DOCSLIB.ORG

Alfred the Great

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Alfred the Great The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027953854 Cornell University Library DA 153.H89 Alfred the Great, 3 1924 027 953 854 ^/ ^^Dt"^/?^^ THOMAS HUGHES, M.P. ' A uthor of ' Tom BrowrCs Sclwol Days. MACMII/IyAN &? Co CORhJEL UrsifVERSiTY \ LIBRARY CONTENTS. ffAGE PREFACE. I CHAPTER I. OF KINGS AND KINGSHIP ... ... 7 CHAPTER II. A THOUSAND YEARS AGO ... ... ... 1$ CHAPTER III. CHILDHOOD. 32 CHAPTER IV. CNIHTHOOD ... ... 44 CHAPTER V. THE DANE .... ... -56 CHAPTER VI. THE FIRST WAVE .... ... 68 CHAPTER VII. ALFRED ON THE THRONE 86 b CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. PAGJJ • 9' THE SECOND WAVE ... • CHAPTER IX. lOO ATHELNEY ... .... CHAPTER X. 1 ETHANDUNE - • - • . 14 CHAPTER XI. 12? RETROSPECT . ...... CHAPTER XII. THE king's board OF WORKS . 13^ CHAPTER XIII. THE king's WAR OFFICE AND ADMIRALTY . 147 CHAPTER XIV. THE king's laws . ... 159 CHAPTER XV. THE king's justice .... 1 73 CHAPTER XVI. THE king's EXCHEQUER . 1 89 CHAPTER XVII. THE king's CHURCH . ... 200 CHAPTER XVIII. THE king's friends . 212 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIX. f'ACE THE king's neighbours 228 CHAPTER XX. THE king's foe ... 24O CHAPTER XXI. THE THIRD WAVE . ... 250 CHAPTER XXn. THE king's home . 267 CHAPTER XXIH. THE KING AS AUTHOR .... 278 CHAPTER XXIV. THE king's DEATH AND WILL .... 3OI CHAPTER XXV. THE king's successors . 311 CHAPTER XXVI. THE END OF THE WHOLE MATTER. 317 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. VACE MAP 11F F.i\(;l.A>"Il AHOUT A.]). lOOO AND AT THE PRESENT TIME frontispiece KING ALFRED AT THE BATTLE OF ASHDOWN . to face 76 SEDULOUSLY BENT ON ACQUIRING LEARMN'i; ,, 177 ; PREFACE. The early ages of our country's history have been studied, and written and re-written, with a care and ability which have left nothing to desire. Every source from which light could be drawn has been explored by eminent scholars, and probably all the facts which will ever be known have been now ascer- tained. Kemble, Palgrave, and Thorpe have been succeeded by Pearson and Freeman, whose great ability and industry every student of those times, however humble, must be able to recognise, and to whom the present writer is anxious to express his deep obligations. Thanks to their labours, whoever takes for his subject any portion of our early national history will find his task one of comparative ease. And of all that early history the life and times of Alfred are, beyond all question, the most absorbing in interest. The story has been written many times, from different points of view, by natives and foreigners from Sir John Spelman, the first edition of whose Life of Alfred was published in 1709, to Dr. Pauli, whose S.L. VIII. B 2 PREFACE. most admirable and exhaustive work is not yet eighteen years old. That book was written " by a German for Germans," as we learn from the preface. Its plan, Dr. Pauli tells us, was conceived at Oxford, in Novem- ber 1 848, " at a time when German hearts trembled, as they had seldom done before, for the preservation of their Fatherland, and especially for the continuance of those states which were destined by Heaven for the protection and support of Germany." Happily no German need now tremble for the preservation of his Fatherland, but the problems which 1848 started still await an answer. The revolutionary spur which was then given to the intellectual and political activity of Christendom has as yet done little beyond dooming certain conditions of political and social life, and awakening a very genuine and wide- spread longing for some better and higher life for nations than has ever yet been realized. The political earthquake of 1848, then, led Dr. Pauli to take so deep an interest in the struggles and life-work of King Alfred, that he could not rest until he had placed a picture of them before his German fellow-countrymen, for their study, warning, and en- couragement. The German student felt that some- how this story would prove of value to those in his Fatherland who were struggling for some solid ground upon which to plant their feet, in the midst of the throes of the last great European crisis. A like con- viction has led me to attempt the same work, an " PREFACE. Englishman for Englishmen, in a crisis which seems likely to prove at least as serious as that of 1848. For the events of the last few years—one may perhaps say more particularly of the last few months —have forced on those who think on such subjects at all, the practical need of examining once more the principles upon which society, and the life of nations, rest. How are nations to be saved from the tyranny or domination of arbitrary will, whether of a Csesar or a mob ? is the problem before us, and one which is becoming daily more threatening, demanding an answer at the peril of national life. France for the moment is the country where the question presses most urgently. There the most democratic of Euro- pean peoples seemed to have given up her ideal commonwealth in despair, and Imperialism or Csesarism had come out most nakedly, in this generation, under our own eyes. The Emperor of the French has shown Christendom, both in practice by his government, and theoretically in his writings, what this Imperialism is, upon what it stands. The answer, maturing now these seventeen years, has come in a shout from a whole people, thoroughly " roused at last, Away with it ! It is undermining society, it is destroying morality. Brave, simple, honest life is becoming, if it has not already become, im- possible under its shadow. Away with this, at once, and for ever, let what will come in its place ! But when we anxiously look for what is to come B 2 PREFACE. ill its place in France, we are baffled and depressed. We seem to be gazing only into the hurly-burly of driving cloud and heaving sea, in which as yet no " trace of firm land is visible. The cry for minis- terial responsibility,'' or "government by the majo- rity," seems for the moment to express the best mind of the nation. Alas ! has not Louis Napoleon shown us how little worth lies in such remedies 1 Responsibility to whom .'—To no person at all, I presume the answer would be, but to the majority of the nation, who are the source of all power, whose will is to be done whatever it may be. But the Emperor of the French would acknowledge such responsibility, would maintain that his own govern- ment is founded on it, that he is the very incar- " " nation of government by the majority ; and one cannot but own that he has at least proved how easily such phrases may be turned to the benefit of his own Imperialism. The problem has been showing itself, though not in so urgent a form, in England, in the late discus- sions as to the House of Lords. That part of our machinery for government has been so nearly in conflict with the national will as to rouse a host of questions. What principle worth preserving does this House of Lords represent .' Is it compatible with government by the majority } Does not its existence involve a constant protest against the idea that the people are the source of all power } Is PREFACE. such a protest endurable, if the machinery for govern- ing, in so complicated a state of society as ours, is to work smoothly ? Here, again, one has heard little beyond angry declamation ; but the discussion has shown that the time is come when we English can no longer stand by as interested spectators only, but in which every one of our own institutions will be sifted with rigour, and will have to show cause for its existence. In every other nation of Christendom the same restlessness exists, the same ferment is going on ; and under many different forms, and by many different roads, the same end is sought—the deliverance from the dominion of arbitrary will, the establishment of some order in which "righteousness shall be the girdle of the loins, and truth the girdle of the reins," of who- ever wields the sovereign power amongst the nations of the earth. As a help in this search, this life of the typical English King is here offered, not to historical stu- dents, but to ordinary English readers. The writer has not attempted, and is not competent to take part in, the discussion of any of the deeply interesting