| 1 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 849, was born Alfred, king
of the Anglo-Saxons, at the royal village of Wanating, (1) in
Berkshire, which country has its name from the wood of Berroc,
where the box-tree grows most abundantly. His genealogy is
traced in the following order. King Alfred was the son of king
Ethelwulf, who was the son of Egbert, who was the son of Elmund,
was the son of Eafa, who was the son of Eoppa, who the son of
Ingild. Ingild, and Ina, the famous king of the West-Saxons,
were two brothers. Ina went to Rome, and there ending this life
honourably, entered the heavenly kingdom, to reign there for ever
with Christ. Ingild and Ina were the sons of Coenred, who was
the son of Ceolwald, who was the son of Cudam, who was the son of
Cuthwin, who was the son of Ceawlin, who was the son of Cynric,
who was the son of Creoda, who was the son of Cerdic, who was the
son of Elesa, who was the son of Gewis, from whom the Britons
name all that nation Gegwis, (2) who was the son of Brond, who
was the son of Beldeg, who was the son of Woden, who was the son
of Frithowald, who was the son of Frealaf, who was the son of
Frithuwulf, who was the son of Finn of Godwulf, who was the son
of Gear, which Geat the pagans long worshipped as a god.
Sedulius makes mention of him in his metrical Paschal poem, as
follows: -- |
| 2 | When gentile poets with their fictions vain,
In tragic language and bombastic strain,
To their god Geat, comic deity,
Loud praises sing, &c. |
| 3 | Geat was the son of Taetwa, who was the son of Beaw, who was the
son of Sceldi, who was the son of Heremod, who was the son of
Itermon, who was the son of Hathra, who was the son of Guala, who
was the son of Bedwig, who was the son of Shem, who was the son
of Noah, who was the son of Lamech, who was the son of
Methusalem, who was the son of Enoch, who was the son of
Malaleci, who was the son of Cainian, who was the son of Enos,
who was the son of Seth, who was the son of Adam. |
| 4 | The mother of Alfred was named Osburga, a religious woman, noble
both by birth and by nature; she was daughter of Oslac, the
famous butler of king Ethtelwulf, which Oslac was a Goth by
nation, descended from the Goths and Jutes, of the seed, namely,
of Stuf and Whitgar, two brothers and counts; who, having
received possession of the Isle of Wight from their uncle, King
Cerdic, and his son Cynric their cousin, slew the few British
inhabitants whom they could find in that island, at a place
called Gwihtgaraburgh; (3) for the other inhabitants of the
island had either been slain, or escaped into exile. |
| 5 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 851, which was the third
after the birth of king Alfred, Ceorl, earl of Devon, fought with
the men of Devon against the pagans at a place called
Wiegambeorg; (4) and the Christians gained the victory; and that
same year the pagans first wintered in the island called Sheppey,
which means the Sheep-isle, and is situated in the river Thames
between Essex and Kent, but is nearer to Kent than to Essex; it
has in it a fine monastery. (5) |
| 6 | The same year also a great army of the pagans came with three
hundred and fifty ships to the mouth of the river Thames, and
sacked Dorobernia, (6) which is the city of the Cantuarians, and
also the city of London, which lies on the north bank of the
river Thames, on the confines of Essex and Middlesex; but yet
that city belongs in truth to Essex; and they put to flight
Berthwulf, king of Mercia, with all the army, which he had led
out to oppose them. |
| 7 | After these things, the aforesaid pagan host went into Surrey,
which is a district situated on the south bank of the river
Thames, and to the west of Kent. And Ethelwulf, king of the
West-Saxons, and his son Ethelbald, with all their army, fought a
long time against them at a place called Ac-lea, (7) i.e. the
Oak-plain, and there, after a lengthened battle, which was fought
with much bravery on both sides, the greater part of the pagan
multitude was destroyed and cut to pieces, so that we never heard
of their being so defeated, either before or since, in any
country, in one day; and the Christians gained an honourable
victory, and were triumphant over their graves. |
| 8 | In the same year king Athelstan, son of king Ethelwulf, and earl
Ealhere slew a large army of pagans in Kent, at a place called
Sandwich, and took nine ships of their fleet; the others escaped
by flight. |
| 9 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 853, which was the fifth of
king Alfred, Burhred king of the Mercians, sent messengers, and
prayed Ethelwulf, king of the West Saxons, to come and help him
in reducing the midland Britons, who dwell between Mercia and the
western sea, and who struggled against him most immoderately. So
without delay, king Ethelwulf, having received the embassy, moved
his army, and advanced with king Burhred against Britain, (8) and
immediately, on entering that country, he began to ravage it; and
having reduced it under subjection to king Burhred, he returned
home. |
| 10 | In the same year, king Ethelwulf sent his son Alfred, above-
named, to Rome, with an honourable escort both of nobles and
commoners. Pope Leo (the fourth] at that time presided over the
apostolic see, and he anointed for king the aforesaid Alfred, and
adopted him as his spiritual son. The same year also, earl
Ealhere, with the men of Kent, and Iluda with the men of Surrey,
fought bravely and resolutely against an army of the pagans, in
the island, which is called in the Saxon tongue, Tenet, (9) but
Ruim in the British language. The battle lasted a long time, and
many fell on both sides, and also were drowned in the water; and
both the earls were there slain. In the same year also, after
Easter, Ethelwulf, king of the West-Saxons, gave His daughter to
Burhred, king of the Mercians, and the marriage was celebrated
royally at the royal vill of Chippenham. (10) |
| 11 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 855, which was the seventh
after the birth of the aforesaid king, Edmund the most glorious
king of the East-Angles began to reign, on the eighth day before
the kalends of January, i.e. on the birthday of our Lord, in the
fourteenth year of his age. In this year also died Lothaire, the
Roman emperor, son of the pious Lewis Augustus. In the same year
the aforesaid venerable king Ethelwulf released the tenth part of
all his kingdom from all royal service and tribute, and with a
pen never to be forgotten, offered it up to God the One and the
Three in One, in the cross of Christ, for the redemption of his
own soul and of his predecessors. In the same year he went to
Rome with much honour; and taking with him his son, the aforesaid
king Alfred, for a second journey thither, because he loved him
more than his other sons, he remained there a whole year; after
which he returned to his own country, bringing with him Judith,
daughter of Charles, the king of the Franks. |
| 12 | In the meantime, however, whilst king Ethelwulf was residing
beyond the sea, a base deed was done, repugnant to the morals of
all Christians, in the western part of Selwood. For king
Ethelwald [son of king Ethelwulf] and Ealstan, bishop of the
church of Sherborne, with Eanwulf, earl of the district of
Somerton, are said to have made a conspiracy together, that king
Ethelwulf, on his return from Rome, should never again be
received into his kingdom. This crime, unheard-of in all
previous ages, is ascribed by many to the bishop and earl alone,
as resulting from their counsels. Many also ascribe it solely to
the insolence of the king, because that king was pertinacious in
this matter, and in many other perversities, as we have heard
related Ly certain persons; as also was proved by the result of
that which follows. |
| 13 | For as he was returning from Rome, his son aforesaid, with all
his counsellors, or, as I ought to say, his conspirators,
attempted to perpetrate the crime of repulsing the king from his
own kingdom; but neither did God permit the deed, nor would the
nobles of all Saxony consent to it. For to prevent this
irremediable evil to Saxony, of a son warring against his father,
or rather of the whole nation carrying on civil war, either on
the side of the one or the other, the extraordinary mildness of
the father, seconded by the consent of all the nobles, divided
between the two the kingdom which had hitherto been undivided;
the eastern parts were given to the father, and the western to
the son; for where the father ought by just right to reign, there
his unjust and obstinate son did reign; for the western part of
Saxony is always preferable to the eastern. |
| 14 | When Ethelwulf, therefore, was coming from Rome, all that nation,
as was fitting, so delighted in the arrival of the old man, that,
if he permitted them, they would have expelled his rebellious son
Ethelbald, with all his counsellors, out of the kingdom. But he,
as we have said, acting with great clemency and prudent counsel,
so wished things to be done, that the kingdom might not come into
danger; and he placed Judith, daughter of king Charles, whom he
had received from his father, by his own side on the regal
throne, without any controversy or enmity from his nobles, even
to the end of his life, contrary to the perverse custom of that
nation. For the nation of the West-Saxons do not allow a queen
to sit beside the king, nor to be called a queen, but only the
king's wife; which stigma the elders of that land say arose from
a certain obstinate and malevolent queen of the same nation, who
did all things so contrary to her lord, and to all the people,
that she not only earned for herself exclusion from the royal
seat, but also entailed the same stigma upon those who came after
her; for in consequence of the wickedness of that queen, all the
nobles of that land swore together, that they would never let any
king reign over them, who should attempt to place a queen on the
throne by his side. |
| 15 | And because, as I think, it is not known to many whence this
perverse and detestable custom arose in Saxony, contrary to the
custom of all the Theotisean nations, it seems to me right to
explain a little more fully what I have heard from my lord
Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, as he also had heard it from
many men of truth, who in great part recorded that fact. |
| 16 | There was in Mercia, in recent times, a certain valiant king, who
was feared by all the kings and neighbouring states around. His
name was Offa, and it was he who had the great rampart made from
sea to sea between Britain and Mercia. (12) His daughter, named
Eadburga, was married to Bertric, king of the West-Saxons; who
immediately, having the king's affections, and the control of
almost all the kingdom, began to live tyrannically like her
father, and to execrate every man whom Bertric loved, and to do
all things hateful to God and man, and to accuse all she could
before the king, and so to deprive them insidiously of their life
or power; and if she could not obtain the king's consent, she
used to take them off by poison: as is ascertained to have been
the case with a certain young man beloved by the king, whom she
poisoned, finding that the King would not listen to any
accusation against him. It is said, moreover, that king Bertric
unwittingly tasted of the poison, though the queen intended to
give it to the young man only, and so both of them perished. |
| 17 | Bertric therefore, being dead, the queen could remain no longer
among the West-Saxons, but sailed beyond the sea with immense
treasures, and went to the court of the great and famous Charles,
king of the Franks. As she stood before the throne, and offered
him money, Charles said to her, "Choose, Eadburga, between me and
