A Companion to Alfred the Great

484 Pages·2014·4.947 MB·English

by  Nicole Guenther Discenza

A Companion to Alfred the Great
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Brill’s Companions to the
Christian Tradition
A series of handbooks and reference works on the
intellectual and religious life of Europe, 500–1800
Editor-in-Chief
Christopher M. Bellitto (Kean University)
VOLUME 58
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bcct
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A Companion to Alfred the Great
Edited by
Nicole Guenther Discenza and Paul E. Szarmach
LEIDEN | BOSTON
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Cover illustration: “London Monogram” silver penny of Alfred, minted in London c. 880. Reproduced by
kind permission of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Image supplied by Rory Naismith.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A companion to Alfred the Great / edited by Nicole Guenther Discenza and Paul E. Szarmach.
  pages cm. -- (Brill’s companions to the Christian tradition, ISSN 1871-6377 ; volume 58)
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ISBN 978-90-04-27484-6 (hardback : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-90-04-28376-3 (e-book) 1. Alfred, King of England,
849-899--Influence. 2. Alfred, King of England, 849-899--In literature. 3. Great Britain--History--Alfred,
871-899. I. Discenza, Nicole Guenther, 1969- editor of compilation. II. Szarmach, Paul E., editor of
compilation.
 DA153.C66 2014
 942.01’64092--dc23
 [B]
2014035134
This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering
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ISSN 1871-6377
ISBN 978-90-04-27484-6 (hardback)
ISBN 978-90-04-28376-3 (e-book)
Copyright 2015 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Fees are subject to change.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
List of figures viii
Abbreviations and Short Titles ix
Notes on Contributors xi
Introduction 1
Part 1
Context
1 Alfred the Great and the Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons 13
Simon Keynes
2 The Art of Alfred and His Times 47
Leslie Webster
3 Latin Commentaries on Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy 82
Rosalind Love
Part 2
Alfred as Author
4 Alfred as Author and Translator 113
Janet M. Bately
5 The Alfredian Prefaces and Epilogues 143
Susan Irvine
6 S earoðonca Hord
Alfred’s Translation of Gregory the Great’s Regula Pastoralis 171
Carolin Schreiber
7 The Old English Boethius 200
Nicole Guenther Discenza
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vi contents
8 Augustine’s Soliloquia in Old English 227
Paul E. Szarmach
9 The Prose Translation of Psalms 1–50 256
Patrick P. O’Neill
10 The Laws of Alfred and Ine 282
Mary P. Richards
Part 3
Alfrediana
11 The Old English Orosius 313
Janet M. Bately
12 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 344
Susan Irvine
13 Alfredian Apocrypha
The Dialogues and the Bede 368
David F. Johnson
Appendix
Annotated Bibliography on the Authorship Issue 397
Bibliography 416
Index 453
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Acknowledgements
The co-editors wish to acknowledge with thanks the support and cooperative
spirit of the contributors who made this collection a true collaboration.
Contributors shared their work and offered suggestions to each other and to
the co-editors. Individual contributors have acknowledged those who have
granted permissions or given special assistance with their work.
Special thanks to Marisa Iglesias, who assisted Nicole Discenza in compiling
notes and bibliography; and to Rory Naismith, who provided the image for the
cover. The Brill team—Julian Deahl, Christopher Bellitto, Ivo Romein—
deserve our particular regard. We are also grateful for the helpful comments
from the anonymous reader of our manuscript.
Finally, we thank Joe Discenza and Katherine O’Brien O’Keeffe for their sup-
port and encouragement. Nicole and Paul share the goal but Joe and Katherine
got the assists.
Nicole Guenther Discenza and Paul E. Szarmach
June 2014
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List of Figures
Plate
1.1 The coinage of King Alfred and his contemporaries, c. 865–900 44
Figures
2.1 a Gold and niello finger-ring of Æthelwulf of Wessex (839–858) 53
2.1 b Gold and niello finger-ring of Æthelswith of Mercia (d. 888) 53
2.2 Carolingian gilt-bronze reliquary from Winchester, late eighth or
early ninth century (after Hinton 1981) 55
2.3 The Alfred Jewel, rock-crystal, gold and enamel, late ninth century
(after Hinton 1974) 58
2.4 ‘The Cup of Solomon’: gold and gemstone Sassanian dish,
sixth–seventh century (after Babelon 1887, Plate XXI) 60
2.5 The Warminster Jewel, gold, rock-crystal and blue glass,
late ninth century 63
2.6 The Fuller brooch, silver and niello, late ninth century 65
2.7 Silver strap-end from Cranbourne, Dorset, late ninth century 67
2.8 Cross-shaft, Codford St Peter, Wiltshire, late ninth century
(a) front (b) side view 68
2.9 Sword hilt (detail) inlaid with silver and niello, from Abingdon,
Berkshire, late ninth century 70
2.10 Wall-painting fragment from the site of the New Minster,
Winchester, before 903 72
2.11 Decorated initial from a copy of Alfred’s translation of the Pastoral Care
(Oxford, Bodleian Library ms Hatton 20, fol. 93v) 73
2.12 Decorated initials from a copy of Aldhelm’s de Virginitate (London,
British Library Royal ms 5.F.iii, fol.2v) 73
2.13 Antler handle from the City of London, early tenth century 74
2.14 Embroidered stole and maniple (detail) from St Cuthbert’s shrine,
commissioned by Edward the Elder’s wife, Ælfflæd (d.916),
for Bishop Frithestan of Winchester (909–931) 78
2.15 C ross-shaft, Colyton, Devon, first quarter of tenth century  79
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Abbreviations and Short Titles
(for full references, see Bibliography)
asc Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
ascce The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition
ase Anglo-Saxon England
aspr Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records, ed. Krapp and Dobbie
bease Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England
bl British Library
BnF Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
Boethius The Old English Boethius, ed. Godden and Irvine
Bosworth-Toller An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary…Joseph Bosworth, ed. Toller
ch i Ælfric’s Catholic Homilies, First Series, ed. Clemoes
ch ii Ælfric’s Catholic Homilies, Second Series, ed. Godden
cccc Cambridge, Corpus Christi College
cccm Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Medievalis
ccsl Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina
csase Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England
csel Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum
cul Cambridge, University Library
dcp Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae, ed. Bieler
Dialogi Grégoire le Grand, Dialogues, ed. Adalbert de Vogüé
doe Dictionary of Old English, ed. Cameron et al.
eemf Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile
eets Early English Text Society
ehd Whitelock, English Historical Documents
ehr English Historical Review
eme Early Medieval Europe
es English Studies
Gneuss Gneuss, Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts
Fontes Fontes Anglo-Saxonici
he B ede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, ed. and trans.
Colgrave and Mynors
jegp Journal of English and Germanic Philology
Ker, Catalogue N.R. Ker, Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon
K&L S imon Keynes and Michael Lapidge (eds. and trans.), Alfred the
Great
ls Ælfric’s Lives of Saints, ed. Skeat
lse Leeds Studies in English
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