critical, antiquarian, and philological questions which cross the path of every student of Anglo-Saxon history, and which have been so ably handled by the authors already referred to, and many others. As a politician, both in and out of the House of Commons, he has had to examine for himself for many years PREFACE. the actual gi'ound upon which the political life of the English nation stands, that he might solve for his own individual guidance, according to the best light he could get, the most practical of all questions for a public man,—what leader he should support ? what reforms he should do his best to obtain ? Born in Alfred's own county, and having been from childhood familiar with the spots which history and tradition associate with some of the most critical events of the great King's life, he has reached the same conclusion as Dr.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • ELECTORAL REVIEW of SWALE Final Recommendations for Ward
    SHEET 2, MAP 2 Proposed ward boundaries in the north of the Isle of Sheppey THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ELECTORAL REVIEW OF SWALE Final recommendations for ward boundaries in the borough of Swale August 2012 Sheet 2 of 3 This map is based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England GD100049926 2012. KEY BOROUGH COUNCIL BOUNDARY PROPOSED WARD BOUNDARY PARISH BOUNDARY PROPOSED PARISH WARD BOUNDARY SHEERNESS WARD PROPOSED WARD NAME EASTCHURCH CP PARISH NAME MINSTER EAST PARISH WARD PROPOSED PARISH WARD NAME Sheerness Hole Vehicle and Passenger Garrison Point Ferry Terminal Fort COINCIDENT BOUNDARIES ARE SHOWN AS THIN COLOURED LINES SUPERIMPOSED OVER WIDER ONES. y a w d e M r e v i Boat G R AR Basin RIS ON RO AD Scale : 1cm = 0.07600 km Grid interval 1km Es pla na de Sheerness Harbour Estate EET HIGH STR Sheppey College T Trading Estate B S RI H DG AC E R E OA B IN ROAD D BAS GREAT BLUE Station TOWN HIG H S Y TR WA EE OAD AY T BR E W L Car Park IEL BR Catamaran C e m e Yacht Club t e y r S E s Steel Works T A e P R in E ALMA ST G L M I h P N E g I R u Y L I Playing Field ro SHEERNESS T o S L D R b M E Y D n A A A T O e A N e R V R O O E A u Sheerness Harbour Estate E N R Q IN O R E D d IU n E A A R a M A nt P D M R T i A T L o Sea Cadets R S P S W D T A MARINE
    [Show full text]
  • Christianity &
    CHRISTIANITY & LAW The Influence of Christianity on the Development of English Common-Law By the same author: The Christian Philosophy of Education Explained, 1992 The Nature, Government and Function of the Church, 1997 A Defence of the Christian State, 1998 The Political Economy of a Christian Society, 2001 Common-Law Wives and Concubines, 2003 The Problem of the Gifted Speaker, 2009 Baal Worship Ancient and Modern, 2010 The Great Decommission, 2011 The Christian Passover: Agape Feast or Ritual Abuse? 2012 CHRISTIANITY & LAW The Influence of Christianity on the Development of English Common-Law with an Appendix containing a translation of the laws of king alfred the great STEPHEN C. PERKS KUYPER FOUNDATION TAUNTON • ENGLAND 2012 First published in 1993 by Avant Books Second Edition 2012 Published in Great Britain by THE KUYPER FOUNDATION P. O. BoX 2, TAUNTON, SOMERSET, TA1 4Zd, ENGLAND Copyright © Stephen C. Perks, 2012 All rights reserved ISBN 978-1-909145-00-9 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Printed and bound in Great Britain PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION The following essay on the influence of Christianity on the develop- ment of English common law was originally presented as a paper in the early 1990s at a national conference of Christian organisa- tions concerned about maintaining the relevance and influence of the Christian faith and Christian moral standards in modern British society. It was subsequently published as a monograph by Avant Books in 1993. In the nineteen years since it was originally published the deterioration of the nation’s legal and political in- stitutions and the decline of the moral life of the people has con- tinued to such an extent that we now find ourselves in a situation that can only be described as nothing short of a national apostasy.
