“I think it right in this place briefly to relate as much as has come to my knowledge about the character of my revered lord Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, during the years that he was an infant and a boy. If it’s true, the story seems to show too that Alfred was determined to win soon to tbe the most important attribute by far. One of the features of Alfred’s reign was his focus on the vernacular rather than simply relying on Latin as the language of communication, and this comes out here.Īt the same time Asser balances this with Alfred’s love of the hunt – essential stuff for any king of the time. The story below illustrates the main themes that Asser comes back to time and again Alfred’s love of learning, his regrets at the lack of education in his youth and determination to put that right. Almost everything that comes to us from down the ages has come through Alfred’s hands so not surprising, maybe that he comes over rather well… That’s not to say it’s not all true – but anything negative needs to be read from between the lines. So when we read Asser, we of course need to remember that this is not a hard hitting expose …it is close to hagiography. One of the benefits of being a king in the dark ages turns out to be an ability to control the messages being given out about you – something which quickly becomes impossible as literacy spreads. Asser’s life is easy to read, and not too long so it’s a pretty good way of getting to know the man, as far as we can.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |