King of England Alfred - Alfred the Great: Assers Life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources

Assers Life of King Alfred
and other contemporary sources

Translated with an Introduction and Notes by
SIMON KEYNES and MICHAEL LAPIDGE

PENGUIN BOOKS

PENGUIN BOOKS

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First published 1983
Reprinted 2004
24

This Translation, Introduction and Notes copyright Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge, 1983
All rights reserved

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject
to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent,
re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers
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EISBN: 9781101489338

The Penguin Classics series of translations is one of which King Alfred the Great would have heartily approved. Amid great difficulties, and among many other undertakings, he initiated a programme for the translation into English of certain books which are the most necessary for all men to know, and he made arrangements to ensure that they received wide circulation, all as part of his general plan for the revival of learning in England. It seems, therefore, especially appropriate that a volume which gathers together the principal written sources for the study of Alfred and his reign should find a place in the series, and we are grateful to the editor, Mrs Betty Radice, and to Donald McFarlan, of Penguin Books, for their encouragement and support.

King Alfred was also the first to acknowledge his indebtedness to others, and to appreciate the advantage of having a few learned men with you who would not disturb you in any way, but would assist you in your work. We too should like to express our thanks to the many such men and women who have given freely and readily of their advice in connection with the preparation of this book: Peter Baker, Nicholas Brooks, Pierre Chaplais, Wendy Davies, David Dumville, Rosemary Graham, Kenneth Harrison, David Howlett, Alan Kennedy, Peter Kitson, Vivien Law, Stewart Lyon, Rosamond McKitterick, Janet Nelson, Oliver Padel, Raymond Page, Peter Sawyer, Dagmar Schneider, Richard Sharpe, Patrick Sims-Williams, Eric Stanley, Robin Waterfield and Patrick Wormald. But our greatest and most obvious debt is to the work of W. H. Stevenson, who laid the foundations for the modern study of Assers Life of King Alfred, and Dorothy Whitelock, who did so much to advance knowledge and understanding of the Anglo-Saxons in general and of King Alfred in particular. Their track can still be seen, and we have followed.

April 1983

Simon Keynes

Michael Lapidge

The reign of King Alfred the Great (87199) is among the most stirring periods of English history. It saw the kingdom of Wessex taken from the brink of Viking conquest to the threshold of an undertaking that led eventually to the political unification of England. It is a story of enduring personal interest, for Alfred himself emerges as a man who had to overcome considerable difficulties in effecting the survival of his kingdom, and whose practical intelligence and vision contributed both materially and spiritually to the future prosperity of his country.

The general pattern of events during the reign is clear. A Viking army, described by contemporaries as a great heathen army, invaded England in 865 and met little effective resistance as it passed through the ancient kingdoms of East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia, forcing each in turn to sue for peace. It was only a matter of time before the Vikings turned their attention to Wessex, and indeed when Alfred became king of the West Saxons in 871 his kingdom was already in the throes of a desperate struggle against the invading army. Under Alfreds leadership the West Saxons fought and bargained for their survival, though their fate remained in the balance until Alfreds famous victory over the Vikings at Edington in 878. His success discouraged another Viking army, which had arrived in the Thames in the same year, from seeking its fortune in Wessex, and while that army directed its efforts to ravaging on the Continent, Alfred embarked on a comprehensive programme of reform. He devised a new system for the defence of his kingdom and overhauled procedures of royal government, but most remarkably he initiated a scheme for the encouragement of learning and involved himself personally in its implementation. When the Viking army returned to England in 892, Alfreds defensive measures were put to the test, and soon proved their worth; the Vikings dispersed in 896, leaving Alfred free to concentrate in the remaining years of his life on furthering his programme of reform. It was then from the foundations laid by King Alfred that his successors in the tenth century were able to extend their authority over the areas that had previously succumbed to the Viking onslaught, and in the process to bring about the political unification of England. When judged in purely military and political terms, Alfreds achievement was impressive; when judged also in cultural terms, it was truly exceptional. It is no wonder that he has come to be known as King Alfred the Great.