    [Show full text]
  • Wessex and the Reign of Edmund Ii Ironside
    Chapter 16 Wessex and the Reign of Edmund ii Ironside David McDermott Edmund Ironside, the eldest surviving son of Æthelred ii (‘the Unready’), is an often overlooked political figure. This results primarily from the brevity of his reign, which lasted approximately seven months, from 23 April to 30 November 1016. It could also be said that Edmund’s legacy compares unfavourably with those of his forebears. Unlike other Anglo-Saxon Kings of England whose lon- ger reigns and periods of uninterrupted peace gave them opportunities to leg- islate, renovate the currency or reform the Church, Edmund’s brief rule was dominated by the need to quell initial domestic opposition to his rule, and prevent a determined foreign adversary seizing the throne. Edmund conduct- ed his kingship under demanding circumstances and for his resolute, indefati- gable and mostly successful resistance to Cnut, his career deserves to be dis- cussed and his successes acknowledged. Before discussing the importance of Wessex for Edmund Ironside, it is con- structive, at this stage, to clarify what is meant by ‘Wessex’. It is also fitting to use the definition of the region provided by Barbara Yorke. The core shires of Wessex may be reliably regarded as Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Berk- shire and Hampshire (including the Isle of Wight).1 Following the victory of the West Saxon King Ecgbert at the battle of Ellendun (Wroughton, Wilts.) in 835, the borders of Wessex expanded, with the counties of Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Essex passing from Mercian to West Saxon control.2 Wessex was not the only region with which Edmund was associated, and nor was he the only king from the royal House of Wessex with connections to other regions.
    [Show full text]
  • Dark Ages Information Sheet
    Viking-Age Englalond Battle of Edington 878 AD Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 878 AD Here the raiding-army stole away in midwinter after Twelfth Night to Cippenham, and over-rode and occupied the land of Westseaxe, and drove many of the people across the sea, and the greatest part of the others they overrode - except Ælfrēd the king with a small troop went with difficulty through woods and into swamp-fastnesses. And that same winter Ubbe, a brother of Ivarr and Hálfdan was in Westseaxe in Defnascir, and he was killed there, and 800 men with him and 40 men of his war- band; and there the banner which they called 'Raven' was taken. And the Easter after, King Ælfrēd with a small troop built a fortification at Æthelingæg, and from that fortification, with the men of that part of Somersæte nearest to it, was making war against the raiding-army. Then in the seventh week after Easter he rode to Ecgbryhtesstan to the east of Sealhwudu, and there came to join him all Somersæte and Wiltunscir and that part of Hamptonscir which was on this side of the sea - and were glad of him. And one day later he went from those camps to Island Wood, and one day later to Eðandun, and there fought against the whole raiding-army, and put it to flight, and rode after it as far as the fortification, and settled there fourteen days; and then the raiding-army granted him hostages and great oaths that they would leave his kingdom, and also promised him that their king would receive baptism; and they fulfilled it.
    [Show full text]
  • P.56. Proposed Progresses: P.68
    County Index of Visits by the Queen. Hosts’ Index: p.56. Proposed Progresses: p.68. Alleged and Traditional Visits: p.101. Mistaken visits: chronological list: p.103-106. County Index of Visits by the Queen. ‘Proposed progresses’: the section following this Index and Hosts’ Index. Other references are to the main Text. Counties are as they were in Elizabeth’s reign, disregarding later changes. (Knighted): knighted during the Queen’s visit. Proposed visits are in italics. Bedfordshire. Bletsoe: 1566 July 17/20: proposed: Oliver 1st Lord St John. 1578: ‘Proposed progresses’ (letter): Lord St John. Dunstable: 1562: ‘Proposed progresses’. At The Red Lion; owned by Edward Wyngate; inn-keeper Richard Amias: 1568 Aug 9-10; 1572 July 28-29. Eaton Socon, at Bushmead: 1566 July 17/20: proposed: William Gery. Holcot: 1575 June 16/17: dinner: Richard Chernock. Houghton Conquest, at Dame Ellensbury Park (royal): 1570 Aug 21/24: dinner, hunt. Luton: 1575 June 15: dinner: George Rotherham. Northill, via: 1566 July 16. Ridgmont, at Segenhoe: visits to Peter Grey. 1570 Aug 21/24: dinner, hunt. 1575 June 16/17: dinner. Toddington: visits to Henry Cheney. 1564 Sept 4-7 (knighted). 1570 Aug 16-25: now Sir Henry Cheney. (Became Lord Cheney in 1572). 1575 June 15-17: now Lord Cheney. Willington: 1566 July 16-20: John Gostwick. Woburn: owned by Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford. 1568: ‘Proposed progresses’. 1572 July 29-Aug 1. 1 Berkshire. Aldermaston: 1568 Sept 13-14: William Forster; died 1574. 1572: ‘Proposed progresses’. Visits to Humphrey Forster (son); died 1605. 1592 Aug 19-23 (knighted).