my son, who stands here with me." She replied, foolishly, and
without deliberation, "If I am to have my choice, I choose your
son, because he is younger than you." At which Charles smiled
and answered, "If you had chosen me, you would have had my son;
but as you have chosen him, you shall not have either of us." |
| 18 | However, he gave her a large convent of nuns, in which, having
laid aside the secular habit and taken the religious dress, she
discharged the office of abbess during a few years; for, as she
is said to have lived irrationally in her own country, so she
appears to have acted still more so in that foreign country; for
being convicted of having had unlawful intercourse with a man of
her own nation, she was expelled from the monastery by king
Charles's order, and lived a vicious life of reproach in poverty
and misery until her death; so that at last, accompanied by one
slave only, as we have heard from many who saw her, she begged
her bread daily at Pavia, and so miserably died. |
| 19 | Now king Ethelwulf lived two years after his return from Rome;
during which, among many other good deeds of this present life,
reflecting on his departure according to the way of all flesh,
that his sons might not quarrel unreasonably after their father's
death, he ordered a will or letter of instructions to be written,
in which he ordered that his kingdom should be divided between
his two eldest sons, his private inheritance between his sons,
his daughters, and his relations, and the money which he left
behind him between his sons and nobles, and for the good of his
soul. Of this prudent policy we have thought fit to record a few
instances out of many for posterity to imitate; namely, such as
are understood to belong principally to the needs of the soul;
for the others, which relate only to human dispensation, it is
not necessary to insert in this work, lest prolixity should
create disgust in those who read or wish to hear my work. For
the benefit of his soul, then, which he studied to promote in all
things from his youth, he directed through all his hereditary
dominions, that one poor man in ten, either native or foreigner,
should be supplied with meat, drink, and clothing, by his
successors, until the day of judgment; supposing, however, that
the country should still be inhabited both by men and cattle, and
should not become deserted. He commanded also a large sum of
money, namely, three hundred mancuses, to be carried to Rome for
the good of his soul, to be distributed in the following manner:
namely, a hundred mancuses in honour of St. Peter, specially to
buy oil for the lights of the church of that apostle on Easter
eve, and also at the cock-crow: a hundred mancuses in honour of
St. Paul, for the same purpose of buying oil for the church of
St. Paul the apostle, to light the lamps on Easter eve and at the
cock-crow; and a hundred mancuses for the universal apostolic
pontiff. |
| 20 | But when king Ethelwulf was dead, and buried at Stemrugam,(12)
his son Ethelbald, contrary to God's prohibition and the dignity
of a Christian, contrary also to the custom of all the pagans,
ascended his father's bed, and married Judith, daughter of
Charles, king of the Franks, and drew down much infamy upon
himself from all who heard of it. During two years and a half
of licentiousness after his father he held the government of the
West-Saxons. |
| 21 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 856, which was the eighth
after Alfred's birth, the second year of king Charles III, and
the eighteenth year of the reign of Ethelwulf, king of the West-
Saxons, Humbert, bishop of the East-Angles, anointed with oil and
consecrated as king the glorious Edmund, with much rejoicing and
great honour in the royal town called Burva, in which at that
time was the royal seat, in the fifteenth year of his age, on a
Friday, the twenty-fourth moon, being Christmas-day. |
| 22 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 860, which was the twelfth
of king Alfred's age, died Ethelbald, king of the West-Saxons,
and was buried at Sherborne. His brother Ethelbert, as was
fitting, joined Kent, Surrey, and Sussex also to his dominion. |
| 23 | In his days a large army of pagans came up from the sea, and
attacked and destroyed the city of Winchester. As they were
returning laden with booty to their ships, Osric, earl of
Hampshire, with his men, and earl Ethelwulf, with the men of
Berkshire, confronted them bravely; a severe battle took place,
and the pagans were slain on every side; and, finding themselves
unable to resist, took to flight like women, and the Christians
obtained a triumph. |
| 24 | Ethelbert governed his kingdom five years in peace, with the love
and respect of his subjects, who felt deep sorrow when he went
the way of all flesh. His body was honourably interred at
Sherborne by the side of his brothers. |
| 25 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 864, the pagans wintered
in the isle of Thanet, and made a firm treaty with the men of
Kent, who promised them money for adhering to their covenant; but
the pagans, like cunning foxes, burst from their camp by night,
and setting at naught their engagements, and spurning at the
promised money, which they knew was less than they could get by
plunder, they ravaged all the eastern coast of Kent. |
| 26 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 866, which was the
eighteenth of king Alfred, Ethelred, brother of Ethelbert, king
of the West Saxons, undertook the government of the kingdom for
five years; and the same year a large fleet of pagans came to
Britain from the Danube, and wintered in the kingdom of the
Eastern-Saxons, which is called in Saxon East-Anglia; and there
they became principally an army of cavalry. But, to speak in
nautical phrase, I will no longer commit my vessel to the power
of the waves and of its sails, or keeping off from land steer my
round-about course through so many calamities of wars and series
of years, but will return to that which first prompted me to this
task; that is to say, 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. |
| 27 | He was loved by his father and mother, and even by all the
people, above all his brothers, and was educated altogether at
the court of the king. As he advanced through the years of
infancy and youth, his form appeared more comely than that of his
brothers; in look, in speech, and in manners he was more graceful
than they. His noble nature implanted in him from his cradle a
love of wisdom above all things; but, with shame be it spoken, by
the unworthy neglect of his parents and nurses, he remained
illiterate even till he was twelve years old or more; but, he
listened with serious attention to the Saxon poems which he often
heard recited, and easily retained them in his docile memory. He
was a zealous practiser of hunting in all its branches, and
hunted with great assiduity and success; for skill and good
fortune in this art, as in all others, are among the gifts of
God, as we also have often witnessed. |
| 28 | On a certain day, therefore, his mother (13) was showing him and
his brother a Saxon book of poetry, which she held in her hand,
and said, "Whichever of you shall the soonest learn this volume
shall have it for his own." Stimulated by these words, or rather
by the Divine inspiration, and allured by the beautifully
illuminated letter at the beginning of the volume, he spoke
before all his brothers, who, though his seniors in age, were not
so in grace, and answered, "Will you really give that book to one
of us, that is to say, to him who can first understand and repeat
it to yon?" At this his mother smiled with satisfaction, and
confirmed what she had before said. Upon which the boy took the
book out of her hand, and went to his master to read it, and in
due time brought it to his mother and recited it. |
| 29 | After this he learned the daily course, that is, the celebration
of the hours, and afterwards certain psalms, and several prayers,
contained in a certain book which he kept day and night in his
bosom, as we ourselves have seen, and carried about with him to
assist his prayers, amid all the bustle and business of this
present life. But, sad to say, he could not gratify his most
ardent wish to learn the liberal arts, because, as he said, there
were no good readers at that time in all the kingdom of the
West-Saxons. |
| 30 | This he confessed, with many lamentations and sighs, to have been
one of his greatest difficulties and impediments in this life,
namely, that when he was young and had the capacity for learning,
he could not find teachers; but, when he was more advanced in
life, he was harassed by so many diseases unknown to all the
physicians of this island, as well as by internal and external
anxieties of sovereignty, and by continual invasions of the
pagans, and had his teachers and writers also so much disturbed,
that there was no time for reading. But yet among the
impediments of this present life, from infancy up to the present
time, and, as I believe, even until his death, he continued to
feel the same insatiable desire of knowledge, and still aspires
after it. |
| 31 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 867, which was the
nineteenth of the life of the aforesaid king Alfred, the army
of pagans before mentioned removed from the East-Angles to the
city of York, which is situated on the north bank of the river
Humber. |
| 32 | At that time a violent discord arose, by the instigation of the
devil, among the inhabitants of Northumberland; as always is used
to happen among a people who have incurred the wrath of God. For
the Northumbrians at that time, as we have said, had expelled
their lawful king Osbert, and appointed a certain tyrant named
Aella, not of royal birth, over the affairs of the kingdom; but
when the pagans approached, by divine providence, and the union
of the nobles for the common good, that discord was a little
appeased, and Osbert and Aella uniting their resources, and
assembling an army, marched to York. The pagans fled at their
approach, and attempted to defend themselves within the walls of
the city. The Christians, perceiving their flight and the terror
they were in, determined to destroy the walls of the town, which
they succeeded in doing; for that city was not surrounded at that
time with firm or strong walls, and when the Christians had made
a breach as they had purposed, and many of them had entered into
the town, the pagans, urged by despair and necessity, made a
fierce sally upon them, slew them, routed them, and cut them down
on all sides, both within and without the walls. In that battle
fell almost all the Northumbrain warriors, with both the kings
and a multitude of nobles; the remainder, who escaped, made peace
with the pagans. |
| 33 | In the same year, Ealstan, bishop of the church of Sherborne,
went the way of all flesh, after he had honourably ruled his see
four years, and he was buried at Sherborne. |
| 34 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 868, which was the
twentieth of king Alfred's life, there was a severe famine. Then
the aforesaid revered king Alfred, but at that time occupying a
subordinate station, asked and obtained in marriage a noble
Mercian lady, daughter of Athelred, surnamed Mucil, (14) earl of
the Gaini. (15) The mother of this lady was named Edburga, of
the royal line of Mercia, whom we have often seen with our own
eyes a few years before her death. She was a venerable lady, and
after the decease of her husband, she remained many years a
widow, even till her own death. |
| 35 | In the same year, the above-named army of pagans, leaving
Northumberland, invaded Mercia and advanced to Nottingham, which
is called in the British tongue, "Tiggocobauc," but in Latin, the
"House of Caves," and they wintered there that same year.
