’s incarnation 864 -the heathen wintered in the isle of Thanet, and made a firm treaty with -the men of Kent, who promised them money for observing their agreement. -In the meantime, however, the heathen, after the manner of foxes, burst -forth with all secrecy from their camp by night, and setting at naught -their engagements, and spurning the promised money--which they knew -was less than they could get by plunder--they ravaged all the eastern -coast of Kent. - - -=21. Æthelred’s Accession.=[50]--In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -866, which was the eighteenth of King Alfred’s life, Æthelred, brother -of King Æthelbert, undertook the government of the West Saxon realm. -The same year a great fleet of heathen came to Britain from the -Danube,[51] and wintered in the kingdom of the East Saxons, which is -called in Saxon East Anglia; and there they became in the main an army -of cavalry. But, to speak in nautical phrase, I will no longer commit -my vessel to wave and sail, or steer my roundabout course at a distance -from land through so many calamities of wars and series of years, but -rather return to that which first prompted me to this task: that is to -say, I think it right briefly to insert in this place the little that -has come to my knowledge about the character of my revered lord Alfred, -King of the Anglo-Saxons, during the years of infancy and boyhood. - - -=22. Alfred’s Rearing.=[52]--He was extraordinarily beloved by both -his father and mother, and indeed by all the people, beyond all his -brothers; in inseparable companionship with them he was reared at the -royal court.[53] As he advanced through the years of infancy and youth, -he appeared more comely in person than his brothers, as in countenance, -speech, and manners he was more pleasing than they. His noble birth -and noble nature implanted in him from his cradle a love of wisdom -above all things, even amid all the occupations of this present life; -but--with shame be it spoken!--by the unworthy neglect of his parents -and governors he remained illiterate till he was twelve years old or -more, though by day and night he was an attentive listener to the Saxon -poems which he often heard recited, and, being apt at learning, kept -them in his memory. He was a zealous practiser of hunting in all its -branches, and followed the chase with great assiduity and success; for -his skill and good fortune in this art, and in all the other gifts of -God, were beyond those of every one else, as I have often witnessed. - - -=23. Alfred and the Book of Saxon Poems.=[54]--Now on a certain day -his mother was showing him and his brothers a book of Saxon poetry, -which she held in her hand, and finally said: ‘Whichever of you can -soonest learn this volume, to him will I give it.’ Stimulated by these -words, or rather by divine inspiration, and allured by the beautifully -illuminated letter at the beginning of the volume, <Alfred>[55] spoke -before all his brothers, who, though his seniors in age, were not so -in grace, and answered his mother: ‘Will you really give that book to -that one of us who can first understand and repeat it to you?’ At this -his mother smiled with satisfaction, and confirmed what she had before -said: ‘Yes,’ said she, ‘that I will.’ Upon this the boy took the book -out of her hand, and went to his master and learned it by heart,[56] -whereupon he brought it back to his mother and recited it. - - -=24. Alfred’s Handbook.=[57]--After this <he learned>[55] the daily -course, that is, the celebration of the hours, and afterwards certain -Psalms, and many prayers, contained in a book[58] which he kept day and -night in his bosom, as I myself have seen, and always carried about -with him, for the sake of prayer, through all the bustle and business -of this present life. But, sad to relate, he could not gratify his -ardent wish to acquire liberal art,[59] because, as he was wont to say, -there were at that time no good teachers in all the kingdom of the West -Saxons.[60] - - -=25. Alfred’s Love of Learning.=[61]--This he would confess, with -many lamentations and with sighs from the bottom of his heart, to -have been one of his greatest difficulties and impediments in this -present life, that when he was young and had leisure and capacity for -learning, he had no masters; but when he was more advanced in years, -he was continually occupied, not to say harassed, day and night, by so -many diseases unknown to all the physicians of this island, as well as -by internal and external anxieties of sovereignty, and by invasions -of the heathen by sea and land, that though he then had some store of -teachers and writers,[62] it was quite impossible for him to study. -But yet among the impediments of this present life, from childhood to -the present day [and, as I believe, even until his death],[63] he has -continued to feel the same insatiable desire. - - -=26. The Danes occupy York.=[64]--In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -867, which was the nineteenth of the aforesaid King Alfred’s life, the -army of heathen before mentioned removed from East Anglia to the city -of York, which is situated on the north bank of the river Humber. - - -=27. Defeat of the Northumbrians.=[64]--At that time a violent discord -arose, by the instigation of the devil, among the Northumbrians, as -always is wont to happen to a people who have incurred the wrath of -God. For the Northumbrians at that time, as I have said,[65] had -expelled their lawful king Osbert from his realm, and appointed a -certain tyrant named Ælla, not of royal birth, over the affairs of the -kingdom. But when the heathen approached, by divine providence, and -the furtherance of the common weal by the nobles, that discord was -a little appeased, and Osbert and Ælla uniting their resources, and -assembling an army, marched to the town of York. The heathen fled at -their approach, and attempted to defend themselves within the walls -of the city. The Christians, perceiving their flight and the terror -they were in, determined to follow them within the very ramparts of -the town, and to demolish the wall; and this they succeeded in doing, -since the city at that time was not surrounded by firm or strong walls. -When the Christians had made a breach, as they had purposed, and many -of them had entered into the city along with the heathen, the latter, -impelled by grief and necessity, made a fierce sally upon them, slew -them, routed them, and cut them down, both within and without the -walls. In that battle fell almost all the Northumbrian troops, and -both the kings were slain; the remainder, who escaped, made peace with -the heathen. - - -=28. Death of Ealhstan.=[66]--In the same year, Ealhstan, Bishop of the -church of Sherborne, went the way of all flesh, after he had honorably -ruled his see fifty years; and in peace he was buried at Sherborne. - - -=29. Alfred marries.=[67]--In the year of our Lord’s incarnation 868, -which was the twentieth of King Alfred’s life, the aforesaid revered -King Alfred, then occupying only the rank of viceroy (_secundarii_), -betrothed[68] and espoused a noble Mercian lady,[69] daughter of -Æthelred, surnamed Mucill, Ealdorman of the Gaini.[70] The mother of -this lady was named Eadburh, of the royal line of Mercia, whom I often -saw with my own eyes a few years before her death. She was a venerable -lady, and after the decease of her husband remained many years a chaste -widow, even till her own death. - - -=30. The Danes at Nottingham.=[71]--In that same year the above-named -army of heathen, leaving Northumbria, invaded Mercia, and advanced to -Nottingham, which is called in Welsh Tigguocobauc,[72] but in Latin -‘The House of Caves,’ and wintered there that same year. Immediately -on their approach, Burgred, King of the Mercians, and all the nobles -of that nation, sent messengers to Æthelred,[73] King of the West -Saxons, and his brother Alfred, entreating them to come and aid them -in fighting against the aforesaid army. Their request was readily -granted; for the brothers, as soon as promised, assembled an immense -army from every part of their <realm>, and, entering Mercia, came to -Nottingham, all eager for battle. When now the heathen, defended by the -castle, refused to fight, and the Christians were unable to destroy the -wall, peace was made between the Mercians and the heathen, and the two -brothers, Æthelred and Alfred, returned home with their troops. - - -=31. The Danes at York.=[74]--In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -869, which was the twenty-first of King Alfred’s life, the aforesaid -army of heathen, riding back to Northumbria, went to the city of York, -and there passed the whole winter. - - -=32. The Danes at Thetford.=[74]--In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -870, which was the twenty-second of King Alfred’s life, the -above-mentioned army of heathen passed through Mercia into East Anglia, -and wintered at Thetford.[75] - - -=33. The Danes triumph.=[74]--That same year Edmund, King of the East -Angles, fought most fiercely against that army; but, lamentable to say, -the heathen triumphed, for he and most of his men were there slain, -while the enemy held the battle-field, and reduced all that region to -subjection. - - -=34. Ceolnoth dies.=[76]--That same year Ceolnoth, Archbishop of -Canterbury, went the way of all flesh, and was buried in peace in that -city. - - -=35. The Danes defeated at Englefield.=[77]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 871, which was the twenty-third of King Alfred’s life, the -heathen army, of hateful memory, left East Anglia, and, entering the -kingdom of the West Saxons, came to the royal vill called Reading, -situated on the south bank of the Thames, in the district called -Berkshire; and there, on the third day after their arrival, their -<two> ealdormen, with great part of the army, rode forth for plunder, -while the others made an entrenchment between the rivers Thames -and Kennet, on the southern side of the same royal vill. They were -encountered by Æthelwulf, Ealdorman of Berkshire, with his men, at a -place called Englefield[78] <in English, and in Latin ‘The Field of -the Angles’>.[79] Both sides fought bravely, and made long resistance -to each other. At length one of the heathen ealdormen was slain, and -the greater part of the army destroyed; upon which the rest saved -themselves by flight, and the Christians gained the victory and held -the battle-field. - - -=36. Battle of Reading.=[77]--Four days afterwards, King Æthelred -and his brother Alfred, uniting their forces and assembling an army, -marched to Reading, where, on their arrival at the castle gate, they -cut to pieces and overthrew the heathen whom they found outside the -fortifications. But the heathen fought no less valiantly and, rushing -like wolves out of every gate, waged battle with all their might. Both -sides fought long and fiercely, but at last, sad to say, the Christians -turned their backs, the heathen obtained the victory and held the -battle-field, the aforesaid Ealdorman Æthelwulf being among the slain. - - -=37. Battle of Ashdown.=[80]--Roused by this grief and shame, the -Christians, after four days, with all their forces and much spirit -advanced to battle against the aforesaid army, at a place called -Ashdown,[81] which in Latin signifies ‘Ash’s[82] Hill.’ The heathen, -forming in two divisions, arranged two shield-walls of similar size; -and since they had two kings and many ealdormen, they gave the -middle[83] part of the army to the two kings, and the other part to -all the ealdormen. The Christians, perceiving this, divided their army -also into two troops, and with no less zeal formed shield-walls.[84] -But Alfred, as I have been told by truthful eye-witnesses, marched -up swiftly with his men to the battle-field; for King Æthelred had -remained a long time in his tent in prayer, hearing mass, and declaring -that he would not depart thence alive till the priest had done, and -that he was not disposed to abandon the service of God for that of men; -and according to these sentiments he acted. This faith of the Christian -king availed much with the Lord, as I shall show more fully in the -sequel. - - -=38. Alfred begins the Attack.=[85]--Now the Christians had determined -that King Æthelred, with his men, should attack the two heathen kings, -and that his brother Alfred, with his troops, should take the chance of -war against all the leaders of the heathen. Things being so arranged -on both sides, the king still continued a long time in prayer, and the -heathen, prepared for battle, had hastened to the field. Then Alfred, -though only second in command, could no longer support the advance of -the enemy, unless he either retreated or charged upon them without -waiting for his brother. At length, with the rush of a wild boar, he -courageously led the Christian troops against the hostile army, as he -had already designed, for, although the king had not yet arrived, he -relied upon God’s counsel and trusted to His aid. Hence, having closed -up his shield-wall in due order, he straightway advanced his standards -against the foe. <At length King Æthelred, having finished the prayers -in which he was engaged, came up, and, having invoked the King of the -universe, entered upon the engagement.>[86] - - -=39. The Heathen Rout and Loss.=[87]--But here I must inform those -who are ignorant of the fact that the field of battle was not equally -advantageous to both parties, since the heathen had seized the higher -ground, and the Christian array was advancing up-hill. In that place -there was a solitary low thorn-tree, which I have seen with my own -eyes, and round this the opposing forces met in strife with deafening -uproar from all, the one side bent on evil, the other on fighting -for life, and dear ones, and fatherland. When both armies had fought -bravely and fiercely for a long while, the heathen, being unable by -God’s decree longer to endure the onset of the Christians, the larger -part of their force being slain, betook themselves to shameful flight. -There fell one of the two heathen kings and five ealdormen; many -thousand of their men were either slain at this spot or lay scattered -far and wide over the whole field of Ashdown. Thus there fell King -Bagsecg, Ealdorman Sidroc the Elder and Ealdorman Sidroc the Younger, -Ealdorman Osbern, Ealdorman Fræna, and Ealdorman Harold; and the whole -heathen army pursued its flight, not only until night, but until the -next day, even until they reached the stronghold[88] from which they -had sallied. The Christians followed, slaying all they could reach, -until it became dark. - - -=40. Battle of Basing.=[89]--After[90] fourteen days had elapsed King -Æthelred and his brother Alfred joined their forces, and marched to -Basing[91] to fight with the heathen. Having thus assembled, battle was -joined, and they held their own for a long time, but the heathen gained -the victory, and held possession of the battle-field. After this fight, -another army of heathen came from beyond sea, and joined them. - - -=41. Æthelred’s Death.=[92]--That same year, after Easter, the -aforesaid King Æthelred, having bravely, honorably, and with good -repute governed his kingdom five years through many tribulations, went -the way of all flesh, and was buried in Wimborne Minster,[93] where he -awaits the coming of the Lord and the first resurrection with the just. - - -=42. Alfred comes to the Throne; Battle of Wilton.=[94]--That same -year the aforesaid Alfred, who had been up to that time, during the -lifetime of his brothers, only of secondary rank, now, on the death -of his brother, by God’s permission undertook the government of the -whole kingdom, amid the acclamations of all the people; and indeed, if -he had chosen, he might easily have done so with the general consent -whilst his brother above named was still alive, since in wisdom and -every other good quality he surpassed all his brothers, and especially -because he was brave and victorious in nearly every battle. And when -he had reigned a month almost against his will--for he did not think -that he alone, without divine aid, could sustain the ferocity of the -heathen, though even during his brothers’ lifetimes he had borne the -calamities of many--he fought a fierce battle with a few men, and on -very unequal terms, against all the army of the heathen, at a hill -called Wilton, on the south bank of the river Wiley,[95] from which -river the whole of that shire is named; and after a severe engagement, -lasting a considerable part of the day, the heathen, seeing the whole -extent of the danger they were in, and no longer able to bear the -attack of their enemies, turned their backs and fled. But, shame to -say, they took advantage of their pursuers’ rashness,[96] and, again -rallying, gained the victory and kept the battle-field. Let no one -be surprised that the Christians had but a small number of men, for -the Saxons as a people had been all but worn out by eight battles in -this selfsame year against the heathen, in which there died one king, -nine chieftains, and innumerable troops of soldiers, not to speak of -countless skirmishes both by night and by day, in which the oft-named -<King> Alfred, and all the leaders of that people, with their men, -and many of the king’s thanes, had been engaged in unwearied strife -against the heathen. How many thousand heathen fell in these numberless -skirmishes God alone knows, over and above those who were slain in the -eight battles above mentioned. - - -=43. Peace made.=[97]--In that same year the Saxons made peace with the -heathen, on condition that they should take their departure; and this -they did. - - -=44. The Heathen winter in London.=[98]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 872, being the twenty-fourth of King Alfred’s life, the -aforesaid army of heathen went to London, and there wintered; and the -Mercians made peace with them. - - -=45. The Heathen winter in Lindsey.=[98]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 873, being the twenty-fifth of King Alfred’s life, the -oft-named army, leaving London, went into Northumbria, and there -wintered in the shire of Lindsey; and the Mercians again made peace -with them. - - -=46. The Danes in Mercia.=[99]--In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -874, being the twenty-sixth of King Alfred’s life, the above-named army -left Lindsey and marched to Mercia, where they wintered at Repton.[100] -Also they compelled Burgred, King of Mercia, against his will to leave -his kingdom and go beyond sea to Rome, in the twenty-second year of -his reign. He did not live long after his arrival at Rome, but died -there, and was honorably buried in the Colony of the Saxons,[101] in -St. Mary’s church,[102] where he awaits the Lord’s coming and the first -resurrection with the just. The heathen also, after his expulsion, -subjected the whole kingdom of Mercia to their dominion; but, by a -miserable arrangement, gave it into the custody of a certain foolish -man, named Ceolwulf, one of the <king∮s> thanes, on condition that he -should peaceably restore it to them on whatsoever day they should wish -to have it again; and to bind this agreement he gave them hostages, and -swore that he would not oppose their will in any way, but be obedient -to them in every respect. - - -=47. The Danes in Northumbria and Cambridge.=[103]--In the year of our -Lord’s incarnation 875, being the twenty-seventh of King Alfred’s life, -the above-mentioned army, leaving Repton, separated into two bodies, -one of which went with Halfdene into Northumbria, and having wintered -there near the Tyne, and reduced all Northumbria to subjection, also -ravaged the Picts and the people of Strathclyde.[104] The other -division, with Guthrum,[105] Oscytel, and Anwind, three kings of the -heathen, went to Cambridge, and there wintered. - - -=48. Alfred’s Battle at Sea.=[106]--In that same year King Alfred -fought a battle at sea against six ships of the heathen, and took one -of them, the rest escaping by flight. - - -=49. Movements of the Danes.=[107]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 876, being the twenty-eighth year of King Alfred’s life, -the oft-mentioned army of the heathen, leaving Cambridge by night, -entered a fortress called Wareham,[108] where there is a monastery of -nuns between the two rivers Froom <and Tarrant>, in the district which -is called in Welsh Durngueir,[109] but in Saxon Thornsæta,[110] placed -in a most secure location, except on the western side, where there was -a territory adjacent. With this army Alfred made a solemn treaty to the -effect that they should depart from him, and they made no hesitation -to give him as many picked hostages as he named; also they swore an -oath on all the relics in which King Alfred trusted next to God,[111] -and on which they had never before sworn to any people, that they -would speedily depart from his kingdom. But they again practised their -usual treachery, and caring nothing for either hostages or oath, they -broke the treaty, and, sallying forth by night, slew all the horsemen -[horses?] that they had,[112] and, turning off, started without warning -for another place called in Saxon Exanceastre, and in Welsh Cairwisc, -which means in Latin ‘The City <of Exe>,’ situated on the eastern bank -of the river Wisc,[113] near the southern sea which divides Britain -from Gaul, and there passed the winter. - - -=50. Halfdene partitions Northumbria.=--In that same year Halfdene, -king of that part of Northumbria, divided up the whole region between -himself and his men, and settled there with his army. - - -=51. Division of Mercia.=[114]--The same year, in the month of August, -that army went into Mercia, and gave part of the district of the -Mercians to one Ceolwulf,[115] a weak-minded thane of the king; the -rest they divided among themselves. - - -=52. The Danes at Chippenham.=[116]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 878, being the thirtieth of King Alfred’s life, the -oft-mentioned army left Exeter, and went to Chippenham, a royal vill, -situated in the north of Wiltshire, on the east bank of the river -which is called Avon in Welsh, and there wintered. And they drove -many of that people by their arms, by poverty, and by fear, to voyage -beyond sea, and reduced almost all the inhabitants of that district to -subjection. - - -=53. Alfred in Somersetshire.=--At that same time the above-mentioned -King Alfred, with a few of his nobles, and certain soldiers and -vassals, was leading in great tribulation an unquiet life among the -woodlands and swamps of Somersetshire; for he had nothing that he -needed except what by frequent sallies he could forage openly or -stealthily from the heathen or from the Christians who had submitted to -the rule of the heathen.[117] - - -=54. The Danes defeated at Cynwit.=[118]--In that same year the -brother[119] of Inwar[120] and Halfdene, with twenty-three ships, came, -after many massacres of the Christians, from Dyfed,[121] where he had -wintered, and sailed to Devon, where with twelve hundred others he met -with a miserable death, being slain, while committing his misdeeds, -by the king’s thanes, before the fortress of Cynwit,[122] in which -many of the king’s thanes, with their followers, had shut themselves -up for safety. The heathen, seeing that the fortress was unprepared -and altogether unfortified, except that it merely had fortifications -after our manner, determined not to assault it, because that place is -rendered secure by its position on all sides except the eastern, as -I myself have seen, but began to besiege it, thinking that those men -would soon surrender from famine, thirst, and the blockade, since -there is no water close to the fortress. But the result did not fall -out as they expected; for the Christians, before they began at all to -suffer from such want, being inspired by Heaven, and judging it much -better to gain either victory or death, sallied out suddenly upon the -heathen at daybreak, and from the first cut them down in great numbers, -slaying also their king, so that few escaped to their ships. - - -=55. Alfred at Athelney.=[123]--The same year, after Easter, -King Alfred, with a few men, made a stronghold in a place called -Athelney,[124] and from thence sallied with his vassals of Somerset -to make frequent and unwearied assaults upon the heathen. And again, -the seventh week after Easter, he rode to Egbert’s Stone,[125] which -is in the eastern part of Selwood Forest (in Latin ‘Great Forest,’ and -in Welsh Coit Maur). Here he was met by all the neighboring folk of -Somersetshire and Wiltshire, and such of Hampshire as had not sailed -beyond sea for fear of the heathen; and when they saw the king restored -alive, as it were, after such great tribulation, they were filled, as -was meet, with immeasurable joy, and encamped there for one night. At -daybreak of the following morning, the king struck his camp, and came -to Æglea,[126] where he encamped for one night. - - -=56. Battle of Edington, and Treaty with Guthrum.=[127]--The next -morning at dawn he moved his standards to Edington,[128] and there -fought bravely and perseveringly by means of a close shield-wall -against the whole army of the heathen, whom at length, with the divine -help, he defeated with great slaughter, and pursued them flying to -their stronghold. Immediately he slew all the men and carried off all -the horses and cattle that he could find without the fortress, and -thereupon pitched his camp, with all his army, before the gates of the -heathen stronghold. And when he had remained there fourteen days, the -heathen, terrified by hunger, cold, fear, and last of all by despair, -begged for peace, engaging to give the king as many designated hostages -as he pleased, and to receive none from him in return--in which manner -they had never before made peace with any one. The king, hearing this -embassage, of his own motion took pity upon them, and received from -them the designated hostages, as many as he would. Thereupon the -heathen swore, besides, that they would straightway leave his kingdom; -and their king, Guthrum, promised to embrace Christianity, and receive -baptism at King Alfred’s hands--all of which articles he and his men -fulfilled as they had promised. For after <three>[129] weeks Guthrum, -king of the heathen, with thirty[130] men chosen from his army, came to -Alfred at a place called Aller, near Athelney, and there King Alfred, -receiving him as a son by adoption, raised him up from the holy font -of baptism. On the eighth day, at a royal vill named Wedmore, his -chrism-loosing[131] took place. After his baptism he remained twelve -days with the king, who, together with all his companions, gave him -many rich gifts.[132] - - -=57. The Danes go to Cirencester.=[133]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 879, which was the thirty-first of King Alfred’s life, the -aforesaid army of heathen, leaving Chippenham, as they had promised, -went to Cirencester, which is called in Welsh Cairceri, and is situated -in the southern part of the kingdom of the Hwicce,[134] and there they -remained one year. - - -=58. Danes at Fulham.=[135]--In that same year a large army of heathen -sailed from beyond sea into the river Thames, and joined the greater -army. However, they wintered at Fulham, near the river Thames. - - -=59. An Eclipse.=[136]--In that same year an eclipse[137] of the sun -took place between nones and vespers, but nearer to nones. - - -=60. The Danes in East Anglia.=[138]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 880, which was the thirty-second of King Alfred’s life, -the oft-mentioned army of heathen left Cirencester, and went to East -Anglia, where they divided up the country and began to settle. - - -=61. The Smaller Army leaves England.=[139]--That same year the army of -heathen, which had wintered at Fulham, left the island of Britain, and -sailed over sea to East Frankland, where they remained for a year at a -place called Ghent. - - -=62. The Danes fight with the Franks.=--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 881, which was the thirty-third of King Alfred’s life, the -army went further on into Frankland, and the Franks fought against -them; and after the battle the heathen, obtaining horses, became an -army of cavalry. - - -=63. The Danes on the Meuse.=[140]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 882, which was the thirty-fourth of King Alfred’s life, the -aforesaid army sailed their ships up into Frankland by a river called -the Meuse, and there wintered one year. - - -=64. Alfred’s Naval Battle with the Danes.=[141]--In that same year -Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, fought a battle at sea against the -heathen fleet, of which he captured two ships, and slew all who were on -board. Two commanders of the other ships, with all their crews, worn -out by the fight and their wounds, laid down their arms, and submitted -to the king on bended knees with many entreaties. - - -=65. The Danes at Condé.=[142]--In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -883, which was the thirty-fifth of King Alfred’s life, the aforesaid -army sailed their ships up the river called Scheldt to a convent of -nuns called Condé, and there remained one year. - - -=66. Deliverance of Rochester.=[143]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 884, which was the thirty-sixth of King Alfred’s life, the -aforesaid army divided into two parts: one body of them went into East -Frankland, and the other, coming to Britain, entered Kent, where they -besieged a city called in Saxon Rochester, situated on the east bank -of the river Medway. Before the gate of the town the heathen suddenly -erected a strong fortress; but they were unable to take the city, -because the citizens defended themselves bravely until King Alfred -came up to help them with a large army. Then the heathen abandoned -their fortress and all the horses which they had brought with them out -of Frankland, and, leaving behind them in the fortress the greater -part of their prisoners on the sudden arrival of the king, fled in -haste to their ships; the Saxons immediately seized upon the prisoners -and horses left by the heathen; and so the latter, compelled by dire -necessity, returned the same summer to Frankland. - - -=67. Alfred’s Naval Battle at the Mouth of the Stour.=[144]--In that -same year Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, shifted his fleet, full of -fighting men, from Kent to East Anglia,[145] for the sake of spoil. No -sooner had they arrived at the mouth of the river Stour than thirteen -ships of the heathen met them, prepared for battle; a fierce naval -combat ensued, and the heathen were all slain; all the ships, with all -their money, were taken. After this, while the victorious royal fleet -was reposing,[146] the heathen who occupied East Anglia assembled their -ships from every quarter, met the same royal fleet at sea in the mouth -of the same river, and, after a naval engagement, gained the victory. - - -=68. Death of Carloman, of Louis II, and of Louis III.=[147]--In that -same year also, Carloman, King of the West Franks, while engaged in a -boar-hunt, was miserably slain by a boar, which inflicted a dreadful -wound on him with its tusk. His brother Louis, who had also been King -of the Franks, had died the year before. Both these were sons of -Louis,[148] King of the Franks, who also had died in the year above -mentioned, in which the eclipse of the sun took place.[149] This -Louis was the son of Charles,[150] King of the Franks, whose daughter -Judith[151] Æthelwulf, King of the West Saxons, took to queen with her -father’s consent. - - -=69. The Danes in Old Saxony.=[152]--In that same year a great army -of the heathen came from Germany[153] into the country of the Old -Saxons, which is called in Saxon Eald-Seaxum. To oppose them the same -Saxons and Frisians joined their forces, and fought bravely twice in -that same year.[154] In both these battles the Christians, by God’s -merciful aid, gained the victory. - - -=70. Charles, King of the Alemanni.=[155]--In that same year also, -Charles, King of the Alemanni, received with universal consent the -kingdom of the West Franks, and all the kingdoms which lie between the -Tyrrhene Sea and that gulf[156] situated between the Old Saxons and the -Gauls, with the exception of the kingdom of Armorica.[157] This Charles -was the son of King Louis,[158] who was brother of Charles, King of the -Franks, father of Judith, the aforesaid queen; these two brothers were -sons of Louis,[159] Louis being the son of Charlemagne, son of Pepin. - - -=71. Death of Pope Marinus.=[160]--In that same year Pope Marinus, of -blessed memory, went the way of all flesh; it was he who, for the love -of Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, and at his request, generously -freed the Saxon Colony in Rome from all tribute and tax. He also sent -to the aforesaid king many gifts on that occasion, among which was no -small portion of the most holy and venerable cross on which our Lord -Jesus Christ hung for the salvation of all mankind. - - -=72. The Danes break their Treaty.=[161]--In that same year also the -army of heathen which dwelt in East Anglia disgracefully broke the -peace which they had concluded with King Alfred. - - -=73. Asser makes a New Beginning.=[162]--And now, to return to that -from which I digressed, lest I be compelled by my long navigation -to abandon the haven of desired rest,[163] I propose, as far as my -knowledge will enable me, to speak somewhat concerning the life, -character, and just conduct, and in no small degree concerning the -deeds, of my lord Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, after he married -the said respected wife of noble Mercian race; and, with God’s -blessing, I will despatch it concisely and briefly, as I promised, that -I may not, by prolixity in relating each new event, offend the minds of -those who may be somewhat hard to please. - - -=74. Alfred’s Maladies.=[164]--While his nuptials were being honorably -celebrated in Mercia, among innumerable multitudes of both sexes, and -after long feasts by night and by day, he was suddenly seized, in the -presence of all the people, by instant and overwhelming pain, unknown -to any physician. No one there knew, nor even those who daily see him -up to the present time--and this, sad to say, is the worst of all, that -it should have continued uninterruptedly through the revolutions of so -many years, from the twentieth to the fortieth year of his life and -more--whence such a malady arose. Many thought that it was occasioned -by the favor and fascination of the people who surrounded him; others, -by some spite of the devil, who is ever jealous of good men; others, -from an unusual kind of fever; while still others thought it was the -_ficus_,[165] which species of severe disease he had had from his -childhood. On a certain occasion it had come to pass by the divine will -that when he had gone to Cornwall on a hunting expedition, and had -turned out of the road to pray in a certain church in which rests Saint -Gueriir [and now also St. Neot reposes there],[166] he had of his own -accord prostrated himself for a long time in silent prayer--since from -childhood he had been a frequent visitor of holy places for prayer and -the giving of alms--and there he besought the mercy of the Lord that, -in his boundless clemency, Almighty God would exchange the torments of -the malady which then afflicted him for some other lighter disease, -provided that such disease should not show itself outwardly in his -body, lest he should be useless and despised--for he had great dread -of leprosy or blindness, or any such complaint as instantly makes men -useless and despised at its coming. When he had finished his praying, -he proceeded on his journey, and not long after felt within himself -that he had been divinely healed, according to his request, of that -disorder, and that it was entirely eradicated, although he had obtained -even this complaint in the first flower of his youth by his devout and -frequent prayers and supplications to God. For if I may be allowed to -speak concisely, though in a somewhat inverted order, of his zealous -piety to God--in his earliest youth, before he married his wife, he -wished to establish his mind in God’s commandments, for he perceived -that he could not abstain from carnal desires[167]; and because he saw -that he should incur the anger of God if he did anything contrary to -His will, he used often to rise at cockcrow and at the matin hours, -and go to pray in churches and at the relics of the saints. There he -would prostrate himself, and pray that Almighty God in His mercy would -strengthen his mind still more in the love of His service, converting -it fully to Himself by some infirmity such as he might bear, but not -such as would render him contemptible and useless in worldly affairs. -Now when he had often prayed with much devotion to this effect, -after an interval of some time he incurred as a gift from God the -before-named disease of the _ficus_, which he bore long and painfully -for many years, even despairing of life, until he entirely got rid of -it by prayer. But, sad to say, though it had been removed, a worse -one seized him, as I have said, at his marriage, and this incessantly -tormented him, night and day, from the twentieth to the forty-fifth -year of his life. But if ever, by God’s mercy, he was relieved from -this infirmity for a single day or night, or even for the space of -one hour, yet the fear and dread of that terrible malady never left -him, but rendered him almost useless, as he thought, in every affair, -whether human or divine. - - -=75. Alfred’s Children and their Education.=[168]--The sons and -daughters whom he had by his wife above-mentioned were Æthelflæd, the -eldest, after whom came Edward, then Æthelgivu, then Ælfthryth, and -finally Æthelward--besides those who died in childhood. The number of -...[169] Æthelflæd, when she arrived at a marriageable age, was united -to Æthelred,[170] Ealdorman of Mercia. Æthelgivu, having dedicated her -maidenhood to God, entered His service, and submitted to the rules -of the monastic life, to which she was consecrate. Æthelward, the -youngest, by the divine counsel and by the admirable foresight of the -king, was intrusted to the schools of literary training, where, with -the children of almost all the nobility of the country, and many also -who were not noble, he was under the diligent care of the teachers. -Books in both languages, namely, Latin and Saxon, were diligently -read in the school.[171] They also learned to write; so that before -they were of an age to practise human arts, namely, hunting and other -pursuits which befit noblemen, they became studious and clever in the -liberal arts. Edward and Ælfthryth were always bred up in the king’s -court, and received great attention from their tutors and nurses; nay, -they continue to this day, with much love from every one, to show -humbleness, affability, and gentleness towards all, both natives and -foreigners, while remaining in complete subjection to their father. -Nor, among the other pursuits which appertain to this life and are -fit for noble youths, are they suffered to pass their time idly and -unprofitably without liberal training; for they have carefully learned -the Psalms[172] and Saxon books, especially Saxon poems, and are in the -habit of making frequent use of books. - - -=76. Alfred’s Varied Pursuits.=[173]--In the meantime, the king, during -the wars and frequent trammels of this present life, the invasions -of the heathen, and his own daily infirmities of body, continued to -carry on the government, and to practise hunting in all its branches; -to teach his goldsmiths[174] and all his artificers, his falconers, -hawkers, and dog-keepers; to build houses, majestic and rich beyond -all custom of his predecessors, after his own new designs; to recite -the Saxon books, and especially to learn by heart Saxon poems,[175] -and to make others learn them, he alone never ceasing from studying -most diligently to the best of his ability. He daily attended mass -and the other services of religion; recited certain psalms, together -with prayers, and the daily and nightly hour-service; and frequented -the churches at night, as I have said, that he might pray in secret, -apart from others. He bestowed alms and largesses both on natives and -on foreigners of all countries; was most affable and agreeable to all; -and was skilful in the investigation of things unknown.[176] Many -Franks, Frisians,[177] Gauls, heathen,[178] Welsh, Irish,[179] and -Bretons,[180] noble and simple, submitted voluntarily to his dominion; -and all of them, according to their worthiness,[181] he ruled, loved, -honored, and enriched with money and power, as if they had been his -own people.[182] Moreover, he was sedulous and zealous in the habit of -hearing the divine Scriptures read by his own countrymen, or if, by -any chance it so happened that any one arrived from abroad, to hear -prayers in company with foreigners. His bishops, too, and all the -clergy, his ealdormen and nobles, his personal attendants and friends, -he loved with wonderful affection. Their sons, too, who were bred up in -the royal household, were no less dear to him than his own; he never -ceased to instruct them in all kinds of good morals, and, among other -things, himself to teach them literature night and day. But as if he -had no consolation in all these things, and suffered no other annoyance -either from within or without, he was so harassed by daily and nightly -sadness that he complained and made moan to the Lord, and to all who -were admitted to his familiarity and affection, that Almighty God had -made him ignorant of divine wisdom and of the liberal arts; in this -emulating the pious, famous, and wealthy Solomon, King of the Hebrews, -who at the outset, despising all present glory and riches, asked wisdom -of God, and yet found both, namely, wisdom and present glory; as it -is written, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and -all these things shall be added unto you.’[183] But God, who is always -the observer of the thoughts of the inward mind, the instigator of -meditations and of all good purposes, and a plentiful aider in the -formation of good desires--for He would never inspire a man to aim at -the good unless He also amply supplied that which the man justly and -properly wished to have--stirred up the king’s mind from within, not -from without; as it is written, ‘I will hearken what the Lord God will -say concerning me.’[184] He would avail himself of every opportunity -to procure assistants in his good designs, to aid him in his strivings -after wisdom, that he might attain to what he aimed at; and, like a -prudent bee,[185] which, rising in summer at early morning from her -beloved cells, steers her course with rapid flight along the uncertain -paths of the air, and descends on the manifold and varied flowers of -grasses, herbs, and shrubs, essaying that which most pleases her, and -bearing it home, he directed the eyes of his mind afar, and sought that -without which he had not within, that is, in his own kingdom.[186] - - -=77. Alfred’s Scholarly Associates: Werfrith, Plegmund, Æthelstan, -and Werwulf.=[187]--But God at that time, as some consolation to the -king’s benevolence, enduring no longer his kindly and just complaint, -sent as it were certain luminaries, namely, Werfrith,[188] Bishop -of the church of Worcester, a man well versed in divine Scripture, -who, by the king’s command, was the first to interpret with clearness -and elegance the books of the _Dialogues_ of Pope Gregory and Peter, -his disciple, from Latin into Saxon, sometimes putting sense for -sense; then Plegmund,[189] a Mercian by birth, Archbishop of the -church of Canterbury, a venerable man, endowed with wisdom; besides -Æthelstan[190] and Werwulf, learned priests and clerks,[191] Mercians -by birth. These four King Alfred had called to him from Mercia, and he -exalted them with many honors and powers in the kingdom of the West -Saxons, not to speak of those which Archbishop Plegmund and Bishop -Werfrith had in Mercia. By the teaching and wisdom of all these the -king’s desire increased continually, and was gratified. Night and -day, whenever he had any leisure, he commanded such men as these to -read books to him--for he never suffered himself to be without one of -them--so that he came to possess a knowledge of almost every book, -though of himself he could not yet understand anything of books, since -he had not yet learned to read anything. - - -=78. Grimbald and John, the Old Saxon.=[192]--But since the king’s -commendable avarice could not be gratified even in this, he sent -messengers beyond sea to Gaul, to procure teachers, and invited from -thence Grimbald,[193] priest and monk, a venerable man and excellent -singer, learned in every kind of ecclesiastical discipline and in -holy Scripture, and adorned with all virtues. He also obtained from -thence John,[194] both priest and monk, a man of the keenest intellect, -learned in all branches of literature, and skilled in many other arts. -By the teaching of these men the king’s mind was greatly enlarged, and -he enriched and honored them with much power. - - -=79. Asser’s Negotiations with King Alfred.=[195]--At that time I also -came to Wessex, out of the furthest coasts of Western Wales; and when I -had proposed to go to him through many intervening provinces, I arrived -in the country of the South Saxons, which in Saxon is called Sussex, -under the guidance of some of that nation; and there I first saw him in -the royal vill which is called Dene.[196] He received me with kindness, -and, among other conversation, besought me eagerly to devote myself to -his service and become his friend, and to leave for his sake everything -which I possessed on the northern and western side of the Severn, -promising he would give me more than an equivalent for it, as in fact -he did. I replied that I could not incautiously and rashly promise such -things; for it seemed to me unjust that I should leave those sacred -places in which I had been bred and educated, where I had received the -tonsure, and had at length been ordained, for the sake of any earthly -honor and power, unless by force and compulsion. Upon this he said: -‘If you cannot accede to this, at least grant me half your service: -spend six months with me here, and six in Wales.’ To this I replied: ‘I -could not easily or rashly promise even that without the approval of -my friends.’ At length, however, when I perceived that he was really -anxious for my services, though I knew not why, I promised him that, -if my life were spared, I would return to him after six months, with -such a reply as should be agreeable to him as well as advantageous to -me and mine. With this answer he was satisfied; and when I had given -him a pledge to return at the appointed time, on the fourth day we rode -away from him, and returned to my own country. After our departure, a -violent fever seized me in the city of Cærwent,[197] where I lay for -twelve months and one week, night and day, without hope of recovery. -When at the appointed time, therefore, I had not fulfilled my promise -of visiting him, he sent letters to hasten my journey on horseback to -him, and to inquire the cause of my delay. As I was unable to ride to -him, I sent a reply to make known to him the cause of my delay, and -assure him that, if I recovered from my illness, I would fulfil what -I had promised. My disease finally left me, and accordingly, by the -advice and consent of all my friends, for the benefit of that holy -place and of all who dwelt therein, I devoted myself to the king’s -service as I had promised, the condition being that I should remain -with him six months every year, either continuously, if I could spend -six months with him at once, or alternately, three months in Wales and -three in Wessex. It was also understood that he should in all ways -be helpful to St. Davids, as far as his power extended.[198] For my -friends hoped by this means to sustain less tribulation and harm from -King Hemeid--who often plundered that monastery and the parish of -St. Davids, and sometimes expelled the bishops who ruled over it, as -he did Archbishop Nobis, my relative, and on occasion myself, their -subordinate--if in any way I could secure the notice and friendship of -the king. - - -=80. The Welsh Princes who submit to Alfred.=[199]--At that time, and -long before, all the countries in South Wales belonged to King Alfred, -and still belong to him. For instance, King Hemeid, with all the -inhabitants of the region of Dyfed,[200] restrained by the violence -of the six sons of Rhodri,[201] had submitted to the dominion of the -king. Howel also, son of Ris, King of Glywyssing,[202] and Brochmail -and Fernmail, sons of Mouric, kings of Gwent,[203] compelled by the -violence and tyranny of Ealdorman Æthelred and of the Mercians, of -their own accord sought out the same king,[204] that they might enjoy -rule and protection from him against their enemies. Helised, also, -son of Teudubr, King of Brecknock, compelled by the violence of the -same sons of Rhodri, of his own accord sought the lordship of the -aforesaid king; and Anarawd, son of Rhodri, with his brothers, at -length abandoning the friendship of the Northumbrians, from whom he had -received no good, but rather harm, came into King Alfred’s presence, -and eagerly sought his friendship. The king received him with honor, -adopted him as his son by confirmation from the bishop’s hand,[205] and -bestowed many gifts upon him. Thus he became subject to the king with -all his people, on condition that he should be obedient to the king’s -will in all respects, in the same way as Æthelred and the Mercians. - - -=81. How Alfred rewards Submission.=[206]--Nor was it in vain that -they all gained the friendship of the king. For those who desired to -augment their worldly power obtained power; those who desired money -gained money; those who desired his friendship acquired his friendship; -those who wished more than one secured more than one. But all of them -had his love and guardianship and defense from every quarter, so far as -the king, with all his men, could defend himself. When therefore I had -come to him at the royal vill called Leonaford,[207] I was honorably -received by him, and remained that time with him at his court eight -months; during which I read to him whatever books he liked, of such as -he had at hand; for this is his peculiar and most confirmed habit, both -night and day, amid all his other occupations of mind and body,[208] -either himself to read books, or to listen to the reading of others. -And when I frequently had sought his permission to return, and had -in no way been able to obtain it, at length, when I had made up my -mind by all means to demand it, he called me to him at twilight on -Christmas Eve, and gave me two letters in which was a manifold list of -all the things which were in the two monasteries which are called in -Saxon Congresbury and Banwell[209]; and on that same day he delivered -to me those two monasteries with everything in them, together with a -silken pallium of great value, and of incense a load for a strong man, -adding these words, that he did not give me these trifling presents -because he was unwilling hereafter to give me greater. For in the -course of time he unexpectedly gave me Exeter, with the whole diocese -which belonged to him in Wessex and in Cornwall, besides gifts every -day without number of every kind of worldly wealth; these it would be -too long to enumerate here, lest it should weary my readers. But let -no one suppose that I have mentioned these presents in this place for -the sake of glory or flattery, or to obtain greater honor; I call God -to witness that I have not done so, but that I might certify to those -who are ignorant how profuse he was in giving. He then at once gave -me permission to ride to those two monasteries, so full of all good -things, and afterwards to return to my own. - - -=82. The Siege of Paris.=[210]--In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -886, which was the thirty-eighth of King Alfred’s life, the army so -often mentioned again fled the country, and went into that of the West -Franks. Entering the river Seine with their vessels, they sailed up it -as far as the city of Paris; there they wintered, pitching their camp -on both sides of the river almost to the bridge, in order that they -might prevent the citizens from crossing the bridge--since the city -occupies a small island in the middle of the stream. They besieged the -city for a whole year, but, by the merciful favor of God, and by reason -of the brave defense of the citizens, they could not force their way -inside the walls. - - -=83. Alfred rebuilds London.=[211]--In that same year Alfred, King of -the Anglo-Saxons, after the burning of cities and massacres of the -people, honorably rebuilt the city of London, made it habitable, and -gave it into the custody of Æthelred, Ealdorman of Mercia. To this -king[212] all the Angles and Saxons who hitherto had been dispersed -everywhere, or were in captivity with the heathen,[213] voluntarily -turned, and submitted themselves to his rule.[214] - - -=84. The Danes leave Paris.=[215]--In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 887, which was the thirty-ninth of King Alfred’s life, -the above-mentioned army of the heathen, leaving the city of Paris -uninjured, since otherwise they could get no advantage, passed under -the bridge and rowed their fleet up the river Seine for a long -distance, until they reached the mouth of the river Marne; here they -left the Seine, entered the mouth of the Marne, and, sailing up it for -a good distance and a good while, at length, not without labor, arrived -at a place called Chézy, a royal vill, where they wintered a whole -year. In the following year they entered the mouth of the river Yonne, -not without doing much damage to the country, and there remained one -year. - - -=85. Division of the Empire.=[216]--In that same year Charles,[217] -King of the Franks, went the way of all flesh; but Arnolf, his -brother’s son, six weeks before he died, had expelled him from the -kingdom. Immediately after his death five kings were ordained, and -the kingdom was split into five parts; but the principal seat of the -kingdom justly and deservedly fell to Arnolf, were it not that he had -shamefully sinned against his uncle. The other four kings promised -fidelity and obedience to Arnolf, as was meet; for none of these four -kings was heir to the kingdom on his father’s side, as was Arnolf; -therefore, though the five kings were ordained immediately upon the -death of Charles, yet the Empire remained to Arnolf. Such, then, was -the division of that realm; Arnolf received the countries to the east -of the river Rhine; Rudolf the inner part of the kingdom[218]; Odo the -western part; Berengar and Wido, Lombardy, and those countries which -are on that side of the mountain. But they did not keep such and so -great dominions in peace among themselves, for they twice fought a -pitched battle, and often mutually ravaged those kingdoms, and drove -one another out of their dominions. - - -=86. Alfred sends Alms to Rome.=[219]--In the same year in which -that army left Paris and went to Chézy,[220] Æthelhelm, Ealdorman of -Wiltshire, carried to Rome the alms of King Alfred and of the Saxons. - - -=87. Alfred begins to translate from Latin.=[221]--In that same year -also the oft-mentioned Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, by divine -inspiration first began, on one and the same day, to read and to -translate; but that this may be clearer to those who are ignorant, I -will relate the cause of this long delay in beginning. - - -=88. Alfred’s Manual.=[222]--On a certain day we were both of us -sitting in the king’s chamber, talking on all kinds of subjects, as -usual, and it happened that I read to him a quotation out of a certain -book. While he was listening to it attentively with both ears, and -pondering it deeply with his inmost mind, he suddenly showed me a -little book[223] which he carried in his bosom, wherein were written -the daily course, together with certain Psalms and prayers which he -had read in his youth, and thereupon bade me write the quotation in -that book. Hearing this, and perceiving in part his active intelligence -and goodness of heart, together with his devout resolution of studying -divine wisdom, I gave, though in secret, yet with hands uplifted to -heaven, boundless thanks to Almighty God, who had implanted such -devotion to the study of wisdom in the king’s heart. But since I could -find no blank space in that book wherein to write the quotation, it -being all full of various matters, I delayed a little, chiefly that -I might stir up the choice understanding of the king to a higher -knowledge of the divine testimonies. Upon his urging me to make haste -and write it quickly, I said to him, ‘Are you willing that I should -write that quotation on some separate leaf? Perhaps we shall find one -or more other such which will please you; and if that should happen, -we shall be glad that we have kept this by itself.’ ‘Your plan is -good,’ said he; so I gladly made haste to get ready a pamphlet of four -leaves, at the head of which I wrote what he had bidden me; and that -same day I wrote in it, at his request, and as I had predicted, no less -than three other quotations which pleased him. From that time we daily -talked together, and investigated the same subject by the help of other -quotations which we found and which pleased him, so that the pamphlet -gradually became full, and deservedly so, for it is written, ‘The -righteous man builds upon a moderate foundation, and by degrees passes -to greater things.’[224] Thus, like a most productive bee, flying far -and wide, and scrutinizing the fenlands, he eagerly and unceasingly -collected various flowers of Holy Scripture, with which he copiously -stored the cells of his mind.[225] - - -=89. Alfred’s Handbook.=[226]--When that first quotation had been -copied, he was eager at once to read, and to translate into Saxon, -and then to teach many others--even as we are assured concerning that -happy thief who recognized the Lord Jesus Christ, his Lord, aye, the -Lord of all men, as he was hanging on the venerable gallows of the -holy cross, and, with trustful petition, casting down of his body no -more than his eyes, since he was so entirely fastened with nails that -he could do nothing else, cried with humble voice, ‘O Christ, remember -me when thou comest into thy kingdom!‘[227]--since it was only on the -cross that he began to learn the elements of the Christian faith.[228] -Inspired by God, he began the rudiments of Holy Scripture on the sacred -feast of St. Martin.[229] Then he went on, as far as he was able, to -learn the flowers[230] collected from various quarters by any and all -of his teachers, and to reduce them into the form of one book, although -jumbled together, until it became almost as large as a psalter. This -book he called his Enchiridion[231] or Handbook,[232] because he -carefully kept it at hand day and night, and found, as he then used to -say, no small consolation therein. - - -=90. Illustration from the Penitent Thief.=[233]--But, as it was -written by a wise man,[234] - - Of watchful minds are they whose pious care - It is to govern well, - -I see that I must be especially watchful, in that I just now drew a -kind of comparison, though in dissimilar manner,[235] between the -happy thief and the king; for the cross is hateful to every one in -distress.[236] But what can he do, if he cannot dislodge himself or -escape thence? or in what way can he improve his condition by remaining -there? He must, therefore, whether he will or no, endure with pain and -sorrow that which he is suffering. - - -=91. Alfred’s Troubles.=[237]--Now the king was pierced with many -nails of tribulation, though established in the royal sway; for from -the twentieth year of his age to the present year, which is his -forty-fifth,[238] he has been constantly afflicted with most severe -attacks of an unknown disease, so that there is not a single hour in -which he is not either suffering from that malady, or nigh to despair -by reason of the gloom which is occasioned by his fear of it. Moreover -the constant invasions of foreign nations, by which he was continually -harassed by land and sea, without any interval of quiet, constituted a -sufficient cause of disturbance. - -What shall I say of his repeated expeditions against the heathen, his -wars, and the incessant occupations of government? Of the daily ... -of the[239] nations which dwell on[240] the Tyrrhene[241] Sea to the -farthest end of Ireland? For we have seen and read letters, accompanied -with presents, which were sent to him from Jerusalem by the patriarch -Elias.[242] What shall I say of his restoration of cities and towns, -and of others which he built where none had been before? of golden and -silver buildings,[243] built in incomparable style under his direction? -of the royal halls and chambers, wonderfully erected of stone and -wood at his command? of the royal vills constructed of stones removed -from their old site, and finely rebuilt by the king’s command in more -fitting places? - -Not to speak of the disease above mentioned, he was disturbed by -the quarrels of his subjects,[244] who would of their own choice -endure little or no toil for the common need of the kingdom. He -alone, sustained by the divine aid, once he had assumed the helm of -government, strove in every way, like a skilful pilot, to steer[245] -his ship, laden with much wealth, into the safe and longed-for harbor -of his country, though almost all his crew were weary, suffering them -not to faint or hesitate, even amid the waves and manifold whirlpools -of this present life. Thus his bishops, earls, nobles, favorite -thanes, and prefects, who, next to God and the king, had the whole -government of the kingdom, as was fitting, continually received from -him instruction, compliment, exhortation, and command; nay, at last, if -they were disobedient, and his long patience was exhausted, he would -reprove them severely, and censure in every way their vulgar folly and -obstinacy; and thus he wisely gained and bound them to his own wishes -and the common interests of the whole kingdom. But if, owing to the -sluggishness of the people, these admonitions of the king were either -not fulfilled, or were begun late at the moment of necessity, and so, -because they were not carried through, did not redound to the advantage -of those who put them in execution--take as an example the fortresses -which he ordered, but which are not yet begun or, begun late, have not -yet been completely finished--when hostile forces have made invasions -by sea, or land, or both, then those who had set themselves against -the imperial orders have been put to shame and overwhelmed with vain -repentance. I speak of vain repentance on the authority of Scripture, -whereby numberless persons have had cause for sorrow when they have -been smitten by great harm through the perpetration of deceit. But -though by this means, sad to say, they may be bitterly afflicted, and -roused to grief by the loss of fathers, wives, children, thanes, man -servants, maid servants, products, and all their household stuff, what -is the use of hateful repentance when their kinsmen are dead, and they -cannot aid them, or redeem from dire captivity those who are captive? -for they cannot even help themselves when they have escaped, since they -have not wherewithal to sustain their own lives. Sorely exhausted by a -tardy repentance, they grieve over their carelessness in despising the -king’s commands; they unite in praising his wisdom, promising to fulfil -with all their might what before they had declined to do, namely, in -the construction of fortresses, and other things useful to the whole -kingdom. - - -=92. Alfred builds two Monasteries.=[246]--Concerning his desire and -intent of excellent meditation, which, in the midst both of prosperity -and adversity, he never in any way neglected, I cannot in this place -with advantage forbear to speak. For, when he was reflecting, according -to his wont, upon the need of his soul,[247] he ordered, among the -other good deeds to which his thoughts were by night and day[248] -especially turned, that two monasteries should be built, one of them -being for monks at Athelney.[249] This is a place surrounded by -impassable fens and waters on every hand, where no one can enter but by -boats, or by a bridge laboriously constructed between two fortresses, -at the western end of which bridge was erected a strong citadel, of -beautiful work, by command of the aforesaid king. In this monastery -he collected monks of all kinds from every quarter, and there settled -them. - - -=93. Monasticism was decayed.=[250]--At first he had no one of his own -nation, noble and free by birth, who was willing to enter the monastic -life, except children, who as yet could neither choose good nor reject -evil by reason of their tender years. This was the case because for -many years previous the love of a monastic life had utterly decayed in -that as well as in many other nations; for, though many monasteries -still remain in that country, yet no one kept the rule of that kind of -life in an orderly way, whether because of the invasions of foreigners, -which took place so frequently both by sea and land, or because that -people abounded in riches of every kind, and so looked with contempt on -the monastic life. On this account it was that King Alfred sought to -gather monks of different kinds in the same monastery. - - -=94. Monks brought from beyond Sea.=[251]--First he placed there -John[252] the priest and monk, an Old Saxon by birth, making him abbot; -and then certain priests and deacons from beyond sea. Finding that he -had not so large a number of these as he wished, he procured as many as -possible of the same Gallic race[253]; some of whom, being children, he -ordered to be taught in the same monastery, and at a later period to be -admitted to the monastic habit. I have myself seen there in monastic -dress a young man of heathen birth who was educated in that monastery, -and by no means the hindmost of them all. - - -=95. A Crime committed at Athelney.=[254]--There was a crime committed -once in that monastery, which I would <not>,[255] by my silence, -utterly consign to oblivion, although it is an atrocious villainy, for -throughout the whole of Scripture the base deeds of the wicked are -interspersed among the reverend actions of the righteous, like tares -and cockle among the wheat. Good deeds are recorded that they may be -praised, imitated, and emulated, and that those who pursue them may be -held worthy of all honor; and wicked deeds, that they may be censured, -execrated, and avoided, and their imitators be reproved with all odium, -contempt, and vengeance. - - -=96. The Plot of a Priest and a Deacon.=[256]--Once upon a time, -a certain priest and a deacon, Gauls by birth, of the number of -the aforesaid monks, by the instigation of the devil, and roused -by jealousy, became so embittered in secret against their abbot, -the above-mentioned John, that, after the manner of the Jews, they -circumvented and betrayed their master. For they so wrought upon two -hired servants of the same Gallic race that in the night, when all men -were enjoying the sweet tranquillity of sleep, they should make their -way into the church armed, and, shutting it behind them as usual, hide -themselves there, and wait till the abbot should enter the church -alone. At length, when, as was his wont, he should secretly enter the -church by himself to pray, and, bending his knees, bow before the holy -altar, the men should fall upon him, and slay him on the spot. They -should then drag his lifeless body out of the church, and throw it down -before the house of a certain harlot, as if he had been slain whilst -on a visit to her. This was their device, adding crime to crime, as it -is said, ‘The last error shall be worse than the first.’[257] But the -divine mercy, which is always wont to aid the innocent, frustrated in -great part the evil design of those evil men, so that it did not turn -out in all respects as they had planned. - - -=97. The Execution of the Plot.=[258]--When, therefore, the whole of -the evil teaching had been explained by those wicked teachers to their -wicked hearers, and enforced upon them, the night having come and -being favorable, the two armed ruffians, furnished with a promise of -impunity, shut themselves up in the church to await the arrival of the -abbot. In the middle of the night John, as usual, entered the church -to pray, without any one’s knowledge, and knelt before the altar. -Thereupon the two ruffians rushed upon him suddenly with drawn swords, -and wounded him severely. But he, being ever a man of keen mind, and, -as I have heard say, not unacquainted with the art of fighting, if he -had not been proficient in better lore, no sooner heard the noise of -the robbers, even before he saw them, than he rose up against them -before he was wounded, and, shouting at the top of his voice, struggled -against them with all his might, crying out that they were devils and -not men--and indeed he knew no better, as he thought that no men would -dare to attempt such a deed. He was, however, wounded before any of -his monks could come up. They, roused by the noise, were frightened -when they heard the word ‘devils’; being likewise unfamiliar with -such struggles, they, and the two who, after the manner of the Jews, -were traitors to their lord, rushed toward the doors of the church; -but before they got there those ruffians escaped with all speed, and -secreted themselves in the fens near by, leaving the abbot half dead. -The monks raised their nearly lifeless superior, and bore him home with -grief and lamentations; nor did those two knaves shed tears less than -the innocent. But God’s mercy did not allow so horrible a crime to pass -unpunished: the desperadoes who perpetrated it, and all who urged them -to it, were seized and bound; then, by various tortures, they died a -shameful death. Let us now return to our main narrative. - - -=98. The Convent at Shaftesbury.=[259]--Another[260] monastery also was -built by the aforesaid king as a residence for nuns, near the eastern -gate of Shaftesbury; and over it he placed as abbess his own daughter -Æthelgivu, a virgin dedicated to God. With her many other noble ladies, -serving God in the monastic life, dwell in that convent. These two -edifices were enriched by the king with much land, and with all sorts -of wealth. - - -=99. Alfred divides his Time and his Revenues.=[261]--These things -being thus disposed of, the king considered within himself, as was his -practice, what more would conduce to religious meditation. What he -had wisely begun and usefully conceived was adhered to with even more -beneficial result; for he had long before heard out of the book of the -law that the Lord[262] had promised to restore to him the tenth many -times over; and he knew that the Lord had faithfully kept His promise, -and had actually restored to him the tithe manyfold. Encouraged by this -precedent, and wishing to surpass the practice of his predecessors, he -vowed humbly and faithfully to devote to God half his services, by day -and by night, and also half of all the wealth which lawfully and justly -came every year into his possession; and this vow, as far as human -discretion can perceive and keep, he skilfully and wisely endeavored -to fulfil. But that he might, with his usual caution, avoid that which -Scripture warns us against, ‘If thou offerest aright, but dost not -divide aright, thou sinnest,’[263] he considered how he might divide -aright that which he had joyfully vowed to God; and as Solomon had -said, ‘The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord’[264]--that is, his -counsel--he ordered with a divinely inspired policy, which could come -only from above, that his officers should first divide into two parts -the revenues of every year. - - -=100. The Threefold Division of Officers at Court.=[265]--After this -division had been made, he assigned the first part to worldly uses, and -ordered that one third of it should be paid to his soldiers and to his -officers, the nobles who dwelt by turns at court, where they discharged -various duties, for thus it was that the king’s household was arranged -at all times in three shifts,[266] in the following manner. The king’s -attendants being wisely distributed into three companies, the first -company was on duty at court for one month, night and day, at the end -of which they were relieved by the second company, and returned to -their homes for two months, where they attended to their own affairs. -At the end of the second month, the third company relieved the second, -who returned to their homes, where they spent two months. The third -company then gave place to the first, and in their turn spent two -months at home. And in this order the rotation of service at the king’s -court was at all times carried on. - - -=101. The Distribution for Secular Purposes.=[267]--To these, -therefore, was paid the first of the three portions aforesaid, to -each according to his standing and peculiar service; the second to -the workmen whom he had collected from many nations and had about him -in large numbers, men skilled in every kind of building; the third -portion was assigned to foreigners who came to him out of every nation -far and near; whether they asked money of him or not, he cheerfully -gave to each with wonderful munificence according to their respective -worthiness,[268] exemplifying what is written, ‘God loveth a cheerful -giver.’[269] - - -=102. The Distribution for Religious Purposes.=[270]--But the second -part of all his revenues, which came yearly into his possession, and -was included in the receipts of the exchequer, as I mentioned just -above, he with full devotion dedicated to God, ordering his officers -to divide it carefully into four equal parts with the provision that -the first part should be discreetly bestowed on the poor of every -nation who came to him; on this subject he said that, as far as -human discretion could guarantee, the remark of Pope Gregory on the -proper division of alms should be followed, ‘Give not little to whom -you should give much, nor much to whom little, nor nothing to whom -something, nor something to whom nothing.’[271] The second share to the -two monasteries which he had built, and to those who were serving God -in them, as I have described more at length above. The third to the -school[272] which he had studiously formed from many of the nobility -of his own nation, but also from boys of mean condition. The fourth to -the neighboring monasteries in all Wessex and Mercia, and also during -some years, in turn, to the churches and servants of God dwelling in -Wales, Cornwall,[273] Gaul,[274] Brittany, Northumbria, and sometimes, -too, in Ireland; according to his means, he either distributed to them -beforehand, or agreed to contribute afterwards, if life and prosperity -did not fail him. - - -=103. Alfred’s Dedication of Personal Service.=[275]--When the king -had arranged all these matters in due order, he remembered the text of -holy Scripture which says, ‘Whosoever will give alms, ought to begin -from himself,’[276] and prudently began to reflect what he could offer -to God from the service of his body and mind; for he proposed to offer -to God no less out of this than he had done of external riches.[277] -Accordingly, he promised, as far as his infirmity and his means would -allow, to render to God the half of his services, bodily and mental, by -night and by day,[278] voluntarily, and with all his might. Inasmuch, -however, as he could not distinguish with accuracy the lengths of the -night hours in any way, on account of the darkness, nor frequently -those of the day, on account of the thick clouds and rains, he began -to consider by what regular means, free from uncertainty, relying on -the mercy of God, he might discharge the promised tenor of his vow -undeviatingly until his death. - - -=104. Alfred’s Measure of Time.=[279]--After long reflection on these -things, he at length, by a useful and shrewd invention, commanded his -clerks[280] to supply wax in sufficient quantity, and to weigh it in a -balance against pennies. When enough wax was measured out to equal the -weight of seventy-two pence, he caused the clerks to make six candles -thereof, all of equal weight, and to mark off twelve inches as the -length of each candle.[281] By this plan, therefore, those six candles -burned for twenty-four hours, a night and a day, without fail, before -the sacred relics of many of God’s elect, which always accompanied -him wherever he went. Sometimes, however, the candles could not -continue burning a whole day and night, till the same hour when they -were lighted the preceding evening, by reason of the violence of the -winds, which at times blew day and night without intermission through -the doors and windows[282] of the churches, the sheathing, and the -wainscot,[283] the numerous chinks in the walls, or the thin material -of the tents; on such occasions it was unavoidable that they should -burn out and finish their course before the appointed hour. The king, -therefore, set himself to consider by what means he might shut out -the wind, and by a skilful and cunning invention ordered a lantern to -be beautifully constructed of wood and ox-horn, since white ox-horns, -when shaved thin, are as transparent as a vessel of glass. Into this -lantern, then, wonderfully made of wood and horn, as I before said, a -candle was put at night, which shone as brightly without as within, and -was not disturbed by the wind, since he had also ordered a door of horn -to be made for the opening of the lantern.[284] By this contrivance, -then, six candles, lighted in succession, lasted twenty-four hours, -neither more nor less. When these were burned out, others were lighted. - - -=105. Alfred judges the Poor with Equity.=[285]--When all these things -were properly arranged, the king, eager to hold to the half of his -daily service, as he had vowed to God, and more also, if his ability -on the one hand, and his malady on the other, would allow him, showed -himself a minute investigator of the truth in all his judgments, and -this especially for the sake of the poor, to whose interest, day -and night, among other duties of this life, he was ever wonderfully -attentive. For in the whole kingdom the poor, besides him, had few or -no helpers; for almost all the powerful and noble of that country had -turned their thoughts rather to secular than to divine things: each was -more bent on worldly business, to his own profit, than on the common -weal. - - -=106. His Correction of Unjust and Incompetent Judges.=[285]--He -strove also, in his judgments, for the benefit of both his nobles and -commons, who often quarreled fiercely among themselves at the meetings -of the ealdormen and sheriffs, so that hardly one of them admitted the -justice of what had been decided by these ealdormen and sheriffs. In -consequence of this pertinacious and obstinate dissension, all felt -constrained to give sureties to abide by the decision of the king, and -both parties hastened to carry out their engagements. But if any one -was conscious of injustice on his side in the suit, though by law and -agreement he was compelled, however reluctant, to come for judgment -before a judge like this, yet with his own good will he never would -consent to come. For he knew that in that place no part of his evil -practice would remain hidden; and no wonder, for the king was a most -acute investigator in executing his judgments, as he was in all other -things. He inquired into almost all the judgments which were given -in his absence, throughout all his dominion, whether they were just -or unjust. If he perceived there was iniquity in those judgments, he -would, of his own accord, mildly ask those judges, either in his own -person, or through others who were in trust with him, why they had -judged so unjustly, whether through ignorance or malevolence--that is, -whether for the love or fear of any one, the hatred of another, or the -desire of some one’s money. At length, if the judges acknowledged they -had given such judgment because they knew no better, he discreetly -and moderately reproved their inexperience and folly in such terms as -these: ‘I greatly wonder at your assurance, that whereas, by God’s -favor and mine, you have taken upon you the rank and office of the -wise, you have neglected the studies and labors of the wise. Either, -therefore, at once give up the administration of the earthly powers -which you possess, or endeavor more zealously to study the lessons -of wisdom. Such are my commands.’ At these words the ealdormen and -sheriffs would be filled with terror at being thus severely corrected, -and would endeavor to turn with all their might to the study of -justice, so that, wonderful to say, almost all his ealdormen, sheriffs, -and officers, though unlearned from childhood, gave themselves up -to the study of letters, choosing rather to acquire laboriously an -unfamiliar discipline than to resign their functions. But if any one, -from old age or the sluggishness of an untrained mind, was unable to -make progress in literary studies, he would order his son, if he had -one, or one of his kinsmen, or, if he had no one else, his own freedman -or servant, whom he had long before advanced to the office of reading, -to read Saxon books before him night and day, whenever he had any -leisure. And then they would lament with deep sighs from their inmost -souls that in their youth they had never attended to such studies. They -counted happy the youth of the present day, who could be delightfully -instructed in the liberal arts, while they considered themselves -wretched in that they had neither learned these things in their youth, -nor, now they were old, were able to do so. This skill of young and old -in acquiring letters, I have set forth as a means of characterizing the -aforesaid king. - - - - -APPENDIXES - - - - -APPENDIX I - -ALFRED’S PREFACE TO HIS TRANSLATION OF GREGORY’S PASTORAL CARE - - -THIS BOOK IS FOR WORCESTER[286] - -King Alfred bids greet Bishop Wærferth with his words lovingly and -with friendship; and I let it be known to thee that it has very -often come into my mind what wise men there formerly were throughout -England, both of sacred and secular orders; and what happy times -there were then throughout England; and how the kings who had power -over the nation in those days obeyed God and His ministers; how they -preserved peace, morality, and order at home, and at the same time -enlarged their territory abroad; and how they prospered both with war -and with wisdom; and also how zealous the sacred orders were both in -teaching and learning, and in all the services they owed to God; and -how foreigners came to this land in search of wisdom and instruction, -and how we should now have to get them from abroad if we were to have -them. So general was its decay in England that there were very few on -this side of the Humber who could understand their rituals in English, -or translate a letter from Latin into English; and I believe that -there were not many beyond the Humber. There were so few of them that -I cannot remember a single one south of the Thames when I came to the -throne. Thanks be to Almighty God that we have any teachers among us -now. And therefore I command thee to do as I believe thou art willing, -to disengage thyself from worldly matters as often as thou canst, that -thou mayest apply the wisdom which God has given thee wherever thou -canst. Consider what punishments would come upon us on account of this -world, if we neither loved it [wisdom] ourselves nor suffered other -men to obtain it: we should love the name only of Christian, and very -few the virtues. When I considered all this, I remembered also that -I saw, before it had been all ravaged and burned, how the churches -throughout the whole of England stood filled with treasures and books; -and there was also a great multitude of God’s servants, but they had -very little knowledge of the books, for they could not understand -anything of them, because they were not written in their own language. -As if they had said: ‘Our forefathers, who formerly held these places, -loved wisdom, and through it they obtained wealth and bequeathed it to -us. In this we can still see their tracks, but we cannot follow them, -and therefore we have lost both the wealth and the wisdom, because we -would not incline our hearts after their example.’ When I remembered -all this, I wondered extremely that the good and wise men who were -formerly all over England, and had perfectly learned all the books, had -not wished to translate them into their own language. But again I soon -answered myself and said: ‘They did not think that men would ever be so -careless, and that learning would so decay; through that desire they -abstained from it, since they wished that the wisdom in this land might -increase with our knowledge of languages.’ Then I remembered how the -law was first known in Hebrew, and again, when the Greeks had learned -it, they translated the whole of it into their own language, and all -other books besides. And again the Romans, when they had learned them, -translated the whole of them by learned interpreters into their own -language. And also all other Christian nations translated a part of -them into their own language. Therefore it seems better to me, if you -think so, for us also to translate some books which are most needful -for all men to know into the language which we can all understand, and -for you to do as we very easily can if we have tranquillity enough, -that is, that all the youth now in England of free men, who are rich -enough to be able to devote themselves to it, be set to learn as long -as they are not fit for any other occupation, until they are able to -read English writing well: and let those be afterwards taught more in -the Latin language who are to continue in learning, and be promoted -to a higher rank. When I remembered how the knowledge of Latin had -formerly decayed throughout England, and yet many could read English -writing, I began, among other various and manifold troubles of this -kingdom, to translate into English the book which is called in Latin -_Pastoralis_, and in English _Shepherd’s Book_, sometimes word by word, -and sometimes according to the sense, as I had learned it from Plegmund -my archbishop, and Asser my bishop, and Grimbald my mass-priest, -and John my mass-priest. And when I had learned it as I could best -understand it, and as I could most clearly interpret it, I translated -it into English; and I will send a copy to every bishopric in my -kingdom; and in each there is a book-mark worth fifty mancuses.[287] -And I command in God’s name that no man take the book-mark from the -book, or the book from the monastery. It is uncertain how long there -may be such learned bishops as now, thanks be to God, there are nearly -everywhere; therefore I wish them[288] always to remain in their -places, unless the bishop wish to take them with him, or they be lent -out anywhere, or any one be making a copy from them. - - - - -APPENDIX II - - LETTER FROM FULCO, ARCHBISHOP OF RHEIMS AND PRIMATE OF THE FRANKS, - AND _LEGATUS NATUS_ OF THE APOSTOLIC SEE, TO ALFRED, THE MOST - CHRISTIAN KING OF THE ANGLES[289] - - -To Alfred, the most glorious and most Christian King of the Angles, -Fulco, by the grace of God Archbishop of Rheims, and servant of the -servants of God, wisheth both the sceptre of temporal dominion, ever -triumphant, and the eternal joys of the kingdom of heaven. - -And first of all we give thanks to our Lord God, the Father of lights, -and the Author of all good, from whom is every good gift and every -perfect gift, who by the grace of His Holy Spirit hath not only been -pleased to cause the light of His knowledge to shine in your heart, -but also even now hath vouchsafed to kindle the fire of His love, by -which at once enlightened and warmed, you earnestly tender the weal of -the kingdom committed to you from above, by warlike achievements, with -divine assistance attaining or securing peace for it, and desiring to -extend the excellency of the ecclesiastical order, which is the army -of God. Wherefore we implore the divine mercy with unwearied prayers -that He who hath moved and warmed your heart to this would give effect -to your wishes, by replenishing your desire with good things, that in -your days both peace may be multiplied to your kingdom and people, and -that ecclesiastical order, which as you say hath been disturbed in many -ways, either by the continued irruptions and attacks of the pagans, -or by lapse of years, or by the negligence of prelates, or by the -ignorance of subjects, may by your diligence and industry be speedily -reëstablished, exalted, and diffused. - -And since you wish this to be effected chiefly through our assistance, -and since from our see, over which St. Remigius, the apostle of the -Franks, presides, you ask for counsel and protection, we think that -this is not done without divine impulse. And as formerly the nation of -the Franks obtained by the same St. Remigius deliverance from manifold -error, and the knowledge of the worship of the only true God, so doth -the nation of the Angles request that it may obtain from his see and -doctrine one by whom they may be taught to avoid superstition, to cut -off superfluities, and to extirpate all such noxious things as bud -forth from violated custom or rude habits, and may learn, while they -walk through the field of the Lord, to pluck the flowers, and to be -upon their guard against the adder. - -For St. Augustine, the first bishop of your nation, sent to us by -your apostle St. Gregory, could not in a short time set forth all the -decrees of the holy apostles, nor did he think proper suddenly to -burden a rude and barbarous nation with new and strange enactments; for -he knew how to adapt himself to their infirmities, and to say with the -Apostle, ‘I have given milk to you to drink, who are babes in Christ, -and not meat’ (1 Cor. 3. 2). And as Peter and James, who were looked -upon as pillars (Gal. 2. 9), with Barnabas and Paul, and the rest who -were met together, did not wish to oppress the primitive Church, which -was flowing in from the Gentiles to the faith of Christ, with a heavier -burden than to command them to abstain from things offered to idols, -and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood (Acts -15. 29), so also do we know how matters were managed with you at the -beginning. For they required only this for training up the people in -the knowledge of God, and turning them from their former barbarous -fierceness, namely, that faithful and prudent servants should be placed -over the Lord’s household, who should be competent to give out to -each of their fellow-servants his dole of food in due season, that is, -according to the capacity of each of the hearers. But in process of -time, as the Christian religion gained strength, the holy Church felt -it neither to be her inclination nor her duty to be satisfied with -this, but to take example from the apostles themselves, their masters -and founders, who, after the doctrines of the Gospel had been set forth -and spread abroad by their heavenly Master Himself, did not deem it -superfluous and needless, but convenient and salutary, to establish the -perfect believers by frequent epistolary exhortations, and to build -them more firmly upon the solid foundation, and to impart to them more -abundantly the rule as well of manners as of faith. - -Nevertheless, she too, whether excited by adverse circumstances, or -nourished by prosperous ones, never ceased to aim at the good of her -children, whom she is daily bringing forth to Christ, and, inflamed -by the fire of the Holy Spirit, to promote their advancement, both -privately and publicly. Hence the frequent calling of councils, not -only from the neighboring cities and provinces, but also, in these -days, from regions beyond seas; hence synodal decrees so often -published; hence sacred canons, framed and consecrated by the Holy -Spirit, by which both the Catholic faith is powerfully strengthened, -and the unity of the Church’s peace is inviolably guarded, and its -order is decently regulated: which canons, as it is unlawful for any -Christian to transgress, so it is altogether wicked, in clerk and -priest especially, to be ignorant of them; the wholesome observance and -the religious handing down of which are things ever to be embraced. -Seeing that, for the reasons above stated, all these matters have -either not been fully made known to your nation, or have now for the -most part failed, it hath appeared fit and proper to your Majesty and -to your royal wisdom, by a most excellent counsel--inspired, as we -believe, from above--both to consult us, insignificant as we are, on -this matter, and to repair to the see of St. Remigius, by whose virtues -and doctrine the same see or church hath always flourished and excelled -all the churches of Gaul since his time in all piety and doctrine. - -And since you are unwilling to appear before us, when you present these -your requests, without a gift and empty-handed, your Majesty hath -deigned to honor us with a present that is both very necessary for the -time and well suited to the matter in hand; concerning which we have -both praised heavenly Providence with admiration, and have returned -no slender thanks to your royal munificence. For you have sent unto -us a present of dogs, which, of good and excellent breed, are yet -only in the body and mortal; and this you do that they may drive away -the fury of visible wolves, with which, among other scourges, wielded -against us by the righteous judgment of God, our country abounds; and -you ask us, in return, that we should send to you certain watch-dogs, -not corporeal, that is to say, not such as those with whom the prophet -finds fault, saying, ‘Dumb dogs, not able to bark’ (Isa. 56. 