    [Show full text]
  • British Royal Ancestry Book 3, Kings of Wessex, from Cerdic, Who Came to Brittany in 495 to Harold II of England, My 27Th Great Grandfather
    GRANHOLM GENEALOGY BRITISH ROYAL ANCESTRY, BOOK 3 Book 3, Kings of Wessex INTRODUCTION The British ancestry is very much a patchwork of various beginnings. Until King Alfred the Great established England various Kings ruled separate parts. In most cases the initial ruler came from the mainland. That time of the history is shrouded in myths, which turn into legends and subsequent into history. Alfred the Great (849-901) was a very learned man and studied all available past history and especially biblical information. He came up with the concept that he was the 72nd generation descendant of Adam and Eve. Moreover he was a 17th generation descendant of Woden (Odin). Proponents of one theory claim that he was the descendant of Noah’s son Sem (Shem) because he claimed to descend from Sceaf, a marooned man who came to Britain on a boat after a flood. See the Biblical Ancestry and Early Mythology Ancestry books). The book British Mythical Royal Ancestry from King Brutus shows the mythical kings including Shakespeare’s King Lair. The lineages are from a common ancestor, Priam King of Troy. His one daughter Troana leads to us via Sceaf, the descendants from his other daughter Creusa lead to the British linage. No attempt has been made to connect these rulers with the historical ones. Before Alfred the Great formed a unified England several Royal Houses ruled the various parts. Not all of them have any clear lineages to the present times, i.e. our ancestors, but some do. I have collected information which show these. These include British Royal Ancestry Book 1, Legendary Kings from Brutus of Troy to including King Leir.
    [Show full text]
  • Isle of Sheppey Ffiirrsstt Wwoorrlldd Wwaarr Walking Trails
    Isle of Sheppey FFiirrsstt WWoorrlldd WWaarr Walking Trails RReevveeaalliinngg tthhee hhiissttoorryy ooff llooccaall ppeeooppllee,, ppllaacceess aanndd eevveennttss This trail was developed by Barbara Twiselton and Blue Town Heritage Centre www.kentww1.com ©kentww1.com 2017 Available for use under Creative Commons Licence for non-commercial use only Page 1 of 19 Contents Page 2 Trail information, travel, parking and facilities information and walking advice disclaimer. Page 3 Glossary and Burgundy Trail Introductions Page 4–9 Sheerness Burgundy Trail Page 10 Blue Town Blue Trail Introduction Page 11-15 Blue Town Blue Trail Page 16 Places Nearby Page 17 Quiz Page 18-19 Maps All trails are accessible digitally at www.kentww1 on 100 miles tab, where you will find a link to an app. Travel information By car: Starting point of Burgundy: ME12 1RJ Starting point of Blue: ME12 1RW By Train: Sheerness Railway Station is a point on the Burgundy trail and is close to the start of the trail. Parking: Free parking along High Street Blue Town, Tesco’s car park (ME12 1RH) and Beach Street Car Park (ME12) Places of rest / Facilities: Various cafes and pubs are located around Sheerness town centre and close to the start of the Burgundy Trail. Walking Advice – Health and Safety Some of the locations shown on our maps can be dangerous, particularly coastal areas where the incoming tide may cut off routes, and cliff edges may be prone to collapse. Always check local safety information before travelling, and use caution when visiting. Our maps and points of interest are provided for historical information only.
    [Show full text]
  • Alfred the West Saxon, King of English
    Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027953888 /S3 BOUGHT WITH THB«INC FROM th:^ SAGE ENDOWMENT the; gift o^ Benrg HI. %nt 1891 Saintly %ivc8 Edited by R. F. Horton, M.A. Alfred the West Saxon King of the English Frontispiece^. The Traditional Portrait of Alfred the Great. This conception of Alfred's features is probably at least 200 years old. It appears in one of the Bodlean prints with this legend: Alfredus Saxonuvt Rex, Coll. Universitatis Oxon. Fvndalvr. Ciica A. Chr. 877. Hujus Suinmi Regis ^Efigiem a Taiula in Btbl. Bodkiana /ulUuii Reverendo viro Nathan Wciiwri'll, S.T-R. Nathan Wetherell was Master of University :from 1764-1808, but the original to which he refers cannot be traced. Alfred the West Saxon King of the EngHsh DUGALD MACFADYEN, M.A. (J^ametime ExM^itioner in Modem History on ihs Foundation of Merton Colleg4, Ox/orS} WITH PORTRAIT AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS 1901 LONDON: J. M. DENT & CO. NEW YORK : E. P. DUTTON & CO. M ; The Author's Apology This book was undertaken at the request of a friend who found himself prevented under doctor's orders from preparing a Life of King Alfred for this series in time for the millenary celebration of his reign. Though undertaken to oblige someone else, it has been finished to please myself, and to gratify my reverence and liking for the hero of the book.
    [Show full text]
  • The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, Ad 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire
    The Antiquaries Journal, 96, 2016, pp 23–67 © The Society of Antiquaries of London, 2016 doi:10.1017⁄s0003581516000718 THE WINTER CAMP OF THE VIKING GREAT ARMY, AD 872–3, TORKSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE Dawn M Hadley, FSA, and Julian D Richards, FSA, with contributions by Hannah Brown, Elizabeth Craig-Atkins, Diana Mahoney-Swales, Gareth Perry, Samantha Stein and Andrew Woods Dawn M Hadley, Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield S14ET, UK. Email: d.m.hadley@sheffield.ac.uk Julian D Richards, Department of Archaeology, University of York, The King’s Manor, York YO17EP, UK. Email: [email protected] This paper presents the results of a multidisciplinary project that has revealed the location, extent and character of the winter camp of the Viking Great Army at Torksey, Lincolnshire, of AD 872–3. The camp lay within a naturally defended area of higher ground, partially surrounded by marshes and bordered by the River Trent on its western side. It is considerably larger than the Viking camp of 873–4 previously excavated at Repton, Derbyshire, and lacks the earthwork defences identified there. Several thousand individuals overwintered in the camp, including warriors, craftworkers and merchants. An exceptionally large and rich metalwork assemblage was deposited during the Great Army’s overwintering, and metal processing and trading was undertaken. There is no evidence for a pre-existing Anglo-Saxon trading site here; the site appears to have been chosen for its strategic location and its access to resources. In the wake of the overwintering, Torksey developed as an important Anglo-Saxon borough with a major wheel-thrown pottery industry and multiple churches and cemeteries.
