Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge.
Alfred the Great is best known as the king who burnt the cakes, but he was also famous for other achievements. As king of Wessex from 871 to 899, he strove to emulate those kings of the past who, in his own words, had 'succeeded both in warfare and in wisdom'. He led the battle against the Viking invaders of England, and presided over the revival of religion and learning among his people: his reputation is a measure of his success.
Asser was a monk of St David’s, in Wales, who entered King Alfred’s service and eventually became Bishop of Sherborne. His 'Life of King Alfred', written in 893, is a remarkable account of the king’s activities in peace and war, and testifies to the admiration that Alfred inspired in those around him.
The other contemporary sources include annals from the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', King Alfred’s laws, his will, and extracts from his own writings. Taken with Asser’s 'Life', they create a vivid picture of kingship, warfare and learning in Anglo-Saxon England.
The cover shows the late ninth-century Alfred Jewel, inscribed AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN ('Alfred ordered me to be made'), reproduced by kind permission of the Trustees of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
Author(s): Asser, Alfred the Great, Simon Keynes, Michael Lapidge (transl.)
Series: Penguin Classics
Publisher: Penguin Books
Year: 1983
Language: English
Pages: 368
City: Harmondsworth
Preface 7
Introduction 9
1. King Alfred the Great 9
The sources of our knowledge 10
The historical background 11
The period of Alfred's youth 13
The reign of King Alfred 18
The cult of King Alfred 44
2. Asser and his 'Life of King Alfred' 48
Maps
1. The Vikings in England, 865-78 59
2. The Vikings on the Continent, 879-92 60
3. The Vikings in England, 892-6 61
Genealogical Tables
The Kings of Wessex 62
The Carolingian Kings 63
I. ASSER'S 'LIFE OF KING ALFRED'
Facsimile of the beginning of Asser's 'Life of King Alfred' in Cotton Otho A. xii 66
Asser's 'Life of King Alfred' 67
Map 4: Wales in the late ninth century 95
II. THE 'ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE', 888-900
Annals 888-92 113
Annals 893-6 114
Annals 897-900 120
III. EXTRACTS FROM THE WRITINGS OF KING ALFRED
The preface to Werferth’s translation of Gregory’s 'Dialogues' 123
From the translation of Gregory’s 'Pastoral Care' 124
From the translation of Boethius’s 'Consolation of Philosophy' 131
From the translation of Augustine’s 'Soliloquies' 138
From the prose translation of the Psalter 153
IV. MISCELLANEOUS SOURCES FOR THE REIGN OF KING ALFRED
Extracts from the laws of King Alfred 163
The treaty between Alfred and Guthrum 171
The will of King Alfred 173
Map 5: The estates mentioned in the will of King Alfred 176
King Alfred’s charter for Ealdorman Æthelhelm 179
Map 6: Ealdorman Æthelhelm’s estate at North Newnton 180
The letter of Fulco, archbishop of Rheims, to King Alfred 182
Bishop Wulfsige’s preface to the translation of Gregory’s 'Dialogues' 187
Æthelweard’s account of the closing years of Alfred’s reign 189
Two acrostic poems on King Alfred 192
The 'Burghal Hidage' 193
APPENDICES
Appendix I: Alfred and the Cakes 197
Appendix II: The Alfred Jewel 203
NOTES TO INTRODUCTION AND TEXT 209
Note on Further Reading 342
References 345
Index 360