10), but -such as the Psalmist speaks of, ‘That the tongue of thy dogs may be -red through the same’ (Ps. 68. 23), who know how and are qualified to -make loud barkings for their Lord, and constantly to guard His flock -with most wakeful and most careful watchings, and to drive away to a -distance those most cruel wolves of unclean spirits who lie in wait to -devour souls. - -Of which number you specially demand one from us, namely, Grimbald, -priest and monk, to be sent for this office, and to preside over the -government of the pastoral charge. To whom the whole Church, which -hath nourished him, gives her testimony from his childhood, with -true faith and holy religion, and which hath advanced him by regular -steps, according to ecclesiastical custom, to the dignity of the -priesthood. We affirm openly that he is most deserving of the honor of -the episcopate, and that he is fit to teach others also. But indeed -we wished that this might rather take place in our kingdom, and we -intended some time ago, with Christ’s permission, to accomplish it in -due time, namely, that he whom we had as a faithful son we might have -as an associate in our office, and a most trustworthy assistant in -everything that pertained to the advantage of the Church. It is not -without deep sorrow--forgive us for saying so--that we suffer him to -be torn from us, and be removed from our eyes by so vast an extent -of land and sea. But as love has no perception of loss, nor faith of -injury, and no remoteness of regions can part those whom the tie of -unfeigned affection joins together, we have most willingly assented to -your request--for to you we have no power to refuse anything--nor do -we grudge him to you, whose advantage we rejoice in as much as if it -were our own, and whose profit we count as ours: for we know that in -every place one only God is served, and that the Catholic and Apostolic -Church is one, whether it be at Rome or in the parts beyond the sea. - -It is our duty, then, to make him over to you canonically; and it is -your duty to receive him reverentially, that is to say, in such way and -mode as may best conduce to the glory of your kingdom, to the honor -of the Church and our prelacy; and to send him to you along with his -electors, and with certain nobles and great personages of your kingdom, -as well bishops, presbyters, deacons, as religious laymen also, who -with their own lips promise and declare to us in the presence of our -whole church that they will treat him with fitting respect during the -whole course of his life, and that they will inviolably keep with the -strictest care the canonical decrees and the rules of the Church, -handed down to the Church by the apostles and by apostolic men, such -as they could then hear from us, and afterwards learn from him their -pastor and teacher, according to the form delivered by us to him. Which -when they shall have done, with the divine blessing and the authority -of St. Remigius, by our ministry and the laying on of hands, according -to the custom of the Church, receiving him properly ordained, and in -all things fully instructed, let them conduct him with due honor to his -own seat, glad and cheerful themselves that they are always to enjoy -his protection, and constantly to be instructed by his teaching and -example. - -And as the members feel a concern for each other, and when even one -rejoices they rejoice with it, or if even one suffer all the other -members sympathize with it, we again earnestly and specially commend -him to your Royal Highness and to your most provident goodness, that -he may be always permitted, with unfettered authority, without any -gainsaying, to teach and to carry into effect whatever he may discover -to be fit and useful for the honor of the Church and the instruction -of your people, according to the authority of the canons and the -custom of our Church, lest, haply--which God forbid!--any one, under -the instigation of the devil, being moved by the impulse of spite and -malevolence, should excite controversy or raise sedition against him. -But should this happen, it will be your duty then to make special -provision against this, and by all means to discourage by your royal -censure all such persons, if they should chance to show themselves, and -check barbaric rudeness by the curb of your authority; and it will be -his duty always to consult for the salvation of the people committed to -his pastoral skill, and rather to draw all men after him by love than -to drive them by fear. - -May you, most illustrious, most religious, and most invincible king, -ever rejoice and flourish in Christ the Lord of lords. - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] Based on the _Chronicle_ under 855. - -[2] MS. _Cudam_. So always, but see the _Chronicle_. - -[3] Bede, _Eccl. Hist._ 3. 7: ‘The West Saxons, formerly called -Gewissae.’ Plummer comments in his edition, 2. 89: ‘It is probably -connected with the “visi” of “Visigoths,” meaning “west,” and hence -would indicate the western confederation of Saxon tribes; ... “Gewis” -is probably an eponymous hero manufactured out of the tribe-name.’ The -_gw_ of _Gegwis_ is a Welsh peculiarity (Stevenson). - -[4] MS., Stev. _Seth_ (but Stevenson suggests _Sceaf_ in his variants, -referring to the _Chronicle_ under 855). - -[5] MS. _Cainan_, but see Gen. 5. 12 in R. V. - -[6] Partly from the _Chronicle_, but the whole account of Alfred’s -father and mother is original. - -[7] From the _Chronicle_ under 530 and 534. - -[8] Unidentified. - -[9] From the _Chronicle_. - -[10] Possibly Wigborough, in the parish of South Petherton in -Somersetshire (Stevenson). - -[11] Minster in Sheppey, founded by St. Sexburh in the seventh century; -it disappeared during the Danish ravages (Stevenson). - -[12] From the _Chronicle_. - -[13] MS. _Cantwariorum civitatem_; Chron. _Cantwaraburg_. - -[14] Based upon the _Chronicle_. - -[15] Stevenson is inclined to reject this customary identification with -Oakley, in Surrey. - -[16] The source--the _Chronicle_--says: ‘And there made the greatest -slaughter among the heathen army that we have heard reported to the -present day.’ - -[17] From the _Chronicle_. - -[18] Mainly from the _Chronicle_. - -[19] The ‘North Welsh’ of the _Chronicle_. - -[20] Based upon the _Chronicle_. - -[21] MS. _in regem_. - -[22] MS. _infantem_. - -[23] ‘A letter from the pope to Alfred’s father, regarding the ceremony -at Rome, has been fortunately preserved for us in a twelfth-century -collection of papal letters, now in the British Museum.... The letter -is as follows: “_Edeluulfo, regi Anglorum_ [marginal direction for -rubricator]. <F>ilium vestrum Erfred, quem hoc in tempore ad Sanctorum -Apostolorum limina destinare curastis, benigne suscepimus, et, quasi -spiritalem filium consulatus cingulo <cinguli _emend. Ewald_> honore -vestimentisque, ut mos est Romanis consulibus, decoravimus, eo quod in -nostris se tradidit manibus”’ (Stevenson). The _Chronicle_ has: ‘... -consecrated him as king, and took him as bishop-son.’ See p. 29. - -[24] Based upon the _Chronicle_. - -[25] Thanet. - -[26] From the _Chronicle_. - -[27] Based upon the _Chronicle_. - -[28] Charles the Bald. - -[29] Original. - -[30] Comprising Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. - -[31] Chiefly original. - -[32] From the _Chronicle_. - -[33] Prudentius of Troyes (in _Annales Bertiniani_, an. 856, ed. Waitz, -p. 47), says of Bishop Hincmar: ‘Eam ... reginæ nomine insignit, quod -sibi suæque genti eatenus fuerat insuetum.’ - -[34] Original. - -[35] Offa’s Dike; it extended from the mouth of the Dee to that of the -Severn. - -[36] Original. - -[37] Charlemagne. - -[38] ‘Pavia was on the road to Rome, and was hence frequented by -English pilgrims on their journey to the latter’ (Stevenson). The -_Chronicle_ says under 888: ‘Queen Æthelswith, who was King Alfred’s -sister, died; _and her body lies at Pavia_.’ ‘With this story of -Eadburh’s begging in that city we may compare the statement of St. -Boniface, written about 747, as to the presence of English prostitutes -or adulteresses in the cities of Lombardy, Frankland, or Gaul (Dümmler, -_Epistolæ Karolini Ævi_ 1. 355; Haddan and Stubbs, _Councils_ 3. 381). -At the date of this letter the Lombards still spoke their native -Germanic tongue, and it is probable that as late as Eadburh’s time it -was still the predominant speech in Lombardy’ (Stevenson). - -[39] Mostly original. - -[40] In Alfred’s will (_Cart. Sax._ 2. 177. 9) he refers to this as -‘Aþulfes cinges yrfegewrit’ (Stevenson). - -[41] That is, for the good of his soul. - -[42] Lat. _manentibus_. - -[43] A mancus was thirty pence, one-eighth of a pound. - -[44] Original. - -[45] From Florence of Worcester. The _Annals of St. Neots_ have: ‘and -buried at Steyning’ (_Stemrugam_). - -[46] This last statement is incorrect. - -[47] From the _Chronicle_ under 860. As Æthelbert was already in -possession of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, it should rather be said that -he added Wessex. - -[48] From the _Chronicle_ under 860. - -[49] Chiefly from the _Chronicle_ under 865 and 866. - -[50] The earlier part from the _Chronicle_. - -[51] Probably meaning the mouths of the Rhine (Stevenson). - -[52] Original. - -[53] _Curto_, a word showing Frankish influence. - -[54] Original. Stevenson would refer this event to a date earlier than -855. - -[55] From Florence of Worcester. - -[56] So Pauli and Stevenson interpret _legit_. - -[57] Original. - -[58] Cf. chap. 88. - -[59] The liberal arts were seven, consisting of the _trivium_--grammar, -logic, and rhetoric--and the _quadrivium_--arithmetic, geometry, -music, and astronomy. This course of study was introduced in the sixth -century. Asser here employs the singular, _artem_, which might be -translated by ‘education.’ - -[60] See Alfred’s own statement in Appendix I, p. 69. - -[61] Original. - -[62] Alfred says (Preface to the _Pastoral Care_): ‘Thanks be to -Almighty God that we have any teachers among us now.’ In this same -Preface he mentions, among those who aided him in the translation, -Archbishop Plegmund, Bishop Asser, our author, and the two priests -Grimbold and John. Cf. chaps. 77, 78, 79, 81, 88, and Appendix I, p. 71. - -[63] Stevenson brackets this clause. - -[64] Mostly from the _Chronicle_. - -[65] This clause must refer to the first line of the chapter, as there -is no previous mention of the Northumbrians. - -[66] From the _Chronicle_. - -[67] Original. - -[68] ‘_Subarravit_, formed from _sub_ and _arrha_, represents literally -the English verb _wed_, which refers to the giving of security upon the -engagement of marriage.... [It] is glossed by _beweddian_ in Napier’s -_Old English Glosses_’ (Stevenson). - -[69] William of Malmesbury calls her Æthelswith. - -[70] Of the Gaini nothing is known. - -[71] Largely from the _Chronicle_. - -[72] ‘A compound of _tig_ (Modern Welsh _tŷ_, “house”), and -_guocobauc_ (Modern Welsh _gogofawg_), an adjective derived from -_gogof_, “cave.” ... The name ... is certainly applicable to -Nottingham, which has long been famous for the houses excavated out -of the soft sandstone upon which it stands’ (Stevenson). The word -Nottingham itself, however, has not this meaning. - -[73] Here and elsewhere in the text often spelled Æthered. - -[74] From the _Chronicle_. - -[75] In Norfolk. - -[76] Mostly from the _Chronicle_. - -[77] Chiefly from the _Chronicle_. - -[78] Five and one-half miles southwest of Reading. - -[79] Added from Florence of Worcester by Stevenson. - -[80] Chiefly from the _Chronicle_. - -[81] The Berkshire Downs (Stevenson). - -[82] Stevenson is convinced that Æscesdun, though interpreted as ‘mons -fraxini,’ cannot mean ‘the hill of the ash,’ but that Ash is here a -man’s name. - -[83] Perhaps _mediam_ is a scribal error for _unam_ or _primam_ -(Stevenson). - -[84] There is a note on the Germanic shield-wall in my edition of -_Judith_ (305ª), in the Belles Lettres Series. - -[85] All original except final clause. - -[86] Supplied by Stevenson from Florence of Worcester. - -[87] Mostly original. - -[88] Probably Reading. - -[89] From the _Chronicle_. - -[90] Before this sentence occurs the following in the Latin: _Quibus -cum talia præsentis vitæ dispendia alienigenis perperam quærentibus -non sufficerent._ This may represent a sentence in the author’s draft -that was intended, owing to change of construction, to be omitted -(Stevenson). - -[91] In Hampshire. - -[92] Mostly from the _Chronicle_. - -[93] In Dorsetshire. - -[94] Paraphrased and amplified from the _Chronicle_. - -[95] A tributary of the Nadder, which it joins near Wilton. - -[96] Or, perhaps, ‘fewness,’ reading _paucitatem_ for _peraudacitatem_ -(Stevenson). - -[97] Mostly from the _Chronicle_. - -[98] From the _Chronicle_. - -[99] Chiefly from the _Chronicle_. - -[100] In Derbyshire. - -[101] Among the Germans there were Colonies (_Scholæ_) of the Frisians, -Franks, and Lombards, as well as of the Saxons. - -[102] Now Santo Spirito in Sassia, near the Vatican. - -[103] From the _Chronicle_. - -[104] The valley of the Clyde. - -[105] Here spelled Gothrum. - -[106] From the _Chronicle_. - -[107] Chiefly from the _Chronicle_. - -[108] In Dorsetshire. - -[109] Dorchester. - -[110] For the usual Dornsæte. - -[111] Here the _Chronicle_ has ‘on the holy arm-ring,’ on which the -Danes, it would seem, were accustomed to swear. - -[112] Here the _Chronicle_ has: ‘They, the mounted army, stole away -from the fierd [the English forces] in the night into Exeter.’ This, of -course, is the true account, while the statement in Asser is incredible. - -[113] Exe. - -[114] From the _Chronicle_. - -[115] See chap. 46. - -[116] Largely from the _Chronicle_. - -[117] At this point Archbishop Parker interpolated, from the _Annals -of St. Neots_, the story of Alfred and the cakes. This story, however, -cannot be proved to antedate the Norman Conquest. - -[118] The first clause from the _Chronicle_; the rest original. - -[119] Name unknown. - -[120] Hingwar. - -[121] Or South Wales. See chap. 80. - -[122] Site unknown. - -[123] Mostly from the _Chronicle_. - -[124] In Somersetshire. - -[125] Unknown. - -[126] Or perhaps better, Iglea; see Stevenson’s note on the word, -p. 270 of his edition. He says: ‘It is probably an older name of -Southleigh Wood, or of part of it.’ - -[127] Based upon the _Chronicle_. - -[128] In Wiltshire. - -[129] Supplied by Stevenson from the _Chronicle_. - -[130] Properly, as one of thirty, according to the _Chronicle_. - -[131] Chrism is the term employed for the mixture of oil and balsam -employed in the rite of confirmation, and sometimes for the ceremony -of confirmation itself. In the early church, this ceremony immediately -followed baptism, and was performed by the laying on of hands. In the -Roman church it is obligatory on all Catholics, and no baptism is -theoretically complete without it. It is performed by a bishop (only -exceptionally by a priest). The ceremony begins with the bishop’s -rising and facing the person or persons to be confirmed, his pastoral -staff in his hand, and saying: ‘May the Holy Ghost come upon you, and -the power of the Holy Ghost keep you from sins’ (_Handbook to Christian -and Ecclesiastical Rome: Liturgy in Rome_, London, 1897, pp. 169–171). -The rite is described in Egbert’s _Pontifical_, which may be taken -as representing the custom in the church of Alfred’s time. Lingard -says (_Anglo-Saxon Church_, London, 1858, 1. 297): ‘According to that -pontifical, the bishop prayed thus: “Almighty and Everlasting God, who -hast granted to this thy servant to be born again of water and the Holy -Ghost, and hast given to him remission of his sins, send down upon him -thy sevenfold Holy Spirit, the Paraclete from heaven, Amen. Give to him -the spirit of wisdom and understanding, Amen--the spirit of counsel and -fortitude, Amen--the spirit of knowledge and piety, Amen. Fill him with -the spirit of the fear of God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and mercifully -sign him with the sign of the holy cross for life eternal.” The bishop -then marked his forehead with chrism, and proceeded thus: “Receive this -sign of the holy cross with the chrism of salvation in Christ Jesus -unto life eternal.” The head was then bound with a fillet of new linen -to be worn seven days, and the bishop resumed: “O God, who didst give -thy Holy Spirit to thine apostles, that by them and their successors he -might be given to the rest of the faithful, look down on the ministry -of our lowliness, and grant that into the heart of him whose forehead -we have this day anointed, and confirmed with the sign of the cross, -thy Holy Spirit may descend; and that, dwelling therein, he may make it -the temple of his glory, through Christ our Lord.” The confirmed then -received the episcopal blessing, and communicated during the mass.’ - -The chrism-loosing was the ceremony of unbinding the fillet, apparently. - -[132] MS. _ædificia_; Stevenson, _beneficia_. - -[133] Chiefly from the _Chronicle_. - -[134] Gloucester, Worcester, etc. - -[135] Mostly from the _Chronicle_. - -[136] Mostly from the _Chronicle_. - -[137] See Stevenson’s interesting note. - -[138] From the _Chronicle_. - -[139] _Ibid._ - -[140] _Ibid._ - -[141] _Ibid._ - -[142] Mostly from the _Chronicle_. - -[143] Largely from the _Chronicle_. - -[144] Mostly from the _Chronicle_. - -[145] Cf. chap. 60. - -[146] The MS. has _dormiret_, but perhaps for _domum iret_, since the -_Chronicle_ has _hāmweard wendon_ (Stevenson); so perhaps we should -read ‘was on its way home.’ - -[147] Chiefly from the _Chronicle_. - -[148] Louis the Stammerer. - -[149] Cf. chap. 59. - -[150] Charles the Bald. - -[151] Cf. chaps. 11 and 13. - -[152] From the _Chronicle_. - -[153] From Duisburg, about January, 884 (Stevenson). - -[154] There was a battle in Frisia, about December, 884, and a later -one in Saxony (Stevenson). - -[155] Mainly from the _Chronicle_. - -[156] The North Sea. - -[157] Brittany. - -[158] Louis the German. - -[159] Louis the Pious. - -[160] Mainly from the _Chronicle_. - -[161] From the _Chronicle_. - -[162] Based upon the preface to Eginhard’s _Life of Charlemagne_. - -[163] See chap. 21. - -[164] Original. - -[165] Perhaps the hemorrhoids. - -[166] Interpolated some time between 893 and 1000 A.D. - -[167] In Alfred’s prayer at the end of his translation of Boethius, -one of the petitions is: ‘Deliver me from foul lust and from all -unrighteousness.’ - -[168] Original. - -[169] This is the beginning of a corrupt sentence, of which nothing has -been made. - -[170] MS. _Eadredo_. - -[171] See Appendix I, p. 70. - -[172] See chaps. 24 and 88. - -[173] Original. - -[174] Cf. Alfred’s jewel, and the book upon it by Professor Earle. - -[175] See chaps. 23 and 75. - -[176] Our first accounts of Arctic exploration are from his pen. For -his interest in geographical discovery see the narratives of Ohthere -and Wulfstan, in his translation of Orosius. In 897, according to the -_Chronicle_, he was experimenting with new war-galleys: ‘They were -almost twice as long as the others. Some had sixty oars, some more. -They were swifter, steadier, and higher than the others, and were -built, not on a Frisian or Danish model, but according to his personal -notions of their utility.’ - -[177] There were Frisians in his fleet in 897 (_Chronicle_). - -[178] Northmen; such were Ohthere and Wulfstan (see note 1, above). - -[179] Three such came to him in 891 (_Chronicle_). - -[180] MS. _Armorici_. See chap. 102. - -[181] Or, ‘degrees’; cf. p. 60. - -[182] See chap. 101. - -[183] Matt. 6. 33. - -[184] Ps. 85. 8. - -[185] Cf. chap. 88; Stevenson gives a number of parallels from ancient -and mediæval authors, beginning with Lucretius (3. 9) and Seneca -(_Epist._ 84.3). - -[186] Cf. chap. 24. - -[187] Original. - -[188] See Appendix I, p. 69. In Alfred’s will he gives Werfrith -(Wærferth) a hundred marks. - -[189] See Appendix I, p. 71. - -[190] Perhaps Bishop of Ramsbury (909 A.D.). The later MSS. of the -_Chronicle_ say, under the year 883: ‘And in the same year Sighelm and -Æthelstan took to Rome the alms that King Alfred sent, and also to -India to St. Thomas’ and St. Bartholomew’s.’ - -[191] Or, ‘chaplains.’ See p. 61, note 6. - -[192] Original. - -[193] Probably from the monastery of St. Bertin, at St. Omer -(Pas-de-Calais). See Appendix I, p. 71, and Appendix II, pp. 75 ff. - -[194] Cf. chap. 94, and Appendix I, p. 71. - -[195] Original. - -[196] Perhaps Dean, near Eastbourne, in Sussex. - -[197] Five miles southwest of Chepstow. ‘There was an abbey there, -where a traveling ecclesiastic would be likely to stay, and it was on -the great Roman road to South Wales, by which a traveler from Wessex to -St. Davids would proceed’ (Stevenson). - -[198] The MS. seems to be corrupt at this point, so that what I have -given is a loose conjectural rendering of the Latin: ... _et illa -adjuvaretur per rudimenta Sancti Dequi in omni causa, tamen pro -viribus_. - -[199] Original. - -[200] Pembrokeshire and part of Carmarthenshire. - -[201] ‘Rhodri Mawr (the Great), King of Gwyneth, who acquired the rule -of the whole of North and Mid-Wales and Cardigan’ (Stevenson). - -[202] Old name of Glamorgan and part of Monmouthshire. - -[203] In Monmouthshire. - -[204] Alfred. - -[205] See chaps. 8 and 56. - -[206] Original. - -[207] Perhaps Landford in Wiltshire. - -[208] In Alfred’s Preface to his translation of Boethius we are told: -‘[He made this translation as well as he could], considering the -various and manifold worldly cares that oft troubled him both in mind -and body.’ The similarity of phrase is striking. - -[209] Both in Somersetshire; these monasteries are otherwise unknown. - -[210] Largely from the _Chronicle_. - -[211] Largely from the _Chronicle_. - -[212] Namely, Alfred. - -[213] A mistranslation from the _Chronicle_; it should read, ‘were not -in captivity,’ etc. - -[214] Here follows Camden’s famous (forged?) interpolation about -Grimbald and Oxford. - -[215] Much expanded from the _Chronicle_. - -[216] From the _Chronicle_. - -[217] Charles the Fat. - -[218] Burgundy. - -[219] Chiefly from the _Chronicle_. - -[220] Cf. chap. 84. - -[221] Original. - -[222] Original. - -[223] Cf. chap. 24. - -[224] Author unknown. - -[225] Cf. chap. 76. - -[226] Original. - -[227] Luke 23. 42. - -[228] The following phrases, introduced at this point, seem to be -corrupt: _Hic aut aliter, quamvis dissimili modo, in regia potestate._ - -[229] November 11. - -[230] Alfred calls the passages which he translated from St. -Augustine’s _Soliloquies_ by the name of ‘flowers’ or ‘blossoms’ -(_blōstman_). See Hargrove’s edition (_Yale Studies in English_ XIII), -and his version into modern English (_Yale Studies in English_ XXII). - -[231] The application of the word to a work of St. Augustine’s gave it -great currency in the Frankish Latin of the period. - -[232] The Handbook seems to have been known to William of Malmesbury -(d. 1143); cf. his _Gesta Pontificum_, pp. 333, 336. - -[233] Original. - -[234] Unknown. - -[235] Cf. note 5, chap. 80. - -[236] ... _unicuique ubicumque male habet_. - -[237] Original. - -[238] Cf. chap. 74. - -[239] MS. corrupt: _De cotidiana nationum_. - -[240] This makes no sense; yet the Latin is: _quæ in Tyrreno mari usque -ultimum Hiberniæ finem habitant_. - -[241] Cf. chap. 70. - -[242] Perhaps Elias III, patriarch from about 879 to 907; the MS. -reads _Abel_. Stevenson’s emendation is supported by the fact that -certain medical recipes are related to have been sent to Alfred by the -patriarch Elias (Cockayne, _Leechdoms_ 2. 290). - -[243] Stevenson says: ‘Possibly he intended to refer to the use of -the precious metals in sacred edifices. We are told, on the doubtful -authority of William of Malmesbury, that King Ine built a chapel of -gold and silver at Glastonbury. A ninth-century writer records that -Ansegis, abbot of Fontenelle, 806–833, partly decorated a spire of -the abbey with gilt metal, and another writer of that period mentions -the golden doors of the “basilica” of St. Alban in his description of -the imperial palace at Ingelheim. Giraldus Cambrensis ascribes the -use of golden roofs or roof-crests to the Romans at Caerleon-on-Usk. -The idea that a king’s palace ought to be decorated with the precious -metals is probably an outcome of the late Roman rhetoric and Byzantine -magnificence.’ - -[244] The early part of the sentence is corrupt in the MS. - -[245] The figure is found as early as Sophocles and Aristophanes. - -[246] Original. - -[247] This corresponds to the OE. _sāwle þearf_. - -[248] The Latin has: _inter cetera diuturna et nocturna bona_. -Stevenson does not emend, but it seems as though we should read -_diurna_. Compare, for example, in Stevenson’s edition, =78.= 14, 35, -39; =99.= 10; =100.= 11; =103.= 9. - -[249] Cf. chap. 55. The second monastery was for nuns, and at -Shaftesbury; see chap. 98. - -[250] Original. - -[251] Original. - -[252] Cf. chap. 78. - -[253] Cf. chap. 78. - -[254] Original. - -[255] Supplied by Stevenson. - -[256] Original. - -[257] Matt. 27. 64. - -[258] Original. - -[259] Original. - -[260] Cf. chap. 92. - -[261] Original. - -[262] This passage is somewhat corrupt. - -[263] Gen. 4. 7, in the old Latin version, following the Septuagint. - -[264] Prov. 21. 1. - -[265] Original. - -[266] Cf. the _Chronicle_ under 894: ‘The King had divided his forces -into two, so that one half was constantly at home, the other half in -the field.’ - -[267] Original. - -[268] Or, ‘rank’ (_dignitatem_), as in line 3 of the chapter. - -[269] 2 Cor. 9. 7. - -[270] Original. - -[271] Incorrectly quoted from the _Pastoral Care_ 3. 20: ‘Ne quædam -quibus nulla, ne nulla quibus quædam, ne multa quibus pauca, ne pauca -præbeant quibus impendere multa debuerunt.’ - -[272] See chaps. 75 and 76. - -[273] See chaps. 74 and 81. - -[274] See chaps. 78 and 94. - -[275] Original. - -[276] Not from the Bible, but from St. Augustine’s _Enchiridion de -Fide_, chap. 20: ‘Qui enim vult ordinate dare eleemosynam, a se ipso -debet incipere.’ - -[277] Reading _divitiis_ for the _divinis_ of the text. - -[278] Cf. chap. 99. - -[279] Original. - -[280] Or, ‘chaplains.’ See p. 41, note 5. - -[281] ‘As these six candles weighed 72 pennyweights, each one was of -the weight of 12d. The weight of the OE. penny was 22½ Troy grains, -so that each candle would weigh roughly ⅝ oz. avoirdupois. As the -candles were twelve inches long, they would be very thin in proportion -to their length. A modern beeswax candle burns at a considerably -quicker rate than is here assumed, but we do not think this condemns -the figures given in this chapter as imaginary. The candle of Alfred’s -time was probably not moulded, and the wick would not be made of -cotton, as in the modern ones. Rushes, tow, and the hards of flax were -used for wicks. Aldhelm refers to the use of linen or flax wicks, -but also to those made of rushes. It is therefore hardly possible to -reproduce the candles used by Alfred for the purpose of testing this -chapter’ (Stevenson). - -[282] Reading _fenestras_ for the _fenestrarum_ of the text. - -[283] Meanings doubtful. - -[284] ‘Ducange objected that horn lanterns were known to the Greeks -and Romans long before Alfred’s time. But the passages adduced by -Salmasius, to whom he refers, and such others as we have been able to -gather, do not clearly describe a horn lantern lit by a candle, but -rather screens formed of horn to place round oil lamps. It is possible, -therefore, that Alfred may really be the inventor of the horn lantern -as we know it. The door in the side, which would be rendered necessary -by the change of the candles every four hours, is here described, and -seems to be a new feature’ (Stevenson). - -[285] Original. - -[286] The name of the diocese and of the bishop of course varied in the -different copies. - -[287] Cf. p. 11, note 2. - -[288] The books. - -[289] From Rev. Joseph Stevenson’s translation of _The Book of Hyde_, -in _Church Historians of England_ (London, 1854), Vol. 2, Part 2, pp. -499–503. The translator states that the text of the letter printed by -Wise in his edition of Asser (see Stevenson’s edition of Asser, p. 308) -‘has been employed in correcting the many obscurities and errors of the -copy inserted in the _Liber de Hida_.’ Of the letter our editor says: -‘It ... seems to be genuine. There is no conceivable motive for forging -such a letter. We can discover no grounds for Pauli’s condemnation -of it.... As Malmesbury, _Gesta Regum_, c. 122 (p. 130), states that -Grimbald was sent to Alfred at his request by the Archbishop of Rheims, -he would seem to have been acquainted with this letter.’ - - - - -INDEX - -[The numbers refer to pages.] - - - Aclea, 4 - - Adam, 2 - - Æglea, 78 - - Ælfthryth, 37, 38 - - Ælla, 16 - - Æthelbald, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12 - - Æthelbert, 12, 13 - - Æthelflæd, 37 - - Æthelgivu, 37, 58 - - Æthelhelm, 48 - - Æthelred (King of Wessex), 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 - - Æthelred (Alfred’s father-in-law), 17 - - Æthelred (Alfred’s son-in-law), 37, 44, 45, 47 - - Æthelstan (under-king of Kent), 4 - - Æthelstan (priest), 41 - - Æthelward, 37 - - Æthelwulf (King of Wessex), 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 33 - - Æthelwulf (Ealdorman of Berkshire), 12, 19 - - Alemanni, 34 - - Alfred, 1, _and passim_ - - Aller, 29 - - Anarawd, 45 - - Angles, 19, 47, 72. - _See also_ East Angles - - Anglo-Saxons, 1, 8, 13, 31, 32, 34, 35, 47, 48. - _See also_ East Saxons, Saxons, South Saxons, West Saxons - - Anwind, 25 - - Armorica, 34. - _See also_ Brittany - - Arnolf, 47, 48 - - Ashdown, 20, 22 - - Ash’s Hill, 20 - - Asser, 1, [8, 10, 13–15, 17, 20, 21, 27, 34, 35, 42–46, 48, 49, 51, - 52], 71 - - Athelney, 28, 29, 54 - - Augustine, 73 - - Avon, 26 - - - Bagsecg, 22 - - Banwell, 46 - - Barnabas, 73 - - Basing, 22 - - Beaw, 2 - - Bedwig, 2 - - Beldeag, 2 - - Beorhtric, 8, 9 - - Beorhtwulf, 3 - - Berengar, 48 - - Berkshire, 1, 12, 19 - - Berroc Wood, 1 - - Brecknock, 44 - - Bretons, 39 - - Britain, 1, 13, 26, 31, 32 - - British, 3 - - Brittany, 60. - _See also_ Armorica - - Brockmail, 44 - - Brond, 2 - - Burgred, 4, 5, 18, 24 - - - Cærwent, 43 - - Cairceri, 30 - - Cairwisc, 26 - - Cambridge, 25 - - Canterbury, 3, 18, 41 - - Carloman, 33 - - Ceawlin, 1 - - Ceolnoth, 18 - - Ceolwald, 1 - - Ceolwulf, 25, 26 - - Ceorl, 3 - - Cerdic, 1, 3 - - Charlemagne, Charles (the Great), 9, 34 - - Charles (the Bald), 6, 11, 33, 34, 67 - - Charles (the Fat), 47, 48 - - Charles (son of Louis the German), 34 - - Chézy, 47, 48 - - Chippenham, 5, 26, 30 - - Cirencester, 30, 31 - - Cœnred, 1 - - Coit Maur, 28 - - Condé, 32 - - Congresbury, 46 - - Cornwall, 35, 46, 60 - - Creoda, 1 - - Cutha, 1 - - Cuthwine, 1 - - Cynric, 1, 3 - - Cynwit, 27 - - - Danes, [3–5, 12, 13, 15–34, 39, 46, 47, 55] - - Danube, 13 - - David, 2 - - Dene, 42, 62 - - Devon, 3, 27 - - Dorubernia, 3 - - Durugueir, 25 - - Dyfed, 27, 44 - - - Eadburh, 8, 9, 17 - - Eafa, 1 - - Eald-Seaxum, 33 - - Ealhere, 4, 5 - - Ealhmund, 1 - - Ealhstan, 6, 17 - - Eanwulf, 6 - - East Angles, 18 - - East Anglia, 13, 16, 18, 19, 31, 32, 33, 34 - - East Frankland, 31, 32. - _See also_ Frankland - - East Saxons, 13. - _See also_ Anglo-Saxons, Saxons, South Saxons, West Saxons - - Edington, 28 - - Edmund, 18 - - Edward, 37, 38 - - Egbert, 1 - - Egbert’s Stone, 28 - - Elesa, 1 - - Elias, 52 - - England, 69, 70 - - Englefield, 19 - - English, 19, 69, 70, 71 - - Enoch, 2 - - Enosh, 2 - - Eoppa, 1 - - Esla, 1 - - Essex, 3 - - Exanceastre, 26 - - Exeter, 26, 46 - - - Fernmail, 44 - - Finn, 2 - - Fræna, 22 - - Frankland, 31, 32, 60. - _See also_ East Frankland - - Franks, 6, 7, 9, 11, 31, 33, 34, 39, 47, 68, 72, 73, 77. - _See also_ West Franks - - Frealaf, 2 - - Freawine, 1 - - Freothegar, 1 - - Frisians, 33, 39 - - Frithowald, 2 - - Frithuwulf, 2 - - Froom, 25 - - Fulco, 72 - - Fulham, 31 - - - Gaini, 17 - - Gallic, 55, 56 - - Gaul, 26, 28, 42, 60, 74 - - Gauls, 34, 39, 56 - - Geata, 2 - - Germanic, 8 - - Germany, 33 - - Geta, 2 - - Gewis, 1 - - Ghent, 31 - - Glywyssing, 44 - - Godwulf, 2 - - Goths, 3 - - Great Forest, 28 - - Greeks, 70 - - Gregory (the Great), 41, 60, 73 - - Grimbald, 42, 71, 75 - - Gueriir, 35 - - Guthrum, 25 - - Gwent, 44 - - - Halfdene, 25, 26, 27 - - Hampshire, 12, 28 - - Harold, 22 - - Hathra, 2 - - Hebrew, 70 - - Hebrews, 40 - - Helised, 44 - - Hemeid, 44 - - Heremod, 2 - - Hingwar. _See_ Inwar - - Howel, 44 - - Huda, 5 - - Humber, 16, 69 - - Hwala, 2 - - Hwicce, 31 - - - Ine, 1 - - Ingild, 1 - - Inwar, 27 - - Ireland, 52, 61 - - Irish, 39 - - Itermod, 2 - - - James (the apostle), 73 - - Jared, 2 - - Jerusalem, 52 - - Jews, 56, 57 - - John (the Old Saxon), 42, 55, 56, 57, 71 - - Judith, 6, 7, 11, 33, 34, 35 - - Jutes, 3 - - - Kenan, 2 - - Kennet, 19 - - Kent, 3, 4, 5, 12, 13, 32 - - - Lamech, 2 - - Latin, 17, 19, 26, 28, 37, 69, 70, 71 - - Leo (IV), 5 - - Leonaford, 45 - - Lindsey, 24 - - Lombardy, 48 - - London, 3, 24, 47 - - Louis (the Pious), 34 - - Louis (the German), 34 - - Louis (the Stammerer), 33 - - Louis (III), 33 - - - Mahalalel, 2 - - Marinus, 34 - - Marne, 47 - - Martin, 50 - - Medway, 32 - - Mercia, 3, 4, 8, 17, 18, 24, 26, 35, 37, 41, 47, 60 - - Mercian, 17, 35, 41 - - Mercians, 4, 5, 18, 24, 26, 41, 44, 45 - - Methuselah, 2 - - Meuse, 31 - - Middlesex, 3 - - Mid-Wales, 4 - - Mouric, 44 - - Mucill, 17 - - - Neot, 35 - - Noah, 2 - - Nobis, 44 - - Northumbria, 17, 18, 24, 25, 26, 61 - - Northumbrian, 16 - - Northumbrians, 16, 45 - - Nottingham, 17, 18 - - - Odo, 48 - - Offa, 8 - - Old Saxon, 55 - - Old Saxons, 33, 34 - - Osbern, 22 - - Osbert, 16 - - Osburh, 2 - - Oscytel, 25 - - Oslac, 2 - - Osric, 12 - - - Paris, 46, 47, 48 - - Paul, 11, 73 - - Pavia, 10 - - Pepin, 34 - - Peter, 11, 41, 73 - - Picts, 25 - - Plegmund, 41, 71 - - - Reading, 19 - - Remigius, 73, 74, 76 - - Repton, 24, 25 - - Rheims, 72 - - Rhine, 48 - - Rhodri, 44, 45 - - Ris, 44 - - Rochester, 32 - - Romans, 70 - - Rome, 1, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 24, 48, 76 - - Rudolf, 48 - - Ruim, 5 - - - St. Davids, 44 - - Sandwich, 4 - - Saxon, 5, 7, 13, 14, 25, 26, 32, 33, 37, 38, 41, 42, 46 - - Saxon Colony, 24, 34 - - Saxons, 4, 9, 23, 24, 32, 33, 47, 48. - _See also_ Anglo-Saxons, East Saxons, Old Saxons, South Saxons, - West Saxons - - Sceaf, 2 - - Sceldwea, 2 - - Scheldt, 32 - - Sedulius, 2 - - Seine, 46, 47 - - Selwood (Forest), 6, 28 - - Seth, 2 - - Severn, 42 - - Shaftesbury, 58 - - Sheppey, 3, 6 - - Sherborne, 6, 12, 17 - - Sidroc the Elder, 22 - - Sidroc the Younger, 22 - - Solomon, 40, 59 - - Somerset(shire), 6, 27, 28 - - South Saxons, 42. - _See also_ Anglo-Saxons, East Saxons, Saxons, West Saxons - - South Wales, 44 - - Stour, 33 - - Strathclyde, 25 - - Stuf, 3 - - Surrey, 4, 5, 12 - - Sussex, 12, 42 - - - Tætwa, 2 - - Tarrant, 25 - - Tenet, 5. - _See also_ Thanet - - Teudubr, 44 - - Thames, 3, 4, 19, 31, 69 - - Thanet, 12. - _See also_ Tenet - - Thetford, 18 - - Thornsæta, 25 - - Tigguocobauc, 17 - - Tyne, 25 - - Tyrrhene Sea, 34, 52 - - - Wærferth, 69. - _See also_ Werfrith - - Wales, 4, 8, 43, 44, 60. - _See also_ Mid-Wales, South Wales, Western Wales - - Wantage, 1 - - Wareham, 25 - - Wedmore, 29 - - Welsh, 1, 5, 17, 25, 26, 28, 30, 39 - - Werfrith, 41. - _See also_ Wærferth - - Werwulf, 41 - - Wessex, 7, 8, 42, 44, 46, 60. - _See also_ West Saxon(s) - - Western Wales, 42 - - West Franks, 33, 34, 46 - - West Saxon, 13 - - West Saxons, 1, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 33, 41. - _See also_ Anglo-Saxons, East Saxons, Saxons, South Saxons, Wessex - - Wicganbeorg, 3 - - Wido, 48 - - Wig, 1 - - Wight, Isle of, 3 - - Wihtgar, 3 - - Wihtgaraburg, 3 - - Wiley, 23 - - Wilton, 23 - - Wiltshire, 26, 28, 48 - - Wimborne Minster, 22 - - Winchester, 11, 12 - - Wisc, 26 - - Woden, 2 - - Worcester, 41 - - - Yonne, 47 - - York, 16, 18 - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they -were not changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation -marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left -unbalanced. - -Footnotes, originally at the bottoms of pages, have been collected, -renumbered, and moved to precede the Index. - -The index was not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page -references. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Asser's Life of Alfred, by John Asser - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASSER'S LIFE OF ALFRED *** - -***** This file should be named 63384-0.txt or 63384-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Asser's Life of Alfred - -Author: John Asser - -Translator: Albert S. Cook - -Release Date: October 6, 2020 [EBook #63384] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASSER'S LIFE OF ALFRED *** - - - - -Produced by Charlie Howard and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<h1 class="vspace wspace"> -ASSER’S<br /> -<span class="larger">LIFE OF KING ALFRED</span></h1> - -<div class="center wspace"> -<p class="p4">TRANSLATED FROM THE TEXT OF -STEVENSON’S EDITION</p> - -<p class="p4 vspace">BY<br /> -ALBERT S. COOK</p> - -<p class="p1 smaller"><span class="smcap">Professor of the English Language and Literature in -Yale University</span></p> - -<p class="p4 vspace wspace"><span class="larger">GINN & COMPANY</span><br /> -<span class="smaller">BOSTON · NEW YORK · CHICAGO · LONDON</span> -</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="newpage p4 center smaller"> -<p class="vspace"> -<span class="smcap">Copyright</span>, 1906<br /> -<span class="smcap">By</span> ALBERT S. COOK<br /> -ALL RIGHTS RESERVED</p> - -<p class="p2">66.1</p> - -<p class="p4 wspace"><span class="bold bb">The Athenæum Press</span><br /> -GINN & COMPANY · PROPRIETORS<br /> -· BOSTON · U.S.A. -</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p class="newpage p4 center vspace wspace larger"> -TO THE FRIENDS<br /> -OF<br /> -HONEST AND CAPABLE GOVERNMENT<br /> -IN AMERICA -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">v</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2> -</div> - -<p>The issue of Stevenson’s long and eagerly expected -edition of Asser’s <i>Life of King Alfred</i> has provided an -opportunity to supply the ever increasing number of the -great king’s admirers with a more satisfactory rendering -into English of this, perhaps the most precious document, -notwithstanding all its faults, for the comprehension of his -life and character.</p> - -<p>The authenticity of the Life was impugned by Thomas -Wright in 1841, by Sir Henry Howorth in 1876–77, and -by an unknown writer in 1898, and it had become somewhat -the fashion to regard it as a production of a later period, -and therefore entitled to but little credence. The doubts -as to its authenticity have been satisfactorily dispelled by -the two eminent scholars who have most recently discussed -the difficulties, Plummer and Stevenson.</p> - -<p>The former, in his <i>Life and Times of Alfred the Great</i>, -Oxford, 1902, says (p. 52): ‘The work which bears -Asser’s name cannot be later than 974, and the attempt to -treat it as a forgery of the eleventh or twelfth century -must be regarded as having broken down. I may add that -I started with a strong prejudice against the authenticity -of Asser, so that my conclusions have at any rate been -impartially arrived at.’ The latter, in his noble edition -(Oxford, 1904), remarks (p. vii): ‘In discussing the work -I have attempted to approach it without any bias for or -against it, and throughout my endeavor has been to subject -every portion of it to as searching an examination as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">vi</span> -my knowledge and critical powers would permit. The net -result has been to convince me that, although there may be -no very definite proof that the work was written by Bishop -Asser in the lifetime of King Alfred, there is no anachronism -or other proof that it is a spurious compilation -of later date. The serious charges brought against its -authenticity break down altogether under examination, -while there remain several features that point with varying -strength to the conclusion that it is, despite its difficulties -and corruptions, really a work of the time it purports -to be. This result is confirmed by the important corroboration -of some of its statements by contemporary Frankish -chroniclers. Thus the profession of belief in its authenticity -by such eminent historians as Kemble, Pauli, Stubbs, -and Freeman agrees with my own conclusion.’</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding their general rehabilitation of the work, -however, neither critic is prepared to trust it implicitly. -Plummer says (p. 52): ‘On the whole, then, Asser is an -authority to be used with criticism and caution; partly -because we have always to be alive to the possibility of -interpolation, partly because the writer’s Celtic imagination -is apt to run away with him.’ And thus Stevenson (p. cxxx): -‘The work still presents some difficulties. Carelessness of -transcription may possibly explain those that are merely -verbal, but there still remain certain passages that lay the -author open to the charge of exaggeration, such as his mention -of gold-covered and silver-covered buildings, if that be -the literal meaning of the passage, and his statement that -Alfred might, if he had chosen, have been king before his -elder brother Æthelred, with whom, it is clear, he was on -most intimate terms.’</p> - -<p>The style of the book is not uniform. The passages -translated from the <i>Chronicle</i> are simpler, while in the -more original parts the author displays an unfortunate -tendency to a turgid and at times bombastic manner of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">vii</span> -writing. Indeed, it displays, in many passages, the traits of -that Hesperic Latinity which, invented or made fashionable -in the sixth century, probably by a British monk in -the southwestern part of England, was more or less current -in England from the time of Aldhelm until the Norman -Conquest. This Hesperic, or Celtic, Latinity has been compared -to the mock euphuism of Sir Piercie Shafton in -Scott’s <i>Monastery</i> (Professor H. A. Strong, in <i>American -Journal of Philology</i> 26. 205), and may be illustrated by -Professor Strong’s translation into English of certain sentences -from the <i>Hisperica Famina</i>, the production, as it is -believed, of the monk referred to above: ‘This precious -shower of words glitters, by no awkward barriers confining -the diction, and husbands its strength by an exquisite balance -and by equable device, trilling sweet descant of -Ausonian speech through the speaker’s throat by this -shower of words passing through Latin throats; just as -countless swarms of bees go here and there in their hollow -hives, and sip the honey-streams in their homes, and set in -order, as they are wont, their combs with their beaks.’</p> - -<p>With the passage just quoted may be compared an extract -from chapter 88 of Asser, the translation of which is given -below (pp. 49, 50): ‘Ac deinde cotidie inter nos sermocinando, -ad hæc investigando aliis inventis æque placabilibus -testimoniis, quaternio ille refertus succrevit, nec -immerito, sicut scriptum est, “super modicum fundamentum -ædificat justus et paulatim ad majora defluit,” velut -apis fertilissima longe lateque gronnios interrogando discurrens, -multimodos divinæ scripturæ flosculos inhianter -et incessabiliter congregavit, quis præcordii sui cellulas -densatim replevit.’ Such Latin as this is difficult to translate -into satisfactory English. If one renders it literally, -the result is apt to look rather absurd; and beyond a certain -point condensation is impracticable, or else misrepresents -the original, faults and merits alike.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">viii</span></p> - -<p>Hitherto there have been three translations of Asser into -English—that by J. A. Giles in Bohn’s <i>Six Old English -Chronicles</i>, London, 1848; that by Joseph Stevenson in -<i>Church Historians of England</i>, Vol. 2, London, 1854; and -that by Edward Conybeare, <i>Alfred in the Chroniclers</i>, -London, 1900. As the basis of my work I have taken the -translation of Giles, sometimes following it rather closely, -and at other times departing from it more or less widely.</p> - -<p>The reader familiar with the traditional Asser will miss -some matter with which he is familiar, such as the story of -Alfred and the cakes, that of the raven-banner of the Danes, -etc. These are derived from interpolations made in the -manuscript by Archbishop Parker, which modern critical -scholarship has at length excised. For all matters regarding -the manuscript, the earlier editions, etc., as well as for -copious illustrative notes on the text, the reader is referred -to Stevenson’s edition.</p> - -<p>Insertions made in the text by Stevenson, on what he -considers sufficient grounds, are indicated by <span class="larger bold">< ></span>. The -chapter-divisions and -numbering are Stevenson’s; the -chapter-headings mine. Where modern forms of proper -names exist, I have not hesitated to adopt them, and in -general have tended rather to normalize them than scrupulously -to follow the sometimes various spellings of the text. -The notes have almost always been derived from Stevenson’s -edition, whether or not explicit acknowledgment has -been made, but now and then, as in the case of the long -note on chapter 56, are my own.</p> - -<p class="p1"> -<span class="smcap">Yale University</span><br /> -<span class="in5">July 4, 1905</span> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">ix</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table id="toc" summary="Contents"> -<tr class="small"> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr" colspan="2">PAGE</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">1.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Birth and Genealogy</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_1">1</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">2.