Transcript King Alfred the Great Wahrheit und Mythos - uni

King Alfred the Great
Facts and Legends
Wintersemester 2010/11
15/02/2011
Proseminar: Sprache und Kultur der Angelsachsen
Dozentin: Ulrike Krischke
Referentinnen: Julia Reich, Lina Rohde
Outline
The life of King Alfred the Great
• Life
• Reign
Did King Alfred write anything?
• Writings
• Reason
• Facts
Outlook
Life
849 Birth at Wantage, in Berkshire
Egbert
Æþelwulf
Æþelstan
Æþelbald
Æþelswiþ
Æþelberht
Æþelred
Ælfred
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Life
853 Ælfred was sent to Rome
855 Father took him on a trip to Rome again
865 Æþelred succeeded on hisbrothers
 Ælfredbecame a seasonedwarrior
865 “Great Heathen Army” arrived in East Anglia
868 Ælfred’s marriage to Ealswiþ
871 Ælfred lead troops against the Vikings
in the Battle of Ashdown
871 Death of Æþelred
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Reign
871 Ælfred became King of
Wessex
871 Battle at Wilton
871 - 878 Further Invasions
878 Surprise attack on Ælfred
878 Battle of Edington
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Reign
878 Treaty of Wedmore:
England is divided
 Period of peace
899 Ælfred died
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Reign
Achievements
•
System of defensive forts
•
Permanent forces in reserve
•
Improved ships
•
New military tactics
•
Aggressive policy towards Vikings
•
Offering of overlordship& protection
 “King of all the English”
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Writings
“Did Alfred write anything?”
(Godden, M. 2005)
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Writings
•Regula pastoralisby Gregory the Great
•De consolationephilosophiaeby Boethius
•Soliloquiaby St. Augustine
• First fifty Psalms
• (Alfred‘slawcodeandhis will)
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Reason
’Ūreieldran,
ðāðeðāsstōwaærhīoldon,
hīelufodonwīsdōm,
ondðurthðonehīebegēatonwelanondūslæfdon.
Hērmonmæggīetgesīonhioraswæð,
acwēhim
ne
cunnonæfterspyrigean.
Ondforðæmwēhabbaðnūægðerforlætengeðonewelangeðonewīsd
ōm, forðæmðewēnoldontōðæmsporemidūremōdeonlūtan.‘
(King Alfred to BishopWaerferth. 890)
“Our forefathers who before us held these places, loved wisdom, and
through it they obtained wisdom, and left it to us. Here may we still see their
footprints, but we cannot follow them up and therefore have we lost both wealth
and wisdom, since we would not incline our hearts to their example.”
(Morning,A. Steele,R.1900.
10p. 2)
Reason
Forðýmēðyncðbetre, gifīowswæðyncð, ðætwēēacsumebēc,
ðāðenīedeðearfostasīeneallummonnumtōwiotonne, ðætwēðā
on
ðætgeðīode
ondgedōn,
wenden
ðewēeallegecnāwanmægen,
swæwēswīðeēaðemagonmidGodesfultume,
gifwēðāstilnessehabbað,
ðætteeallsīogioguððenūis
on
Angelcynnefrīoramonna,
ðāraðeðāspēdahæbbenðæthīeðæmbefēolanmægen,
sīentōliornungaoðfæste, ðāhwīleðehīetōnānreōðerrenote ne
mægen,
oððonefirstðehīewelcunnenEngliscgewritārædan.
Læremonsiððanfurður
on
Lædengeðīodeðāðemonfurðorlæranwilleondtōhīerranhādedō
nwille.
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Reason
“[…] it seems well to me, if ye think so, for us also to translate the books
most needful for all men to know into the speech which all men know, and,
as we are well able if we have peace, to make all the youth in England of
free men rich enough to devote themselves to it, to learn while they are
unfit for other occupation till they are well able to read English writing: and
let those be afterwards taught Latin who are to continue learning and be
promoted to higher rank.“
(Morning,A. Steele,R.1900. p. 4)
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Facts
• written in Alfred’s name and voice
 BUT it was quite common during that time to write
in other people’s name
• in all four books there is either a preface or an epilogue
which point to Alfred as the author
• “[…] the four books […] share a consistent
vocabulary and syntax” (Busse, W. in Godden. 2001. )
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Facts
• Asser did not mention the king translating these texts
in the biography
• Alfred did not learn Latin until he was 39(!) years old
 the nature of the texts almost requires a good
knowledge of Latin
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Outlook
Alfred Jewel
• Found in 1693
• Old English inscription:
“Alfred ordered me to be made”
• sent to every diocese in Alfred’s
kingdom with his translation of
Regulapastoralis
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Bibliography
Bately, J. 2003. “ The Alfredian Canon Revisited”. Alfred the Great Papers
from the Eleventh Centebery Conference. Ed. T. Reuter. Aldershot: VT.
107-20
Frantzen, Allen J. 1986. King Alfred. Boston: Twayne Publishers.
Godden, Malcolm. 2007. “Did King Alfred write anything”. Medium
Aevum 76, 1-23
Keynes, Simon. 1984. Alfred the Great: Asser’s Life of King Alfred the
Great and Other Contemporary Sources. New York: Penguin
Lapidge, Michael. 2008. The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon
England. Oxford: Blackwell
Steel Robert & Morning Alexander. 1900. Kings’ Letters form the
Days of Alfred to the Coming of the Tutors. London: The De La More
Press, 1-4
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