Immediately on their approach, Burhred, king of Mercia, and all
the nobles of that nation, sent messengers to Ethelred, king of
the West-Saxons, and his brother Alfred, suppliantly entreating
them to come and aid them in fighting against the aforesaid
army. Their request was easily obtained; for the brothers, as
soon as promised, assembled an immense army from all parts of
their dominions, and entering Mercia, came to Nottingham, all
eager for battle, and when the pagans, defended by the castle,
refused to fight, and the Christians were unable to destroy the
wall, peace was made between the Mercians and pagans, and the two
brothers, Ethelred and Alfred, returned home with their troops. |
| 36 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 869, which was the twenty-
first of king Alfred's life, there was a great famine and
mortality of men, and a pestilence among the cattle. And the
aforesaid army of the pagans, galloping back to Northumberland,
went to York, and there passed the winter. |
| 37 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 870, which was the twenty-
second of king Alfred's life, the above-named army of pagans,
passed through Mercia into East-Anglia, and wintered at Thetford. |
| 38 | In the same year Edmund, king of the East-Angles, fought most
fiercely against them; but, lamentable to say, the pagans
triumphed, Edmund was slain in the battle, and the enemy reduced
all that country to subjection. |
| 39 | In the same year Ceolnoth, archbishop of Canterbury, went the way
of all flesh, and was buried peaceably in his own city. |
| 40 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 871, which was the twenty-
third of king Alfred's life, the pagan army, of hateful memory,
left the East-Angles, and entering the kingdom of the West-
Saxons, came to the royal city, called Reading, situated on the
south bank of the Thames, in the district called Berkshire; and
there, on the third day after their arrival, their earls, with
great part of the army, scoured the country for plunder, while
the others made a rampart between the rivers Thames and Kennet on
the right side of the same royal city. They were encountered by
Ethelwulf, earl of Berkshire, with his men, at a place called
Englefield; (16) both sides fought bravely, and made long
resistance. At length one of the pagan earls was slain, and the
greater part of the army destroyed; upon which the rest saved
themselves by flight, and the Christians gained the victory. |
| 41 | Four days afterwards, Ethelred, king of the West-Saxons, and his
brother Alfred, united their forces and marched to Reading,
where, on their arrival, they cut to pieces the pagans whom they
found outside the fortifications. But the pagans, nevertheless,
sallied out from the gates, and a long and fierce engagement
ensued. At last, grief to say, the Christians fled, the pagans
obtained the victory, and the aforesaid earl Ethelwulf was among
the slain. |
| 42 | Roused by this calamity, the Christians, in shame and
indignation, within four days, assembled all their forces, and
again encountered the pagan army at a place called Ashdune, (17)
which means the "Hill of the Ash." The pagans had divided
themselves into two bodies, and began to prepare defences, for
they had two kings and many earls, so they gave the middle part
of the army to the two kings, and the other part to all their
earls. Which the Christians perceiving, divided their army also
into two troops, and also began to construct defences. But
Alfred, as we have been told by those who were present, and would
not tell an untruth, marched up promptly with his men to give
them battle; for king Ethelred remained a long time in his tent
in prayer, hearing the mass, and said that he would not leave it,
till the priest had done, or abandon the divine protection for
that of men. And he did so too, which afterwards availed him
much with the Almighty, as we shall declare more fully in the
sequel. |
| 43 | Now the Christians had determined that king Ethelred, with his
men, should attack the two pagan kings, but that his brother
Alfred, with his troops, should take the chance of war against
the two earls. Things being so arranged, the king remained a
long time in prayer, and the pagans came up rapidly to fight.
Then Alfred, though possessing a subordinate authority, could no
longer support the troops of the enemy, unless he retreated or
charged upon them without waiting for his brother. At length he
bravely led his troops against the hostile army, as they had
before arranged, but without awaiting his brother's arrival; for
he relied in the divine counsels, and forming his men into a
dense phalanx, marched on at once to meet the foe. |
| 44 | But here I must inform those who are ignorant of the fact, that
the field of battle was not equally advantageous to both parties.
The pagans occupied the higher ground, and the Christians came up
from below. There was also a single thorn-tree, of strutted
growth, but we have ourselves never seen it. Around this tree
the opposing armies came together with loud shouts from all
sides, the one party to pursue their wicked course, the other to
fight for their lives, their dearest ties, and their country.
And when both armies had fought long and bravely, at last the
pagans, by the divine judgment, were no longer able to bear the
attacks of the Christians, and having lost great part of their
army, took to a disgraceful flight. One of their two kings, and
five earls were there slain, together with many thousand pagans,
who fell on all sides, covering with their bodies the whole plain
of Ashdune. |
| 45 | There fell in that battle king Bagsac, earl Sidrac the elder, and
earl Sidrac the younger, earl Osborn, earl Frene, and earl
Harold; and the whole pagan army pursued its flight, not only
until night but until the next day, even until they reached the
stronghold from which they had sallied. The Christians followed,
slaying all they could reach, until it became dark. |
| 46 | After fourteen days had elapsed, king Ethelred, with his brother
Alfred, again joined their forces and marched to Basing to fight
with the pagans. The enemy came together from all quarters, and
after a long contest gained the victory. After this battle,
another army came from beyond the sea, and joined them. |
| 47 | The same year, after Easter, the aforesaid king Ethelred, having
bravely, honourably, and with good repute, governed his kingdom
five years, through much tribulation, went the way of all flesh,
and was buried in Wimborne Minster, where he awaits the coming of
the Lord, and the first resurrection with the just. |
| 48 | The same year, the aforesaid Alfred, who had been up to that time
only of secondary rank, whilst his brothers were alive, now, by
God's permission, undertook the government of the whole kingdom,
amid the acclamations of all the people; and if he had chosen, he
might have done so before, whilst his brother above-named was
still alive; for in wisdom and other qualities he surpassed all
his brothers, and moreover, was warlike and victorious in all his
wars. And when he had reigned one month, almost against his
will, for he did not think he could alone sustain the multitude
and ferocity of the pagans, though even during his brothers'
lives, he had borne the woes of many, -- he fought a battle with
a few men, and on very unequal terms, against all the army of the
pagans, at a hill called Wilton, on the south bank of the river
Wily, from which river the whole of that district is named, and
after a long and fierce engagement, the pagans, seeing the danger
they were in, and no longer able to bear the attack of their
enemies, turned their backs and fled. But, oh, shame to say,
they deceived their too audacious pursuers, and again rallying,
gained the victory. Let no one be surprised that the Christians
had but a small number of men, for the Saxons had been worn out
by eight battles in one year, against the pagans, of whom they
had slain one king, nine dukes, and innumerable troops of
soldiers, besides endless skirmishes, both by night and by day,
in which the oft-named Alfred, and all his chieftains, with their
men, and several of his ministers, were engaged without rest or
cessation against the pagans. How many thousand pagans fell in
these numberless skirmishes God alone knows, over and above those
who were slain in the eight battles above-mentioned. In the same
year the Saxons made peace with the pagans, on condition that
they should take their departure, and they did so. |
| 49 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 872, the twenty-fourth of
king Alfred's life, the above-named army of pagans went to
London, and there wintered. The Mercians made peace with them. |
| 50 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 873, the twenty-fifth of
king Alfred, the above-named army, leaving London, went into the
country of the Northumbrians, and there wintered in the district
of Lindsey; and the Mercians again made treaty with them. |
| 51 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 874, the twenty-sixth since
the birth of king Alfred, the army before so often mentioned left
Lindsey and marched to Mercia, where they wintered at Repton.
Also they compelled Burhred, king of Mercia, against his will, to
leave his kingdom and go beyond the sea to Rome, in the twenty-
second year of his reign. He did not long live after his
arrival, but died there, and was honourably buried in the school
of the Saxons, in St. Mary's church, where he awaits the Lord's
coming and the first resurrection with the just. The pagans
also, after his expulsion, subjected the whole kingdom of the
Mercians to their dominion; but by a most miserable arrangement,
gave it into the custody of a certain foolish man, named
Ceolwulf, one of the king's ministers, on condition that he
should restore it to them, whenever they should wish to have it
again; and to guarantee this agreement, he gave them hostages,
and swore that he would not oppose their will, but be obedient to
them in every respect. |
| 52 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 875, which was the 27th of
king Alfred, the above-named army, leaving Repton, divided into
two bodies, one of which went with Halfdene into Northumbria, and
having wintered there near the Tyne, reduced all Northumberland
to subjection; they also ravaged the Picts and the Strath-
Clydensians. (18) The other division, with Gothrun, Oskytel, and
Anwiund, three kings of the pagans, went to a place called
Grantabridge, (19) and there wintered. |
| 53 | In the same year, king Alfred fought a battle by sea against six
ships of the pagans, and took one of them; the rest escaped by
flight. |
| 54 | In the year of our Lord's h~carnation 876, being the twenty-
eighth year of king Alfred's life, the aforesaid army of the
pagans, leaving Grantabridge by night, entered a castle called
Wareham, where there is a monasterium of holy virgins between the
two rivers Fraum (20) and Trent, in the district which is called
in British "Durnguers", but in Saxon "Thornsaeta", placed in a
most secure situation, except that it was exposed to danger on
the western side from the nature of the ground. With this army
Alfred made a solemn treaty, to the effect that they should
depart out of the kingdom, and for this they made no hesitation
to give as many hostages as he named; also they swore an oath
over the Christian relics, (21) which with king Alfred were next
in veneration after the Deity himself, that they would depart
speedily from the kingdom. But they again practised their usual
treachery, and caring nothing for the hostages or their oaths,
they broke the treaty, and sallying forth by night, slew all the
horsemen that the king had round him, and turning off into Devon,
to another place called in Saxon "Exauceaster", (22) but in
British "Cair-wise", which means in Latin, the city of the Ex,
situated on the eastern bank of the river Wise, they directed
their course suddenly towards the south sea, which divides
Britain and Gaul, and there passed the winter. |
| 55 | In the same year, Halfdene, king of those parts, divided out the
whole country of Northumberland between himself and his men, and
settled there with his army. In the same year, Rollo with his
followers penetrated into Normandy. |
| 56 | This same Rollo, duke of the Normans, whilst wintering in Old
Britain, or England, at the head of his troops, enjoyed one night
a vision revealing to him the future. See more of this Rollo in
the Annals. (23) |
| 57 | In the year 877, the pagans, on the approach of autumn, partly
settled in Exeter, and partly marched for plunder into Mercia.
The number of that disorderly crew increased every day, so that,
if thirty thousand of them were slain in one battle, others took
their places to double the number. Then King Alfred commanded
boats and galleys, i.e. long ships, to be built throughout the
Kingdom, in order to offer battle by sea to the enemy as they
were coming. On board of these he placed seamen, and appointed
them to watch the seas. Meanwhile he went himself to Exeter,
where the pagans were, wintering, and having shut them up within
the walls, laid siege to the town. He also gave orders to his
sailors to prevent them from obtaining any supplies by sea; and
his sailors were encountered by a fleet of a hundred and twenty
ships full of armed soldiers, who were come to help their
countrymen. As soon as the king's men knew that they were fitted
with pagan soldiers, they leaped to their arms, and bravely
attacked those barbaric tribes: but the pagans, who had now for
almost a month been tossed and almost wrecked among the waves of
the sea, fought vainly against them; their bands were discomfited
in a moment, and all were sunk and drowned in the sea, at a place
called Suanewic. (24) |
| 58 | In the same year the army of pagans, leaving Wareham, partly on
horseback and partly by water, arrived at Suanewic, where one
hundred and twenty of their ships were lost; (25) and king Alfred
pursued their land-army as far as Exeter; there he made a
covenant with them, and took hostages that they would depart. |
| 59 | The same year, in the month of August, that army went into
Mercia, and gave part of that country to one Ceolwulf, a weak-
minded man, and one of the king's ministers; the other part they
divided among themselves. |
| 60 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 878, which was the
thirtieth of king Alfred's life, the army above-mentioned left
Exeter, and went to Chippenham, a royal villa, situated in the
west of Wiltshire, and on the eastern bank of the river, which is
called in British, the Avon. There they wintered, and drove many
of the inhabitants of that country beyond the sea by the force of
their arms, and by want of the necessaries of life. They reduced
almost entirely to subjection all the people of that country. |
| 61 | At the same time the above-named Alfred, king of the West-Saxons,
with a few of his nobles, and certain soldiers and vassals, used
to lead an unquiet life among the woodlands (26) of the country
of Somerset, in great tribulation; for he had none of the
necessaries of life, except what he could forage openly or
stealthily, by frequent sallies, from the pagans, or even from
the Christians who had submitted to the rule of the pagans, and
as we read in the Life of St. Neot, at the house of one of his
cowherds. |
| 62 | But it happened on a certain day, that the countrywoman, wife of
the cowherd, was preparing some loaves to bake, and the king,
sitting at the hearth, made ready his bow and arrows and other
warlike instruments. The unlucky woman espying the cakes burning
at the fire, ran up to remove them, and rebuking the brave king,
exclaimed: |
| 63 | "Ca'sn thee mind the ke-aks, man, an' doossen zee 'em burn?
I'm boun thee's eat 'em vast enough, az zoon az 'tiz the
turn." (27) |
| 64 | The blundering woman little thought that it was king Alfred, who
had fought so many battles against the pagans, and gained so
many victories over them. |
| 65 | But the Almighty not only granted to the same glorious king
victories over his enemies, but also permitted him to be harassed
by them, to be sunk down by adversities, and depressed by the low
estate of his followers, to the end that he might learn that
there is one Lord of all things, to whom every knee doth bow, and
in whose hand are the hearts of kings; who puts down the mighty
from their seat and exalteth the humble; who suffers his servants
when they are elevated at the summit of prosperity to be touched
by the rod of adversity, that in their humility they may not
despair of God's mercy, and in their prosperity they may not
boast of their honours, but may also know, to whom they owe all
the things which they possess. |
| 66 | We may believe that the calamity was brought upon the king
aforesaid, because, in the beginning of his reign, when he was a
youth, and influenced by youthful feelings, he would not listen
to the petitions which his subjects made to him for help in their
necessities, or for relief from those who oppressed them; but he
repulsed them from him, and paid no heed to their requests. This
particular gave much annoyance to the holy man St. Neot, who was
his relation, and often foretold to him, in the spirit of
prophecy, that he would suffer great adversity on this account;
but Alfred neither attended to the reproof of the man of God, nor
listened to his true prediction. Wherefore, seeing that a man's
sins must be corrected either in this world or the next, the true
and righteous Judge was willing that his sin should not go
unpunished in this world, to the end that he might spare him in
the world to come. From this cause, therefore, the aforesaid
Alfred often fell into such great misery, that sometimes none of
his subjects knew where he was or what had become of him. |
| 67 | In the same year the brother (28) of Hingwar and Halfdene, with
twenty-three ships, after much slaughter of the Christians, came
from the country of Demetia, (29) where he had wintered, and
sailed to Devon, where, with twelve hundred others, he met with a
miserable death, being slain while committing his misdeeds, by
the king's servants, before the castle of Cynuit (Kynwith), (30)
into which many of the king's servants, with their followers, had
fled for safety. The pagans, seeing that the castle was
altogether unprepared and unfortified, except that it had walls
in our own fashion, determined not to assault it, because it was
impregnable and secure on all sides, except on the eastern, as we
ourselves have seen, but they began to blockade it, thinking that
those who were inside would soon surrender either from famine or
want of water, for the castle had no spring near it. But the
result did not fall out as they expected; for the Christians,
before they began to suffer from want, inspired by Heaven,
judging it much better to gain victory or death, attacked the
pagans suddenly in the morning, and from the first cut them down
in great numbers, slaying also their king, so that few escaped to
their ships; and there they gained a very large booty, and
amongst other things the standard called Raven; for they say that
the three sisters of Hingwar and Hubba, daughters of Lodobroch,
wove that flag and got it ready in one day. They say, moreover,
that in every battle, wherever that flag went before them, if
they were to gain the victory a live crow would appear flying on
the middle of the flag; but if they were doom to be defeated it
would hang down motionless, and this was often proved to be so. |
| 68 | The same year, after Easter, king Alfred, with a few followers,
made for himself a stronghold in a place called Athelney, and
from thence sallied with his vassals and the nobles of
Somersetshire, to make frequent assaults upon the pagans. Also,
in the seventh week after Easter, he rode to the stone of Egbert,
(31) which is in the eastern part of the wood which is called
Selwood, (32) which means in Latin Silva Magna, the Great Wood,
but in British Coit-mawr. Here he was met by all the
neighbouring folk of Somersetshire, and Wiltshire, and Hampshire,
who had not, for fear of the pagans, fled beyond the sea; and
when they saw the king alive after such great tribulation, they
received him, as he deserved, with joy and acclamations, and
encamped there for one night. When the following day dawned, the
king struck his camp, and went to Okely, (33) where he encamped
for one night. The next morning he removed to Edington, and
there fought bravely and perseveringly against all the army of
the pagans, whom, with the divine help, he defeated with great
slaughter, and pursued them flying to their fortification.
Immediately he slew all the men, and carried off all the booty
that he could find without the fortress, which he immediately
laid siege to with all his army; and when he had been there
fourteen days, the pagans, driven by famine, cold, fear, and last
of all by despair, asked for peace, on the condition that they
should give the king as many hostages as he pleased, but should
receive none of him in return, in which form they had never
before made a treaty with any one. The king, hearing that, took
pity upon them, and received such hostages as he chose; after
which the pagans swore, moreover, that they would immediately
leave the kingdom; and their king, Gothrun, promised to embrace
Christianity, and receive baptism at king Alfred's hands. All of
which articles he and his men fulfilled as they had promised.
For after seven weeks Gothrun, king of the pagans, with thirty
men chosen from the army, came to Alfred at a place called Aller,
near Athelney, and there King Alfred, receiving him as his son by
adoption, raised him up from the holy laver of baptism on the
eighth day, at a royal villa named Wedmore, (34) where were the
holy chrism was poured upon hint. (35) After his baptism he
remained twelve nights with the king, who, with all his nobles,
gave him many fine houses. |
| 69 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 879, which was the thirty-
first of king Alfred, the aforesaid army of pagans leaving
Chippenham, as they had promised, went to Cirencester, which is
called in British "Cair Cori", and is situate in the southern
part of the Wiccii, (36) and there they remained one year. |
| 70 | In the same year, a large army of pagans sailed from foreign
parts into the river Thames, and joined the army which was
already in the country. They wintered at Fulham near the river
Thames. |
| 71 | In the same year an eclipse of the sun took place, between three
o'clock and the evening, but nearer to three o'clock. |
| 72 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 880, which was the thirty-
second of king Alfred, the above named army of pagans left
Cirencester, and went among the East Angles, where they divided
out the country and began to settle. |
| 73 | The same year the army of pagans, which had wintered at Fulham,
left the island of Britain, and sailed over the sea to the
eastern part of France, where they remained a year at a place
called Ghent. |
| 74 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 881, which was the thirty-
third of king Alfred's life, the aforesaid army went higher up
into France; and the French fought against them; and after the
battle the pagans obtained horses and became an army of cavalry. |
| 75 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 882, the thirty-fourth of
king Alfred's life, the above named army steered their ships up
into France by a river called the Mese [Meuse] and there wintered
one year. |
| 76 | In the same year Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, fought a
battle by sea against the pagan fleet, of which he captured two
ships, having slain all who were on board; and the two commanders
of two other ships, with all their crews, distressed by the
battle and the wounds which they had received, laid down their
arms and submitted to the king. |
| 77 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 883, which was the thirty-
fifth of king Alfred's life, the aforesaid army went up the river
called Scald [Scheldt] to a convent of nuns called Cundoht
[Conde] and there remained a year. |
| 78 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 884, which was the thirty-
sixth of king Alfred's life, the aforesaid army divided into two
parts; one body of them went into East France, and the other
coming to Britain entered Kent, where they besieged a city called
in Saxon Rochester, and situated on the eastern bank of the river
Medway. Before the gate of the town the pagans suddenly erected
a strong fortress, but yet they were unable to take the city,
because the citizens defended themselves bravely, until king
Alfred came up to help them with a large army. Then the pagans
abandoned their fortress, and all their horses which they had
brought with them out of France, and leaving behind them in the
fortress the greater part of their prisoners, on the arrival of
the king, fled immediately to their ships, and the Saxons
immediately seized on the prisoners and horses left by the
pagans; and so the pagans, compelled by stern necessity, returned
the same summer to France. |
| 79 | In the same year Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, led his fleet,
full of fighting men, out of Kent to the country of the East-
Angles, for the sake of plunder; (37) and, when they had arrived
at the mouth of the river Stour,(38) immediately thirteen ships
of the pagans met them, prepared for battle; a fierce fight
ensued, and all the pagans, after a brave resistance, were slain;
all the ships, with all their money, were taken. After this,
while the royal fleet were reposing, the pagans, who lived in the
eastern part of England, assembled their ships, met the same
royal fleet at sea in the mouth of the same river, and, after a
naval battle, the pagans gained the victory. |
| 80 | In the same year, also, Carloman, king of the Western Franks,
whilst hunting a wild boar, was miserably killed by a large
animal of that species, which inflicted a dreadful wound on him
with its tusk. His brother Louis [III], who had been king of the
Franks, died the year before. These two brothers were sons of
Louis, king of the Franks, who had died in the year above
mentioned, in which the eclipse of the sun took place; and it was
he whose daughter Judith was given by her father's wish in
marriage to Ethelwulf, King of the West Saxons. |
| 81 | In the same year also a great army of the pagans came from
Germany into the country of the ancient Saxons, which is called
in Saxon Ealdseaxum. (39) To oppose them the said Saxons and
Frisons joined their forces, and fought bravely twice in that
same year. In both those battles the Christians, with the
merciful aid of the Lord, obtained the victory. |
| 82 | In the same year also, Charles, king of the Almains, received,
with universal consent, all the territories which lie between the
Tyrrhenian sea and that gulf which runs between the old Saxons
and the Gauls, except the kingdom of Armorica, i.e. Lesser
Britain. This Charles was the son of king Louis, who was brother
of Charles, King of the Franks, father of the aforesaid queen
Judith; these two brothers were sons of Louis, but Louis was the
son of the great, the ancient, and wise Charlemagne, who was the
son of Pepin. |
| 83 | In the same year pope Martin, of blessed memory, went the way of
all flesh; it was he who, in regard for Alfred, king of the
Anglo-Saxons, and at his request, freed the school of the Anglo-
Saxons resident at Rome from all tribute and tax. He also sent
many gifts on that occasion, among which was no small portion of
the holy and venerable cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ was
suspended, for the general salvation of mankind. |
| 84 | In the same year also the army of pagans, which dwelt among the
East Angles, disgracefully broke the peace which they had
concluded with king Alfred. |
| 85 | Wherefore, to return to that from which I digressed, that I may
not be compelled by my long navigation to abandon the port of
rest which I was making for, I propose, as far as my knowledge
will enable me, to speak of the life and character and just
conduct of my lord Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, after he
married the above named respected lady of Mercian race, his wife;
and, with God's blessing, I will despatch it succinctly and
briefly, as I promised, that I may not offend the delicate minds
of my readers by prolixity in relating each new event. |
| 86 | His nuptials were honourably celebrated in Mercia, among
innumerable multitudes of people of both sexes; and after
continual feasts, both by night and by day, he was immediately
seized, in presence of all the people, by sudden and overwhelming
pain, as yet unknown to all the physicians; for it was unknown to
all who were then present, and even to those who daily see him up
to the present time, -- which, sad to say! is the worst of all,
that he should have protracted it so long from the twentieth to
the fortieth year of his life, and even more than that through
the space of so many years, -- from what cause so great a malady
arose. For many thought that this was occasioned by the favour
and fascination of the people who surrounded him; others, by some
spite of the devil, who is ever jealous of the good; others, from
an unusual kind of fever. He had this sort of severe disease
from his childhood; but once, divine Providence so ordered it,
that when he was on a visit to Cornwall for the sake of hunting,
and had turned out of the road to pray in a certain chapel, in
which rests the body of Saint Guerir, (40) and now also St. Neot
(41) rests there, -- for king Alfred was always from his infancy
a frequent visitor of holy places for the sake of prayer and
almsgiving, -- he prostrated himself for private devotion, and,
after some time spent therein, he entreated of God's mercy, that
in his boundless clemency he would exchange the torments of the
malady which then afflicted him for some other lighter disease;
but with this condition, that such disease should not show itself
outwardly in his body, lost he should be an object of contempt,
and less able to benefit mankind; for he had great dread of
leprosy or blindness, or any such complaint, as makes men useless
or contemptible when it afflicts them. When he had finished his
prayers, he proceeded on his journey, and not long after he felt
within him that by the hand of the Almighty he was healed,
according to his request, of his disorder, and that it was
entirely eradicated, although he had first had even this
complaint in the flower of his youth, by his devout and pious
prayers and supplications to Almighty God. For if I may be
allowed to speak briefly, but in a somewhat preposterous order,
of his zealous piety to God in the flower of his youth, before he
entered the marriage state, he wished to strengthen his mind in
the observance of God's commandments, for he perceived that he
could with difficulty abstain from gratifying his carnal desires;
and, because he feared the anger of God, if he should do anything
contrary to his will, he used often to rise in the morning at the
cock-crow, and go to pray in the churches and at the relics of
the saints. There he prostrated himself on the ground, and
prayed that God in his mercy would strengthen his mind still more
in his service by some infirmity such as he might bear, but not
such as would render him imbecile and contemptible in his worldly
duties; and when he had often prayed with much devotion to this
effect, after an interval of some time, Providence vouchsafed to
afflict him with the above-named disease, which he bore long and
painfully for many years, and even despaired of life, until he
entirely got rid of it by his prayers; but, sad to say! it was
replaced, as we have said, at his marriage by another which
incessantly tormented him, night and day, from the twentieth to
the forty-fourth year of his life. But if ever, by God s mercy,
he was-relieved from this infirmity for a single day or night,
yet the fear and dread of that dreadful malady never left him,
but rendered him almost useless, as he thought, for every duty,
whether human or divine. |
| 87 | The sons and daughters, which he had by his wife above mentioned
were Ethelfled the eldest, after whom came Edward, then
Ethelgiva, then Ethelswitha, and Ethelwerd, besides those who
died in their infancy, one of whom was Edmund. Ethelfled, when
she arrived at a marriageable age, was united to Ethered, earl of
Mercia; Ethelgiva also was dedicated to God, and submitted to the
rules of a monastic life. Ethelwerd the youngest, by the divine
counsels and the admirable prudence of the king, was consigned to
the schools of learning, where, with the children of almost all
the nobility of the country, and many also who were not noble, he
prospered under the diligent care of his teachers. Books in both
languages, namely, Latin and Saxon, were both read in the school.
They also learned to write; so that before they were of an age to
practice manly arts, namely, hunting and such pursuits as befit
noblemen, they became studious and clever in the liberal arts.
