King Alfred the GreatFacts and Legends

Wintersemester 2010/1115/02/2011Proseminar: Sprache und Kultur der AngelsachsenDozentin: Ulrike KrischkeReferentinnen: Julia Reich, Lina Rohde

The life of King Alfred the Great

• Life

• Reign

Did King Alfred write anything?

• Writings

• Reason

• Facts

Outlook

Outline

Life

3

849 Birth at Wantage, in Berkshire

853 Ælfred was sent to Rome

Life

855 Father took him on a trip to Rome again

4

865 Æþelred succeeded on hisbrothers

Ælfredbecame a seasonedwarrior

865 “Great Heathen Army” arrived in East Anglia

868 Ælfred’s marriage to Ealswiþ

871 Ælfred lead troops against the Vikings

in the Battle of Ashdown

871 Death of Æþelred

Reign

871 Ælfred became King of

Wessex

5

871 Battle at Wilton

878 Battle of Edington

871 - 878 Further Invasions

878 Surprise attack on Ælfred

Reign

6

878 Treaty of Wedmore:

England is divided

Period of peace

899 Ælfred died

Reign

Achievements

7

• System of defensive forts

• Permanent forces in reserve

• Improved ships

• New military tactics

• Aggressive policy towards Vikings

• Offering of overlordship& protection

“King of all the English”

Writings

“Did Alfred write anything?”(Godden, M. 2005)

8

Writings

•Regula pastoralisby Gregory the Great

•De consolationephilosophiaeby Boethius

•Soliloquiaby St. Augustine

• First fifty Psalms

• (Alfred‘slawcodeandhis will)

9

Reason’Ūreieldran, ðāðeðāsstōwaærhīoldon, hīelufodonwīsdōm,

ondðurthðonehīebegēatonwelanondūslæfdon.

Hērmonmæggīetgesīonhioraswæð, acwēhim ne

cunnonæfterspyrigean.

Ondforðæmwēhabbaðnūægðerforlætengeðonewelangeðonewīsd

ōm, forðæmðewēnoldontōðæmsporemidūremōdeonlūtan.‘

(King Alfred to BishopWaerferth. 890)

“Our forefathers who before us held these places, loved wisdom, and

through it they obtained wisdom, and left it to us. Here may we still see their

footprints, but we cannot follow them up and therefore have we lost both wealth

and wisdom, since we would not incline our hearts to their example.”

(Morning,A. Steele,R.1900. p. 2)10

ReasonForðýmēðyncðbetre, gifīowswæðyncð, ðætwēēacsumebēc,

ðāðenīedeðearfostasīeneallummonnumtōwiotonne, ðætwēðā

on ðætgeðīode wenden ðewēeallegecnāwanmægen,

ondgedōn, swæwēswīðeēaðemagonmidGodesfultume,

gifwēðāstilnessehabbað, ðætteeallsīogioguððenūis on

Angelcynnefrīoramonna,

ðāraðeðāspēdahæbbenðæthīeðæmbefēolanmægen,

sīentōliornungaoðfæste, ðāhwīleðehīetōnānreōðerrenote ne

mægen, oððonefirstðehīewelcunnenEngliscgewritārædan.

Læremonsiððanfurður on

Lædengeðīodeðāðemonfurðorlæranwilleondtōhīerranhādedō

nwille.

(King Alfred to BishopWaerferth. 890)11

Reason

“[…] it seems well to me, if ye think so, for us also to translate the books

most needful for all men to know into the speech which all men know, and,

as we are well able if we have peace, to make all the youth in England of

free men rich enough to devote themselves to it, to learn while they are

unfit for other occupation till they are well able to read English writing: and

let those be afterwards taught Latin who are to continue learning and be

promoted to higher rank.“

(Morning,A. Steele,R.1900. p. 4)

12

•written in Alfred’s name and voice

BUT it was quite common during that time to write

in other people’s name

•in all four books there is either a preface or an epilogue

which point to Alfred as the author

•“[…] the four books […] share a consistent

vocabulary and syntax” (Busse, W. in Godden. 2001. )13

Facts

Facts

• Asser did not mention the king translating these texts

in the biography

• Alfred did not learn Latin until he was 39(!) years old

the nature of the texts almost requires a good

knowledge of Latin

14

Outlook

Alfred Jewel

15

• Found in 1693

• Old English inscription:

“Alfred ordered me to be made”

• sent to every diocese in Alfred’s

kingdom with his translation of

Regulapastoralis

Bibliography

16

Bately, J. 2003. “ The Alfredian Canon Revisited”. Alfred the Great Papers from the Eleventh Centebery Conference. Ed. T. Reuter. Aldershot: VT. 107-20Frantzen, Allen J. 1986. King Alfred. Boston: Twayne Publishers.

Godden, Malcolm. 2007. “Did King Alfred write anything”. Medium Aevum 76, 1-23

Keynes, Simon. 1984. Alfred the Great: Asser’s Life of King Alfred the Great and Other Contemporary Sources. New York: PenguinLapidge, Michael. 2008. The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Blackwell

Steel Robert & Morning Alexander. 1900. Kings’ Letters form the Days of Alfred to the Coming of the Tutors. London: The De La More Press, 1-4