</td> - <td class="tdl">Genealogy of Alfred’s Mother</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_2">2</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">3.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes at Wicganbeorg and Sheppey</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_3">3</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">4.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes sack Canterbury</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_4">3</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">5.</td> - <td class="tdl">Battle of Aclea</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_5">4</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">6.</td> - <td class="tdl">Defeat of the Danes at Sandwich</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_6">4</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">7.</td> - <td class="tdl">Æthelwulf assists Burgred</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_7">4</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">8.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred at Rome</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_8">5</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">9.</td> - <td class="tdl">Other Events of 853</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_9">5</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">10.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Heathen winter in Sheppey</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_10">6</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">11.</td> - <td class="tdl">Æthelwulf journeys to Rome</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_11">6</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">12.</td> - <td class="tdl">Rebellion of Æthelbald</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_12">6</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">13.</td> - <td class="tdl">Judith’s Position in Wessex</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_13">7</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">14.</td> - <td class="tdl">Offa and Eadburh</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_14">8</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">15.</td> - <td class="tdl">Eadburh’s Further Life</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_15">9</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">16.</td> - <td class="tdl">Æthelwulf’s Will</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_16">10</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">17.</td> - <td class="tdl">Æthelbald marries Judith</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_17">11</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">18.</td> - <td class="tdl">Æthelbert’s Reign</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_18">12</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">19.</td> - <td class="tdl">Æthelbert’s Death</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_19">12</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">20.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes in Kent</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_20">12</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">21.</td> - <td class="tdl">Æthelred’s Accession</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_21">13</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">22.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Rearing</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_22">13</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">23.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred and the Book of Saxon Poems</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_23">14</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">24.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Handbook</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_24">14</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">25.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Love of Learning</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_25">15</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">26.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes occupy York</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_26">16</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">27.</td> - <td class="tdl">Defeat of the Northumbrians</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_27">16</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">28.</td> - <td class="tdl">Death of Ealhstan</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_28">17</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">29.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred marries</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_29">17</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">x</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">30.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes at Nottingham</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_30">17</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">31.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes at York</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_31">18</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">32.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes at Thetford</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_32">18</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">33.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes triumph</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_33">18</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">34.</td> - <td class="tdl">Ceolnoth dies</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_34">18</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">35.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes defeated at Englefield</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_35">19</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">36.</td> - <td class="tdl">Battle of Reading</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_36">19</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">37.</td> - <td class="tdl">Battle of Ashdown</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_37">20</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">38.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred begins the Attack</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_38">20</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">39.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Heathen Rout and Loss</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_39">21</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">40.</td> - <td class="tdl">Battle of Basing</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_40">22</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">41.</td> - <td class="tdl">Æthelred’s Death</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_41">22</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">42.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred comes to the Throne; Battle of Wilton</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_42">22</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">43.</td> - <td class="tdl">Peace made</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_43">24</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">44.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Heathen winter in London</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_44">24</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">45.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Heathen winter in Lindsey</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_45">24</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">46.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes in Mercia</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_46">24</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">47.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes in Northumbria and Cambridge</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_47">25</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">48.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Battle at Sea</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_48">25</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">49.</td> - <td class="tdl">Movements of the Danes</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_49">25</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">50.</td> - <td class="tdl">Halfdene partitions Northumbria</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_50">26</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">51.</td> - <td class="tdl">Division of Mercia</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_51">26</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">52.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes at Chippenham</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_52">26</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">53.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred in Somersetshire</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_53">27</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">54.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes defeated at Cynwit</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_54">27</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">55.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred at Athelney</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_55">28</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">56.</td> - <td class="tdl">Battle of Edington, and Treaty with Guthrum</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_56">28</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">57.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes go to Cirencester</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_57">30</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">58.</td> - <td class="tdl">Danes at Fulham</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_58">31</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">59.</td> - <td class="tdl">An Eclipse</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_59">31</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">60.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes in East Anglia</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_60">31</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">61.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Smaller Army leaves England</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_61">31</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">62.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes fight with the Franks</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_62">31</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">63.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes on the Meuse</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_63">31</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">64.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Naval Battle with the Danes</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_64">31</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">65.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes at Condé</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_65">32</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">xi</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">66.</td> - <td class="tdl">Deliverance of Rochester</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_66">32</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">67.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Naval Battle at the Mouth of the Stour</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_67">32</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">68.</td> - <td class="tdl">Death of Carloman, of Louis II, and of Louis III</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_68">33</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">69.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes in Old Saxony</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_69">33</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">70.</td> - <td class="tdl">Charles, King of the Alemanni</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_70">34</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">71.</td> - <td class="tdl">Death of Pope Marinus</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_71">34</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">72.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes break their Treaty</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_72">34</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">73.</td> - <td class="tdl">Asser makes a New Beginning</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_73">34</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">74.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Maladies</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_74">35</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">75.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Children and their Education</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_75">37</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">76.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Varied Pursuits</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_76">38</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">77.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Scholarly Associates: Werfrith, Plegmund, Æthelstan, and Werwulf</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_77">41</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">78.</td> - <td class="tdl">Grimbald and John, the Old Saxon</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_78">42</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">79.</td> - <td class="tdl">Asser’s Negotiations with King Alfred</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_79">42</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">80.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Welsh Princes who submit to Alfred</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_80">44</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">81.</td> - <td class="tdl">How Alfred rewards Submission</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_81">45</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">82.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Siege of Paris</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_82">46</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">83.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred rebuilds London</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_83">47</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">84.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Danes leave Paris</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_84">47</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">85.</td> - <td class="tdl">Division of the Empire</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_85">47</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">86.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred sends Alms to Rome</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_86">48</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">87.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred begins to translate from Latin</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_87">48</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">88.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Manual</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_88">48</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">89.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Handbook</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_89">50</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">90.</td> - <td class="tdl">Illustration from the Penitent Thief</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_90">51</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">91.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Troubles</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_91">51</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">92.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred builds Two Monasteries</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_92">54</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">93.</td> - <td class="tdl">Monasticism was decayed</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_93">55</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">94.</td> - <td class="tdl">Monks brought from beyond Sea</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_94">55</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">95.</td> - <td class="tdl">A Crime committed at Athelney</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_95">55</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">96.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Plot of a Priest and a Deacon</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_96">56</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">97.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Execution of the Plot</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_97">57</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">98.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Convent at Shaftesbury</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_98">58</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">99.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred divides his Time and his Revenues</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_99">58</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">100.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Threefold Division of Officers at Court</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_100">59</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xii">xii</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">101.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Distribution for Secular Purposes</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_101">59</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">102.</td> - <td class="tdl">The Distribution for Religious Purposes</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_102">60</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">103.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Dedication of Personal Service</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_103">61</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">104.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred’s Measure of Time</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_104">61</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">105.</td> - <td class="tdl">Alfred judges the Poor with Equity</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_105">63</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdr">106.</td> - <td class="tdl">His Correction of Unjust and Incompetent Judges</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sec_106">63</a></td> -</tr> -<tr class="tpad"> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2">APPENDIXES</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#APPENDIXES">67</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl">Appendix I: Alfred’s Preface to his Translation of Gregory’s Pastoral Care</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#APPENDIX_I">69</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl">Appendix II: Letter from Fulco, Archbishop of Rheims, to Alfred</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#APPENDIX_II">72</a></td> -</tr> -<tr class="tpad"> - <td class="tdl" colspan="2">INDEX</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#INDEX">79</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">1</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="ASSERS_LIFE_OF_KING_ALFRED">ASSER’S LIFE OF KING ALFRED</h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot center"> -<p><i>To my lord Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, the worshipful and -pious ruler of all Christians in the island of Britain, Asser, least -of all the servants of God, wisheth thousandfold prosperity for -both lives, according to the desires of his heart.</i></p></div> - -<p id="sec_1"><b>1. Alfred’s Birth and Genealogy.</b><a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a>—In the year of our -Lord’s incarnation 849, Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, -was born at the royal vill of Wantage, in Berkshire (which -receives its name from Berroc Wood, where the box-tree -grows very abundantly). His genealogy is traced in -the following order: King Alfred was the son of King -Æthelwulf; he of Egbert; he of Ealhmund; he of Eafa; -he of Eoppa; he of Ingild. Ingild and Ine, the famous -king of the West Saxons, were two brothers. Ine went to -Rome, and there ending the present life honorably, entered -into the heavenly fatherland to reign with Christ. Ingild -and Ine were the sons of Cœnred; he of Ceolwald; he of -Cutha<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a>; he of Cuthwine; he of Ceawlin; he of Cynric; he -of Creoda; he of Cerdic; he of Elesa; <he of Esla;> he of -Gewis, from whom the Welsh name all that people Gegwis<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a>; -<he of Wig; he of Freawine; he of Freothegar;> he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">2</span> -of Brond; he of Beldeag; he of Woden; he of Frithowald; -he of Frealaf; he of Frithuwulf; he of Finn<; he of> Godwulf; -he of Geata, which Geta the heathen long worshiped -as a god. Sedulius makes mention of him in his metrical -<i>Paschal Poem</i>, as follows:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">If heathen poets rave o’er fancied woe,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">While in a turgid stream their numbers flow—</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Whether the tragic buskin tread the stage,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Or waggish Geta all our thoughts engage;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">If by the art of song they still revive</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The taint of ill, and bid old vices live;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">If monumental guilt they sing, and lies</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Commit to books in magisterial wise;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Why may not I, who list to David’s lyre,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And reverent stand amid the hallowed choir,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Hymn heavenly things in words of tranquil tone,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And tell the deeds of Christ in accents all my own?</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="in0">This Geata was the son of Tætwa; he of Beaw; he of -Sceldwea; he of Heremod; he of Itermod; he of Hathra; -he of Hwala; he of Bedwig; he of Sceaf<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a>; he of Noah; he -of Lamech; he of Methuselah; he of Enoch; <he of Jared>; -he of Mahalalel; he of Kenan<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a>; he of Enosh; he of Seth; -he of Adam.</p> - -<p id="sec_2"><b>2. Genealogy of Alfred’s Mother.</b><a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a>—The mother of Alfred -was named Osburh, an extremely devout woman, noble -in mind, noble also by descent; she was daughter to Oslac, -the famous cupbearer of King Æthelwulf. This Oslac<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span> -was a Goth by nation, descended from the Goths and -Jutes—of the seed, namely, of Stuf and Wihtgar, two -brothers and ealdormen. They, having received possession -of the Isle of Wight from their uncle, King Cerdic, and -his son Cynric their cousin,<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> slew the few British inhabitants -whom they could find in that island, at a place called -Wihtgaraburg<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a>; for the other inhabitants of the island had -either been slain or had escaped into exile.</p> - -<p id="sec_3"><b>3. The Danes at Wicganbeorg and Sheppey.</b><a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a>—In the year -of our Lord’s incarnation 851, which was the third of King -Alfred’s life, Ceorl, Ealdorman of Devon, fought with the -men of Devon against the heathen at a place called Wicganbeorg,<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> -and the Christians gained the victory. In that same -year the heathen first wintered in the island called Sheppey, -which means ‘Sheep-island,’ situated in the river Thames -between Essex and Kent, though nearer to Kent than to -Essex, and containing a fair monastery.<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a></p> - -<p id="sec_4"><b>4. The Danes sack Canterbury.</b><a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a>—The same year a great -army of heathen came with three hundred and fifty ships -to the mouth of the river Thames, and sacked Dorubernia, -or Canterbury,<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> <and also London> (which lies on the north -bank of the river Thames, on the confines of Essex and -Middlesex, though in truth that city belongs to Essex); -and they put to flight Beorhtwulf, King of Mercia, with all -the army which he had led out to oppose them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span></p> - -<p id="sec_5"><b>5. Battle of Aclea.</b><a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a>—Having done these things there, the -aforesaid heathen host went into Surrey, which is a shire -situated on the south shore of the river Thames, and to the -west of Kent. And Æthelwulf, King of the Saxons, and his -son Æthelbald, with the whole army, fought a long time -against them at a place called Aclea,<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a> that is, ‘Oak-plain’; -there, after a lengthy battle, which was fought with much -bravery on both sides, the most part of the heathen horde -was utterly destroyed and slain, so that we never heard of -their being so smitten, either before or since, in any region, -in one day<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a>; and the Christians gained an honorable victory, -and kept possession of the battle-field.</p> - -<p id="sec_6"><b>6. Defeat of the Danes at Sandwich.</b><a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a>—In that same year -Æthelstan and Ealdorman Ealhere slew a large army of -the heathen in Kent, at a place called Sandwich, and took -nine ships of their fleet, the others escaping by flight.</p> - -<p id="sec_7"><b>7. Æthelwulf assists Burgred.</b><a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 853, which was the fifth of King Alfred’s life, -Burgred, King of the Mercians, sent messengers to beseech -Æthelwulf, King of the West Saxons, to come and help -him in reducing to his sway the inhabitants of Mid-Wales, -who dwell between Mercia and the western sea, and who -were struggling against him beyond measure. So without -delay King Æthelwulf, on receipt of the embassy, moved -his army, and advanced with King Burgred against Wales<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a>;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span> -and immediately upon his entrance he ravaged it, and -reduced it under subjection to Burgred. This being done, -he returned home.</p> - -<p id="sec_8"><b>8. Alfred at Rome.</b><a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a>—In that same year King Æthelwulf -sent his above-named son Alfred to Rome, with an honorable -escort both of nobles and commoners. Pope Leo at -that time presided over the apostolic see, and he anointed -as king<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a> the aforesaid child<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a> Alfred in the town, and, adopting -him as his son, confirmed him.<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a></p> - -<p id="sec_9"><b>9. Other Events of 853.</b><a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a>—That same year also, Ealdorman -Ealhere with the men of Kent, and Huda with the men of -Surrey, fought bravely and resolutely against an army of the -heathen in the island which is called Tenet<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> in the Saxon -tongue, but Ruim in the Welsh language. At first the -Christians were victorious. The battle lasted a long time; -many fell on both sides, and were drowned in the water; -and both the ealdormen were there slain. In the same year -also, after Easter, Æthelwulf, King of the West Saxons, -gave his daughter to Burgred, King of the Mercians, as his -queen, and the marriage was celebrated in princely wise at -the royal vill of Chippenham.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span></p> - -<p id="sec_10"><b>10. The Heathen winter in Sheppey.</b><a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a>—In the year of our -Lord’s incarnation 855, which was the seventh of the aforesaid -king’s life, a great army of the heathen spent the whole -winter in the aforesaid island of Sheppey.</p> - -<p id="sec_11"><b>11. Æthelwulf journeys to Rome.</b><a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a>—In that same year the -aforesaid worshipful King Æthelwulf freed the tenth part -of all his kingdom from every royal service and tribute, -and offered it up as an everlasting grant to God the One and -Three, on the cross of Christ, for the redemption of his -own soul and those of his predecessors. In the same year -he went to Rome with much honor; and taking with him -his son, the aforesaid King Alfred, a second time on the -same journey, because he loved him more than his other -sons, he remained there a whole year. After this he returned -to his own country, bringing with him Judith, -daughter of Charles, King of the Franks.<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">28</a></p> - -<p id="sec_12"><b>12. Rebellion of Æthelbald.</b><a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">29</a>—In the meantime, however, -whilst King Æthelwulf was residing this short time beyond -sea, a base deed was done in the western part of Selwood,<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">30</a> -repugnant to the morals of all Christians. For King Æthelbald, -Ealhstan, Bishop of the church of Sherborne, and -Eanwulf, Ealdorman of Somerset, are said to have formed -a conspiracy to the end that King Æthelwulf, on his return -from Rome, should not again be received in his kingdom. -This unfortunate occurrence, unheard-of in all previous ages, -is ascribed by many to the bishop and ealdorman alone, -since, say they, it resulted from their counsels. Many also -ascribe it solely to the insolence of the king, because he -was headstrong in this matter and in many other perversities, -as I have heard related by certain persons, and as was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span> -proved by the result of that which followed. For on his -return from Rome, Æthelwulf’s son aforesaid, with all his -counselors, or rather waylayers, attempted to perpetrate -the crime of repulsing the king from his own kingdom; -but neither did God suffer it, nor did the nobles of all -Wessex consent thereto. For to prevent this irremediable -danger to Wessex of a war between father and son, or -rather of the whole nation waging civil war more fiercely -and cruelly from day to day, as they espoused the cause of -the one or the other,—by the extraordinary clemency of the -father, seconded by the consent of all the nobles, the kingdom -which had hitherto been undivided was parted between -the two, the eastern districts being given to the father, and -the western to the son. Thus where the father ought by -just right to have reigned, there did his unjust and obstinate -son bear rule; for the western part of Wessex is -always superior to the eastern.</p> - -<p id="sec_13"><b>13. Judith’s Position in Wessex.</b><a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">31</a>—When Æthelwulf, therefore, -returned from Rome, the whole nation, as was fitting, -so rejoiced<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">32</a> in the arrival of the ruler that, if he had allowed -them, they would have expelled his unruly son Æthelbald, -with all his counselors, from the kingdom. But he, as I -have said, acting with great clemency and prudent counsel, -would not act in this way, lest the kingdom should be -exposed to peril. He likewise bade Judith, daughter of -King Charles, whom he had received from her father, take -her seat by his own side on the royal throne, without any -dispute or enmity from his nobles even to the end of his -life, though contrary to the perverse custom of that nation.<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">33</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span> -For the nation of the West Saxons does not allow the -queen to sit beside the king, nor to be called queen, but -only the king’s wife; which refusal, or rather reproach, -the chief persons of that land say arose from a certain -headstrong and malevolent queen of the nation, who did -all things so contrary to her lord and to the whole people -that not only did the hatred which she brought upon herself -bring to pass her exclusion from the queenly throne, -but also entailed the same corruption upon those who came -after her, since, in consequence of the extreme malignity of -that queen, all the inhabitants of the land banded themselves -together by an oath never in their lives to let any -king reign over them who should bid his queen take her seat -on the royal throne by his side. And because, as I think, -it is not known to many whence this perverse and detestable -custom first arose in Wessex, contrary to the custom -of all the Germanic peoples, it seems to me right to explain -it a little more fully, as I have heard it from my lord Alfred -the truth-teller, King of the Anglo-Saxons, who often told -me about it, as he also had heard it from many men -of truth who related the fact, or, I should rather say, -expressly preserved the remembrance of it.</p> - -<p id="sec_14"><b>14. Offa and Eadburh.</b><a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">34</a>—There was in Mercia in recent -times a certain valiant king, who was dreaded by all the -neighboring kings and states. His name was Offa, and it -was he who had the great dike made from sea to sea -between Wales and Mercia.<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">35</a> His daughter, named Eadburh, -was married to Beorhtric, King of the West Saxons. The -moment she had possessed herself of the king’s good will, -and practically the whole power of the realm, she began to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> -live tyrannically, after the manner of her father. Every -man whom Beorhtric loved she would execrate, and would -do all things hateful to God and man, accusing to the king -all whom she could, thus depriving them insidiously either -of life or of power. And if she could not obtain the king’s -consent, she used to take them off by poison, as is ascertained -to have been the case with a certain young man beloved by -the king, whom she poisoned, seeing that she could not -accuse him to the king. It is said, moreover, that King -Beorhtric unwittingly tasted of the poison, though the queen -had intended to give it, not to him, but to the young man; -the king, however, was beforehand with him, and so both -perished.</p> - -<p id="sec_15"><b>15. Eadburh’s Further Life.</b><a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">36</a>—King Beorhtric therefore -being dead, the queen, since she could no longer remain -among the Saxons, sailed beyond sea with countless treasures, -and came to Charles,<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">37</a> King of the Franks. As she -stood before the dais, bringing many gifts to the king, Charles -said to her: ‘Choose, Eadburh, between me and my son, who -stands with me on this dais.’ She, without deliberation, foolishly -replied: ‘If I am to have my choice, I choose your son, -because he is younger than you.’ At which Charles smiled -and answered: ‘If you had chosen me, you should have had -my son; but since you have chosen him, you shall have -neither me nor him.’ However, he gave her a large convent -of nuns, in which, having laid aside her secular habit, and -assumed the dress worn by the nuns, she discharged the -office of abbess for a few years. As she is said to have -lived irrationally in her own country, so she appears to -have acted much more so among a foreign people; for, being -finally caught in illicit intercourse with a man of her own -nation, she was expelled from the monastery by order of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span> -King Charles. Henceforward she lived a life of shame in -poverty and misery until her death; so that at last, accompanied -only by one slave, as I have heard from many who -saw her, she begged her bread daily at Pavia,<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">38</a> and so -wretchedly died.</p> - -<p id="sec_16"><b>16. Æthelwulf’s Will.</b><a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">39</a>—Now King Æthelwulf lived two -years after his return from Rome; during which, among -many other good deeds of this present life, reflecting on his -departure according to the way of all flesh, that his sons -might not quarrel unreasonably after their father’s death, -he ordered a will or letter of instructions to be written,<a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">40</a> -in which he commanded that his kingdom should be duly -divided between his two eldest sons; his private heritage -between his sons, his daughter, and his relatives; and the -money which he should leave behind him between his -soul<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">41</a> and his sons and nobles. Of this prudent policy I -have thought fit to record a few instances out of many for -posterity to imitate, namely, such as are understood to -belong principally to the needs of the soul; for the others, -which relate only to human stewardship, it is not necessary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span> -to insert in this little work, lest prolixity should create -disgust in those who read or wish to hear. For the benefit -of his soul, then, which he studied to promote in all -things from the first flower of his youth, he directed that, -through all his hereditary land, one poor man to every ten -hides,<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">42</a> either native or foreigner, should be supplied with -food, drink, and clothing by his successors unto the final -Day of Judgment; on condition, however, that that land -should still be inhabited both by men and cattle, and should -not become deserted. He commanded also a large sum -of money, namely, three hundred mancuses,<a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">43</a> to be carried -annually to Rome for the good of his soul, to be there -distributed in the following manner: a hundred mancuses -in honor of St. Peter, especially to buy oil for the -lights of that apostolic church on Easter Eve, and also at -cockcrow; a hundred mancuses in honor of St. Paul, for -the same purpose of buying oil for the church of St. Paul -the apostle, to fill the lamps for Easter Eve and cockcrow; -and a hundred mancuses for the universal apostolic -Pope.</p> - -<p id="sec_17"><b>17. Æthelbald marries Judith.</b><a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">44</a>—But when King Æthelwulf -was dead <and buried at Winchester>,<a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">45</a> his son Æthelbald, -contrary to God’s prohibition and the dignity of a -Christian, contrary also to the custom of all the heathen,<a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">46</a> -ascended his father’s bed, and married Judith, daughter -of Charles, King of the Franks, incurring much infamy -from all who heard of it. During two years and a half of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> -lawlessness he held after his father the government of the -West Saxons.</p> - -<p id="sec_18"><b>18. Æthelbert’s Reign.</b><a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">47</a>—In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -860, which was the twelfth of King Alfred’s life, -<King> Æthelbald <died, and> was buried at Sherborne. -His brother Æthelbert, as was right, added Kent, Surrey, -and Sussex to his realm. In his days a great army of -heathen came from the sea, and attacked and laid waste -the city of Winchester. As they were returning laden -with booty to their ships, Osric, Ealdorman of Hampshire, -with his men, and Ealdorman Æthelwulf, with the men of -Berkshire, faced them bravely. Battle was then joined in -the town, and the heathen were slain on every side; and -finding themselves unable to resist, they took to flight like -women, and the Christians held the battle-field.</p> - -<p id="sec_19"><b>19. Æthelbert’s Death.</b><a id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">48</a>—So Æthelbert governed his -kingdom five years in peace and love and honor; and -went the way of all flesh, to the great grief of his subjects. -He rests interred in honorable wise at Sherborne, by the -side of his brother.</p> - -<p id="sec_20"><b>20. The Danes in Kent.</b><a id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">49</a>—In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -864 the heathen wintered in the isle of Thanet, -and made a firm treaty with the men of Kent, who promised -them money for observing their agreement. In the -meantime, however, the heathen, after the manner of foxes, -burst forth with all secrecy from their camp by night, and -setting at naught their engagements, and spurning the -promised money—which they knew was less than they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> -could get by plunder—they ravaged all the eastern coast -of Kent.</p> - -<p id="sec_21"><b>21. Æthelred’s Accession.</b><a id="FNanchor_50" href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">50</a>—In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -866, which was the eighteenth of King Alfred’s -life, Æthelred, brother of King Æthelbert, undertook the -government of the West Saxon realm. The same year a -great fleet of heathen came to Britain from the Danube,<a id="FNanchor_51" href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">51</a> -and wintered in the kingdom of the East Saxons, which -is called in Saxon East Anglia; and there they became in -the main an army of cavalry. But, to speak in nautical -phrase, I will no longer commit my vessel to wave and -sail, or steer my roundabout course at a distance from land -through so many calamities of wars and series of years, but -rather return to that which first prompted me to this task: -that is to say, I think it right briefly to insert in this place -the little that has come to my knowledge about the character -of my revered lord Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, -during the years of infancy and boyhood.</p> - -<p id="sec_22"><b>22. Alfred’s Rearing.</b><a id="FNanchor_52" href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">52</a>—He was extraordinarily beloved -by both his father and mother, and indeed by all the people, -beyond all his brothers; in inseparable companionship -with them he was reared at the royal court.<a id="FNanchor_53" href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">53</a> As he advanced -through the years of infancy and youth, he appeared -more comely in person than his brothers, as in countenance, -speech, and manners he was more pleasing than -they. His noble birth and noble nature implanted in him -from his cradle a love of wisdom above all things, even -amid all the occupations of this present life; but—with -shame be it spoken!—by the unworthy neglect of his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> -parents and governors he remained illiterate till he was -twelve years old or more, though by day and night he was -an attentive listener to the Saxon poems which he often -heard recited, and, being apt at learning, kept them in his -memory. He was a zealous practiser of hunting in all its -branches, and followed the chase with great assiduity and -success; for his skill and good fortune in this art, and in -all the other gifts of God, were beyond those of every one -else, as I have often witnessed.</p> - -<p id="sec_23"><b>23. Alfred and the Book of Saxon Poems.</b><a id="FNanchor_54" href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">54</a>—Now on a certain -day his mother was showing him and his brothers a -book of Saxon poetry, which she held in her hand, and -finally said: ‘Whichever of you can soonest learn this volume, -to him will I give it.’ Stimulated by these words, or -rather by divine inspiration, and allured by the beautifully -illuminated letter at the beginning of the volume, <Alfred><a id="FNanchor_55" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">55</a> -spoke before all his brothers, who, though his seniors in -age, were not so in grace, and answered his mother: ‘Will -you really give that book to that one of us who can first -understand and repeat it to you?’ At this his mother -smiled with satisfaction, and confirmed what she had -before said: ‘Yes,’ said she, ‘that I will.’ Upon this the -boy took the book out of her hand, and went to his master -and learned it by heart,<a id="FNanchor_56" href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">56</a> whereupon he brought it back to -his mother and recited it.</p> - -<p id="sec_24"><b>24. Alfred’s Handbook.</b><a id="FNanchor_57" href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">57</a>—After this <he learned><a id="FNanchor_55a" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">55</a> the -daily course, that is, the celebration of the hours, and -afterwards certain Psalms, and many prayers, contained -in a book<a id="FNanchor_58" href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">58</a> which he kept day and night in his bosom, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span> -I myself have seen, and always carried about with him, -for the sake of prayer, through all the bustle and business -of this present life. But, sad to relate, he could not gratify -his ardent wish to acquire liberal art,<a id="FNanchor_59" href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor">59</a> because, as he was -wont to say, there were at that time no good teachers in -all the kingdom of the West Saxons.