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MEDIEVAL SOURCEBOOK:
ASSER'S LIFE OF KING ALFRED

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Although similar to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in its annalistic approach, Asser
personalized his "Life of King Alfred" so that the man, and not just the
Christian king who vanquished the paganistic heathen, was presented. Asser's
"Life" differs also in its use of Latin, not the vernacular that most sources
from Alfred's reign are written in.

In the year of our Lord's incarnation the eight hundred and seventy-eighth,
andthe thirtieth from King Alfred's birth, the oft-mentioned army left Exeter
andcame to Chippenham, a royal vill located in the north of Wiltshire on
theeastern bank of the river called Avon in Welsh, and there wintered.
Andthrough force of arms and want, as well as through fear, they drove many of
thepeople there to go beyond sea, and brough most of the inhabitants of
thedistrict under their rule.

At the same time the said King Alfred, with a few of his nobles and someknights
and men of his household, was in great distress leading an unquiet lifein the
woods and marshes of Somerset. For he had no means of support exceptwhat he took
in frequent raids by stealth or openly from the pagans, or indeedfrom Christians
who had submitted to pagan rule.

In the same year the brother of Inwar and Halfdene with twenty-three boatssailed
forthe from the country of Dyfed [the extreme south of Wales], where hehad
wintered and where he had slain many Christians, to Devon; and there,before the
stronghold of Cynwit, he with twelve hundred others was miserablycut off in his
wrong-doing by the king's followers, for many of the latter hadshut themselves
up there for safety. But when the pagans saw the strongholdunprepared and
unguarded except for defenses built after our manner, they didnot venture to
storm it because from the nature of the ground the place wasvery secure on every
side except on the eas, as I myself have seen; insteadthey began to besiege it,
thinking that those men would quickly be forced tosurrender because of hunger
and thirst, for there was no water near. But itdid not turn out as they
expected. For the Christians, before they sufferedany such straits, prompted by
God to believe it much better to win either deathor victory, at dawn made an
unexpected sortie upon the pagans, and shortly slewmost of them, together with
their king, only a few escaping to the boats.

In the same year after Easter, King Alfred, with a few to help him, made
astronghold in a place called Athelney, and thence kept tirelessly makingattacks
upon the pagans with his Somersetshire retainers. And again in theseventh week
after Easter he rode to Egbert's Stone, which is in the easternpart of the
forest called Selwood--in Latin "Sylva Magna," in Welsh "CoitMaur"--and there
met him there all the dwellers about the districts ofSomerset, Wiltshire, and
Hampshire, who had not through fear of the pagans gonebeyond sea; and when they
saw the king, after such great sufferings, almost asone risen from the dead,
they were filled with unbounded joy, as it was rightthey should be; and they
pitched camp there for one night. At dawn the nextmorning the king moved his
camp thence and came to a place called Aeglea, andthere encamped one night.

Moving his standards thence the next morning, he came to a place calledEdington,
and with a close shield-wall fought fiercely against the whole armyof the
pagans; his attack was long and spirited, and finally by divine aid hetriumphed
and overthrew the pagans with a very great slaughter. He pursuedthem, killing
them as they fled up to the stronghold, where he seized all thathe found
outside--men, horses, and cattle--slaying the men at once; and beforethe gates
of the pagan fortress he boldly encamped with his whole army. Andwhen he had
stayed there fourteen days and the pagans had known the horrors offamine, cold,
fear, and at last of despair, they sought a peace by which theking was to take
from them as many named hostages as he wished while he gavenone to them--a kind
of peace that they had never before concluded with anyone. When the king heard
their message he was moved to pity, and of his ownaccord received from them such
designated hostages as he wished. In additionto this, after the hostages were
taken, the pagans took oath that they wouldmost speedily leave his kingdom, and
also Guthrum, their king, promised toaccept Christianity and to receive baptism
at the hands of King Alfred. Allthese things he and his men fulfilled as they
had promised. For after threeweeks Guthrum, king of the pagans, with thirty
selected men of his army, cameto King Alfred at a place called Aller near
Athelney. And Alfred received himas son by adoption, raising him from the sacred
font of baptism; and hischrism-loosing on the eighth day was in the royal vill
called Wedmore. Afterhe was baptized he stayed with the king twelve nights, and
to him and all themen with him the king generously gave many valuable gifts.

In the year of our Lord's incarnation the eight hundred and seventy-ninth,
andthe thirty-first from King Alfred's birth, the said army of pagans
leftChippenham according to promise and went to Cirencester (in Welsh
"Cairceri"),located in the southern part of the district of the Hwicce, and
there spent ayear.

In the same year a great army of pagans from foreign parts sailed up the
ThamesRiver and joined the larger army, but wintered at a place called Fulham by
theThames.

In the same year an eclipse of the sun occurred between nones and vespers,
butnearer to nones.

In the year of our Lord's incarnation the eight hundred and eightieth, and
ofKing Alfred's life the thirty-second, the oft-mentioned army of pagans
leftCirencester and went to the East Angles; and, dividing the district, they
beganto settle there.

In the same year the army of pagans which had wintered at Fulham left theisland
of Britain, crossed the sea, and came to East Francia. It remained fora year at
a place called Ghent.

In the year of our Lord's incarnation the eight hundred and eighty-first, andthe
thirty-third from King Alfred's birth, the said army penetrated fartherinto
Francia. Against it the Franks fought, and when the battle was over thepagans
had gotten horses and became a mounted force.

In the year of our Lord's incarnation the eight hundred and eight-second, andthe
thirty-fourth from King Alfred's birth, the said army pushed its boats upthe
river Meuse much farther into Francia and spent a year there.

And in the same year Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, fought a battle at
seaagainst pagan boats; and he took two of them, having killed all who were
inthem. And the commanders of two other boats, with all their fellows, were
sothoroughly beaten and so badly wounded that they laid down their arms and
onbended knees and with humble prayers surrendered.

In the year of our Lord's incarnation the eight hundred and eighty-third, andthe
thirty-fifth from King Alfred's birth, the said army pushed its boatsup-stream
along the river Scheldt to a convent of nuns known as Conde, andthere remained
one year.

In the year of our Lord's incarnation the eight hundred and eighty-fourth,[Asser
inserted the events of 885 into the slot for 884] and the thirty-sixthfrom King
Alfred's birth, the said army divided into two troops. One went toEast Francia,
and the other came to Kent in Britain and besieged the city whichis called
Rochester in Saxon, and which is located on the east bank of theMedway. Before
its gate the pagans quickly built themselves a strong tower;but they were not
able to take the city, because the citizens defendedthemselves vigorously until
King Alfred came to its aid with a large army. Andthen the pagans, on the
unexpected arrival of the king, left their tower andall the horses which they
had brought with them from Francia, and also most oftheir captives, and fled in
haste to their boats, while the Saxons seized thecaptives and the horses. And so
the pagans were forced by extreme necessity tosail again into Francia that same
summer.

In the same year Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, transferred his fleet,filled
with warriors, from Kent to the East Angles for the sake of plunder. And when
they had come to the mouth of the river Stour, suddenly thirteen boatsof the
pagans, ready for battle, met them; and a naval battle was begun whichwas
bitterly contested on both sides, but which resulted in the killing of allthe
pagans and the seizure of all their boats and goods. However, while
thevictorious royal fleet was resting, the pagans who lived in the land of
theEast Angles gathered boats together from any place in which they could
findthem and met the king's fleet at the mouth of the same river, and in the
battlewhich followed gained the victory.

In the same year also Carloman, king of the East Franks, while on a boar-huntwas
so horribly bitten by a boar that he died. His brother was Lewis, who haddied
the year before and who was also king of the Franks; they were both sonsof
Lewis, king of the Franks. This was the Lewis who had died in theabove-mentioned
year in which the eclipse took place, and who was son ofCharles, king of the
Franks, whose daughter Judith was, with her father'sconsent, taken as queen by
Ethelwulf, king of the West Saxons.

Moreover, in the same year a great army of pagans came from Germany to the
landof the Old Saxons, in Saxon called "Eald Seaxum." Against them these
sameSaxons and the Frisians joined forces and fought bravely twice in that year.
By divine mercy the Christians won both these battles.

Also in this year Charles, king of the Germans, acquired, with the
voluntaryconsent of all, the kingdom of the East Franks and all the kingdoms
which arebetween the Tyrrhenian Sea and that ocean gulf which lies between the
OldSaxons and the Gauls, excepting the kingdom of Amorica. [Brittany]
ThisCharles was the son of King Lewis, and Lewis was the brother of that
Charles,king of the Franks, who was father of Judith, the above-mentioned queen;
andthese two brothers were sons of Lewis, who was the son of Charles, the son
ofPippin.

In the same year Pope Marinus of blessed memory went the way of all flesh. Heit
was who for love and at the petition of Alfred, king of the
Anglo-Saxons,graciously released the colony of the Saxons residing in Rome from
all tributeand toll. Indeed, he took the occasion to send many gifts to the said
king;among which was no small portion of that most holy and revered cross on
whichour Lord Jesus Christ hung for the salvation of all men.

And also in this year the army of pagans which was living among the East
Anglesdisgracefully broke the peace which it had entered into with King
Alfred....

In the year of our Lord's incarnation the eight hundred and eighty-sixth, andthe
thirty-eighth of Alfred's life, the oft-mentioned army fleeing from thisregion
went again into the land of the West Franks; they entered by the rivercalled
Seine and pushed far up-stream in their boats even to the city of Paris,and
there wintered. And they laid out their camp on both sdes of the rivernar to the
bridge in order to keep the citizens from crossing--for this cityis located on a
small island in the middle of the river. And they besieged thecity that whole
year, but through God's favor and the vigorous defense of thecitizens they could
not break the fortifications.

In the same year Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, after the burning of
citiesand the slaughter of peoples, honorably restored the city of London and
made ithabitable; and he intrusted its defense to Ethelred, ealdorman of the
Mercians. And all the Angles and Saxons who had before been widely scattered or
who were[not] in captivity with the pagans voluntarily turned to the king and
placedthemselves under his rule.

 


NOTE

translated in Albert Beebe White and Wallce Notestein, eds., Source Problems in
English History (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1915).

OTHER WORKS REFERRED TO IN PREPARARTION:

Elton, Geoffrey, The English (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1992).

Maitland, F. W., The Constitutional History of England (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1965).

Smith, Lacey Baldwin and Jean Reeder Smith, eds., The Past Speaks: Sources and
Problems in English History, vol. 1 (Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and Company,
1993).

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Text prepared by Seth Seyfried of the University of Utah.

This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a
collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and
Byzantine history.

Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is
copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print
form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the
document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use.

(c)Paul Halsall Feb 1996
halsall@murray.fordham.edu


 

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