Edward and Ethelswitha were bred up in the king's court and
received great attention from their attendants and nurses; nay,
they continue to this day, with the love of all about them, and
showing affability, and even gentleness towards all, both natives
and foreigners, and in complete subjection to their father; nor,
among their other studies which appertain to this life and are
fit for noble youths, are they suffered to pass their time idly
and unprofitably without learning the liberal arts; for they have
carefully learned the Psalms and Saxon books, especially the
Saxon poems, and are continually in the habit of making use of
books. |
| 88 | In the meantime, the king, during the frequent wars and other
trammels of this present life, the invasions of the pagans, and
his own daily infirmities of body, continued to carry on the
government, and to exercise hunting in all its branches; to teach
his workers in gold and artificers of all kinds, his falconers,
hawkers and dog-keepers; to build houses, majestic and good
beyond all the precedents of his ancestors, by his new mechanical
inventions; to recite the Saxon books, and especially to learn by
heart the Saxon poems, and to make others learn them; and he
alone never desisted from studying, most diligently, to the best
of his ability; he attended the mass and other daily services of
religion; he was frequent in psalm-singing and prayer, at the
hours both of the day and the night. He also went to the
churches, as we have already said, in the night-time to pray,
secretly, and unknown to his courtiers; he bestowed alms and
largesses on both natives and foreigners of all countries; he was
affable and pleasant to all, and curiously eager to investigate
things unknown. Many Franks, Frisons, Gauls, pagans, Britons,
Scots, and Armoricans, noble and ignoble, submitted voluntarily
to his dominion; and all of them, according to their nation and
deserving, were ruled, loved, honoured, and enriched with money
and power. Moreover, the king was in the habit of hearing the
divine scriptures read by his own countrymen, or, if by any
chance it so happened, in company with foreigners, and he
attended to it with sedulity and solicitude. His bishops, too,
and all ecclesiastics, his earls and nobles, minsters and
friends, were loved by him with wonderful affection, and their
sons, who were bred up in the royal household, were no less dear
to him than his own; he had them instructed in all kinds of good
mortas, and among other things, never ceased to teach them
letters night and day; but as if he had no consolation in all
these things, and suffered to other annoyance either from within
or without, yet he was harassed by daily and nightly affliction,
that he complained to God, and to all who were admitted to his
familiar love, that Almighty God had made him ignorant of divine
wisdom, and of the liberal arts; in this emulating the pious, the
wise, and wealthy Solomon, king of the Hebrews, who at first,
despising all present glory and riches, asked wisdom of God, and
found both, namely, wisdom and worldly glory; as it is written,
"Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all
these things shall be added unto you." But God, who is always
the inspector of the thoughts of the mind within, and the
instigator of all good intentions, and a most plentiful aider,
that good desires may be formed, -- for he would not instigate a
man to good intentions, unless he also amply supplied that which
the man justly and properly wishes to have, -- instigated the
king's mind within; as it is written, "I will hearken what the
Lord God will say concerning me." He would avail himself of
every opportunity to procure coadjutors in his good designs, to
aid him in his strivings after wisdom, that he might attain to
what he aimed at; and, like a prudent bird, which rising in
summer with the early morning from her beloved nest, steers her
rapid flight through the uncertain tracks of ether, and descends
on the manifold and varied flowers of grasses, herbs, and shrubs,
essaying that which pleases most, that she may bear it to her
home, so did he direct his eyes afar, and seek without, that
which he had not within, namely, in his own kingdom. |
| 89 | But God at that time, as some consolation to the king's
benevolence, yielding to his complaint, sent certain lights to
illuminate him, namely, Werefrith, bishop of the church of
Worcester, a man well versed in divine scripture, who, by the
king's command, first turned the books of the Dialognes of pope
Gregory and Peter, his disciple, from Latin into Saxon, and
sometimes putting sense for sense, interpreted them with
clearness and elegance. After him was Plegmund, a Mercian by
birth, archbishop of the church of Canterbury, a venerable man,
and endowed with wisdom; Ethelstan also, and Werewulf, his
priests and chaplains, Mercians by birth and erudite. These four
had been invited out of Mercia by king Alfred, who exalted them
with many honours and powers in the kingdom of the West-Saxons,
besides the privileges which archbishop Plegmund and bishop
Werefrith enjoyed in Mercia. By their teaching and wisdom the
king's desires increased unceasingly, and were gratified. Night
and day, whenever he had leisure, he commanded such men as these
to read books to him; for he never suffered himself to be without
one of them, wherefore he possessed a knowledge of every book,
though of himself he could not yet understand anything of books,
for he had not yet learned to read any thing. |
| 90 | But the king's commendable avarice could not be gratified even
in this; wherefore he sent messengers beyond the sea to Gaul, to
procure teachers, and he invited from thence Grimbald, (42)
priest and monk, a venerable man, and good singer, adorned with
every kind of ecclesiastical discipline and good morals, and most
learned in holy scripture. He also obtained from thence John,
(43) also priest and monk, a man of most energetic talents, and
learned in all kinds of literary science, and skilled in many
other arts. By the teaching of these men the king's mind was
much enlarged, and he enriched and honoured them with much
influence. |
| 91 | In these times, I also came into Saxony out of the furthest
coasts of Western Britain; and when I had proposed to go to him
through many intervening provinces, I arrived in the country of
the Saxons, who live on the right hand, which in Saxon is called
Sussex, under the guidance of some of that nation; and there I
first saw him in the royal vill, which is called Dene. (44) He
received me with kindness, and among other familiar conversation,
he asked me eagerly to devote myself to his service and become
his friend, to leave every thing which I possessed on the left,
or western bank of the Severn, and he promised he wuld give more
than an equivalent for it in his own dominions. I replied that I
could not incautiously and rashly promise such things; for it
seemed to me unjust, that I should leave those sacred places in
which I had been bred, educated, and crowned, (45) and at last
ordained, for the sake of any earthly honour and power, unless by
compulsion. Upon this, he said, "If you cannot accede to this,
at least, let me have your service in part: spend six months of
the year with me here, and the other six in Britain." To this, I
replied, "I could not even promise that easily or hastily without
the advice of my friends." At length, however, when I perceived
that he was anxious for my services, though I knew not why, I
promised him that, if my life was spared, I would return to him
after six months, with such a reply as should be agreeable to him
as well as advantageous to me and mine. With this answer he was
satisfied, and when I had given him a pledge to return at the
appointed time, on the fourth day we left him and returned on
horseback towards our own country. |
| 92 | After our departure, a violent fever seized me in the city of
Winchester, where I lay for twelve months and one week, night and
day, without hope of recovery. At the appointed time, therefore,
I could not fulfil my promise of visiting him, and he sent
messengers to hasten my journey, and to inquire the cause of my
delay. As I was unable to ride to him, I sent a second messenger
to tell him the cause of my delay, and assure him that, if I
recovered from my infirmity, I would fulfil what I had promised.
My complaint left me, and by the advice and consent of all my
friends, for the benefit of that holy place, and of all who dwelt
therein, I did as I had promised to the king, and devoted myself
to his service, on the condition that I should remain with him
six months in every year, either continuously, if I could spend
six months with him at once, or alternately, three months in
Britain and three in Saxony. (46) For my friends hoped that they
should sustain less tribulation and harm from king Hemeid, (47)
who often plundered that monastery and the parish of St. Deguus,
(48} and sometimes expelled the prelates, as they expelled
archbishop Novis, (49) my relation, and myself; if in any manner
I could secure the notice and friendship of the king. |
| 93 | At that time, and long before, all the countries on the right
hand side of Britain belonged to king Alfred and still belonged
to him. For instance, king Hemeid, with all the inhabitants of
the region of Demetia, compelled by the violence of the six sons
of Rotri, had submitted to the dominion of the King. Howel also,
son of Ris, king of Gleguising, and Brocmail and Fernmail, sons
of Mouric, kings of Gwent, compelled by the violence and tyranny
of earl Ethered and of the Mercians, of their own accord sought
king Alfred, that they might enjoy his government and protection
from him against their enemies. Helised, also, son of Tendyr,
king of Brecon, compelled by the force of the same sons of Rotri,
of his own accord sought the government of the aforesaid king;
and Anarawd, son of Rotri, with his brother, at length abandoning
the friendship of the Northumbrians, from which he received no
good but harm, came into king Alfred's presence and eagerly
sought his friendship. The king received him honourably,
received him as his son by confirmation from the bishop's hand,
and presented him with many gifts. Thus he became subject to the
king with all his people, on the same condition, that he should
be obedient to the king's will in all respects, in the same way
as Ethered with the Mercians. |
| 94 | Nor was it in vain that all these princes gained the friendship
of the king. For those who desired to augment their worldly
power, obtained power; those who desired money, gained money; and
in like way, those who desired his friendship, or both money and
friendship, succeeded in getting what they wanted. But all of
them gained his love and guardianship and defence from every
quarter, even as the king with his men could protect himself. |
| 95 | When therefore I had come into his presence at the royal vill,
called Leonaford, I was honourably received by him, and remained
that time with him at his court eight months; during which I read
to him whatever books he liked, and such as he had at hand; for
this is his most usual custom, both night and day, amid his many
other occupations of mind and body, either himself to read books,
or to listen whilst others read them. And when I frequently
asked his leave to depart, and could in no way obtain it, at
length when I had made up my mind by all means to demand it, he
called me to him at twilight, on Christmas eve, and gave me two
letters, in which was a long list of all the things which were in
two monasteries, called in Saxon, Ambresbury (50) and Banwell;
(51) and on that same day he delivered to me those two
monasteries with all the things that were in them, and a silken
pall of great value, and a lead for a strong man, of incense,
adding these words, that he did not give me these trifling
presents, because he was unwilling hereafter to give me greater;
for in the course of time he unexpectedly gave me Exeter, with
all the diocese which belonged to him in Saxony (52) and in
Cornwall, besides gifts every day, without number, in every kind
of worldly wealth, which it would be too long to enumerate here,
lest they should make my reader tired. But let no one suppose
that I have mentioned these presents in this place for the sake
of glory or flattery, or to obtain greater honour. I call God to
witness, that I have not done so; but that I might certify to
those who are ignorant, how profuse he is in giving, he then at
once gave me permission to ride to those two rich monasteries and
afterwards to return to my own country. |
| 96 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation, 886, which was the thirty-
eighth since the birth of Alfred, the army so often before
mentioned again fled the country, and went into the country of
the Western Franks, directing their ships to the river called the
Seine, and sailed up it as far as the city of Paris, and there
they wintered and measured out their camp. They besieged that
city a whole year, as far as the bridge, that they might prevent
the inhabitants from making use of it; for the city is situated
on a small island in the middle of the river; but by the merciful
favour of God, and the brave defence of citizens, the army could
not force their way inside the walls. |
| 97 | In the same year, Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons, after the
burning of the cities and the slaying of the people, honourably
rebuilt the city of London, and made it again habitable. He gave
it into the custody of his son-in-law, Ethered, earl of Mercia,
to which king all the Angles and Saxons, who before had been
dispersed everywhere, or were in captivity with the pagans,
voluntarily turned and submitted themselves to his dominion. |
| 98 | (53) [In the same year there arose a foul and deadly discord at
Oxford, between Grimbald, with those learned men whom he had
brought with him, and the old scholars whom he had found there,
who, on his arrival, refused altogether to embrace the laws,
modes, and forms of praelection instituted by the same Grimbald.