<a id="FNanchor_60" href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor">60</a></p> - -<p id="sec_25"><b>25. Alfred’s Love of Learning.</b><a id="FNanchor_61" href="#Footnote_61" class="fnanchor">61</a>—This he would confess, -with many lamentations and with sighs from the bottom -of his heart, to have been one of his greatest difficulties -and impediments in this present life, that when he was -young and had leisure and capacity for learning, he had no -masters; but when he was more advanced in years, he was -continually occupied, not to say harassed, day and night, -by so many diseases unknown to all the physicians of this -island, as well as by internal and external anxieties of -sovereignty, and by invasions of the heathen by sea and -land, that though he then had some store of teachers and -writers,<a id="FNanchor_62" href="#Footnote_62" class="fnanchor">62</a> it was quite impossible for him to study. But yet -among the impediments of this present life, from childhood -to the present day [and, as I believe, even until his -death],<a id="FNanchor_63" href="#Footnote_63" class="fnanchor">63</a> he has continued to feel the same insatiable desire.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span></p> - -<p id="sec_26"><b>26. The Danes occupy York.</b><a id="FNanchor_64" href="#Footnote_64" class="fnanchor">64</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 867, which was the nineteenth of the aforesaid -King Alfred’s life, the army of heathen before mentioned -removed from East Anglia to the city of York, which is -situated on the north bank of the river Humber.</p> - -<p id="sec_27"><b>27. Defeat of the Northumbrians.</b><a id="FNanchor_64a" href="#Footnote_64" class="fnanchor">64</a>—At that time a violent -discord arose, by the instigation of the devil, among -the Northumbrians, as always is wont to happen to -a people who have incurred the wrath of God. For the -Northumbrians at that time, as I have said,<a id="FNanchor_65" href="#Footnote_65" class="fnanchor">65</a> had expelled -their lawful king Osbert from his realm, and appointed a -certain tyrant named Ælla, not of royal birth, over the -affairs of the kingdom. But when the heathen approached, -by divine providence, and the furtherance of the common -weal by the nobles, that discord was a little appeased, and -Osbert and Ælla uniting their resources, and assembling -an army, marched to the town of York. The heathen fled -at their approach, and attempted to defend themselves -within the walls of the city. The Christians, perceiving -their flight and the terror they were in, determined to follow -them within the very ramparts of the town, and to -demolish the wall; and this they succeeded in doing, since -the city at that time was not surrounded by firm or strong -walls. When the Christians had made a breach, as they -had purposed, and many of them had entered into the city -along with the heathen, the latter, impelled by grief and -necessity, made a fierce sally upon them, slew them, routed -them, and cut them down, both within and without the -walls. In that battle fell almost all the Northumbrian<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span> -troops, and both the kings were slain; the remainder, who -escaped, made peace with the heathen.</p> - -<p id="sec_28"><b>28. Death of Ealhstan.</b><a id="FNanchor_66" href="#Footnote_66" class="fnanchor">66</a>—In the same year, Ealhstan, -Bishop of the church of Sherborne, went the way of all -flesh, after he had honorably ruled his see fifty years; and -in peace he was buried at Sherborne.</p> - -<p id="sec_29"><b>29. Alfred marries.</b><a id="FNanchor_67" href="#Footnote_67" class="fnanchor">67</a>—In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -868, which was the twentieth of King Alfred’s life, -the aforesaid revered King Alfred, then occupying only -the rank of viceroy (<i>secundarii</i>), betrothed<a id="FNanchor_68" href="#Footnote_68" class="fnanchor">68</a> and espoused -a noble Mercian lady,<a id="FNanchor_69" href="#Footnote_69" class="fnanchor">69</a> daughter of Æthelred, surnamed -Mucill, Ealdorman of the Gaini.<a id="FNanchor_70" href="#Footnote_70" class="fnanchor">70</a> The mother of this -lady was named Eadburh, of the royal line of Mercia, -whom I often saw with my own eyes a few years before -her death. She was a venerable lady, and after the decease -of her husband remained many years a chaste widow, even -till her own death.</p> - -<p id="sec_30"><b>30. The Danes at Nottingham.</b><a id="FNanchor_71" href="#Footnote_71" class="fnanchor">71</a>—In that same year the -above-named army of heathen, leaving Northumbria, invaded -Mercia, and advanced to Nottingham, which is called in -Welsh Tigguocobauc,<a id="FNanchor_72" href="#Footnote_72" class="fnanchor">72</a> but in Latin ‘The House of Caves,’<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span> -and wintered there that same year. Immediately on their -approach, Burgred, King of the Mercians, and all the -nobles of that nation, sent messengers to Æthelred,<a id="FNanchor_73" href="#Footnote_73" class="fnanchor">73</a> King -of the West Saxons, and his brother Alfred, entreating -them to come and aid them in fighting against the aforesaid -army. Their request was readily granted; for the -brothers, as soon as promised, assembled an immense army -from every part of their <realm>, and, entering Mercia, came -to Nottingham, all eager for battle. When now the heathen, -defended by the castle, refused to fight, and the Christians -were unable to destroy the wall, peace was made between -the Mercians and the heathen, and the two brothers, -Æthelred and Alfred, returned home with their troops.</p> - -<p id="sec_31"><b>31. The Danes at York.</b><a id="FNanchor_74" href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor">74</a>—In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -869, which was the twenty-first of King Alfred’s life, -the aforesaid army of heathen, riding back to Northumbria, -went to the city of York, and there passed the whole winter.</p> - -<p id="sec_32"><b>32. The Danes at Thetford.</b><a id="FNanchor_74a" href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor">74</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 870, which was the twenty-second of King -Alfred’s life, the above-mentioned army of heathen passed -through Mercia into East Anglia, and wintered at Thetford.<a id="FNanchor_75" href="#Footnote_75" class="fnanchor">75</a></p> - -<p id="sec_33"><b>33. The Danes triumph.</b><a id="FNanchor_74b" href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor">74</a>—That same year Edmund, -King of the East Angles, fought most fiercely against that -army; but, lamentable to say, the heathen triumphed, -for he and most of his men were there slain, while the -enemy held the battle-field, and reduced all that region to -subjection.</p> - -<p id="sec_34"><b>34. Ceolnoth dies.</b><a id="FNanchor_76" href="#Footnote_76" class="fnanchor">76</a>—That same year Ceolnoth, Archbishop -of Canterbury, went the way of all flesh, and was -buried in peace in that city.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span></p> - -<p id="sec_35"><b>35. The Danes defeated at Englefield.</b><a id="FNanchor_77" href="#Footnote_77" class="fnanchor">77</a>—In the year of -our Lord’s incarnation 871, which was the twenty-third of -King Alfred’s life, the heathen army, of hateful memory, -left East Anglia, and, entering the kingdom of the West -Saxons, came to the royal vill called Reading, situated on -the south bank of the Thames, in the district called Berkshire; -and there, on the third day after their arrival, their -<two> ealdormen, with great part of the army, rode forth -for plunder, while the others made an entrenchment between -the rivers Thames and Kennet, on the southern -side of the same royal vill. They were encountered by -Æthelwulf, Ealdorman of Berkshire, with his men, at a -place called Englefield<a id="FNanchor_78" href="#Footnote_78" class="fnanchor">78</a> <in English, and in Latin ‘The -Field of the Angles’>.<a id="FNanchor_79" href="#Footnote_79" class="fnanchor">79</a> Both sides fought bravely, and -made long resistance to each other. At length one of the -heathen ealdormen was slain, and the greater part of the -army destroyed; upon which the rest saved themselves -by flight, and the Christians gained the victory and held -the battle-field.</p> - -<p id="sec_36"><b>36. Battle of Reading.</b><a id="FNanchor_77a" href="#Footnote_77" class="fnanchor">77</a>—Four days afterwards, King -Æthelred and his brother Alfred, uniting their forces and -assembling an army, marched to Reading, where, on their -arrival at the castle gate, they cut to pieces and overthrew -the heathen whom they found outside the fortifications. -But the heathen fought no less valiantly and, rushing like -wolves out of every gate, waged battle with all their -might. Both sides fought long and fiercely, but at last, -sad to say, the Christians turned their backs, the heathen -obtained the victory and held the battle-field, the aforesaid -Ealdorman Æthelwulf being among the slain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span></p> - -<p id="sec_37"><b>37. Battle of Ashdown.</b><a id="FNanchor_80" href="#Footnote_80" class="fnanchor">80</a>—Roused by this grief and -shame, the Christians, after four days, with all their forces -and much spirit advanced to battle against the aforesaid -army, at a place called Ashdown,<a id="FNanchor_81" href="#Footnote_81" class="fnanchor">81</a> which in Latin signifies -‘Ash’s<a id="FNanchor_82" href="#Footnote_82" class="fnanchor">82</a> Hill.’ The heathen, forming in two divisions, -arranged two shield-walls of similar size; and since they -had two kings and many ealdormen, they gave the middle<a id="FNanchor_83" href="#Footnote_83" class="fnanchor">83</a> -part of the army to the two kings, and the other part to -all the ealdormen. The Christians, perceiving this, divided -their army also into two troops, and with no less zeal -formed shield-walls.<a id="FNanchor_84" href="#Footnote_84" class="fnanchor">84</a> But Alfred, as I have been told by -truthful eye-witnesses, marched up swiftly with his men to -the battle-field; for King Æthelred had remained a long -time in his tent in prayer, hearing mass, and declaring that -he would not depart thence alive till the priest had done, -and that he was not disposed to abandon the service of God -for that of men; and according to these sentiments he acted. -This faith of the Christian king availed much with the -Lord, as I shall show more fully in the sequel.</p> - -<p id="sec_38"><b>38. Alfred begins the Attack.</b><a id="FNanchor_85" href="#Footnote_85" class="fnanchor">85</a>—Now the Christians had -determined that King Æthelred, with his men, should -attack the two heathen kings, and that his brother Alfred, -with his troops, should take the chance of war against all -the leaders of the heathen. Things being so arranged on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span> -both sides, the king still continued a long time in prayer, -and the heathen, prepared for battle, had hastened to the -field. Then Alfred, though only second in command, could -no longer support the advance of the enemy, unless he -either retreated or charged upon them without waiting for -his brother. At length, with the rush of a wild boar, he -courageously led the Christian troops against the hostile -army, as he had already designed, for, although the king -had not yet arrived, he relied upon God’s counsel and -trusted to His aid. Hence, having closed up his shield-wall -in due order, he straightway advanced his standards -against the foe. <At length King Æthelred, having finished -the prayers in which he was engaged, came up, and, -having invoked the King of the universe, entered upon the -engagement.><a id="FNanchor_86" href="#Footnote_86" class="fnanchor">86</a></p> - -<p id="sec_39"><b>39. The Heathen Rout and Loss.</b><a id="FNanchor_87" href="#Footnote_87" class="fnanchor">87</a>—But here I must inform -those who are ignorant of the fact that the field of battle -was not equally advantageous to both parties, since the -heathen had seized the higher ground, and the Christian -array was advancing up-hill. In that place there was a -solitary low thorn-tree, which I have seen with my own -eyes, and round this the opposing forces met in strife with -deafening uproar from all, the one side bent on evil, the -other on fighting for life, and dear ones, and fatherland. -When both armies had fought bravely and fiercely for a -long while, the heathen, being unable by God’s decree -longer to endure the onset of the Christians, the larger -part of their force being slain, betook themselves to shameful -flight. There fell one of the two heathen kings and -five ealdormen; many thousand of their men were either -slain at this spot or lay scattered far and wide over the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span> -whole field of Ashdown. Thus there fell King Bagsecg, -Ealdorman Sidroc the Elder and Ealdorman Sidroc the -Younger, Ealdorman Osbern, Ealdorman Fræna, and Ealdorman -Harold; and the whole heathen army pursued its -flight, not only until night, but until the next day, even -until they reached the stronghold<a id="FNanchor_88" href="#Footnote_88" class="fnanchor">88</a> from which they had -sallied. The Christians followed, slaying all they could -reach, until it became dark.</p> - -<p id="sec_40"><b>40. Battle of Basing.</b><a id="FNanchor_89" href="#Footnote_89" class="fnanchor">89</a>—After<a id="FNanchor_90" href="#Footnote_90" class="fnanchor">90</a> fourteen days had elapsed -King Æthelred and his brother Alfred joined their forces, -and marched to Basing<a id="FNanchor_91" href="#Footnote_91" class="fnanchor">91</a> to fight with the heathen. Having -thus assembled, battle was joined, and they held their own -for a long time, but the heathen gained the victory, and -held possession of the battle-field. After this fight, another -army of heathen came from beyond sea, and joined them.</p> - -<p id="sec_41"><b>41. Æthelred’s Death.</b><a id="FNanchor_92" href="#Footnote_92" class="fnanchor">92</a>—That same year, after Easter, the -aforesaid King Æthelred, having bravely, honorably, and -with good repute governed his kingdom five years through -many tribulations, went the way of all flesh, and was buried -in Wimborne Minster,<a id="FNanchor_93" href="#Footnote_93" class="fnanchor">93</a> where he awaits the coming of -the Lord and the first resurrection with the just.</p> - -<p id="sec_42"><b>42. Alfred comes to the Throne; Battle of Wilton.</b><a id="FNanchor_94" href="#Footnote_94" class="fnanchor">94</a>—That -same year the aforesaid Alfred, who had been up -to that time, during the lifetime of his brothers, only -of secondary rank, now, on the death of his brother, by -God’s permission undertook the government of the whole<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> -kingdom, amid the acclamations of all the people; and -indeed, if he had chosen, he might easily have done so with -the general consent whilst his brother above named was -still alive, since in wisdom and every other good quality he -surpassed all his brothers, and especially because he was -brave and victorious in nearly every battle. And when he -had reigned a month almost against his will—for he did not -think that he alone, without divine aid, could sustain the -ferocity of the heathen, though even during his brothers’ -lifetimes he had borne the calamities of many—he fought -a fierce battle with a few men, and on very unequal terms, -against all the army of the heathen, at a hill called Wilton, -on the south bank of the river Wiley,<a id="FNanchor_95" href="#Footnote_95" class="fnanchor">95</a> from which river -the whole of that shire is named; and after a severe -engagement, lasting a considerable part of the day, the -heathen, seeing the whole extent of the danger they were -in, and no longer able to bear the attack of their enemies, -turned their backs and fled. But, shame to say, they -took advantage of their pursuers’ rashness,<a id="FNanchor_96" href="#Footnote_96" class="fnanchor">96</a> and, again -rallying, gained the victory and kept the battle-field. Let -no one be surprised that the Christians had but a small -number of men, for the Saxons as a people had been all -but worn out by eight battles in this selfsame year against -the heathen, in which there died one king, nine chieftains, -and innumerable troops of soldiers, not to speak of countless -skirmishes both by night and by day, in which the oft-named -<King> Alfred, and all the leaders of that people, with -their men, and many of the king’s thanes, had been engaged -in unwearied strife against the heathen. How many thousand -heathen fell in these numberless skirmishes God alone<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span> -knows, over and above those who were slain in the eight -battles above mentioned.</p> - -<p id="sec_43"><b>43. Peace made.</b><a id="FNanchor_97" href="#Footnote_97" class="fnanchor">97</a>—In that same year the Saxons made -peace with the heathen, on condition that they should take -their departure; and this they did.</p> - -<p id="sec_44"><b>44. The Heathen winter in London.</b><a id="FNanchor_98" href="#Footnote_98" class="fnanchor">98</a>—In the year of our -Lord’s incarnation 872, being the twenty-fourth of King -Alfred’s life, the aforesaid army of heathen went to London, -and there wintered; and the Mercians made peace with -them.</p> - -<p id="sec_45"><b>45. The Heathen winter in Lindsey.</b><a id="FNanchor_98a" href="#Footnote_98" class="fnanchor">98</a>—In the year of our -Lord’s incarnation 873, being the twenty-fifth of King -Alfred’s life, the oft-named army, leaving London, went into -Northumbria, and there wintered in the shire of Lindsey; -and the Mercians again made peace with them.</p> - -<p id="sec_46"><b>46. The Danes in Mercia.</b><a id="FNanchor_99" href="#Footnote_99" class="fnanchor">99</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 874, being the twenty-sixth of King Alfred’s -life, the above-named army left Lindsey and marched to Mercia, -where they wintered at Repton.<a id="FNanchor_100" href="#Footnote_100" class="fnanchor">100</a> Also they compelled -Burgred, King of Mercia, against his will to leave his kingdom -and go beyond sea to Rome, in the twenty-second year -of his reign. He did not live long after his arrival at Rome, -but died there, and was honorably buried in the Colony of -the Saxons,<a id="FNanchor_101" href="#Footnote_101" class="fnanchor">101</a> in St. Mary’s church,<a id="FNanchor_102" href="#Footnote_102" class="fnanchor">102</a> where he awaits the -Lord’s coming and the first resurrection with the just. The -heathen also, after his expulsion, subjected the whole kingdom -of Mercia to their dominion; but, by a miserable -arrangement, gave it into the custody of a certain foolish<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> -man, named Ceolwulf, one of the <king∮s> thanes, on condition -that he should peaceably restore it to them on whatsoever -day they should wish to have it again; and to bind -this agreement he gave them hostages, and swore that he -would not oppose their will in any way, but be obedient to -them in every respect.</p> - -<p id="sec_47"><b>47. The Danes in Northumbria and Cambridge.</b><a id="FNanchor_103" href="#Footnote_103" class="fnanchor">103</a>—In the year -of our Lord’s incarnation 875, being the twenty-seventh of -King Alfred’s life, the above-mentioned army, leaving -Repton, separated into two bodies, one of which went with -Halfdene into Northumbria, and having wintered there -near the Tyne, and reduced all Northumbria to subjection, -also ravaged the Picts and the people of Strathclyde.<a id="FNanchor_104" href="#Footnote_104" class="fnanchor">104</a> -The other division, with Guthrum,<a id="FNanchor_105" href="#Footnote_105" class="fnanchor">105</a> Oscytel, and Anwind, -three kings of the heathen, went to Cambridge, and there -wintered.</p> - -<p id="sec_48"><b>48. Alfred’s Battle at Sea.</b><a id="FNanchor_106" href="#Footnote_106" class="fnanchor">106</a>—In that same year King -Alfred fought a battle at sea against six ships of the heathen, -and took one of them, the rest escaping by flight.</p> - -<p id="sec_49"><b>49. Movements of the Danes.</b><a id="FNanchor_107" href="#Footnote_107" class="fnanchor">107</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 876, being the twenty-eighth year of King -Alfred’s life, the oft-mentioned army of the heathen, leaving -Cambridge by night, entered a fortress called Wareham,<a id="FNanchor_108" href="#Footnote_108" class="fnanchor">108</a> -where there is a monastery of nuns between the two rivers -Froom <and Tarrant>, in the district which is called in Welsh -Durngueir,<a id="FNanchor_109" href="#Footnote_109" class="fnanchor">109</a> but in Saxon Thornsæta,<a id="FNanchor_110" href="#Footnote_110" class="fnanchor">110</a> placed in a most -secure location, except on the western side, where there was -a territory adjacent. With this army Alfred made a solemn -treaty to the effect that they should depart from him, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span> -they made no hesitation to give him as many picked hostages -as he named; also they swore an oath on all the relics -in which King Alfred trusted next to God,<a id="FNanchor_111" href="#Footnote_111" class="fnanchor">111</a> and on which -they had never before sworn to any people, that they would -speedily depart from his kingdom. But they again practised -their usual treachery, and caring nothing for either hostages -or oath, they broke the treaty, and, sallying forth by night, -slew all the horsemen [horses?] that they had,<a id="FNanchor_112" href="#Footnote_112" class="fnanchor">112</a> and, turning -off, started without warning for another place called in -Saxon Exanceastre, and in Welsh Cairwisc, which means -in Latin ‘The City <of Exe>,’ situated on the eastern bank -of the river Wisc,<a id="FNanchor_113" href="#Footnote_113" class="fnanchor">113</a> near the southern sea which divides -Britain from Gaul, and there passed the winter.</p> - -<p id="sec_50"><b>50. Halfdene partitions Northumbria.</b>—In that same year -Halfdene, king of that part of Northumbria, divided up the -whole region between himself and his men, and settled -there with his army.</p> - -<p id="sec_51"><b>51. Division of Mercia.</b><a id="FNanchor_114" href="#Footnote_114" class="fnanchor">114</a>—The same year, in the month of -August, that army went into Mercia, and gave part of the -district of the Mercians to one Ceolwulf,<a id="FNanchor_115" href="#Footnote_115" class="fnanchor">115</a> a weak-minded -thane of the king; the rest they divided among themselves.</p> - -<p id="sec_52"><b>52. The Danes at Chippenham.</b><a id="FNanchor_116" href="#Footnote_116" class="fnanchor">116</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 878, being the thirtieth of King Alfred’s life, -the oft-mentioned army left Exeter, and went to Chippenham, -a royal vill, situated in the north of Wiltshire, on the -east bank of the river which is called Avon in Welsh, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> -there wintered. And they drove many of that people by -their arms, by poverty, and by fear, to voyage beyond sea, -and reduced almost all the inhabitants of that district to -subjection.</p> - -<p id="sec_53"><b>53. Alfred in Somersetshire.</b>—At that same time the -above-mentioned King Alfred, with a few of his nobles, and -certain soldiers and vassals, was leading in great tribulation -an unquiet life among the woodlands and swamps of -Somersetshire; for he had nothing that he needed except -what by frequent sallies he could forage openly or stealthily -from the heathen or from the Christians who had submitted -to the rule of the heathen.<a id="FNanchor_117" href="#Footnote_117" class="fnanchor">117</a></p> - -<p id="sec_54"><b>54. The Danes defeated at Cynwit.</b><a id="FNanchor_118" href="#Footnote_118" class="fnanchor">118</a>—In that same year -the brother<a id="FNanchor_119" href="#Footnote_119" class="fnanchor">119</a> of Inwar<a id="FNanchor_120" href="#Footnote_120" class="fnanchor">120</a> and Halfdene, with twenty-three -ships, came, after many massacres of the Christians, from -Dyfed,<a id="FNanchor_121" href="#Footnote_121" class="fnanchor">121</a> where he had wintered, and sailed to Devon, where -with twelve hundred others he met with a miserable death, -being slain, while committing his misdeeds, by the king’s -thanes, before the fortress of Cynwit,<a id="FNanchor_122" href="#Footnote_122" class="fnanchor">122</a> in which many of -the king’s thanes, with their followers, had shut themselves -up for safety. The heathen, seeing that the fortress was -unprepared and altogether unfortified, except that it merely -had fortifications after our manner, determined not to -assault it, because that place is rendered secure by its position -on all sides except the eastern, as I myself have seen, -but began to besiege it, thinking that those men would -soon surrender from famine, thirst, and the blockade, since<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> -there is no water close to the fortress. But the result did -not fall out as they expected; for the Christians, before -they began at all to suffer from such want, being inspired -by Heaven, and judging it much better to gain either victory -or death, sallied out suddenly upon the heathen at daybreak, -and from the first cut them down in great numbers, -slaying also their king, so that few escaped to their ships.</p> - -<p id="sec_55"><b>55. Alfred at Athelney.</b><a id="FNanchor_123" href="#Footnote_123" class="fnanchor">123</a>—The same year, after Easter, -King Alfred, with a few men, made a stronghold in a place -called Athelney,<a id="FNanchor_124" href="#Footnote_124" class="fnanchor">124</a> and from thence sallied with his vassals -of Somerset to make frequent and unwearied assaults upon -the heathen. And again, the seventh week after Easter, he -rode to Egbert’s Stone,<a id="FNanchor_125" href="#Footnote_125" class="fnanchor">125</a> which is in the eastern part of -Selwood Forest (in Latin ‘Great Forest,’ and in Welsh -Coit Maur). Here he was met by all the neighboring folk -of Somersetshire and Wiltshire, and such of Hampshire -as had not sailed beyond sea for fear of the heathen; and -when they saw the king restored alive, as it were, after -such great tribulation, they were filled, as was meet, with -immeasurable joy, and encamped there for one night. At -daybreak of the following morning, the king struck his -camp, and came to Æglea,<a id="FNanchor_126" href="#Footnote_126" class="fnanchor">126</a> where he encamped for one -night.</p> - -<p id="sec_56"><b>56. Battle of Edington, and Treaty with Guthrum.</b><a id="FNanchor_127" href="#Footnote_127" class="fnanchor">127</a>—The -next morning at dawn he moved his standards to Edington,<a id="FNanchor_128" href="#Footnote_128" class="fnanchor">128</a> -and there fought bravely and perseveringly by means of a -close shield-wall against the whole army of the heathen,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span> -whom at length, with the divine help, he defeated with -great slaughter, and pursued them flying to their stronghold. -Immediately he slew all the men and carried off all -the horses and cattle that he could find without the fortress, -and thereupon pitched his camp, with all his army, before -the gates of the heathen stronghold. And when he had -remained there fourteen days, the heathen, terrified by -hunger, cold, fear, and last of all by despair, begged for -peace, engaging to give the king as many designated hostages -as he pleased, and to receive none from him in return—in -which manner they had never before made peace -with any one. The king, hearing this embassage, of his -own motion took pity upon them, and received from them -the designated hostages, as many as he would. Thereupon -the heathen swore, besides, that they would straightway -leave his kingdom; and their king, Guthrum, promised to -embrace Christianity, and receive baptism at King Alfred’s -hands—all of which articles he and his men fulfilled as -they had promised. For after <three><a id="FNanchor_129" href="#Footnote_129" class="fnanchor">129</a> weeks Guthrum, king -of the heathen, with thirty<a id="FNanchor_130" href="#Footnote_130" class="fnanchor">130</a> men chosen from his army, -came to Alfred at a place called Aller, near Athelney, and -there King Alfred, receiving him as a son by adoption, -raised him up from the holy font of baptism. On the eighth -day, at a royal vill named Wedmore, his chrism-loosing<a id="FNanchor_131" href="#Footnote_131" class="fnanchor">131</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> -took place. After his baptism he remained twelve days -with the king, who, together with all his companions, gave -him many rich gifts.<a id="FNanchor_132" href="#Footnote_132" class="fnanchor">132</a></p> - -<p id="sec_57"><b>57. The Danes go to Cirencester.</b><a id="FNanchor_133" href="#Footnote_133" class="fnanchor">133</a>—In the year of our -Lord’s incarnation 879, which was the thirty-first of King -Alfred’s life, the aforesaid army of heathen, leaving Chippenham, -as they had promised, went to Cirencester, which -is called in Welsh Cairceri, and is situated in the southern<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span> -part of the kingdom of the Hwicce,<a id="FNanchor_134" href="#Footnote_134" class="fnanchor">134</a> and there they remained -one year.</p> - -<p id="sec_58"><b>58. Danes at Fulham.</b><a id="FNanchor_135" href="#Footnote_135" class="fnanchor">135</a>—In that same year a large army -of heathen sailed from beyond sea into the river Thames, -and joined the greater army. However, they wintered at -Fulham, near the river Thames.</p> - -<p id="sec_59"><b>59. An Eclipse.</b><a id="FNanchor_136" href="#Footnote_136" class="fnanchor">136</a>—In that same year an eclipse<a id="FNanchor_137" href="#Footnote_137" class="fnanchor">137</a> of the sun -took place between nones and vespers, but nearer to nones.</p> - -<p id="sec_60"><b>60. The Danes in East Anglia.</b><a id="FNanchor_138" href="#Footnote_138" class="fnanchor">138</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 880, which was the thirty-second of King -Alfred’s life, the oft-mentioned army of heathen left Cirencester, -and went to East Anglia, where they divided up the -country and began to settle.</p> - -<p id="sec_61"><b>61. The Smaller Army leaves England.</b><a id="FNanchor_139" href="#Footnote_139" class="fnanchor">139</a>—That same year -the army of heathen, which had wintered at Fulham, left -the island of Britain, and sailed over sea to East Frankland, -where they remained for a year at a place called Ghent.</p> - -<p id="sec_62"><b>62. The Danes fight with the Franks.</b>—In the year of our -Lord’s incarnation 881, which was the thirty-third of King -Alfred’s life, the army went further on into Frankland, and -the Franks fought against them; and after the battle the -heathen, obtaining horses, became an army of cavalry.</p> - -<p id="sec_63"><b>63. The Danes on the Meuse.</b><a id="FNanchor_140" href="#Footnote_140" class="fnanchor">140</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 882, which was the thirty-fourth of King -Alfred’s life, the aforesaid army sailed their ships up into -Frankland by a river called the Meuse, and there wintered -one year.</p> - -<p id="sec_64"><b>64. Alfred’s Naval Battle with the Danes.</b><a id="FNanchor_141" href="#Footnote_141" class="fnanchor">141</a>—In that same -year Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, fought a battle at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> -sea against the heathen fleet, of which he captured two -ships, and slew all who were on board. Two commanders -of the other ships, with all their crews, worn out by the -fight and their wounds, laid down their arms, and submitted -to the king on bended knees with many entreaties.</p> - -<p id="sec_65"><b>65. The Danes at Condé.</b><a id="FNanchor_142" href="#Footnote_142" class="fnanchor">142</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 883, which was the thirty-fifth of King Alfred’s -life, the aforesaid army sailed their ships up the river called -Scheldt to a convent of nuns called Condé, and there -remained one year.</p> - -<p id="sec_66"><b>66. Deliverance of Rochester.</b><a id="FNanchor_143" href="#Footnote_143" class="fnanchor">143</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 884, which was the thirty-sixth of King Alfred’s -life, the aforesaid army divided into two parts: one body -of them went into East Frankland, and the other, coming -to Britain, entered Kent, where they besieged a city called -in Saxon Rochester, situated on the east bank of the river -Medway. Before the gate of the town the heathen suddenly -erected a strong fortress; but they were unable to take the -city, because the citizens defended themselves bravely until -King Alfred came up to help them with a large army. -Then the heathen abandoned their fortress and all the -horses which they had brought with them out of Frankland, -and, leaving behind them in the fortress the greater -part of their prisoners on the sudden arrival of the king, -fled in haste to their ships; the Saxons immediately seized -upon the prisoners and horses left by the heathen; and so -the latter, compelled by dire necessity, returned the same -summer to Frankland.</p> - -<p id="sec_67"><b>67. Alfred’s Naval Battle at the Mouth of the Stour.</b><a id="FNanchor_144" href="#Footnote_144" class="fnanchor">144</a>—In -that same year Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, -shifted his fleet, full of fighting men, from Kent to East<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span> -Anglia,<a id="FNanchor_145" href="#Footnote_145" class="fnanchor">145</a> for the sake of spoil. No sooner had they arrived -at the mouth of the river Stour than thirteen ships of -the heathen met them, prepared for battle; a fierce naval -combat ensued, and the heathen were all slain; all the -ships, with all their money, were taken. After this, while -the victorious royal fleet was reposing,<a id="FNanchor_146" href="#Footnote_146" class="fnanchor">146</a> the heathen who -occupied East Anglia assembled their ships from every -quarter, met the same royal fleet at sea in the mouth of the -same river, and, after a naval engagement, gained the -victory.</p> - -<p id="sec_68"><b>68. Death of Carloman, of Louis II, and of Louis III.</b><a id="FNanchor_147" href="#Footnote_147" class="fnanchor">147</a>—In -that same year also, Carloman, King of the West -Franks, while engaged in a boar-hunt, was miserably slain -by a boar, which inflicted a dreadful wound on him with -its tusk. His brother Louis, who had also been King of the -Franks, had died the year before. Both these were sons of -Louis,<a id="FNanchor_148" href="#Footnote_148" class="fnanchor">148</a> King of the Franks, who also had died in the year -above mentioned, in which the eclipse of the sun took -place.<a id="FNanchor_149" href="#Footnote_149" class="fnanchor">149</a> This Louis was the son of Charles,<a id="FNanchor_150" href="#Footnote_150" class="fnanchor">150</a> King of the -Franks, whose daughter Judith<a id="FNanchor_151" href="#Footnote_151" class="fnanchor">151</a> Æthelwulf, King of the -West Saxons, took to queen with her father’s consent.</p> - -<p id="sec_69"><b>69. The Danes in Old Saxony.</b><a id="FNanchor_152" href="#Footnote_152" class="fnanchor">152</a>—In that same year a -great army of the heathen came from Germany<a id="FNanchor_153" href="#Footnote_153" class="fnanchor">153</a> into the -country of the Old Saxons, which is called in Saxon Eald-Seaxum. -To oppose them the same Saxons and Frisians -joined their forces, and fought bravely twice in that same<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span> -year.<a id="FNanchor_154" href="#Footnote_154" class="fnanchor">154</a> In both these battles the Christians, by God’s merciful -aid, gained the victory.</p> - -<p id="sec_70"><b>70. Charles, King of the Alemanni.</b><a id="FNanchor_155" href="#Footnote_155" class="fnanchor">155</a>—In that same year -also, Charles, King of the Alemanni, received with universal -consent the kingdom of the West Franks, and all -the kingdoms which lie between the Tyrrhene Sea and that -gulf<a id="FNanchor_156" href="#Footnote_156" class="fnanchor">156</a> situated between the Old Saxons and the Gauls, with -the exception of the kingdom of Armorica.<a id="FNanchor_157" href="#Footnote_157" class="fnanchor">157</a> This Charles -was the son of King Louis,<a id="FNanchor_158" href="#Footnote_158" class="fnanchor">158</a> who was brother of Charles, -King of the Franks, father of Judith, the aforesaid queen; -these two brothers were sons of Louis,<a id="FNanchor_159" href="#Footnote_159" class="fnanchor">159</a> Louis being the son -of Charlemagne, son of Pepin.</p> - -<p id="sec_71"><b>71. Death of Pope Marinus.</b><a id="FNanchor_160" href="#Footnote_160" class="fnanchor">160</a>—In that same year Pope -Marinus, of blessed memory, went the way of all flesh; it -was he who, for the love of Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, -and at his request, generously freed the Saxon -Colony in Rome from all tribute and tax. He also sent to -the aforesaid king many gifts on that occasion, among -which was no small portion of the most holy and venerable -cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ hung for the salvation -of all mankind.</p> - -<p id="sec_72"><b>72. The Danes break their Treaty.</b><a id="FNanchor_161" href="#Footnote_161" class="fnanchor">161</a>—In that same year -also the army of heathen which dwelt in East Anglia disgracefully -broke the peace which they had concluded with -King Alfred.</p> - -<p id="sec_73"><b>73. Asser makes a New Beginning.</b><a id="FNanchor_162" href="#Footnote_162" class="fnanchor">162</a>—And now, to return -to that from which I digressed, lest I be compelled by my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> -long navigation to abandon the haven of desired rest,<a id="FNanchor_163" href="#Footnote_163" class="fnanchor">163</a> I -propose, as far as my knowledge will enable me, to speak -somewhat concerning the life, character, and just conduct, -and in no small degree concerning the deeds, of my lord -Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, after he married the -said respected wife of noble Mercian race; and, with God’s -blessing, I will despatch it concisely and briefly, as I promised, -that I may not, by prolixity in relating each new -event, offend the minds of those who may be somewhat -hard to please.</p> - -<p id="sec_74"><b>74. Alfred’s Maladies.</b><a id="FNanchor_164" href="#Footnote_164" class="fnanchor">164</a>—While his nuptials were being -honorably celebrated in Mercia, among innumerable multitudes -of both sexes, and after long feasts by night and by day, -he was suddenly seized, in the presence of all the people, by -instant and overwhelming pain, unknown to any physician. -No one there knew, nor even those who daily see him up -to the present time—and this, sad to say, is the worst of -all, that it should have continued uninterruptedly through -the revolutions of so many years, from the twentieth to the -fortieth year of his life and more—whence such a malady -arose. Many thought that it was occasioned by the favor -and fascination of the people who surrounded him; others, -by some spite of the devil, who is ever jealous of good men; -others, from an unusual kind of fever; while still others -thought it was the <i>ficus</i>,<a id="FNanchor_165" href="#Footnote_165" class="fnanchor">165</a> which species of severe disease -he had had from his childhood. On a certain occasion it -had come to pass by the divine will that when he had -gone to Cornwall on a hunting expedition, and had turned -out of the road to pray in a certain church in which rests -Saint Gueriir [and now also St. Neot reposes there],<a id="FNanchor_166" href="#Footnote_166" class="fnanchor">166</a> he -had of his own accord prostrated himself for a long time<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span> -in silent prayer—since from childhood he had been a frequent -visitor of holy places for prayer and the giving of -alms—and there he besought the mercy of the Lord that, -in his boundless clemency, Almighty God would exchange -the torments of the malady which then afflicted him for -some other lighter disease, provided that such disease -should not show itself outwardly in his body, lest he should -be useless and despised—for he had great dread of leprosy -or blindness, or any such complaint as instantly makes -men useless and despised at its coming. When he had -finished his praying, he proceeded on his journey, and not -long after felt within himself that he had been divinely -healed, according to his request, of that disorder, and that -it was entirely eradicated, although he had obtained even -this complaint in the first flower of his youth by his devout -and frequent prayers and supplications to God. For if I -may be allowed to speak concisely, though in a somewhat -inverted order, of his zealous piety to God—in his earliest -youth, before he married his wife, he wished to establish -his mind in God’s commandments, for he perceived that he -could not abstain from carnal desires<a id="FNanchor_167" href="#Footnote_167" class="fnanchor">167</a>; and because he -saw that he should incur the anger of God if he did anything -contrary to His will, he used often to rise at cockcrow -and at the matin hours, and go to pray in churches -and at the relics of the saints. There he would prostrate -himself, and pray that Almighty God in His mercy would -strengthen his mind still more in the love of His service, -converting it fully to Himself by some infirmity such as he -might bear, but not such as would render him contemptible -and useless in worldly affairs. Now when he had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span> -often prayed with much devotion to this effect, after an -interval of some time he incurred as a gift from God the -before-named disease of the <i>ficus</i>, which he bore long and -painfully for many years, even despairing of life, until he -entirely got rid of it by prayer. But, sad to say, though -it had been removed, a worse one seized him, as I have -said, at his marriage, and this incessantly tormented him, -night and day, from the twentieth to the forty-fifth year of -his life. But if ever, by God’s mercy, he was relieved from -this infirmity for a single day or night, or even for the -space of one hour, yet the fear and dread of that terrible -malady never left him, but rendered him almost useless, as -he thought, in every affair, whether human or divine.</p> - -<p id="sec_75"><b>75. Alfred’s Children and their Education.</b><a id="FNanchor_168" href="#Footnote_168" class="fnanchor">168</a>—The sons and -daughters whom he had by his wife above-mentioned were -Æthelflæd, the eldest, after whom came Edward, then -Æthelgivu, then Ælfthryth, and finally Æthelward—besides -those who died in childhood. The number of ...<a id="FNanchor_169" href="#Footnote_169" class="fnanchor">169</a> -Æthelflæd, when she arrived at a marriageable age, was -united to Æthelred,<a id="FNanchor_170" href="#Footnote_170" class="fnanchor">170</a> Ealdorman of Mercia. Æthelgivu, -having dedicated her maidenhood to God, entered His service, -and submitted to the rules of the monastic life, to -which she was consecrate. Æthelward, the youngest, by -the divine counsel and by the admirable foresight of the -king, was intrusted to the schools of literary training, -where, with the children of almost all the nobility of the -country, and many also who were not noble, he was under -the diligent care of the teachers. Books in both languages, -namely, Latin and Saxon, were diligently read in the -school.<a id="FNanchor_171" href="#Footnote_171" class="fnanchor">171</a> They also learned to write; so that before they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span> -were of an age to practise human arts, namely, hunting -and other pursuits which befit noblemen, they became -studious and clever in the liberal arts. Edward and Ælfthryth -were always bred up in the king’s court, and received -great attention from their tutors and nurses; nay, they -continue to this day, with much love from every one, to -show humbleness, affability, and gentleness towards all, -both natives and foreigners, while remaining in complete -subjection to their father. Nor, among the other pursuits -which appertain to this life and are fit for noble youths, -are they suffered to pass their time idly and unprofitably -without liberal training; for they have carefully learned -the Psalms<a id="FNanchor_172" href="#Footnote_172" class="fnanchor">172</a> and Saxon books, especially Saxon poems, and -are in the habit of making frequent use of books.</p> - -<p id="sec_76"><b>76. Alfred’s Varied Pursuits.</b><a id="FNanchor_173" href="#Footnote_173" class="fnanchor">173</a>—In the meantime, the king, -during the wars and frequent trammels of this present -life, the invasions of the heathen, and his own daily infirmities -of body, continued to carry on the government, and -to practise hunting in all its branches; to teach his goldsmiths<a id="FNanchor_174" href="#Footnote_174" class="fnanchor">174</a> -and all his artificers, his falconers, hawkers, and -dog-keepers; to build houses, majestic and rich beyond all -custom of his predecessors, after his own new designs; to -recite the Saxon books, and especially to learn by heart -Saxon poems,<a id="FNanchor_175" href="#Footnote_175" class="fnanchor">175</a> and to make others learn them, he alone -never ceasing from studying most diligently to the best of -his ability. He daily attended mass and the other services -of religion; recited certain psalms, together with prayers, -and the daily and nightly hour-service; and frequented the -churches at night, as I have said, that he might pray in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> -secret, apart from others. He bestowed alms and largesses -both on natives and on foreigners of all countries; was -most affable and agreeable to all; and was skilful in the -investigation of things unknown.