Alfred the Great : war, culture and kingship in Anglo-Saxon England

392 Pages·1998·65.75 MB·English

by  Richard P Abels

ALFRED THE GREAT
THE MEDIEVAL WORLD
Editor: David Bates
John Moorhead JUSTINIAN
Janet Nelson CHARLES THE BALD
Richard Abels ALFRED THE GREAT
M.K. Lawson CNUT
James A. Brundage MEDIEVAL CANON LAW
John Hudson THE FORMATION OF THE ENGLISH COMMON
LAW
Lindy Grant ABBOT SUGER OF ST-DENIS
David Crouch WILLIAM MARSHAL
Ralph V. Turner
KING JOHN
Jim Bradbury PHILIP AUGUSTUS
Jane Sayers INNOCENT III
C.H. Lawrence THE FRIARS
David Abulafia THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN KINGDOMS
1200-1500
Jean Dunbabin CHARLES I OF ANJOU
JenniJer C. Ward ENGLISH NOBLEWOMEN IN THE LATER
MIDDLE AGES
Michael Hicks BASTARD FEUDALISM
ALFRED THE GREAT
War, Kingship and Culture in
Anglo-Saxon England
Richard Abels
First published 1998 by Pearson Education Limited
Published 2013 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon 0X14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 1998, Taylor & Francis.
The right of Richard Abels to be identified as author of this Work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permis­
sion in writing from the publishers.
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience
broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical
treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluat­
ing and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using
such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others,
including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors,
assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products
liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instruc­
tions, or ideas contained in the material herein.
ISBN 13: 978-0-582-04047-2 (pbk)
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue entry for this title is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Abels, Richard Philip, 1951 —
Alfred the Great: war, kingship, and culture in Anglo-Saxon
England / Richard Abels,
p. cm. — (The medieval world)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-582-04048-5 (he.). — ISBN 0-582-04047-7 (pbk.)
1. Alfred, King of England, 849-899. 2. Anglo-Saxons—England—
Wessex—Kings and rulers—Biography. 3. Great Britain—Kings and
rulers—Biography. 4. Great Britain—History—Alfred, 871-899.
5. Military history, Medieval. 6. Civilization, Medieval.
I. Title. il Series.
DA153A2 1998
942.01,64,092—dc21 98-20930
OP
Set by 35 in 11/12pt Baskerville
TO MY MOTHER AND FATHER, BLANCHE AND
MILTON ABELS, WITH LOVE AND DEVOTION
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
List of Maps and Figures ix
List of Abbreviations x
Editor’s Preface xiii
Author’s Preface xv
Acknowledgements xviii
Introduction 1
Sources 9
CHAPTER 1 Alfred’s Wessex 24
The rise of Wessex 26
The political contours of Alfred’s
kingdom 29
Wessex, its land and people 33
CHAPTER 2 Memories of Childhood, 848-858 45
Alfred’s family 46
Early education 52
Spiritual son to St Peter 57
iEthelwulf’s ‘Decimation’ and his
pilgrimage to Rome 68
‘A disgraceful episode’ 78
CHAPTER 3 Scourges of God, 858-868 88
The reigns of ¿Ethelbald and
yEthelberht 89
Scourges of the flesh 96
The Viking threat 102
The Great Heathen Army 112
Mercian military and marriage alliances 119
vii
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 4 ‘A Very Great Warrior’, 869-879 124
Invasion of Wessex 124
Alfred the king 136
Athelney and the battle of Edington 152
CHAPTER 5 King of the Anglo-Saxons, 880-891 169
An imperfect peace 170
Domestic and foreign relations 176
CHAPTER 6 The Defence of the Realm 194
Military reforms: the burghal system 194
Burhs, coins and the economy 208
CHAPTER 7 The Reign of Solomon 219
The Alfredian renaissance 220
Alfred and the Church 243
King Alfred’s political thought 246
CHAPTER 8 The Practice of Kingship 258
The ‘tools’ of government 259
The king and the law 274
CHAPTER 9 Triumph and Death, 892-899 285
CONCLUSION ‘My Memory in Good Works’ 309
Appendix on the Authenticity of Asser’s
Life of King Alfred 318
Further Reading 328
Genealogical Table, Maps and Figures 345
Index 361
viii
GENEALOGICAL TABLE,
MAPS AND FIGURES
Genealogical Table
Alfred’s family and genealogy 347
Maps
Map 1: The kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons c. 890 348
Map 2: Britain at Alfred’s birth, 848 350
Map 3: Britain at Alfred’s death, 899 351
Map 4: Viking activity in south Britain and
west Francia to 865 352
Map 5: King Alfred’s defences for Wessex:
the burhs of the Burghal Hidage 354
Map 6: The Great Heathen Army, 865-79 356
Map 7: Alfred’s final campaigns, 892-6 357
Figures
Fig. 1: Lundenwic and Alfred’s London 358
Fig. 2: Three of Alfred’s burhs: (a) Wallingford;
(b) Cricklade; (c) Winchester 359
ix