    [Show full text]
  • Rough-Legged Buzzards in Britain in the Winter of 1966/67 by R
    Rough-legged Buzzards in Britain in the winter of 1966/67 By R. E. Scoff Dungeness Bird Observatory INTRODUCTION The Handbook of British Birds (1938-41) describes the status of the Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus In Great Britain as a winter visitor which occurs in most years in the northern isles and on the east coast of Scotland and England as far south as Suffolk, adding that it is rarer in south-east England and especially scarce in the west. It is therefore of some interest that exceptional numbers were reported in the autumn and winter of 1966/67, particularly in the south-east. A request for information was published (Brit, Birds, 60: 139-140) and letters were sent to county and regional recorders and editors asking for their assistance in collecting information relating to the influx. This paper analyses the data received and also presents the results of enquiries about the status of the species in northern Europe in 1966. The Handbook lists eight winters when the Rough-legged Buzzard is known to have been particularly numerous in Britain, intervals between these influxes ranging from five to 19 years with an average of eleven, the last as far back as 1915/16. Since then there have been minor influxes at long intervals (for example, in 1937/38), but the efficiency and number of observers now in contrast to those earlier years make comparison difficult. Certainly there was nothing compar­ able to 1966-67 in the preceding decade, as is shown by the records obtained by Dr. J. T.
    [Show full text]
  • Alfred the Great
    Alfred the Great “Alfred I” and “King Alfred” redirect here. For (i.e., traditional Wessex), and Æthelwulf would rule in the Bohemian nobleman, see Alfred I, Prince of the east. Windisch-Grätz. For other uses, see Alfred the Great When King Æthelwulf died in 858, Wessex was ruled (disambiguation) and King Alfred (disambiguation) by three of Alfred’s brothers in succession, Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred.[7] Alfred the Great (849 – 26 October 899) (Old English: Bishop Asser tells the story of how as a child Alfred won Ælfrēd, Ælfrǣd, “elf counsel”) was King of Wessex from a prize of a volume of poetry in Saxon, offered by his 871 to 899. mother to the first of her children able to memorize it.[8] Alfred successfully defended his kingdom against the Legend also has it that the young Alfred spent time in Viking attempt at conquest, and by the time of his death Ireland seeking healing. Alfred was troubled by health had become the dominant ruler in England.[1] He is the problems throughout his life. It is thought that he may only English monarch to be accorded the epithet “the have suffered from Crohn’s disease.[9] Statues of Alfred Great”.[2][3] Alfred was the first King of the West Sax- in Winchester and Wantage portray him as a great war- ons to style himself “King of the Anglo-Saxons". rior. Evidence suggests he was not physically strong, and Details of Alfred’s life are described in a work by the though not lacking in courage, he was noted more for his intellect than a warlike character.[10] 10th-century Welsh scholar and bishop Asser.
    [Show full text]
  • Pen Ridge - Through the Ages, (Ca 10,000 BC -1,086 AD)
    Pen Ridge - Through the Ages, (ca 10,000 BC -1,086 AD). Neanderthals and Mesolithic Hunter-Gatherers. Neanderthals were the first humans to occupy Pen Ridge. At the end of the glacial period ca. 10,000 BC, the ice retreated and a new land of dense forests and rivers emerged in a snow covered Britain. Large herds of reindeer and big game like mammoths, bison and woolly rhinoceros roamed freely having walked across a dry land-bridge over the English Channel from Eurasia. Homo-heidelbergensis, Homo-antecessor and Homo-erectus all members of the Homo-genus family crossed into Britain from mainland Europe following these herds, but would die out when the big game became sparse or extinct. Britain was inhabited abandoned and re-inhabited for thousands of years as Stone-Age hunter-gatherers were often forced to retreat back to southern Europe when hunting in the snow became too difficult. Gradually their dominant Homo-sapien ancestors made it out of Africa, these more intelligent humans began to master survival in the harsher northern climes and were the only species from that same family group to ultimately remain and prosper in Palaeolithic Britain by out-thinking and out hunting their physically stronger Neanderthal cousins. Cheddar man is the name given to the remains of a human male found nearby in Gough’s cave, Cheddar Gorge. The remains have been dated to the Mesolithic period, approximately 7,150 BC. Around a thousand years later the sea-levels finally rose for good, the climate improved dramatically and Mesolithic Britain became an island permanently.
    [Show full text]