<a id="FNanchor_176" href="#Footnote_176" class="fnanchor">176</a> Many Franks, Frisians,<a id="FNanchor_177" href="#Footnote_177" class="fnanchor">177</a> -Gauls, heathen,<a id="FNanchor_178" href="#Footnote_178" class="fnanchor">178</a> Welsh, Irish,<a id="FNanchor_179" href="#Footnote_179" class="fnanchor">179</a> and Bretons,<a id="FNanchor_180" href="#Footnote_180" class="fnanchor">180</a> noble and -simple, submitted voluntarily to his dominion; and all of -them, according to their worthiness,<a id="FNanchor_181" href="#Footnote_181" class="fnanchor">181</a> he ruled, loved, -honored, and enriched with money and power, as if they -had been his own people.<a id="FNanchor_182" href="#Footnote_182" class="fnanchor">182</a> Moreover, he was sedulous and -zealous in the habit of hearing the divine Scriptures read -by his own countrymen, or if, by any chance it so happened -that any one arrived from abroad, to hear prayers -in company with foreigners. His bishops, too, and all the -clergy, his ealdormen and nobles, his personal attendants -and friends, he loved with wonderful affection. Their sons, -too, who were bred up in the royal household, were no less -dear to him than his own; he never ceased to instruct them -in all kinds of good morals, and, among other things, himself -to teach them literature night and day. But as if -he had no consolation in all these things, and suffered no -other annoyance either from within or without, he was so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> -harassed by daily and nightly sadness that he complained -and made moan to the Lord, and to all who were admitted -to his familiarity and affection, that Almighty God had -made him ignorant of divine wisdom and of the liberal -arts; in this emulating the pious, famous, and wealthy -Solomon, King of the Hebrews, who at the outset, despising -all present glory and riches, asked wisdom of God, and -yet found both, namely, wisdom and present glory; as it -is written, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, -and all these things shall be added unto you.’<a id="FNanchor_183" href="#Footnote_183" class="fnanchor">183</a> But -God, who is always the observer of the thoughts of the -inward mind, the instigator of meditations and of all good -purposes, and a plentiful aider in the formation of good -desires—for He would never inspire a man to aim at the -good unless He also amply supplied that which the man -justly and properly wished to have—stirred up the king’s -mind from within, not from without; as it is written, ‘I -will hearken what the Lord God will say concerning me.’<a id="FNanchor_184" href="#Footnote_184" class="fnanchor">184</a> -He would avail himself of every opportunity to procure -assistants in his good designs, to aid him in his strivings -after wisdom, that he might attain to what he aimed at; -and, like a prudent bee,<a id="FNanchor_185" href="#Footnote_185" class="fnanchor">185</a> which, rising in summer at early -morning from her beloved cells, steers her course with -rapid flight along the uncertain paths of the air, and -descends on the manifold and varied flowers of grasses, -herbs, and shrubs, essaying that which most pleases her, -and bearing it home, he directed the eyes of his mind afar, -and sought that without which he had not within, that is, -in his own kingdom.<a id="FNanchor_186" href="#Footnote_186" class="fnanchor">186</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span></p> - -<p id="sec_77"><b>77. Alfred’s Scholarly Associates: Werfrith, Plegmund, -Æthelstan, and Werwulf.</b><a id="FNanchor_187" href="#Footnote_187" class="fnanchor">187</a>—But God at that time, as some -consolation to the king’s benevolence, enduring no longer -his kindly and just complaint, sent as it were certain -luminaries, namely, Werfrith,<a id="FNanchor_188" href="#Footnote_188" class="fnanchor">188</a> Bishop of the church of -Worcester, a man well versed in divine Scripture, who, by -the king’s command, was the first to interpret with clearness -and elegance the books of the <i>Dialogues</i> of Pope -Gregory and Peter, his disciple, from Latin into Saxon, -sometimes putting sense for sense; then Plegmund,<a id="FNanchor_189" href="#Footnote_189" class="fnanchor">189</a> a -Mercian by birth, Archbishop of the church of Canterbury, -a venerable man, endowed with wisdom; besides Æthelstan<a id="FNanchor_190" href="#Footnote_190" class="fnanchor">190</a> -and Werwulf, learned priests and clerks,<a id="FNanchor_191" href="#Footnote_191" class="fnanchor">191</a> Mercians -by birth. These four King Alfred had called to him from -Mercia, and he exalted them with many honors and powers -in the kingdom of the West Saxons, not to speak of those -which Archbishop Plegmund and Bishop Werfrith had in -Mercia. By the teaching and wisdom of all these the king’s -desire increased continually, and was gratified. Night and -day, whenever he had any leisure, he commanded such -men as these to read books to him—for he never suffered -himself to be without one of them—so that he came to -possess a knowledge of almost every book, though of himself -he could not yet understand anything of books, since -he had not yet learned to read anything.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span></p> - -<p id="sec_78"><b>78. Grimbald and John, the Old Saxon.</b><a id="FNanchor_192" href="#Footnote_192" class="fnanchor">192</a>—But since the -king’s commendable avarice could not be gratified even in -this, he sent messengers beyond sea to Gaul, to procure -teachers, and invited from thence Grimbald,<a id="FNanchor_193" href="#Footnote_193" class="fnanchor">193</a> priest and -monk, a venerable man and excellent singer, learned in -every kind of ecclesiastical discipline and in holy Scripture, -and adorned with all virtues. He also obtained from thence -John,<a id="FNanchor_194" href="#Footnote_194" class="fnanchor">194</a> both priest and monk, a man of the keenest intellect, -learned in all branches of literature, and skilled in many -other arts. By the teaching of these men the king’s mind -was greatly enlarged, and he enriched and honored them -with much power.</p> - -<p id="sec_79"><b>79. Asser’s Negotiations with King Alfred.</b><a id="FNanchor_195" href="#Footnote_195" class="fnanchor">195</a>—At that time -I also came to Wessex, out of the furthest coasts of Western -Wales; and when I had proposed to go to him through -many intervening provinces, I arrived in the country of the -South Saxons, which in Saxon is called Sussex, under the -guidance of some of that nation; and there I first saw him -in the royal vill which is called Dene.<a id="FNanchor_196" href="#Footnote_196" class="fnanchor">196</a> He received me -with kindness, and, among other conversation, besought me -eagerly to devote myself to his service and become his -friend, and to leave for his sake everything which I possessed -on the northern and western side of the Severn, -promising he would give me more than an equivalent for -it, as in fact he did. I replied that I could not incautiously -and rashly promise such things; for it seemed to me unjust -that I should leave those sacred places in which I had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span> -bred and educated, where I had received the tonsure, and -had at length been ordained, for the sake of any earthly -honor and power, unless by force and compulsion. Upon -this he said: ‘If you cannot accede to this, at least grant -me half your service: spend six months with me here, and -six in Wales.’ To this I replied: ‘I could not easily or -rashly promise even that without the approval of my -friends.’ At length, however, when I perceived that he -was really anxious for my services, though I knew not -why, I promised him that, if my life were spared, I would -return to him after six months, with such a reply as should -be agreeable to him as well as advantageous to me and -mine. With this answer he was satisfied; and when I had -given him a pledge to return at the appointed time, on the -fourth day we rode away from him, and returned to my -own country. After our departure, a violent fever seized -me in the city of Cærwent,<a id="FNanchor_197" href="#Footnote_197" class="fnanchor">197</a> where I lay for twelve months -and one week, night and day, without hope of recovery. -When at the appointed time, therefore, I had not fulfilled -my promise of visiting him, he sent letters to hasten my -journey on horseback to him, and to inquire the cause of -my delay. As I was unable to ride to him, I sent a reply -to make known to him the cause of my delay, and assure -him that, if I recovered from my illness, I would fulfil what -I had promised. My disease finally left me, and accordingly, -by the advice and consent of all my friends, for the -benefit of that holy place and of all who dwelt therein, -I devoted myself to the king’s service as I had promised, the -condition being that I should remain with him six months<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> -every year, either continuously, if I could spend six months -with him at once, or alternately, three months in Wales -and three in Wessex. It was also understood that he -should in all ways be helpful to St. Davids, as far as his -power extended.<a id="FNanchor_198" href="#Footnote_198" class="fnanchor">198</a> For my friends hoped by this means to -sustain less tribulation and harm from King Hemeid—who -often plundered that monastery and the parish of St. Davids, -and sometimes expelled the bishops who ruled over it, as -he did Archbishop Nobis, my relative, and on occasion -myself, their subordinate—if in any way I could secure -the notice and friendship of the king.</p> - -<p id="sec_80"><b>80. The Welsh Princes who submit to Alfred.</b><a id="FNanchor_199" href="#Footnote_199" class="fnanchor">199</a>—At that -time, and long before, all the countries in South Wales -belonged to King Alfred, and still belong to him. For -instance, King Hemeid, with all the inhabitants of the -region of Dyfed,<a id="FNanchor_200" href="#Footnote_200" class="fnanchor">200</a> restrained by the violence of the six sons -of Rhodri,<a id="FNanchor_201" href="#Footnote_201" class="fnanchor">201</a> had submitted to the dominion of the king. -Howel also, son of Ris, King of Glywyssing,<a id="FNanchor_202" href="#Footnote_202" class="fnanchor">202</a> and Brochmail -and Fernmail, sons of Mouric, kings of Gwent,<a id="FNanchor_203" href="#Footnote_203" class="fnanchor">203</a> compelled -by the violence and tyranny of Ealdorman Æthelred -and of the Mercians, of their own accord sought out the same -king,<a id="FNanchor_204" href="#Footnote_204" class="fnanchor">204</a> that they might enjoy rule and protection from him -against their enemies. Helised, also, son of Teudubr, King -of Brecknock, compelled by the violence of the same sons -of Rhodri, of his own accord sought the lordship of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> -aforesaid king; and Anarawd, son of Rhodri, with his -brothers, at length abandoning the friendship of the Northumbrians, -from whom he had received no good, but rather -harm, came into King Alfred’s presence, and eagerly -sought his friendship. The king received him with honor, -adopted him as his son by confirmation from the bishop’s -hand,<a id="FNanchor_205" href="#Footnote_205" class="fnanchor">205</a> and bestowed many gifts upon him. Thus he became -subject to the king with all his people, on condition that -he should be obedient to the king’s will in all respects, in -the same way as Æthelred and the Mercians.</p> - -<p id="sec_81"><b>81. How Alfred rewards Submission.</b><a id="FNanchor_206" href="#Footnote_206" class="fnanchor">206</a>—Nor was it in vain -that they all gained the friendship of the king. For those -who desired to augment their worldly power obtained power; -those who desired money gained money; those who desired -his friendship acquired his friendship; those who wished -more than one secured more than one. But all of them -had his love and guardianship and defense from every -quarter, so far as the king, with all his men, could defend -himself. When therefore I had come to him at the royal -vill called Leonaford,<a id="FNanchor_207" href="#Footnote_207" class="fnanchor">207</a> I was honorably received by him, -and remained that time with him at his court eight months; -during which I read to him whatever books he liked, of -such as he had at hand; for this is his peculiar and most -confirmed habit, both night and day, amid all his other -occupations of mind and body,<a id="FNanchor_208" href="#Footnote_208" class="fnanchor">208</a> either himself to read books, -or to listen to the reading of others. And when I frequently -had sought his permission to return, and had in no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> -way been able to obtain it, at length, when I had made up -my mind by all means to demand it, he called me to him at -twilight on Christmas Eve, and gave me two letters in which -was a manifold list of all the things which were in the two -monasteries which are called in Saxon Congresbury and -Banwell<a id="FNanchor_209" href="#Footnote_209" class="fnanchor">209</a>; and on that same day he delivered to me those -two monasteries with everything in them, together with a -silken pallium of great value, and of incense a load for a -strong man, adding these words, that he did not give me -these trifling presents because he was unwilling hereafter -to give me greater. For in the course of time he unexpectedly -gave me Exeter, with the whole diocese which belonged -to him in Wessex and in Cornwall, besides gifts every day -without number of every kind of worldly wealth; these it -would be too long to enumerate here, lest it should weary -my readers. But let no one suppose that I have mentioned -these presents in this place for the sake of glory or flattery, -or to obtain greater honor; I call God to witness that I -have not done so, but that I might certify to those who are -ignorant how profuse he was in giving. He then at once -gave me permission to ride to those two monasteries, so full -of all good things, and afterwards to return to my own.</p> - -<p id="sec_82"><b>82. The Siege of Paris.</b><a id="FNanchor_210" href="#Footnote_210" class="fnanchor">210</a>—In the year of our Lord’s incarnation -886, which was the thirty-eighth of King Alfred’s -life, the army so often mentioned again fled the country, -and went into that of the West Franks. Entering the -river Seine with their vessels, they sailed up it as far as the -city of Paris; there they wintered, pitching their camp on -both sides of the river almost to the bridge, in order that -they might prevent the citizens from crossing the bridge—since -the city occupies a small island in the middle of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> -stream. They besieged the city for a whole year, but, by -the merciful favor of God, and by reason of the brave -defense of the citizens, they could not force their way inside -the walls.</p> - -<p id="sec_83"><b>83. Alfred rebuilds London.</b><a id="FNanchor_211" href="#Footnote_211" class="fnanchor">211</a>—In that same year Alfred, -King of the Anglo-Saxons, after the burning of cities and -massacres of the people, honorably rebuilt the city of -London, made it habitable, and gave it into the custody of -Æthelred, Ealdorman of Mercia. To this king<a id="FNanchor_212" href="#Footnote_212" class="fnanchor">212</a> all the -Angles and Saxons who hitherto had been dispersed everywhere, -or were in captivity with the heathen,<a id="FNanchor_213" href="#Footnote_213" class="fnanchor">213</a> voluntarily -turned, and submitted themselves to his rule.<a id="FNanchor_214" href="#Footnote_214" class="fnanchor">214</a></p> - -<p id="sec_84"><b>84. The Danes leave Paris.</b><a id="FNanchor_215" href="#Footnote_215" class="fnanchor">215</a>—In the year of our Lord’s -incarnation 887, which was the thirty-ninth of King Alfred’s -life, the above-mentioned army of the heathen, leaving the -city of Paris uninjured, since otherwise they could get no -advantage, passed under the bridge and rowed their fleet -up the river Seine for a long distance, until they reached -the mouth of the river Marne; here they left the Seine, -entered the mouth of the Marne, and, sailing up it for a -good distance and a good while, at length, not without -labor, arrived at a place called Chézy, a royal vill, where -they wintered a whole year. In the following year they -entered the mouth of the river Yonne, not without doing -much damage to the country, and there remained one year.</p> - -<p id="sec_85"><b>85. Division of the Empire.</b><a id="FNanchor_216" href="#Footnote_216" class="fnanchor">216</a>—In that same year Charles,<a id="FNanchor_217" href="#Footnote_217" class="fnanchor">217</a> -King of the Franks, went the way of all flesh; but Arnolf,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span> -his brother’s son, six weeks before he died, had expelled -him from the kingdom. Immediately after his death five -kings were ordained, and the kingdom was split into five -parts; but the principal seat of the kingdom justly and -deservedly fell to Arnolf, were it not that he had shamefully -sinned against his uncle. The other four kings promised -fidelity and obedience to Arnolf, as was meet; for -none of these four kings was heir to the kingdom on his -father’s side, as was Arnolf; therefore, though the five -kings were ordained immediately upon the death of Charles, -yet the Empire remained to Arnolf. Such, then, was the -division of that realm; Arnolf received the countries to -the east of the river Rhine; Rudolf the inner part of the -kingdom<a id="FNanchor_218" href="#Footnote_218" class="fnanchor">218</a>; Odo the western part; Berengar and Wido, -Lombardy, and those countries which are on that side of -the mountain. But they did not keep such and so great -dominions in peace among themselves, for they twice -fought a pitched battle, and often mutually ravaged those -kingdoms, and drove one another out of their dominions.</p> - -<p id="sec_86"><b>86. Alfred sends Alms to Rome.</b><a id="FNanchor_219" href="#Footnote_219" class="fnanchor">219</a>—In the same year in -which that army left Paris and went to Chézy,<a id="FNanchor_220" href="#Footnote_220" class="fnanchor">220</a> Æthelhelm, -Ealdorman of Wiltshire, carried to Rome the alms -of King Alfred and of the Saxons.</p> - -<p id="sec_87"><b>87. Alfred begins to translate from Latin.</b><a id="FNanchor_221" href="#Footnote_221" class="fnanchor">221</a>—In that same -year also the oft-mentioned Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, -by divine inspiration first began, on one and the -same day, to read and to translate; but that this may be -clearer to those who are ignorant, I will relate the cause of -this long delay in beginning.</p> - -<p id="sec_88"><b>88. Alfred’s Manual.</b><a id="FNanchor_222" href="#Footnote_222" class="fnanchor">222</a>—On a certain day we were both of -us sitting in the king’s chamber, talking on all kinds of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span> -subjects, as usual, and it happened that I read to him a -quotation out of a certain book. While he was listening to -it attentively with both ears, and pondering it deeply with -his inmost mind, he suddenly showed me a little book<a id="FNanchor_223" href="#Footnote_223" class="fnanchor">223</a> -which he carried in his bosom, wherein were written the -daily course, together with certain Psalms and prayers -which he had read in his youth, and thereupon bade me -write the quotation in that book. Hearing this, and perceiving -in part his active intelligence and goodness of -heart, together with his devout resolution of studying -divine wisdom, I gave, though in secret, yet with hands -uplifted to heaven, boundless thanks to Almighty God, who -had implanted such devotion to the study of wisdom in the -king’s heart. But since I could find no blank space in that -book wherein to write the quotation, it being all full of -various matters, I delayed a little, chiefly that I might stir -up the choice understanding of the king to a higher knowledge -of the divine testimonies. Upon his urging me to -make haste and write it quickly, I said to him, ‘Are you -willing that I should write that quotation on some separate -leaf? Perhaps we shall find one or more other such which -will please you; and if that should happen, we shall be glad -that we have kept this by itself.’ ‘Your plan is good,’ -said he; so I gladly made haste to get ready a pamphlet -of four leaves, at the head of which I wrote what he had -bidden me; and that same day I wrote in it, at his request, -and as I had predicted, no less than three other quotations -which pleased him. From that time we daily talked -together, and investigated the same subject by the help of -other quotations which we found and which pleased him, -so that the pamphlet gradually became full, and deservedly -so, for it is written, ‘The righteous man builds upon a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span> -moderate foundation, and by degrees passes to greater -things.’<a id="FNanchor_224" href="#Footnote_224" class="fnanchor">224</a> Thus, like a most productive bee, flying far and -wide, and scrutinizing the fenlands, he eagerly and unceasingly -collected various flowers of Holy Scripture, with -which he copiously stored the cells of his mind.<a id="FNanchor_225" href="#Footnote_225" class="fnanchor">225</a></p> - -<p id="sec_89"><b>89. Alfred’s Handbook.</b><a id="FNanchor_226" href="#Footnote_226" class="fnanchor">226</a>—When that first quotation had -been copied, he was eager at once to read, and to translate -into Saxon, and then to teach many others—even as we -are assured concerning that happy thief who recognized -the Lord Jesus Christ, his Lord, aye, the Lord of all men, -as he was hanging on the venerable gallows of the holy -cross, and, with trustful petition, casting down of his body no -more than his eyes, since he was so entirely fastened with -nails that he could do nothing else, cried with humble -voice, ‘O Christ, remember me when thou comest into thy -kingdom!‘<a id="FNanchor_227" href="#Footnote_227" class="fnanchor">227</a>—since it was only on the cross that he began to -learn the elements of the Christian faith.<a id="FNanchor_228" href="#Footnote_228" class="fnanchor">228</a> Inspired by God, -he began the rudiments of Holy Scripture on the sacred feast -of St. Martin.<a id="FNanchor_229" href="#Footnote_229" class="fnanchor">229</a> Then he went on, as far as he was able, to -learn the flowers<a id="FNanchor_230" href="#Footnote_230" class="fnanchor">230</a> collected from various quarters by any -and all of his teachers, and to reduce them into the form of -one book, although jumbled together, until it became almost -as large as a psalter. This book he called his Enchiridion<a id="FNanchor_231" href="#Footnote_231" class="fnanchor">231</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span> -or Handbook,<a id="FNanchor_232" href="#Footnote_232" class="fnanchor">232</a> because he carefully kept it at hand day -and night, and found, as he then used to say, no small -consolation therein.</p> - -<p id="sec_90"><b>90. Illustration from the Penitent Thief.</b><a id="FNanchor_233" href="#Footnote_233" class="fnanchor">233</a>—But, as it was -written by a wise man,<a id="FNanchor_234" href="#Footnote_234" class="fnanchor">234</a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Of watchful minds are they whose pious care</div> - <div class="verse indent0">It is to govern well,</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="in0">I see that I must be especially watchful, in that I just now -drew a kind of comparison, though in dissimilar manner,<a id="FNanchor_235" href="#Footnote_235" class="fnanchor">235</a> -between the happy thief and the king; for the cross is -hateful to every one in distress.<a id="FNanchor_236" href="#Footnote_236" class="fnanchor">236</a> But what can he do, if he -cannot dislodge himself or escape thence? or in what way -can he improve his condition by remaining there? He -must, therefore, whether he will or no, endure with pain -and sorrow that which he is suffering.</p> - -<p id="sec_91"><b>91. Alfred’s Troubles.</b><a id="FNanchor_237" href="#Footnote_237" class="fnanchor">237</a>—Now the king was pierced with -many nails of tribulation, though established in the royal -sway; for from the twentieth year of his age to the present -year, which is his forty-fifth,<a id="FNanchor_238" href="#Footnote_238" class="fnanchor">238</a> he has been constantly afflicted -with most severe attacks of an unknown disease, so that -there is not a single hour in which he is not either suffering -from that malady, or nigh to despair by reason of -the gloom which is occasioned by his fear of it. Moreover -the constant invasions of foreign nations, by which he was -continually harassed by land and sea, without any interval -of quiet, constituted a sufficient cause of disturbance.</p> - -<p>What shall I say of his repeated expeditions against -the heathen, his wars, and the incessant occupations of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> -government? Of the daily ... of the<a id="FNanchor_239" href="#Footnote_239" class="fnanchor">239</a> nations which dwell -on<a id="FNanchor_240" href="#Footnote_240" class="fnanchor">240</a> the Tyrrhene<a id="FNanchor_241" href="#Footnote_241" class="fnanchor">241</a> Sea to the farthest end of Ireland? For -we have seen and read letters, accompanied with presents, -which were sent to him from Jerusalem by the patriarch -Elias.<a id="FNanchor_242" href="#Footnote_242" class="fnanchor">242</a> What shall I say of his restoration of cities and -towns, and of others which he built where none had been -before? of golden and silver buildings,<a id="FNanchor_243" href="#Footnote_243" class="fnanchor">243</a> built in incomparable -style under his direction? of the royal halls and -chambers, wonderfully erected of stone and wood at his -command? of the royal vills constructed of stones removed -from their old site, and finely rebuilt by the king’s command -in more fitting places?</p> - -<p>Not to speak of the disease above mentioned, he was -disturbed by the quarrels of his subjects,<a id="FNanchor_244" href="#Footnote_244" class="fnanchor">244</a> who would of -their own choice endure little or no toil for the common -need of the kingdom. He alone, sustained by the divine<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span> -aid, once he had assumed the helm of government, strove -in every way, like a skilful pilot, to steer<a id="FNanchor_245" href="#Footnote_245" class="fnanchor">245</a> his ship, laden -with much wealth, into the safe and longed-for harbor of -his country, though almost all his crew were weary, suffering -them not to faint or hesitate, even amid the waves -and manifold whirlpools of this present life. Thus his -bishops, earls, nobles, favorite thanes, and prefects, who, -next to God and the king, had the whole government of -the kingdom, as was fitting, continually received from him -instruction, compliment, exhortation, and command; nay, -at last, if they were disobedient, and his long patience was -exhausted, he would reprove them severely, and censure -in every way their vulgar folly and obstinacy; and thus -he wisely gained and bound them to his own wishes and -the common interests of the whole kingdom. But if, owing -to the sluggishness of the people, these admonitions of the -king were either not fulfilled, or were begun late at the -moment of necessity, and so, because they were not carried -through, did not redound to the advantage of those who -put them in execution—take as an example the fortresses -which he ordered, but which are not yet begun or, begun -late, have not yet been completely finished—when hostile -forces have made invasions by sea, or land, or both, then -those who had set themselves against the imperial orders -have been put to shame and overwhelmed with vain repentance. -I speak of vain repentance on the authority of -Scripture, whereby numberless persons have had cause for -sorrow when they have been smitten by great harm through -the perpetration of deceit. But though by this means, sad -to say, they may be bitterly afflicted, and roused to grief by -the loss of fathers, wives, children, thanes, man servants, -maid servants, products, and all their household stuff,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span> -what is the use of hateful repentance when their kinsmen -are dead, and they cannot aid them, or redeem from dire -captivity those who are captive? for they cannot even help -themselves when they have escaped, since they have not -wherewithal to sustain their own lives. Sorely exhausted -by a tardy repentance, they grieve over their carelessness -in despising the king’s commands; they unite in praising -his wisdom, promising to fulfil with all their might what -before they had declined to do, namely, in the construction -of fortresses, and other things useful to the whole kingdom.</p> - -<p id="sec_92"><b>92. Alfred builds two Monasteries.</b><a id="FNanchor_246" href="#Footnote_246" class="fnanchor">246</a>—Concerning his desire -and intent of excellent meditation, which, in the midst -both of prosperity and adversity, he never in any way -neglected, I cannot in this place with advantage forbear to -speak. For, when he was reflecting, according to his wont, -upon the need of his soul,<a id="FNanchor_247" href="#Footnote_247" class="fnanchor">247</a> he ordered, among the other -good deeds to which his thoughts were by night and day<a id="FNanchor_248" href="#Footnote_248" class="fnanchor">248</a> -especially turned, that two monasteries should be built, -one of them being for monks at Athelney.<a id="FNanchor_249" href="#Footnote_249" class="fnanchor">249</a> This is a place -surrounded by impassable fens and waters on every hand, -where no one can enter but by boats, or by a bridge laboriously -constructed between two fortresses, at the western -end of which bridge was erected a strong citadel, of beautiful -work, by command of the aforesaid king. In this monastery -he collected monks of all kinds from every quarter, -and there settled them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span></p> - -<p id="sec_93"><b>93. Monasticism was decayed.</b><a id="FNanchor_250" href="#Footnote_250" class="fnanchor">250</a>—At first he had no one of -his own nation, noble and free by birth, who was willing -to enter the monastic life, except children, who as yet could -neither choose good nor reject evil by reason of their tender -years. This was the case because for many years previous -the love of a monastic life had utterly decayed in that as -well as in many other nations; for, though many monasteries -still remain in that country, yet no one kept the rule -of that kind of life in an orderly way, whether because of -the invasions of foreigners, which took place so frequently -both by sea and land, or because that people abounded in -riches of every kind, and so looked with contempt on the -monastic life. On this account it was that King Alfred -sought to gather monks of different kinds in the same -monastery.</p> - -<p id="sec_94"><b>94. Monks brought from beyond Sea.</b><a id="FNanchor_251" href="#Footnote_251" class="fnanchor">251</a>—First he placed -there John<a id="FNanchor_252" href="#Footnote_252" class="fnanchor">252</a> the priest and monk, an Old Saxon by birth, -making him abbot; and then certain priests and deacons -from beyond sea. Finding that he had not so large a number -of these as he wished, he procured as many as possible -of the same Gallic race<a id="FNanchor_253" href="#Footnote_253" class="fnanchor">253</a>; some of whom, being children, -he ordered to be taught in the same monastery, and at a -later period to be admitted to the monastic habit. I have -myself seen there in monastic dress a young man of heathen -birth who was educated in that monastery, and by no -means the hindmost of them all.</p> - -<p id="sec_95"><b>95. A Crime committed at Athelney.</b><a id="FNanchor_254" href="#Footnote_254" class="fnanchor">254</a>—There was a crime -committed once in that monastery, which I would <not>,<a id="FNanchor_255" href="#Footnote_255" class="fnanchor">255</a> -by my silence, utterly consign to oblivion, although it is -an atrocious villainy, for throughout the whole of Scripture<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> -the base deeds of the wicked are interspersed among the -reverend actions of the righteous, like tares and cockle -among the wheat. Good deeds are recorded that they may -be praised, imitated, and emulated, and that those who pursue -them may be held worthy of all honor; and wicked -deeds, that they may be censured, execrated, and avoided, -and their imitators be reproved with all odium, contempt, -and vengeance.</p> - -<p id="sec_96"><b>96. The Plot of a Priest and a Deacon.</b><a id="FNanchor_256" href="#Footnote_256" class="fnanchor">256</a>—Once upon a time, -a certain priest and a deacon, Gauls by birth, of the number -of the aforesaid monks, by the instigation of the devil, -and roused by jealousy, became so embittered in secret -against their abbot, the above-mentioned John, that, after -the manner of the Jews, they circumvented and betrayed -their master. For they so wrought upon two hired servants -of the same Gallic race that in the night, when all men -were enjoying the sweet tranquillity of sleep, they should -make their way into the church armed, and, shutting it -behind them as usual, hide themselves there, and wait till -the abbot should enter the church alone. At length, when, -as was his wont, he should secretly enter the church by -himself to pray, and, bending his knees, bow before the -holy altar, the men should fall upon him, and slay him on -the spot. They should then drag his lifeless body out of -the church, and throw it down before the house of a certain -harlot, as if he had been slain whilst on a visit to her. -This was their device, adding crime to crime, as it is -said, ‘The last error shall be worse than the first.’<a id="FNanchor_257" href="#Footnote_257" class="fnanchor">257</a> But -the divine mercy, which is always wont to aid the innocent, -frustrated in great part the evil design of those evil -men, so that it did not turn out in all respects as they had -planned.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span></p> - -<p id="sec_97"><b>97. The Execution of the Plot.</b><a id="FNanchor_258" href="#Footnote_258" class="fnanchor">258</a>—When, therefore, the -whole of the evil teaching had been explained by those -wicked teachers to their wicked hearers, and enforced upon -them, the night having come and being favorable, the two -armed ruffians, furnished with a promise of impunity, shut -themselves up in the church to await the arrival of the -abbot. In the middle of the night John, as usual, entered -the church to pray, without any one’s knowledge, and -knelt before the altar. Thereupon the two ruffians rushed -upon him suddenly with drawn swords, and wounded him -severely. But he, being ever a man of keen mind, and, as -I have heard say, not unacquainted with the art of fighting, -if he had not been proficient in better lore, no sooner heard -the noise of the robbers, even before he saw them, than he -rose up against them before he was wounded, and, shouting -at the top of his voice, struggled against them with all -his might, crying out that they were devils and not men—and -indeed he knew no better, as he thought that no men -would dare to attempt such a deed. He was, however, -wounded before any of his monks could come up. They, -roused by the noise, were frightened when they heard the -word ‘devils’; being likewise unfamiliar with such struggles, -they, and the two who, after the manner of the Jews, were -traitors to their lord, rushed toward the doors of the church; -but before they got there those ruffians escaped with all -speed, and secreted themselves in the fens near by, leaving -the abbot half dead. The monks raised their nearly lifeless -superior, and bore him home with grief and lamentations; -nor did those two knaves shed tears less than the innocent. -But God’s mercy did not allow so horrible a crime to pass -unpunished: the desperadoes who perpetrated it, and all -who urged them to it, were seized and bound; then, by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span> -various tortures, they died a shameful death. Let us now -return to our main narrative.</p> - -<p id="sec_98"><b>98. The Convent at Shaftesbury.</b><a id="FNanchor_259" href="#Footnote_259" class="fnanchor">259</a>—Another<a id="FNanchor_260" href="#Footnote_260" class="fnanchor">260</a> monastery -also was built by the aforesaid king as a residence for -nuns, near the eastern gate of Shaftesbury; and over it he -placed as abbess his own daughter Æthelgivu, a virgin -dedicated to God. With her many other noble ladies, serving -God in the monastic life, dwell in that convent. These -two edifices were enriched by the king with much land, -and with all sorts of wealth.</p> - -<p id="sec_99"><b>99. Alfred divides his Time and his Revenues.</b><a id="FNanchor_261" href="#Footnote_261" class="fnanchor">261</a>—These -things being thus disposed of, the king considered within -himself, as was his practice, what more would conduce to -religious meditation. What he had wisely begun and usefully -conceived was adhered to with even more beneficial -result; for he had long before heard out of the book of the -law that the Lord<a id="FNanchor_262" href="#Footnote_262" class="fnanchor">262</a> had promised to restore to him the -tenth many times over; and he knew that the Lord had -faithfully kept His promise, and had actually restored to -him the tithe manyfold. Encouraged by this precedent, -and wishing to surpass the practice of his predecessors, he -vowed humbly and faithfully to devote to God half his -services, by day and by night, and also half of all the -wealth which lawfully and justly came every year into his -possession; and this vow, as far as human discretion can -perceive and keep, he skilfully and wisely endeavored to -fulfil. But that he might, with his usual caution, avoid -that which Scripture warns us against, ‘If thou offerest -aright, but dost not divide aright, thou sinnest,’<a id="FNanchor_263" href="#Footnote_263" class="fnanchor">263</a> he considered -how he might divide aright that which he had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> -joyfully vowed to God; and as Solomon had said, ‘The -king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord’<a id="FNanchor_264" href="#Footnote_264" class="fnanchor">264</a>—that is, his -counsel—he ordered with a divinely inspired policy, which -could come only from above, that his officers should first -divide into two parts the revenues of every year.</p> - -<p id="sec_100"><b>100. The Threefold Division of Officers at Court.</b><a id="FNanchor_265" href="#Footnote_265" class="fnanchor">265</a>—After -this division had been made, he assigned the first part to -worldly uses, and ordered that one third of it should be -paid to his soldiers and to his officers, the nobles who dwelt -by turns at court, where they discharged various duties, for -thus it was that the king’s household was arranged at all -times in three shifts,<a id="FNanchor_266" href="#Footnote_266" class="fnanchor">266</a> in the following manner. The king’s -attendants being wisely distributed into three companies, -the first company was on duty at court for one month, -night and day, at the end of which they were relieved by -the second company, and returned to their homes for two -months, where they attended to their own affairs. At the -end of the second month, the third company relieved the -second, who returned to their homes, where they spent -two months. The third company then gave place to the -first, and in their turn spent two months at home. And in -this order the rotation of service at the king’s court was -at all times carried on.</p> - -<p id="sec_101"><b>101. The Distribution for Secular Purposes.</b><a id="FNanchor_267" href="#Footnote_267" class="fnanchor">267</a>—To these, -therefore, was paid the first of the three portions aforesaid, -to each according to his standing and peculiar service; the -second to the workmen whom he had collected from many -nations and had about him in large numbers, men skilled -in every kind of building; the third portion was assigned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span> -to foreigners who came to him out of every nation far and -near; whether they asked money of him or not, he cheerfully -gave to each with wonderful munificence according -to their respective worthiness,<a id="FNanchor_268" href="#Footnote_268" class="fnanchor">268</a> exemplifying what is -written, ‘God loveth a cheerful giver.’<a id="FNanchor_269" href="#Footnote_269" class="fnanchor">269</a></p> - -<p id="sec_102"><b>102. The Distribution for Religious Purposes.</b><a id="FNanchor_270" href="#Footnote_270" class="fnanchor">270</a>—But the -second part of all his revenues, which came yearly into his -possession, and was included in the receipts of the exchequer, -as I mentioned just above, he with full devotion dedicated -to God, ordering his officers to divide it carefully into -four equal parts with the provision that the first part -should be discreetly bestowed on the poor of every nation -who came to him; on this subject he said that, as far as -human discretion could guarantee, the remark of Pope -Gregory on the proper division of alms should be followed, -‘Give not little to whom you should give much, nor much -to whom little, nor nothing to whom something, nor something -to whom nothing.’<a id="FNanchor_271" href="#Footnote_271" class="fnanchor">271</a> The second share to the two -monasteries which he had built, and to those who were -serving God in them, as I have described more at length -above. The third to the school<a id="FNanchor_272" href="#Footnote_272" class="fnanchor">272</a> which he had studiously -formed from many of the nobility of his own nation, but also -from boys of mean condition. The fourth to the neighboring -monasteries in all Wessex and Mercia, and also during -some years, in turn, to the churches and servants of God -dwelling in Wales, Cornwall,<a id="FNanchor_273" href="#Footnote_273" class="fnanchor">273</a> Gaul,<a id="FNanchor_274" href="#Footnote_274" class="fnanchor">274</a> Brittany, Northumbria,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> -and sometimes, too, in Ireland; according to his means, -he either distributed to them beforehand, or agreed to -contribute afterwards, if life and prosperity did not -fail him.</p> - -<p id="sec_103"><b>103. Alfred’s Dedication of Personal Service.</b><a id="FNanchor_275" href="#Footnote_275" class="fnanchor">275</a>—When the -king had arranged all these matters in due order, he remembered -the text of holy Scripture which says, ‘Whosoever -will give alms, ought to begin from himself,’<a id="FNanchor_276" href="#Footnote_276" class="fnanchor">276</a> and prudently -began to reflect what he could offer to God from the service -of his body and mind; for he proposed to offer to God -no less out of this than he had done of external riches.<a id="FNanchor_277" href="#Footnote_277" class="fnanchor">277</a> -Accordingly, he promised, as far as his infirmity and his -means would allow, to render to God the half of his services, -bodily and mental, by night and by day,<a id="FNanchor_278" href="#Footnote_278" class="fnanchor">278</a> voluntarily, -and with all his might. Inasmuch, however, as he could -not distinguish with accuracy the lengths of the night -hours in any way, on account of the darkness, nor frequently -those of the day, on account of the thick clouds -and rains, he began to consider by what regular means, -free from uncertainty, relying on the mercy of God, he -might discharge the promised tenor of his vow undeviatingly -until his death.</p> - -<p id="sec_104"><b>104. Alfred’s Measure of Time.</b><a id="FNanchor_279" href="#Footnote_279" class="fnanchor">279</a>—After long reflection on -these things, he at length, by a useful and shrewd invention, -commanded his clerks<a id="FNanchor_280" href="#Footnote_280" class="fnanchor">280</a> to supply wax in sufficient quantity, -and to weigh it in a balance against pennies. When enough -wax was measured out to equal the weight of seventy-two<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> -pence, he caused the clerks to make six candles thereof, all -of equal weight, and to mark off twelve inches as the -length of each candle.<a id="FNanchor_281" href="#Footnote_281" class="fnanchor">281</a> By this plan, therefore, those six -candles burned for twenty-four hours, a night and a day, -without fail, before the sacred relics of many of God’s -elect, which always accompanied him wherever he went. -Sometimes, however, the candles could not continue burning -a whole day and night, till the same hour when they -were lighted the preceding evening, by reason of the violence -of the winds, which at times blew day and night -without intermission through the doors and windows<a id="FNanchor_282" href="#Footnote_282" class="fnanchor">282</a> of -the churches, the sheathing, and the wainscot,<a id="FNanchor_283" href="#Footnote_283" class="fnanchor">283</a> the numerous -chinks in the walls, or the thin material of the tents; -on such occasions it was unavoidable that they should burn -out and finish their course before the appointed hour. The -king, therefore, set himself to consider by what means he -might shut out the wind, and by a skilful and cunning -invention ordered a lantern to be beautifully constructed -of wood and ox-horn, since white ox-horns, when shaved -thin, are as transparent as a vessel of glass. Into this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span> -lantern, then, wonderfully made of wood and horn, as I -before said, a candle was put at night, which shone as -brightly without as within, and was not disturbed by the -wind, since he had also ordered a door of horn to be made -for the opening of the lantern.<a id="FNanchor_284" href="#Footnote_284" class="fnanchor">284</a> By this contrivance, then, -six candles, lighted in succession, lasted twenty-four hours, -neither more nor less. When these were burned out, others -were lighted.</p> - -<p id="sec_105"><b>105. Alfred judges the Poor with Equity.</b><a id="FNanchor_285" href="#Footnote_285" class="fnanchor">285</a>—When all these -things were properly arranged, the king, eager to hold to -the half of his daily service, as he had vowed to God, and -more also, if his ability on the one hand, and his malady -on the other, would allow him, showed himself a minute -investigator of the truth in all his judgments, and this -especially for the sake of the poor, to whose interest, day -and night, among other duties of this life, he was ever -wonderfully attentive. For in the whole kingdom the poor, -besides him, had few or no helpers; for almost all the -powerful and noble of that country had turned their -thoughts rather to secular than to divine things: each was -more bent on worldly business, to his own profit, than on -the common weal.</p> - -<p id="sec_106"><b>106. His Correction of Unjust and Incompetent Judges.</b><a id="FNanchor_285a" href="#Footnote_285" class="fnanchor">285</a>—He -strove also, in his judgments, for the benefit of both<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span> -his nobles and commons, who often quarreled fiercely -among themselves at the meetings of the ealdormen and -sheriffs, so that hardly one of them admitted the justice -of what had been decided by these ealdormen and sheriffs. -In consequence of this pertinacious and obstinate dissension, -all felt constrained to give sureties to abide by the -decision of the king, and both parties hastened to carry -out their engagements. But if any one was conscious of -injustice on his side in the suit, though by law and agreement -he was compelled, however reluctant, to come for -judgment before a judge like this, yet with his own good -will he never would consent to come. For he knew that in -that place no part of his evil practice would remain hidden; -and no wonder, for the king was a most acute investigator -in executing his judgments, as he was in all other things. -He inquired into almost all the judgments which were -given in his absence, throughout all his dominion, whether -they were just or unjust. If he perceived there was iniquity -in those judgments, he would, of his own accord, mildly -ask those judges, either in his own person, or through -others who were in trust with him, why they had judged -so unjustly, whether through ignorance or malevolence—that -is, whether for the love or fear of any one, the hatred -of another, or the desire of some one’s money. At length, -if the judges acknowledged they had given such judgment -because they knew no better, he discreetly and moderately -reproved their inexperience and folly in such terms as -these: ‘I greatly wonder at your assurance, that whereas, -by God’s favor and mine, you have taken upon you the -rank and office of the wise, you have neglected the studies -and labors of the wise. Either, therefore, at once give up -the administration of the earthly powers which you possess, -or endeavor more zealously to study the lessons of wisdom.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span> -Such are my commands.’ At these words the ealdormen -and sheriffs would be filled with terror at being thus severely -corrected, and would endeavor to turn with all their might -to the study of justice, so that, wonderful to say, almost all -his ealdormen, sheriffs, and officers, though unlearned from -childhood, gave themselves up to the study of letters, choosing -rather to acquire laboriously an unfamiliar discipline -than to resign their functions. But if any one, from old age -or the sluggishness of an untrained mind, was unable to -make progress in literary studies, he would order his son, -if he had one, or one of his kinsmen, or, if he had no one -else, his own freedman or servant, whom he had long before -advanced to the office of reading, to read Saxon books -before him night and day, whenever he had any leisure. -And then they would lament with deep sighs from their -inmost souls that in their youth they had never attended to -such studies. They counted happy the youth of the present -day, who could be delightfully instructed in the liberal -arts, while they considered themselves wretched in that -they had neither learned these things in their youth, nor, -now they were old, were able to do so. This skill of young -and old in acquiring letters, I have set forth as a means of -characterizing the aforesaid king.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIXES">APPENDIXES</h2> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX_I">APPENDIX I<br /> - -<span class="subhead"><span class="smcap">Alfred’s Preface to his translation of Gregory’s -Pastoral Care</span></span></h2> -</div> - -<h3>THIS BOOK IS FOR WORCESTER<a id="FNanchor_286" href="#Footnote_286" class="fnanchor smaller">286</a></h3> - -<p>King Alfred bids greet Bishop Wærferth with his words lovingly -and with friendship; and I let it be known to thee that it -has very often come into my mind what wise men there formerly -were throughout England, both of sacred and secular orders; -and what happy times there were then throughout England; and -how the kings who had power over the nation in those days -obeyed God and His ministers; how they preserved peace, morality, -and order at home, and at the same time enlarged their territory -abroad; and how they prospered both with war and with -wisdom; and also how zealous the sacred orders were both in -teaching and learning, and in all the services they owed to God; -and how foreigners came to this land in search of wisdom and -instruction, and how we should now have to get them from -abroad if we were to have them. So general was its decay in -England that there were very few on this side of the Humber -who could understand their rituals in English, or translate a letter -from Latin into English; and I believe that there were not many -beyond the Humber. There were so few of them that I cannot -remember a single one south of the Thames when I came to the -throne. Thanks be to Almighty God that we have any teachers -among us now. And therefore I command thee to do as I believe -thou art willing, to disengage thyself from worldly matters as often -as thou canst, that thou mayest apply the wisdom which God has -given thee wherever thou canst. Consider what punishments would -come upon us on account of this world, if we neither loved it [wisdom] -ourselves nor suffered other men to obtain it: we should love<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> -the name only of Christian, and very few the virtues. When I -considered all this, I remembered also that I saw, before it had been -all ravaged and burned, how the churches throughout the whole of -England stood filled with treasures and books; and there was also a -great multitude of God’s servants, but they had very little knowledge -of the books, for they could not understand anything of them, -because they were not written in their own language. As if they -had said: ‘Our forefathers, who formerly held these places, loved -wisdom, and through it they obtained wealth and bequeathed it to -us. In this we can still see their tracks, but we cannot follow -them, and therefore we have lost both the wealth and the wisdom, -because we would not incline our hearts after their example.’ -When I remembered all this, I wondered extremely that the good -and wise men who were formerly all over England, and had perfectly -learned all the books, had not wished to translate them into -their own language. But again I soon answered myself and said: -‘They did not think that men would ever be so careless, and that -learning would so decay; through that desire they abstained from -it, since they wished that the wisdom in this land might increase -with our knowledge of languages.’ Then I remembered how the -law was first known in Hebrew, and again, when the Greeks -had learned it, they translated the whole of it into their own language, -and all other books besides. And again the Romans, when -they had learned them, translated the whole of them by learned -interpreters into their own language. And also all other Christian -nations translated a part of them into their own language. -Therefore it seems better to me, if you think so, for us also -to translate some books which are most needful for all men to -know into the language which we can all understand, and for -you to do as we very easily can if we have tranquillity enough, -that is, that all the youth now in England of free men, who are -rich enough to be able to devote themselves to it, be set to -learn as long as they are not fit for any other occupation, until -they are able to read English writing well: and let those be -afterwards taught more in the Latin language who are to continue -in learning, and be promoted to a higher rank. When I -remembered how the knowledge of Latin had formerly decayed -throughout England, and yet many could read English writing, -I began, among other various and manifold troubles of this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> -kingdom, to translate into English the book which is called in -Latin <i>Pastoralis</i>, and in English <i>Shepherd’s Book</i>, sometimes word -by word, and sometimes according to the sense, as I had learned it -from Plegmund my archbishop, and Asser my bishop, and Grimbald -my mass-priest, and John my mass-priest. And when I had -learned it as I could best understand it, and as I could most clearly -interpret it, I translated it into English; and I will send a copy -to every bishopric in my kingdom; and in each there is a book-mark -worth fifty mancuses.<a id="FNanchor_287" href="#Footnote_287" class="fnanchor">287</a> And I command in God’s name that -no man take the book-mark from the book, or the book from the -monastery. It is uncertain how long there may be such learned -bishops as now, thanks be to God, there are nearly everywhere; -therefore I wish them<a id="FNanchor_288" href="#Footnote_288" class="fnanchor">288</a> always to remain in their places, unless the -bishop wish to take them with him, or they be lent out anywhere, -or any one be making a copy from them.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX_II">APPENDIX II<br /> - -<span class="subhead"><span class="smcap">Letter from Fulco, Archbishop of Rheims and Primate -of the Franks, and <i>legatus natus</i> of the Apostolic -See, to Alfred, the most Christian King of the -Angles</span><a id="FNanchor_289" href="#Footnote_289" class="fnanchor smaller">289</a></span></h2> -</div> - -<p>To Alfred, the most glorious and most Christian King of the -Angles, Fulco, by the grace of God Archbishop of Rheims, and -servant of the servants of God, wisheth both the sceptre of temporal -dominion, ever triumphant, and the eternal joys of the kingdom -of heaven.</p> - -<p>And first of all we give thanks to our Lord God, the Father -of lights, and the Author of all good, from whom is every good -gift and every perfect gift, who by the grace of His Holy Spirit -hath not only been pleased to cause the light of His knowledge -to shine in your heart, but also even now hath vouchsafed to -kindle the fire of His love, by which at once enlightened and -warmed, you earnestly tender the weal of the kingdom committed -to you from above, by warlike achievements, with divine assistance -attaining or securing peace for it, and desiring to extend -the excellency of the ecclesiastical order, which is the army of -God. Wherefore we implore the divine mercy with unwearied -prayers that He who hath moved and warmed your heart to this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span> -would give effect to your wishes, by replenishing your desire with -good things, that in your days both peace may be multiplied to -your kingdom and people, and that ecclesiastical order, which as -you say hath been disturbed in many ways, either by the continued -irruptions and attacks of the pagans, or by lapse of years, -or by the negligence of prelates, or by the ignorance of subjects, -may by your diligence and industry be speedily reëstablished, -exalted, and diffused.</p> - -<p>And since you wish this to be effected chiefly through our -assistance, and since from our see, over which St. Remigius, the -apostle of the Franks, presides, you ask for counsel and protection, -we think that this is not done without divine impulse. And -as formerly the nation of the Franks obtained by the same St. -Remigius deliverance from manifold error, and the knowledge of -the worship of the only true God, so doth the nation of the Angles -request that it may obtain from his see and doctrine one by whom -they may be taught to avoid superstition, to cut off superfluities, -and to extirpate all such noxious things as bud forth from violated -custom or rude habits, and may learn, while they walk -through the field of the Lord, to pluck the flowers, and to be upon -their guard against the adder.</p> - -<p>For St. Augustine, the first bishop of your nation, sent to us -by your apostle St. Gregory, could not in a short time set forth -all the decrees of the holy apostles, nor did he think proper suddenly -to burden a rude and barbarous nation with new and -strange enactments; for he knew how to adapt himself to their -infirmities, and to say with the Apostle, ‘I have given milk to you -to drink, who are babes in Christ, and not meat’ (1 Cor. 3. 2). And -as Peter and James, who were looked upon as pillars (Gal. 2. 9), -with Barnabas and Paul, and the rest who were met together, did -not wish to oppress the primitive Church, which was flowing in -from the Gentiles to the faith of Christ, with a heavier burden -than to command them to abstain from things offered to idols, -and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood -(Acts 15. 29), so also do we know how matters were managed -with you at the beginning. For they required only this for training -up the people in the knowledge of God, and turning them from -their former barbarous fierceness, namely, that faithful and prudent -servants should be placed over the Lord’s household, who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span> -should be competent to give out to each of their fellow-servants -his dole of food in due season, that is, according to the capacity -of each of the hearers. But in process of time, as the Christian -religion gained strength, the holy Church felt it neither to be her -inclination nor her duty to be satisfied with this, but to take -example from the apostles themselves, their masters and founders, -who, after the doctrines of the Gospel had been set forth and -spread abroad by their heavenly Master Himself, did not deem it -superfluous and needless, but convenient and salutary, to establish -the perfect believers by frequent epistolary exhortations, and -to build them more firmly upon the solid foundation, and to -impart to them more abundantly the rule as well of manners as -of faith.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, she too, whether excited by adverse circumstances, -or nourished by prosperous ones, never ceased to aim at -the good of her children, whom she is daily bringing forth to Christ, -and, inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, to promote their -advancement, both privately and publicly. Hence the frequent -calling of councils, not only from the neighboring cities and -provinces, but also, in these days, from regions beyond seas; hence -synodal decrees so often published; hence sacred canons, framed -and consecrated by the Holy Spirit, by which both the Catholic -faith is powerfully strengthened, and the unity of the Church’s -peace is inviolably guarded, and its order is decently regulated: -which canons, as it is unlawful for any Christian to transgress, -so it is altogether wicked, in clerk and priest especially, to be -ignorant of them; the wholesome observance and the religious -handing down of which are things ever to be embraced. Seeing -that, for the reasons above stated, all these matters have either -not been fully made known to your nation, or have now for the -most part failed, it hath appeared fit and proper to your Majesty -and to your royal wisdom, by a most excellent counsel—inspired, -as we believe, from above—both to consult us, insignificant as -we are, on this matter, and to repair to the see of St. Remigius, -by whose virtues and doctrine the same see or church hath always -flourished and excelled all the churches of Gaul since his time -in all piety and doctrine.</p> - -<p>And since you are unwilling to appear before us, when you -present these your requests, without a gift and empty-handed,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> -your Majesty hath deigned to honor us with a present that is both -very necessary for the time and well suited to the matter in hand; -concerning which we have both praised heavenly Providence with -admiration, and have returned no slender thanks to your royal -munificence. For you have sent unto us a present of dogs, which, -of good and excellent breed, are yet only in the body and mortal; -and this you do that they may drive away the fury of visible -wolves, with which, among other scourges, wielded against us by -the righteous judgment of God, our country abounds; and you -ask us, in return, that we should send to you certain watch-dogs, -not corporeal, that is to say, not such as those with whom -the prophet finds fault, saying, ‘Dumb dogs, not able to bark’ -(Isa. 56. 10), but such as the Psalmist speaks of, ‘That the -tongue of thy dogs may be red through the same’ (Ps. 68. 23), -who know how and are qualified to make loud barkings for -their Lord, and constantly to guard His flock with most wakeful -and most careful watchings, and to drive away to a distance -those most cruel wolves of unclean spirits who lie in wait to -devour souls.</p> - -<p>Of which number you specially demand one from us, namely, -Grimbald, priest and monk, to be sent for this office, and to preside -over the government of the pastoral charge. To whom the -whole Church, which hath nourished him, gives her testimony -from his childhood, with true faith and holy religion, and which -hath advanced him by regular steps, according to ecclesiastical -custom, to the dignity of the priesthood. We affirm openly that -he is most deserving of the honor of the episcopate, and that he -is fit to teach others also. But indeed we wished that this might -rather take place in our kingdom, and we intended some time -ago, with Christ’s permission, to accomplish it in due time, namely, -that he whom we had as a faithful son we might have as an -associate in our office, and a most trustworthy assistant in everything -that pertained to the advantage of the Church. It is not -without deep sorrow—forgive us for saying so—that we suffer -him to be torn from us, and be removed from our eyes by so -vast an extent of land and sea. But as love has no perception -of loss, nor faith of injury, and no remoteness of regions can -part those whom the tie of unfeigned affection joins together, -we have most willingly assented to your request—for to you we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span> -have no power to refuse anything—nor do we grudge him to -you, whose advantage we rejoice in as much as if it were our -own, and whose profit we count as ours: for we know that in -every place one only God is served, and that the Catholic and -Apostolic Church is one, whether it be at Rome or in the parts -beyond the sea.</p> - -<p>It is our duty, then, to make him over to you canonically; and -it is your duty to receive him reverentially, that is to say, in -such way and mode as may best conduce to the glory of your -kingdom, to the honor of the Church and our prelacy; and to -send him to you along with his electors, and with certain nobles -and great personages of your kingdom, as well bishops, presbyters, -deacons, as religious laymen also, who with their own lips promise -and declare to us in the presence of our whole church that they -will treat him with fitting respect during the whole course of his -life, and that they will inviolably keep with the strictest care the -canonical decrees and the rules of the Church, handed down to -the Church by the apostles and by apostolic men, such as they -could then hear from us, and afterwards learn from him their -pastor and teacher, according to the form delivered by us to him. -Which when they shall have done, with the divine blessing and the -authority of St. Remigius, by our ministry and the laying on of -hands, according to the custom of the Church, receiving him properly -ordained, and in all things fully instructed, let them conduct -him with due honor to his own seat, glad and cheerful themselves -that they are always to enjoy his protection, and constantly to be -instructed by his teaching and example.</p> - -<p>And as the members feel a concern for each other, and when -even one rejoices they rejoice with it, or if even one suffer all the -other members sympathize with it, we again earnestly and specially -commend him to your Royal Highness and to your most -provident goodness, that he may be always permitted, with unfettered -authority, without any gainsaying, to teach and to carry -into effect whatever he may discover to be fit and useful for the -honor of the Church and the instruction of your people, according -to the authority of the canons and the custom of our Church, lest, -haply—which God forbid!—any one, under the instigation of -the devil, being moved by the impulse of spite and malevolence, -should excite controversy or raise sedition against him. But<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span> -should this happen, it will be your duty then to make special provision -against this, and by all means to discourage by your royal -censure all such persons, if they should chance to show themselves, -and check barbaric rudeness by the curb of your authority; and -it will be his duty always to consult for the salvation of the people -committed to his pastoral skill, and rather to draw all men after -him by love than to drive them by fear.</p> - -<p>May you, most illustrious, most religious, and most invincible -king, ever rejoice and flourish in Christ the Lord of lords.</p> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="footnotes"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak p1" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</h2> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> Based on the <i>Chronicle</i> under 855.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> MS. <i>Cudam</i>. So always, but see the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> Bede, <i>Eccl. Hist.</i> 3. 7: ‘The West Saxons, formerly called -Gewissae.’ Plummer comments in his edition, 2. 89: ‘It is probably -connected with the “visi” of “Visigoths,” meaning “west,” and -hence would indicate the western confederation of Saxon tribes; -... “Gewis” is probably an eponymous hero manufactured out of -the tribe-name.’ The <i>gw</i> of <i>Gegwis</i> is a Welsh peculiarity (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> MS., Stev. <i>Seth</i> (but Stevenson suggests <i>Sceaf</i> in his variants, -referring to the <i>Chronicle</i> under 855).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> MS. <i>Cainan</i>, but see Gen. 5. 12 in R. V.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> Partly from the <i>Chronicle</i>, but the whole account of Alfred’s father -and mother is original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i> under 530 and 534.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> Unidentified.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="fnanchor">9</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> Possibly Wigborough, in the parish of South Petherton in Somersetshire -(Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> Minster in Sheppey, founded by St. Sexburh in the seventh -century; it disappeared during the Danish ravages (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> MS. <i>Cantwariorum civitatem</i>; Chron. <i>Cantwaraburg</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="fnanchor">14</a> Based upon the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="fnanchor">15</a> Stevenson is inclined to reject this customary identification with -Oakley, in Surrey.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="fnanchor">16</a> The source—the <i>Chronicle</i>—says: ‘And there made the greatest -slaughter among the heathen army that we have heard reported to the -present day.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="fnanchor">18</a> Mainly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="fnanchor">19</a> The ‘North Welsh’ of the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="fnanchor">20</a> Based upon the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="fnanchor">21</a> MS. <i>in regem</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="fnanchor">22</a> MS. <i>infantem</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="fnanchor">23</a> ‘A letter from the pope to Alfred’s father, regarding the ceremony -at Rome, has been fortunately preserved for us in a twelfth-century -collection of papal letters, now in the British Museum.... The letter -is as follows: “<i>Edeluulfo, regi Anglorum</i> [marginal direction for rubricator]. -<F>ilium vestrum Erfred, quem hoc in tempore ad Sanctorum -Apostolorum limina destinare curastis, benigne suscepimus, et, quasi -spiritalem filium consulatus cingulo <cinguli <i>emend. Ewald</i>> honore -vestimentisque, ut mos est Romanis consulibus, decoravimus, eo quod in -nostris se tradidit manibus”’ (Stevenson). The <i>Chronicle</i> has: ‘... -consecrated him as king, and took him as bishop-son.’ See p. 29.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="fnanchor">24</a> Based upon the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> Thanet.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="fnanchor">26</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> Based upon the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="fnanchor">28</a> Charles the Bald.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="fnanchor">29</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="fnanchor">30</a> Comprising Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="fnanchor">31</a> Chiefly original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="fnanchor">32</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="fnanchor">33</a> Prudentius of Troyes (in <i>Annales Bertiniani</i>, an. 856, ed. Waitz, -p. 47), says of Bishop Hincmar: ‘Eam ... reginæ nomine insignit, -quod sibi suæque genti eatenus fuerat insuetum.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="fnanchor">34</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="fnanchor">35</a> Offa’s Dike; it extended from the mouth of the Dee to that of the -Severn.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="fnanchor">36</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="fnanchor">37</a> Charlemagne.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="fnanchor">38</a> ‘Pavia was on the road to Rome, and was hence frequented by -English pilgrims on their journey to the latter’ (Stevenson). The -<i>Chronicle</i> says under 888: ‘Queen Æthelswith, who was King Alfred’s -sister, died; <i>and her body lies at Pavia</i>.’ ‘With this story of Eadburh’s -begging in that city we may compare the statement of St. Boniface, -written about 747, as to the presence of English prostitutes or adulteresses -in the cities of Lombardy, Frankland, or Gaul (Dümmler, <i>Epistolæ -Karolini Ævi</i> 1. 355; Haddan and Stubbs, <i>Councils</i> 3. 381). At -the date of this letter the Lombards still spoke their native Germanic -tongue, and it is probable that as late as Eadburh’s time it was still -the predominant speech in Lombardy’ (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="fnanchor">39</a> Mostly original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="fnanchor">40</a> In Alfred’s will (<i>Cart. Sax.</i> 2. 177. 9) he refers to this as ‘Aþulfes -cinges yrfegewrit’ (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="fnanchor">41</a> That is, for the good of his soul.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="fnanchor">42</a> Lat. <i>manentibus</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="fnanchor">43</a> A mancus was thirty pence, one-eighth of a pound.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="fnanchor">44</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="fnanchor">45</a> From Florence of Worcester. The <i>Annals of St. Neots</i> have: ‘and -buried at Steyning’ (<i>Stemrugam</i>).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="fnanchor">46</a> This last statement is incorrect.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="fnanchor">47</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i> under 860. As Æthelbert was already in possession -of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, it should rather be said that he -added Wessex.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="fnanchor">48</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i> under 860.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49" class="fnanchor">49</a> Chiefly from the <i>Chronicle</i> under 865 and 866.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_50" href="#FNanchor_50" class="fnanchor">50</a> The earlier part from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_51" href="#FNanchor_51" class="fnanchor">51</a> Probably meaning the mouths of the Rhine (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_52" href="#FNanchor_52" class="fnanchor">52</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_53" href="#FNanchor_53" class="fnanchor">53</a> <i>Curto</i>, a word showing Frankish influence.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_54" href="#FNanchor_54" class="fnanchor">54</a> Original. Stevenson would refer this event to a date earlier than -855.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_55" href="#FNanchor_55" class="fnanchor">55</a> From Florence of Worcester.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_56" href="#FNanchor_56" class="fnanchor">56</a> So Pauli and Stevenson interpret <i>legit</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_57" href="#FNanchor_57" class="fnanchor">57</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_58" href="#FNanchor_58" class="fnanchor">58</a> Cf. chap. 88.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_59" href="#FNanchor_59" class="fnanchor">59</a> The liberal arts were seven, consisting of the <i>trivium</i>—grammar, -logic, and rhetoric—and the <i>quadrivium</i>—arithmetic, geometry, -music, and astronomy. This course of study was introduced in the -sixth century. Asser here employs the singular, <i>artem</i>, which might -be translated by ‘education.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_60" href="#FNanchor_60" class="fnanchor">60</a> See Alfred’s own statement in Appendix I, p. 69.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_61" href="#FNanchor_61" class="fnanchor">61</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_62" href="#FNanchor_62" class="fnanchor">62</a> Alfred says (Preface to the <i>Pastoral Care</i>): ‘Thanks be to -Almighty God that we have any teachers among us now.’ In this -same Preface he mentions, among those who aided him in the translation, -Archbishop Plegmund, Bishop Asser, our author, and the two -priests Grimbold and John. Cf. chaps. 77, 78, 79, 81, 88, and -Appendix I, p. 71.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_63" href="#FNanchor_63" class="fnanchor">63</a> Stevenson brackets this clause.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_64" href="#FNanchor_64" class="fnanchor">64</a> Mostly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_65" href="#FNanchor_65" class="fnanchor">65</a> This clause must refer to the first line of the chapter, as there is -no previous mention of the Northumbrians.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_66" href="#FNanchor_66" class="fnanchor">66</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_67" href="#FNanchor_67" class="fnanchor">67</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_68" href="#FNanchor_68" class="fnanchor">68</a> ‘<i>Subarravit</i>, formed from <i>sub</i> and <i>arrha</i>, represents literally the -English verb <i>wed</i>, which refers to the giving of security upon the -engagement of marriage.... [It] is glossed by <i>beweddian</i> in Napier’s -<i>Old English Glosses</i>’ (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_69" href="#FNanchor_69" class="fnanchor">69</a> William of Malmesbury calls her Æthelswith.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_70" href="#FNanchor_70" class="fnanchor">70</a> Of the Gaini nothing is known.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_71" href="#FNanchor_71" class="fnanchor">71</a> Largely from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_72" href="#FNanchor_72" class="fnanchor">72</a> ‘A compound of <i>tig</i> (Modern Welsh <i>tŷ</i>, “house”), and <i>guocobauc</i> -(Modern Welsh <i>gogofawg</i>), an adjective derived from <i>gogof</i>, “cave.” -... The name ... is certainly applicable to Nottingham, which has -long been famous for the houses excavated out of the soft sandstone -upon which it stands’ (Stevenson). The word Nottingham itself, however, -has not this meaning.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_73" href="#FNanchor_73" class="fnanchor">73</a> Here and elsewhere in the text often spelled Æthered.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_74" href="#FNanchor_74" class="fnanchor">74</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_75" href="#FNanchor_75" class="fnanchor">75</a> In Norfolk.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_76" href="#FNanchor_76" class="fnanchor">76</a> Mostly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_77" href="#FNanchor_77" class="fnanchor">77</a> Chiefly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_78" href="#FNanchor_78" class="fnanchor">78</a> Five and one-half miles southwest of Reading.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_79" href="#FNanchor_79" class="fnanchor">79</a> Added from Florence of Worcester by Stevenson.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_80" href="#FNanchor_80" class="fnanchor">80</a> Chiefly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_81" href="#FNanchor_81" class="fnanchor">81</a> The Berkshire Downs (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_82" href="#FNanchor_82" class="fnanchor">82</a> Stevenson is convinced that Æscesdun, though interpreted as -‘mons fraxini,’ cannot mean ‘the hill of the ash,’ but that Ash is -here a man’s name.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_83" href="#FNanchor_83" class="fnanchor">83</a> Perhaps <i>mediam</i> is a scribal error for <i>unam</i> or <i>primam</i> (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_84" href="#FNanchor_84" class="fnanchor">84</a> There is a note on the Germanic shield-wall in my edition of -<i>Judith</i> (305ª), in the Belles Lettres Series.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_85" href="#FNanchor_85" class="fnanchor">85</a> All original except final clause.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_86" href="#FNanchor_86" class="fnanchor">86</a> Supplied by Stevenson from Florence of Worcester.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_87" href="#FNanchor_87" class="fnanchor">87</a> Mostly original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_88" href="#FNanchor_88" class="fnanchor">88</a> Probably Reading.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_89" href="#FNanchor_89" class="fnanchor">89</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_90" href="#FNanchor_90" class="fnanchor">90</a> Before this sentence occurs the following in the Latin: <i>Quibus -cum talia præsentis vitæ dispendia alienigenis perperam quærentibus -non sufficerent.</i> This may represent a sentence in the author’s draft -that was intended, owing to change of construction, to be omitted -(Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_91" href="#FNanchor_91" class="fnanchor">91</a> In Hampshire.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_92" href="#FNanchor_92" class="fnanchor">92</a> Mostly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_93" href="#FNanchor_93" class="fnanchor">93</a> In Dorsetshire.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_94" href="#FNanchor_94" class="fnanchor">94</a> Paraphrased and amplified from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_95" href="#FNanchor_95" class="fnanchor">95</a> A tributary of the Nadder, which it joins near Wilton.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_96" href="#FNanchor_96" class="fnanchor">96</a> Or, perhaps, ‘fewness,’ reading <i>paucitatem</i> for <i>peraudacitatem</i> -(Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_97" href="#FNanchor_97" class="fnanchor">97</a> Mostly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_98" href="#FNanchor_98" class="fnanchor">98</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_99" href="#FNanchor_99" class="fnanchor">99</a> Chiefly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_100" href="#FNanchor_100" class="fnanchor">100</a> In Derbyshire.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_101" href="#FNanchor_101" class="fnanchor">101</a> Among the Germans there were Colonies (<i>Scholæ</i>) of the Frisians, -Franks, and Lombards, as well as of the Saxons.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_102" href="#FNanchor_102" class="fnanchor">102</a> Now Santo Spirito in Sassia, near the Vatican.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_103" href="#FNanchor_103" class="fnanchor">103</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_104" href="#FNanchor_104" class="fnanchor">104</a> The valley of the Clyde.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_105" href="#FNanchor_105" class="fnanchor">105</a> Here spelled Gothrum.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_106" href="#FNanchor_106" class="fnanchor">106</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_107" href="#FNanchor_107" class="fnanchor">107</a> Chiefly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_108" href="#FNanchor_108" class="fnanchor">108</a> In Dorsetshire.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_109" href="#FNanchor_109" class="fnanchor">109</a> Dorchester.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_110" href="#FNanchor_110" class="fnanchor">110</a> For the usual Dornsæte.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_111" href="#FNanchor_111" class="fnanchor">111</a> Here the <i>Chronicle</i> has ‘on the holy arm-ring,’ on which the -Danes, it would seem, were accustomed to swear.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_112" href="#FNanchor_112" class="fnanchor">112</a> Here the <i>Chronicle</i> has: ‘They, the mounted army, stole away -from the fierd [the English forces] in the night into Exeter.’ This, of -course, is the true account, while the statement in Asser is incredible.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_113" href="#FNanchor_113" class="fnanchor">113</a> Exe.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_114" href="#FNanchor_114" class="fnanchor">114</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_115" href="#FNanchor_115" class="fnanchor">115</a> See chap. 46.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_116" href="#FNanchor_116" class="fnanchor">116</a> Largely from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_117" href="#FNanchor_117" class="fnanchor">117</a> At this point Archbishop Parker interpolated, from the <i>Annals -of St. Neots</i>, the story of Alfred and the cakes. This story, however, -cannot be proved to antedate the Norman Conquest.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_118" href="#FNanchor_118" class="fnanchor">118</a> The first clause from the <i>Chronicle</i>; the rest original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_119" href="#FNanchor_119" class="fnanchor">119</a> Name unknown.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_120" href="#FNanchor_120" class="fnanchor">120</a> Hingwar.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_121" href="#FNanchor_121" class="fnanchor">121</a> Or South Wales. See chap. 80.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_122" href="#FNanchor_122" class="fnanchor">122</a> Site unknown.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_123" href="#FNanchor_123" class="fnanchor">123</a> Mostly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_124" href="#FNanchor_124" class="fnanchor">124</a> In Somersetshire.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_125" href="#FNanchor_125" class="fnanchor">125</a> Unknown.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_126" href="#FNanchor_126" class="fnanchor">126</a> Or perhaps better, Iglea; see Stevenson’s note on the word, p. 270 -of his edition. He says: ‘It is probably an older name of Southleigh -Wood, or of part of it.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_127" href="#FNanchor_127" class="fnanchor">127</a> Based upon the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_128" href="#FNanchor_128" class="fnanchor">128</a> In Wiltshire.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_129" href="#FNanchor_129" class="fnanchor">129</a> Supplied by Stevenson from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_130" href="#FNanchor_130" class="fnanchor">130</a> Properly, as one of thirty, according to the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_131" href="#FNanchor_131" class="fnanchor">131</a> Chrism is the term employed for the mixture of oil and balsam -employed in the rite of confirmation, and sometimes for the ceremony -of confirmation itself. In the early church, this ceremony immediately -followed baptism, and was performed by the laying on of hands. In -the Roman church it is obligatory on all Catholics, and no baptism is -theoretically complete without it. It is performed by a bishop (only -exceptionally by a priest). The ceremony begins with the bishop’s rising -and facing the person or persons to be confirmed, his pastoral staff -in his hand, and saying: ‘May the Holy Ghost come upon you, and -the power of the Holy Ghost keep you from sins’ (<i>Handbook to Christian -and Ecclesiastical Rome: Liturgy in Rome</i>, London, 1897, pp. 169–171). -The rite is described in Egbert’s <i>Pontifical</i>, which may be taken -as representing the custom in the church of Alfred’s time. Lingard -says (<i>Anglo-Saxon Church</i>, London, 1858, 1. 297): ‘According to that -pontifical, the bishop prayed thus: “Almighty and Everlasting God, -who hast granted to this thy servant to be born again of water and the -Holy Ghost, and hast given to him remission of his sins, send down -upon him thy sevenfold Holy Spirit, the Paraclete from heaven, -Amen. Give to him the spirit of wisdom and understanding, Amen—the -spirit of counsel and fortitude, Amen—the spirit of knowledge -and piety, Amen. Fill him with the spirit of the fear of God and our -Lord Jesus Christ, and mercifully sign him with the sign of the holy -cross for life eternal.” The bishop then marked his forehead with -chrism, and proceeded thus: “Receive this sign of the holy cross -with the chrism of salvation in Christ Jesus unto life eternal.” The -head was then bound with a fillet of new linen to be worn seven days, -and the bishop resumed: “O God, who didst give thy Holy Spirit to -thine apostles, that by them and their successors he might be given to -the rest of the faithful, look down on the ministry of our lowliness, -and grant that into the heart of him whose forehead we have this day -anointed, and confirmed with the sign of the cross, thy Holy Spirit -may descend; and that, dwelling therein, he may make it the temple -of his glory, through Christ our Lord.” The confirmed then received -the episcopal blessing, and communicated during the mass.’</p> - -<p>The chrism-loosing was the ceremony of unbinding the fillet, apparently.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_132" href="#FNanchor_132" class="fnanchor">132</a> MS. <i>ædificia</i>; Stevenson, <i>beneficia</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_133" href="#FNanchor_133" class="fnanchor">133</a> Chiefly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_134" href="#FNanchor_134" class="fnanchor">134</a> Gloucester, Worcester, etc.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_135" href="#FNanchor_135" class="fnanchor">135</a> Mostly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_136" href="#FNanchor_136" class="fnanchor">136</a> Mostly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_137" href="#FNanchor_137" class="fnanchor">137</a> See Stevenson’s interesting note.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_138" href="#FNanchor_138" class="fnanchor">138</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_139" href="#FNanchor_139" class="fnanchor">139</a> <i>Ibid.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_140" href="#FNanchor_140" class="fnanchor">140</a> <i>Ibid.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_141" href="#FNanchor_141" class="fnanchor">141</a> <i>Ibid.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_142" href="#FNanchor_142" class="fnanchor">142</a> Mostly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_143" href="#FNanchor_143" class="fnanchor">143</a> Largely from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_144" href="#FNanchor_144" class="fnanchor">144</a> Mostly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_145" href="#FNanchor_145" class="fnanchor">145</a> Cf. chap. 60.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_146" href="#FNanchor_146" class="fnanchor">146</a> The MS. has <i>dormiret</i>, but perhaps for <i>domum iret</i>, since the -<i>Chronicle</i> has <i>hāmweard wendon</i> (Stevenson); so perhaps we should -read ‘was on its way home.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_147" href="#FNanchor_147" class="fnanchor">147</a> Chiefly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_148" href="#FNanchor_148" class="fnanchor">148</a> Louis the Stammerer.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_149" href="#FNanchor_149" class="fnanchor">149</a> Cf. chap. 59.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_150" href="#FNanchor_150" class="fnanchor">150</a> Charles the Bald.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_151" href="#FNanchor_151" class="fnanchor">151</a> Cf. chaps. 11 and 13.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_152" href="#FNanchor_152" class="fnanchor">152</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_153" href="#FNanchor_153" class="fnanchor">153</a> From Duisburg, about January, 884 (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_154" href="#FNanchor_154" class="fnanchor">154</a> There was a battle in Frisia, about December, 884, and a later one -in Saxony (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_155" href="#FNanchor_155" class="fnanchor">155</a> Mainly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_156" href="#FNanchor_156" class="fnanchor">156</a> The North Sea.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_157" href="#FNanchor_157" class="fnanchor">157</a> Brittany.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_158" href="#FNanchor_158" class="fnanchor">158</a> Louis the German.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_159" href="#FNanchor_159" class="fnanchor">159</a> Louis the Pious.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_160" href="#FNanchor_160" class="fnanchor">160</a> Mainly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_161" href="#FNanchor_161" class="fnanchor">161</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_162" href="#FNanchor_162" class="fnanchor">162</a> Based upon the preface to Eginhard’s <i>Life of Charlemagne</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_163" href="#FNanchor_163" class="fnanchor">163</a> See chap. 21.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_164" href="#FNanchor_164" class="fnanchor">164</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_165" href="#FNanchor_165" class="fnanchor">165</a> Perhaps the hemorrhoids.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_166" href="#FNanchor_166" class="fnanchor">166</a> Interpolated some time between 893 and 1000 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_167" href="#FNanchor_167" class="fnanchor">167</a> In Alfred’s prayer at the end of his translation of Boethius, one -of the petitions is: ‘Deliver me from foul lust and from all unrighteousness.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_168" href="#FNanchor_168" class="fnanchor">168</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_169" href="#FNanchor_169" class="fnanchor">169</a> This is the beginning of a corrupt sentence, of which nothing has -been made.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_170" href="#FNanchor_170" class="fnanchor">170</a> MS. <i>Eadredo</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_171" href="#FNanchor_171" class="fnanchor">171</a> See Appendix I, p. 70.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_172" href="#FNanchor_172" class="fnanchor">172</a> See chaps. 24 and 88.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_173" href="#FNanchor_173" class="fnanchor">173</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_174" href="#FNanchor_174" class="fnanchor">174</a> Cf. Alfred’s jewel, and the book upon it by Professor Earle.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_175" href="#FNanchor_175" class="fnanchor">175</a> See chaps. 23 and 75.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_176" href="#FNanchor_176" class="fnanchor">176</a> Our first accounts of Arctic exploration are from his pen. For his -interest in geographical discovery see the narratives of Ohthere and -Wulfstan, in his translation of Orosius. In 897, according to the -<i>Chronicle</i>, he was experimenting with new war-galleys: ‘They were -almost twice as long as the others. Some had sixty oars, some more. -They were swifter, steadier, and higher than the others, and were -built, not on a Frisian or Danish model, but according to his personal -notions of their utility.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_177" href="#FNanchor_177" class="fnanchor">177</a> There were Frisians in his fleet in 897 (<i>Chronicle</i>).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_178" href="#FNanchor_178" class="fnanchor">178</a> Northmen; such were Ohthere and Wulfstan (see note 1, above).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_179" href="#FNanchor_179" class="fnanchor">179</a> Three such came to him in 891 (<i>Chronicle</i>).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_180" href="#FNanchor_180" class="fnanchor">180</a> MS. <i>Armorici</i>. See chap. 102.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_181" href="#FNanchor_181" class="fnanchor">181</a> Or, ‘degrees’; cf. p. 60.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_182" href="#FNanchor_182" class="fnanchor">182</a> See chap. 101.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_183" href="#FNanchor_183" class="fnanchor">183</a> Matt. 6. 33.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_184" href="#FNanchor_184" class="fnanchor">184</a> Ps. 85. 8.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_185" href="#FNanchor_185" class="fnanchor">185</a> Cf. chap. 88; Stevenson gives a number of parallels from ancient -and mediæval authors, beginning with Lucretius (3. 9) and Seneca -(<i>Epist.</i> 84.3).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_186" href="#FNanchor_186" class="fnanchor">186</a> Cf. chap. 24.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_187" href="#FNanchor_187" class="fnanchor">187</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_188" href="#FNanchor_188" class="fnanchor">188</a> See Appendix I, p. 69. In Alfred’s will he gives Werfrith (Wærferth) -a hundred marks.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_189" href="#FNanchor_189" class="fnanchor">189</a> See Appendix I, p. 71.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_190" href="#FNanchor_190" class="fnanchor">190</a> Perhaps Bishop of Ramsbury (909 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>). The later MSS. of the -<i>Chronicle</i> say, under the year 883: ‘And in the same year Sighelm -and Æthelstan took to Rome the alms that King Alfred sent, and also -to India to St. Thomas’ and St. Bartholomew’s.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_191" href="#FNanchor_191" class="fnanchor">191</a> Or, ‘chaplains.’ See p. 61, note 6.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_192" href="#FNanchor_192" class="fnanchor">192</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_193" href="#FNanchor_193" class="fnanchor">193</a> Probably from the monastery of St. Bertin, at St. Omer (Pas-de-Calais). -See Appendix I, p. 71, and Appendix II, pp. 75 ff.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_194" href="#FNanchor_194" class="fnanchor">194</a> Cf. chap. 94, and Appendix I, p. 71.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_195" href="#FNanchor_195" class="fnanchor">195</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_196" href="#FNanchor_196" class="fnanchor">196</a> Perhaps Dean, near Eastbourne, in Sussex.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_197" href="#FNanchor_197" class="fnanchor">197</a> Five miles southwest of Chepstow. ‘There was an abbey there, -where a traveling ecclesiastic would be likely to stay, and it was on -the great Roman road to South Wales, by which a traveler from Wessex -to St. Davids would proceed’ (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_198" href="#FNanchor_198" class="fnanchor">198</a> The MS. seems to be corrupt at this point, so that what I have -given is a loose conjectural rendering of the Latin: ... <i>et illa adjuvaretur -per rudimenta Sancti Dequi in omni causa, tamen pro viribus</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_199" href="#FNanchor_199" class="fnanchor">199</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_200" href="#FNanchor_200" class="fnanchor">200</a> Pembrokeshire and part of Carmarthenshire.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_201" href="#FNanchor_201" class="fnanchor">201</a> ‘Rhodri Mawr (the Great), King of Gwyneth, who acquired the -rule of the whole of North and Mid-Wales and Cardigan’ (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_202" href="#FNanchor_202" class="fnanchor">202</a> Old name of Glamorgan and part of Monmouthshire.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_203" href="#FNanchor_203" class="fnanchor">203</a> In Monmouthshire.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_204" href="#FNanchor_204" class="fnanchor">204</a> Alfred.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_205" href="#FNanchor_205" class="fnanchor">205</a> See chaps. 8 and 56.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_206" href="#FNanchor_206" class="fnanchor">206</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_207" href="#FNanchor_207" class="fnanchor">207</a> Perhaps Landford in Wiltshire.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_208" href="#FNanchor_208" class="fnanchor">208</a> In Alfred’s Preface to his translation of Boethius we are told: -‘[He made this translation as well as he could], considering the various -and manifold worldly cares that oft troubled him both in mind and -body.’ The similarity of phrase is striking.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_209" href="#FNanchor_209" class="fnanchor">209</a> Both in Somersetshire; these monasteries are otherwise unknown.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_210" href="#FNanchor_210" class="fnanchor">210</a> Largely from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_211" href="#FNanchor_211" class="fnanchor">211</a> Largely from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_212" href="#FNanchor_212" class="fnanchor">212</a> Namely, Alfred.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_213" href="#FNanchor_213" class="fnanchor">213</a> A mistranslation from the <i>Chronicle</i>; it should read, ‘were not in -captivity,’ etc.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_214" href="#FNanchor_214" class="fnanchor">214</a> Here follows Camden’s famous (forged?) interpolation about -Grimbald and Oxford.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_215" href="#FNanchor_215" class="fnanchor">215</a> Much expanded from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_216" href="#FNanchor_216" class="fnanchor">216</a> From the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_217" href="#FNanchor_217" class="fnanchor">217</a> Charles the Fat.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_218" href="#FNanchor_218" class="fnanchor">218</a> Burgundy.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_219" href="#FNanchor_219" class="fnanchor">219</a> Chiefly from the <i>Chronicle</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_220" href="#FNanchor_220" class="fnanchor">220</a> Cf. chap. 84.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_221" href="#FNanchor_221" class="fnanchor">221</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_222" href="#FNanchor_222" class="fnanchor">222</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_223" href="#FNanchor_223" class="fnanchor">223</a> Cf. chap. 24.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_224" href="#FNanchor_224" class="fnanchor">224</a> Author unknown.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_225" href="#FNanchor_225" class="fnanchor">225</a> Cf. chap. 76.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_226" href="#FNanchor_226" class="fnanchor">226</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_227" href="#FNanchor_227" class="fnanchor">227</a> Luke 23. 42.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_228" href="#FNanchor_228" class="fnanchor">228</a> The following phrases, introduced at this point, seem to be corrupt: -<i>Hic aut aliter, quamvis dissimili modo, in regia potestate.</i></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_229" href="#FNanchor_229" class="fnanchor">229</a> November 11.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_230" href="#FNanchor_230" class="fnanchor">230</a> Alfred calls the passages which he translated from St. Augustine’s -<i>Soliloquies</i> by the name of ‘flowers’ or ‘blossoms’ (<i>blōstman</i>). See -Hargrove’s edition (<i>Yale Studies in English</i> XIII), and his version into -modern English (<i>Yale Studies in English</i> XXII).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_231" href="#FNanchor_231" class="fnanchor">231</a> The application of the word to a work of St. Augustine’s gave it -great currency in the Frankish Latin of the period.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_232" href="#FNanchor_232" class="fnanchor">232</a> The Handbook seems to have been known to William of Malmesbury -(d. 1143); cf. his <i>Gesta Pontificum</i>, pp. 333, 336.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_233" href="#FNanchor_233" class="fnanchor">233</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_234" href="#FNanchor_234" class="fnanchor">234</a> Unknown.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_235" href="#FNanchor_235" class="fnanchor">235</a> Cf. note 5, chap. 80.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_236" href="#FNanchor_236" class="fnanchor">236</a> ... <i>unicuique ubicumque male habet</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_237" href="#FNanchor_237" class="fnanchor">237</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_238" href="#FNanchor_238" class="fnanchor">238</a> Cf. chap. 74.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_239" href="#FNanchor_239" class="fnanchor">239</a> MS. corrupt: <i>De cotidiana nationum</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_240" href="#FNanchor_240" class="fnanchor">240</a> This makes no sense; yet the Latin is: <i>quæ in Tyrreno mari usque -ultimum Hiberniæ finem habitant</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_241" href="#FNanchor_241" class="fnanchor">241</a> Cf. chap. 70.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_242" href="#FNanchor_242" class="fnanchor">242</a> Perhaps Elias III, patriarch from about 879 to 907; the MS. reads -<i>Abel</i>. Stevenson’s emendation is supported by the fact that certain -medical recipes are related to have been sent to Alfred by the patriarch -Elias (Cockayne, <i>Leechdoms</i> 2. 290).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_243" href="#FNanchor_243" class="fnanchor">243</a> Stevenson says: ‘Possibly he intended to refer to the use of the precious -metals in sacred edifices. We are told, on the doubtful authority -of William of Malmesbury, that King Ine built a chapel of gold and -silver at Glastonbury. A ninth-century writer records that Ansegis, -abbot of Fontenelle, 806–833, partly decorated a spire of the abbey with -gilt metal, and another writer of that period mentions the golden doors -of the “basilica” of St. Alban in his description of the imperial palace -at Ingelheim. Giraldus Cambrensis ascribes the use of golden roofs or -roof-crests to the Romans at Caerleon-on-Usk. The idea that a king’s -palace ought to be decorated with the precious metals is probably an -outcome of the late Roman rhetoric and Byzantine magnificence.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_244" href="#FNanchor_244" class="fnanchor">244</a> The early part of the sentence is corrupt in the MS.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_245" href="#FNanchor_245" class="fnanchor">245</a> The figure is found as early as Sophocles and Aristophanes.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_246" href="#FNanchor_246" class="fnanchor">246</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_247" href="#FNanchor_247" class="fnanchor">247</a> This corresponds to the OE. <i>sāwle þearf</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_248" href="#FNanchor_248" class="fnanchor">248</a> The Latin has: <i>inter cetera diuturna et nocturna bona</i>. Stevenson -does not emend, but it seems as though we should read <i>diurna</i>. Compare, -for example, in Stevenson’s edition, <b>78.</b> 14, 35, 39; <b>99.</b> 10; -<b>100.</b> 11; <b>103.</b> 9.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_249" href="#FNanchor_249" class="fnanchor">249</a> Cf. chap. 55. The second monastery was for nuns, and at Shaftesbury; -see chap. 98.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_250" href="#FNanchor_250" class="fnanchor">250</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_251" href="#FNanchor_251" class="fnanchor">251</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_252" href="#FNanchor_252" class="fnanchor">252</a> Cf. chap. 78.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_253" href="#FNanchor_253" class="fnanchor">253</a> Cf. chap. 78.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_254" href="#FNanchor_254" class="fnanchor">254</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_255" href="#FNanchor_255" class="fnanchor">255</a> Supplied by Stevenson.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_256" href="#FNanchor_256" class="fnanchor">256</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_257" href="#FNanchor_257" class="fnanchor">257</a> Matt. 27. 64.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_258" href="#FNanchor_258" class="fnanchor">258</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_259" href="#FNanchor_259" class="fnanchor">259</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_260" href="#FNanchor_260" class="fnanchor">260</a> Cf. chap. 92.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_261" href="#FNanchor_261" class="fnanchor">261</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_262" href="#FNanchor_262" class="fnanchor">262</a> This passage is somewhat corrupt.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_263" href="#FNanchor_263" class="fnanchor">263</a> Gen. 4. 7, in the old Latin version, following the Septuagint.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_264" href="#FNanchor_264" class="fnanchor">264</a> Prov. 21. 1.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_265" href="#FNanchor_265" class="fnanchor">265</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_266" href="#FNanchor_266" class="fnanchor">266</a> Cf. the <i>Chronicle</i> under 894: ‘The King had divided his forces -into two, so that one half was constantly at home, the other half in the -field.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_267" href="#FNanchor_267" class="fnanchor">267</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_268" href="#FNanchor_268" class="fnanchor">268</a> Or, ‘rank’ (<i>dignitatem</i>), as in line 3 of the chapter.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_269" href="#FNanchor_269" class="fnanchor">269</a> 2 Cor. 9. 7.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_270" href="#FNanchor_270" class="fnanchor">270</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_271" href="#FNanchor_271" class="fnanchor">271</a> Incorrectly quoted from the <i>Pastoral Care</i> 3. 20: ‘Ne quædam -quibus nulla, ne nulla quibus quædam, ne multa quibus pauca, ne pauca -præbeant quibus impendere multa debuerunt.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_272" href="#FNanchor_272" class="fnanchor">272</a> See chaps. 75 and 76.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_273" href="#FNanchor_273" class="fnanchor">273</a> See chaps. 74 and 81.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_274" href="#FNanchor_274" class="fnanchor">274</a> See chaps. 78 and 94.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_275" href="#FNanchor_275" class="fnanchor">275</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_276" href="#FNanchor_276" class="fnanchor">276</a> Not from the Bible, but from St. Augustine’s <i>Enchiridion de Fide</i>, -chap. 20: ‘Qui enim vult ordinate dare eleemosynam, a se ipso debet -incipere.’</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_277" href="#FNanchor_277" class="fnanchor">277</a> Reading <i>divitiis</i> for the <i>divinis</i> of the text.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_278" href="#FNanchor_278" class="fnanchor">278</a> Cf. chap. 99.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_279" href="#FNanchor_279" class="fnanchor">279</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_280" href="#FNanchor_280" class="fnanchor">280</a> Or, ‘chaplains.’ See p. 41, note 5.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_281" href="#FNanchor_281" class="fnanchor">281</a> ‘As these six candles weighed 72 pennyweights, each one was of -the weight of 12d. The weight of the OE. penny was 22½ Troy grains, -so that each candle would weigh roughly ⅝ oz. avoirdupois. As the -candles were twelve inches long, they would be very thin in proportion -to their length. A modern beeswax candle burns at a considerably -quicker rate than is here assumed, but we do not think this condemns -the figures given in this chapter as imaginary. The candle of Alfred’s -time was probably not moulded, and the wick would not be made of -cotton, as in the modern ones. Rushes, tow, and the hards of flax were -used for wicks. Aldhelm refers to the use of linen or flax wicks, but -also to those made of rushes. It is therefore hardly possible to reproduce -the candles used by Alfred for the purpose of testing this chapter’ -(Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_282" href="#FNanchor_282" class="fnanchor">282</a> Reading <i>fenestras</i> for the <i>fenestrarum</i> of the text.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_283" href="#FNanchor_283" class="fnanchor">283</a> Meanings doubtful.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_284" href="#FNanchor_284" class="fnanchor">284</a> ‘Ducange objected that horn lanterns were known to the Greeks -and Romans long before Alfred’s time. But the passages adduced by -Salmasius, to whom he refers, and such others as we have been able -to gather, do not clearly describe a horn lantern lit by a candle, but -rather screens formed of horn to place round oil lamps. It is possible, -therefore, that Alfred may really be the inventor of the horn lantern -as we know it. The door in the side, which would be rendered necessary -by the change of the candles every four hours, is here described, -and seems to be a new feature’ (Stevenson).</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_285" href="#FNanchor_285" class="fnanchor">285</a> Original.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_286" href="#FNanchor_286" class="fnanchor">286</a> The name of the diocese and of the bishop of course varied in -the different copies.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_287" href="#FNanchor_287" class="fnanchor">287</a> Cf. p. 11, note 2.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_288" href="#FNanchor_288" class="fnanchor">288</a> The books.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn3"><a id="Footnote_289" href="#FNanchor_289" class="fnanchor">289</a> From Rev. Joseph Stevenson’s translation of <i>The Book of Hyde</i>, in -<i>Church Historians of England</i> (London, 1854), Vol. 2, Part 2, pp. 499–503. -The translator states that the text of the letter printed by Wise -in his edition of Asser (see Stevenson’s edition of Asser, p. 308) ‘has -been employed in correcting the many obscurities and errors of the -copy inserted in the <i>Liber de Hida</i>.’ Of the letter our editor says: ‘It -... seems to be genuine. There is no conceivable motive for forging -such a letter. We can discover no grounds for Pauli’s condemnation -of it.... As Malmesbury, <i>Gesta Regum</i>, c. 122 (p. 130), states that -Grimbald was sent to Alfred at his request by the Archbishop of -Rheims, he would seem to have been acquainted with this letter.’</p> -</div> -</div></div> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="index"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2> - -<p class="center p0 b1">[The numbers refer to pages.]</p> - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Aclea, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Adam, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æglea, <a href="#Page_28">78</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ælfthryth, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ælla, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelbald, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelbert, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelflæd, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelgivu, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelhelm, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelred (King of Wessex), <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelred (Alfred’s father-in-law), <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelred (Alfred’s son-in-law), <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelstan (under-king of Kent), <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelstan (priest), <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelward, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelwulf (King of Wessex), <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æthelwulf (Ealdorman of Berkshire), <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alemanni, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alfred, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <i>and passim</i></li> - -<li class="indx">Aller, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anarawd, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Angles, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#East_Angles">East Angles</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Anglo-Saxons"></a>Anglo-Saxons, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#East_Saxons">East Saxons</a>, <a href="#Saxons">Saxons</a>, <a href="#South_Saxons">South Saxons</a>, <a href="#West_Saxons">West Saxons</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anwind, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Armorica"></a>Armorica, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Brittany">Brittany</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arnolf, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ashdown, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ash’s Hill, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Asser, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, [<a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13–15</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42–46</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, 52], <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Athelney, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Augustine, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Avon, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bagsecg, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Banwell, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Barnabas, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Basing, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beaw, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bedwig, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beldeag, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beorhtric, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beorhtwulf, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Berengar, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Berkshire, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Berroc Wood, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brecknock, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bretons, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Britain, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx">British, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Brittany"></a>Brittany, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Armorica">Armorica</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brockmail, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brond, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Burgred, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cærwent, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span>Cairceri, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cairwisc, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cambridge, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Canterbury, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Carloman, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ceawlin, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ceolnoth, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ceolwald, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ceolwulf, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ceorl, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cerdic, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Charlemagne, Charles (the Great), <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Charles (the Bald), <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Charles (the Fat), <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Charles (son of Louis the German), <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chézy, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chippenham, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cirencester, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cœnred, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coit Maur, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Condé, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Congresbury, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cornwall, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Creoda, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cutha, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cuthwine, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cynric, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cynwit, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Danes, [<a href="#Page_3">3–5</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15–34</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, 55]</li> - -<li class="indx">Danube, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="indx">David, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dene, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Devon, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dorubernia, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Durugueir, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dyfed, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Eadburh, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eafa, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eald-Seaxum, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ealhere, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ealhmund, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ealhstan, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eanwulf, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="East_Angles"></a>East Angles, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">East Anglia, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="East_Frankland"></a>East Frankland, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Frankland">Frankland</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="East_Saxons"></a>East Saxons, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxons</a>, <a href="#Saxons">Saxons</a>, <a href="#South_Saxons">South Saxons</a>, <a href="#West_Saxons">West Saxons</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Edington, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Edmund, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Edward, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Egbert, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Egbert’s Stone, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Elesa, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Elias, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> - -<li class="indx">England, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Englefield, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">English, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Enoch, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Enosh, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eoppa, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Esla, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Essex, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Exanceastre, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Exeter, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fernmail, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Finn, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fræna, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Frankland"></a>Frankland, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#East_Frankland">East Frankland</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Franks, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, 68, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#West_Franks">West Franks</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Frealaf, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Freawine, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Freothegar, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span>Frisians, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Frithowald, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Frithuwulf, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Froom, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fulco, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fulham, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gaini, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gallic, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gaul, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gauls, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Geata, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Germanic, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Germany, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Geta, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gewis, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ghent, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Glywyssing, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Godwulf, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Goths, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Great Forest, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Greeks, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gregory (the Great), <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grimbald, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gueriir, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Guthrum, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gwent, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Halfdene, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hampshire, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Harold, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hathra, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hebrew, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hebrews, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Helised, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hemeid, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Heremod, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hingwar. <i>See</i> <a href="#Inwar">Inwar</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Howel, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Huda, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Humber, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hwala, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hwicce, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ine, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ingild, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Inwar"></a>Inwar, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ireland, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irish, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Itermod, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">James (the apostle), <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jared, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jerusalem, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jews, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John (the Old Saxon), <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Judith, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jutes, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kenan, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kennet, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kent, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lamech, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Latin, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leo (IV), <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leonaford, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lindsey, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lombardy, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">London, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Louis (the Pious), <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Louis (the German), <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Louis (the Stammerer), <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Louis (III), <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mahalalel, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marinus, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marne, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Martin, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Medway, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mercia, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mercian, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mercians, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Methuselah, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span>Meuse, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Middlesex, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Mid-Wales"></a>Mid-Wales, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mouric, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mucill, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Neot, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Noah, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nobis, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Northumbria, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Northumbrian, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Northumbrians, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nottingham, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Odo, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Offa, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Old Saxon, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Old_Saxons"></a>Old Saxons, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Osbern, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Osbert, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Osburh, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Oscytel, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Oslac, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Osric, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Paris, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Paul, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pavia, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pepin, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Peter, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Picts, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plegmund, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Reading, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Remigius, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Repton, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rheims, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rhine, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rhodri, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ris, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rochester, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Romans, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rome, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rudolf, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ruim, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">St. Davids, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sandwich, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Saxon, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Saxon Colony, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Saxons"></a>Saxons, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxons</a>, <a href="#East_Saxons">East Saxons</a>, <a href="#Old_Saxons">Old Saxons</a>, <a href="#South_Saxons">South Saxons</a>, <a href="#West_Saxons">West Saxons</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sceaf, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sceldwea, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scheldt, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sedulius, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Seine, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Selwood (Forest), <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Seth, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Severn, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shaftesbury, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sheppey, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sherborne, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sidroc the Elder, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sidroc the Younger, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Solomon, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Somerset(shire), <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="South_Saxons"></a>South Saxons, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxons</a>, <a href="#East_Saxons">East Saxons</a>, <a href="#Saxons">Saxons</a>, <a href="#West_Saxons">West Saxons</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="South_Wales"></a>South Wales, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stour, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Strathclyde, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stuf, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Surrey, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sussex, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tætwa, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tarrant, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Tenet"></a>Tenet, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Thanet">Thanet</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Teudubr, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thames, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Thanet"></a>Thanet, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span><i>See also</i> <a href="#Tenet">Tenet</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thetford, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thornsæta, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tigguocobauc, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tyne, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tyrrhene Sea, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"><a id="Waerferth"></a>Wærferth, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Werfrith">Werfrith</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wales, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Mid-Wales">Mid-Wales</a>, <a href="#South_Wales">South Wales</a>, <a href="#Western_Wales">Western Wales</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wantage, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wareham, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wedmore, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Welsh, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Werfrith"></a>Werfrith, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Waerferth">Wærferth</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Werwulf, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Wessex"></a>Wessex, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#West_Saxon">West Saxon</a>(s)</li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="Western_Wales"></a>Western Wales, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="West_Franks"></a>West Franks, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="West_Saxon"></a>West Saxon, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><a id="West_Saxons"></a>West Saxons, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> -<li class="isub1"><i>See also</i> <a href="#Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxons</a>, <a href="#East_Saxons">East Saxons</a>, <a href="#Saxons">Saxons</a>, <a href="#South_Saxons">South Saxons</a>, <a href="#Wessex">Wessex</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wicganbeorg, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wido, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wig, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wight, Isle of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wihtgar, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wihtgaraburg, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wiley, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wilton, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wiltshire, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wimborne Minster, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Winchester, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wisc, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Woden, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Worcester, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Yonne, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">York, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> -</ul> -</div></div> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - -<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made -consistent when a predominant preference was found -in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.</p> - -<p>Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced -quotation marks were remedied when the change was -obvious, and otherwise left unbalanced.</p> - -<p>Footnotes, originally at the bottoms of pages, have -been collected, renumbered, and moved to precede the -Index.</p> - -<p>The index was not checked for proper alphabetization -or correct page references. The link for one incorrect -reference was changed and no link was attempted for -another incorrect reference.</p> -</div></div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Asser's Life of Alfred, by John Asser - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASSER'S LIFE OF ALFRED *** - -***** This file should be named 63384-h.htm or 63384-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/3/8/63384/ - -Produced by Charlie Howard and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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