During three years there had been no great dissension between
them, but there was a secret enmity which afterwards broke out
with great atrocity, clearer than the light itself. To appease
this quarrel, that invincible king Alfred, having been informed
of the strife by a messenger from Grimbald, went to Oxford to put
an end to the controversy, and endured much trouble in hearing
the arguments and complaints which were brought forwards on both
sides. The substance of the dispute was this: the old scholars
contended, that literature had flourished at Oxford before the
coming of Grimbald, although the number of scholars was smaller
than in ancient time, because several had been driven away by the
cruelty and tyranny of the pagans. They also proved and showed,
by the undoubted testimony of ancient annals, that the orders and
institutions of that place had been sanctioned by certain pious
and learned men, as for instance by Saint Gildas, Melkinus,
Nennius, Kentigern, and others, who had all grown old there in
literature, and happily administered everything there in peace
and concord; and also, that Saint Germanus had come to Oxford,
and stopped there half a year, at the time when he went through
Britain to preach against the Pelagian heresy; he wonderfully
approved of the customs and institutions above-mentioned. The
king, with unheard-of humility, listened to both sides carefully,
and exhorted them again and again with pious and wholesome
admonitions to cherish mutual love and concord. He therefore
left them with this decision, that each party should follow their
own counsel, and preserve their own institutions. Grimbald,
displeased at this, immediately departed to the monastery at
Winchester, (54) which had been recently founded by King Alfred,
and ordered a tomb to be carried to Winchester, in which he
proposed, after this life, that his bones should be laid in the
vault which had been made under the chancel of St. Peter's church
in Oxford; which church the same Grimbald had built from its
foundations, of stone polished with great care.] |
| 99 | In the year of our Lord's incarnation 887, which was the thirty-
ninth of king Alfred's life, the above mentioned army of the
pagans, leaving the city of Paris uninjured, because they could
not succeed against it, sailed up the river Seine under the
bridge, until they reached the mouth of the river Materne
[Marne]; where they left the Seine, and, following for a long
time the course of the Marne, at length, but not without much
labour, they arrived at a place called Chezy, a royal vill, where
they wintered one year. In the following year they entered the
mouth of the river Ionna [Yonne], not without doing much damage
to the country, and there remained one year. |
| 100 | In tho same year Charles, king of the Franks, went the way of all
flesh; but Arnulf, his brother's son, six weeks before he died,
had expelled him from his kingdom. After his death five kings
were appointed, and the kingdom was split into five parts; but
the principal rank in the kingdom justly and deservedly devolved
on Arnulf, save only that he committed an unworthy offence
against his uncle. The other four kings promised fidelity and
obedience to Arnulf, as was proper; for none of these four kings
was hereditary on his father's side in his share of the kingdom,
as was Arnulf; therefore, though the five kings were appointed
immediately on the death of Charles, yet the empire remained in
the hands of Arnulf. |
| 101 | Such, then, was the division of the kingdom; Arnulf received the
countries on the east of the river Rhine; Rodulf the inner parts
of the kingdom; Oda the western part; Beorngar and Guido,
Lombardy, and those countries which are in that part of the
mountains; but they did not keep these large dominions in peace,
for they twice fought a pitched battle, and often mutually
ravaged their kingdoms, and drove each other out of their
dominions. |
| 102 | In the same year in which that [pagan] army left Paris and went
to Chezy, Ethelhelm, earl of Wiltshire, carried to Rome the alms
of king Alfred and of the Saxons. |
| 103 | In the same year Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, so often
before mentioned, by divine inspiration, began, on one and the
same day, to read and to interpret; but that I may explain this
more fully to those who are ignorant, I will relate the cause of
this long delay in beginning. |
| 104 | On a certain day we were both of us sitting in the king's
chamber, talking on all kinds of subjects, as usual, and it
happened that I read to him a quotation out of a certain book.
He heard it attentively with both his ears, and addressed me with
a thoughtful mind, showing me at the same moment a book which he
carried in his bosom, wherein the daily courses and psalms, and
prayers which he had read in his youth, were written, and he
commanded me to write the same quotation in that book. Hearing
this, and perceiving his ingenuous benevolence, and devout desire
of studying the words of divine wisdom, I gave, though in secret,
boundless thanks to Almighty God, who had implanted such a love
of wisdom in the king's heart. But I could not find any empty
space in that book wherein to write the quotation, for it was
already full of various matters; wherefore I made a little delay,
principally that I might stir up the bright intellect of the king
to a higher acquaintance with the divine testimonies. Upon his
urging me to make haste and write it quickly, I said to him, "Are
you willing that I should write that quotation on some leaf
apart? For it is not certain whether we shall not find one or
more other such extracts which will please you; and if that
should so happen, we shall be glad that we have kept them apart."
"Your plan is good," said he, and I gladly made haste to get
ready a sheet, in the beginning of which I wrote what he bade me;
and on that same day, I wrote therein, as I had anticipated, no
less than three other quotations which pleased him; and from that
time we daily talked together, and found out other quotations
which pleased him, so that the sheet became full, and deservedly
so; according as it is written, "The just man builds upon a
moderate foundation, and by degrees passes to greater things."
Thus, like a most productive bee, he flew here and there, asking
questions, as he went, until he had eagerly and unceasingly
collected many various flowers of divine scriptures, with which
he thickly stored the cells of his mind. |
| 105 | Now when that first quotation was copied, he was eager at once to
read, and to interpret in Saxon, and then to teach others; even
as we read of that happy robber, who recognized his Lord, aye,
the Lord of all men, as he was hanging n the blessed cross, and,
saluting him with his bodily eyes only, because elsewhere he was
all pierced with nails, cried, "Lord, remember me when thou
comest into thy kingdom!" for it was only at the end of his life
that he began to learn the rudiments of the Christian faith. But
the king, inspired by God, began to study the rudiments of divine
Scripture on the sacred solemnity of St. Martin (Nov. 11), and he
continued to learn the flowers collected by certain masters, and
to reduce them into the form of one book, as he was then able,
although mixed one with another, until it became almost as large
as a psalter. This book he called his ENCHIRIDION or MANUAL,
because he carefully kept it at hand day and night, and found, as
he told me, no small consolation therein. |
| 106 | But as has already been written by a certain wise man, |
| 107 | "Of watchful minds are they whose pious care
It is to govern well," |
| 108 | so must I be watchful, in that I just now drew a kind of
comparison or similarity, though in dissimilar manner, between
that happy robber and the king; for the cross is hateful to every
one, wherever there is suffering. But what can he do, if he
cannot save himself or escape thence? Or by what art can he
remain there and improve his cause? He must, therefore, whether
he will or no, endure with pain and sorrow that which he is
suffering. |
| 109 | Now the king was pierced with many nails of tribulation, though
placed in the royal seat; for from the twentieth year of his age
to the present year, which is his fortieth, (55) he has been
constantly afflicted with most severe attacks of an unknown
complaint, so that he has not a moment's ease either from
suffering the pain which it causes, or from the gloom which is
thrown over him by the apprehension of its coming. Moreover, the
constant invasions of foreign nations, by which he was
continually harassed by land and sea, without any interval of
quiet, were a just cause of disquiet. What shall I say of his
repeated expeditions against the pagans, his wars, and incessant
occupations of government? Of the daily embassies sent to him by
foreign nations, from the Tyrrhenian sea to the farthest end of
Ireland? (56) For we have seen and read letters, accompanied
with presents, which were sent to him by Abel the patriarch of
Jerusalem. What shall I say of the cities and towns which he
restored, and of others which he built, where none had been
before? Of the royal halls and chambers, wonderfully erected by
his command, with stone and wood? Of the royal vills constructed
of stone, removed from their old site, and handsomely rebuilt by
the king's command in more fitting places? Besides the disease
above mentioned, he was disturbed by the quarrels of his friends,
who would voluntarily endure little or no toil, though it was for
the common necessity of the kingdom; but he alone, sustained by
the divine aid, like a skilful pilot, strove to steer his ship,
laden with much wealth, into the safe and much desired harbour of
his country, though almost all his crew were tired, and suffered
them not to faint or hesitate, though sailing amid the manifold
waves and eddies of this present life. |
| 110 | For all his bishops, earls, nobles, favourite ministers, and
prefects, who, next to God and the king, had the whole government
of the kingdom, as is fitting, continually received from him
instruction, respect, exhortation, and command; nay, at last,
when they were disobedient, and his long patience was exhausted,
he would reprove them severely, and censure at pleasure their
vulgar folly and obstinacy; and in this way he directed their
attention to the common interests of the kingdom. But, owing to
the sluggishness of the people, these admonitions of the king
were either not fulfilled, or were begun late at the moment of
necessity, and so ended less to the advantage of those who put
them in execution; for I will say nothing of the castles which he
ordered to be built, but which, being begun late, were never
finished, because the hostile troops broke in upon them by land
and sea, and, as often happened, the thwarters of the royal
ordinances repented when it was too late, and blushed at their
non-performance of his commands. I speak of repentance when it
is too late, on the testimony of Scripture, whereby numberless
persons have had cause for too much sorrow when many insidious
evils have been wrought. But though by these means, sad to say,
they may be bitterly afflicted and roused to sorrow by the loss
of fathers, wives, children, ministers, servant-men, servant-
maids, and furniture and household stuff, what is the use of
hateful repentance when their kinsmen are dead, and they cannot
aid them, or redeem those who are captive from captivity? For
they are not able even to assist those who have escaped, as they
have not wherewith to sustain even their own lives. They
repented, therefore, when it was too late, and grieved at their
incautious neglect of the king's commands, and they praised the
royal wisdom with one voice, and tried with all their power to
fulfil what they had before refused, namely, concerning the
erection of castles, and other things generally useful to the
whole kingdom. |
| 111 | Of his fixed purpose of holy meditation, which, in the midst of
prosperity and adversity he never neglected, I cannot with
advantage now omit to speak. For, whereas he often thought of
the necessities of his soul, among the other good deeds to which
his thoughts were night and day turned, he ordered that two
monasteries should be built, one for monks at Athelney, which is
a place surrounded by impassable marshes and rivers, where no one
can enter but by boats, or by a bridge laboriously constructed
between two other heights; at the western end of which bridge was
erected a strong tower, of beautiful work, by command of the
aforesaid king; and in this monastery he collected monks of all
kinds, from every quarter, and placed them therein. |
| 112 | For at first, because he had no one of his own nation, noble and
free by birth, who was willing to enter the monastic life, except
children, who could neither choose good nor avoid evil in
consequence of their tender years, because for many previous
years the love of a monastic life had utterly decayed from that
nation as well as from many other nations, though many
monasteries still remain in that country; yet, as no one directed
the rule of that kind of life in a regular way, for what reason I
cannot say, either from the invasions of foreigners which took
place so frequently both by sea and land, or because that people
abounded in riches of every kind, and so looked with contempt on
the monastic life. It was for this reason that king Alfred
sought to gather monks of different kinds to place in the same
monastery. |
| 113 | First he placed there as abbat, John (57) the priest and monk, an
old Saxon by birth, then certain priests and deacons from beyond
the sea; of whom, finding that he had not as large a number as he
wished, he procured as many as possible of the same Gallic race,
some of whom, being children, he ordered to be taught in the same
monastery, and at a later period to be admitted to the monastic
habit. I have myself seen a young lad of pagan birth who was
educated in that monastery, and by no means the hindmost of them
all. |
| 114 | There was also a deed done once in that monastery, which I would
utterly consign to oblivion, although it is an unworthy deed; for
throughout the whole of Scripture the base deeds of the wicked
are interspersed among the blessed deeds of the just, as tares
and darnel are sown among the wheat: good deeds are recorded that
they may be praised and imitated, and that their imitators may be
held in all honour; wicked deeds are there related, that they may
be censured and avoided, and their imitators be reproved with all
odium, contempt, and vengeance. |
| 115 | For once upon a time, a certain priest and a deacon, Gauls by
birth, and two of the aforesaid monks, by the instigation of the
devil, and excited by some secret jealousy, became so embittered
in secret against their abbat, the above mentioned John, that,
like Jews, they circumvented and betrayed their master. For
whereas he had two servants, whom he had hired out of Gaul, they
taught these such wicked practices, that in the night, when all
men were enjoying the sweet tranquillity of sleep, they should
make their way into the church armed, and shutting it behind them
as usual, hide themselves therein, and wait for the moment when
the abbat should enter the church alone. At length, when he
should come alone to pray, and, bending his knees, bow before the
holy altar, the men should rush on him with hostility, and try to
slay him on the spot. They then should drag his lifeless body
out of The church, and throw it down before the house of a
certain harlot, as if he had been slain whilst on a visit to her.
This was their machination, adding crime to crime, as it is said,
"The last error shall be worse than the first." |
| 116 | But the divine mercy, which always delights to aid the innocent,
frustrated in great part the wicked design of the wicked men, so
that it should not turn out in every respect as they had
proposed. |
| 117 | When, therefore, the whole of the evil counsel had been explained
by those wicked teachers to their wicked agents, and the night
which had been fixed on as most fit was come, the two armed
ruffians were placed, with a promise of impunity, to await in the
church for the arrival of the abbat. In the middle of the night
John, as usual, entered the church to pray, without any one's
knowing of it, and knelt before the altar. The two ruffians
rushed upon him with drawn swords, and dealt him some severe
wounds. But he, being a man of a brave mind, and, as we have
heard say, not unacquainted with the art of self-defence, if he
had not been a follower of a better calling, no sooner heard the
sound of the robbers, before he saw them, than he rose up against
them before he was wounded, and, shouting as loud as he could,
struggled against them, crying out that they were devils and not
men; for he himself knew no better, as he thought that no men
would dare to attempt such a deed. He was, however, wounded
before any of his people could come to his help. His attendants,
roused by the noise, were frightened when they heard the word
devils, and both those two who, like Jews, sought to betray their
master, and the others who knew nothing of the matter, rushed
together to the doors of the church; but before they got there
those ruffians escaped, leaving the abbat half dead. The monks
raised the old man, in a fainting condition, and carried him home
with tears and lamentations; nor did those two deceitful monks
shed tears less than the innocent. But God's mercy did not allow
so bold a deed to pass unpunished; the ruffians who perpetrated
it, and all who urged them to it, were taken and put in prison,
where, by various tortures, they came to a disgraceful end. Let
us now return to our narrative. |
| 118 | Another monastery, also, was built by the same king as a
residence for nuns, near the eastern gate of Shaftesbury; and his
own daughter, Ethelgiva, was placed in it as abbess. With her
many other noble ladies bound by the rules of the monastic life,
dwell in that monastery. These two edifices were enriched by the
king with much land, as well as personal property. |
| 119 | These things being thus disposed of, the king began, as was his
practice, to consider within himself, what more he could do to
augment and show forth his piety; what he had begun wisely, and
thoughtfully conceived for the public benefit, as adhered to with
equally beneficial result; for he had heard it out of the book of
the law, that the Lord had promised to restore to him tenfold;
and he knew that the Lord had kept his promise, and had actually
restored to him tenfold. Encouraged by this example, and wishing
to exceed the practices of his predecessors, he vowed humbly and
faithfully to devote to God half his services, both day and
night, and also half of all his wealth, such as lawfully and
justly came annually into his possession; and this vow, as far as
human discretion can perceive and keep, he skilfully and wisely
endeavoured to fulfil. But, that he might, with his usual
caution, avoid that which scripture warns us against: "If you
offer aright, but do not divide aright, you sin," he considered
how he might divide aright that which he had vowed to God; and as
Solomon had said, "The heart of the king is in the hand of God,"
that is, his counsel he ordered with wise policy, which could
come only from above, that his officers should first divide into
two parts the revenues of every year. |
| 120 | When this division was made, he assigned the first part to
worldly uses, and ordered that one-third of it should be paid to
his soldiers, and also to his ministers, the nobles who dwelt at
court where they discharged divers duties; for so the king's
family was arranged at all times into three classes. The king's
attendants were most wisely distributed into three companies, so
that the first company should he on duty at court for one month,
night and day, at the end of which they returned to their homes,
and were relieved by the second company. At the end of the
second month, in the same way, the third company relieved the
second, who returned to their homes, where they spent two months,
until their services were again wanted. The third company also
gave place to the first in the same way, and also spent two
months at home. Thus was the threefold division of the companies
arranged at all times in the royal household. |
| 121 | To these therefore was paid the first of the three portions
aforesaid, to each according to their respective dignities and
peculiar services; the second to the operatives, whom he had
collected from every nation, and had about him in large numbers,
men skilled in every kind of construction; the third portion was
assigned to foreigners who came to him out of every nation far
and near, whether they asked money of him or not, he cheerfully
gave to each with wonderful munificence according to their
respective merits, according to what is written: "God loveth a
cheerful giver." |
| 122 | But the second part of all his revenues, which came yearly into
his possession, and was included in the receipts of the
exchequer, as we mentioned a little before, he, with ready
devotion, gave to God, ordering his ministers to divide it
carefully into four parts, on the condition that the first part
should be discreetly bestowed on the poor of every nation who
came to him; and on this subject he said that, as far as human
discretion could guarantee, the remark of pope St. Gregory should
be followed: "Give not much to whom you should give little, nor
little to whom much, nor something to whom nothing, nor nothing
to whom something." The second of the four portions was given to
the two monasteries which he had built, and to those who therein
had dedicated themselves to God's service, as we have mentioned
above. The third portion was assigned to the school, which he
had studiously collected together, consisting of many of the
nobility of his own nation. The fourth portion was for the use
of all the neighbouring monasteries in all Saxony and Mercia, and
also during some years, in turn, to the churches and servants of
God dwelling in Britain (Wales), Cornwall, Gaul, Armorica,
Northumbria, and sometimes also in Ireland; according to his
means, he either distributed to them beforehand, or afterwards,
if life and success should not fail him. |
| 123 | When the king had arranged these matters, he remembered that
sentence of divine scripture, "Whosoever will give alms, ought to
begin from himself," and prudently began to reflect what he could
offer to God from the service of his body and mind; for he
proposed to consecrate to God no less out of this than he had
done of things external to himself. Moreover, he promised, as
far as his infirmity and his means would allow, to give up to God
the half of his services, bodily and mental, by night and by day,
voluntarily, and with all his might; but, inasmuch as he could
not equally distinguish the lengths of the hours by night, on
account of the darkness, and ofttimes of the day, on account of
the storms and clouds, he began to consider, by what means and
without any difficulty, relying on the mercy of God, he might
discharge the promised tenor of his vow until his death. |
| 124 | After long reflection on these things, he at length, by a useful
and shrewd invention, commanded his chaplains to supply wax in a
sufficient quantity, and he caused it to be weighed in such a
manner that when there was so much of it in the scales, as would
equal the weight of seventy-two pence, (58) he caused the
chaplains to make six candles thereof, each of equal length, so
that each candle might have twelve divisions (59) marked
longitudinally upon it. By this plan, therefore, those six
candles burned for twenty-four hours, a night and day, without
fail, before the sacred relics of many of God's elect, which
always accompanied him wherever he went; but sometimes when they
would not continue burning a whole day and night, till the same
hour that they were lighted the preceding evening, from the
violence of the wind, which blew day and night without
intermission through the doors and windows of the churches, the
fissures of the divisions, the plankings, or the wall, or the
thin canvass of the tents, they then unavoidably burned out and
finished their course before the appointed time; the king
therefore considered by what means he might shut out the wind,
and so by a useful and cunning invention, he ordered a lantern to
be beautifully constructed of wood and white ox-horn, which, when
skilfully planed till it is thin, is no less transparent than a
vessel of glass. This lantern, therefore, was wonderfully made
of wood. and horn, as we before said, and by night a candle was
put into it, which shone as brightly without as within, and was
not extinguished by the wind; for the opening of the lantern was
also closed up, according to the king's command, by a door made
of horn. |
| 125 | By this contrivance, then, six candles, lighted in succession,
lasted four and twenty hours, neither more nor less, and, when
these were extinguished, others were lighted. |
| 126 | When all these things were properly arranged, the king, eager to
give up to God the half of his daily service, as he had vowed,
and more also, if his ability on the one hand, and his malady on
the other, would allow him, showed himself a minute investigator
of the truth in all his judgments, and this especially for the
sake of the poor, to whose interest, day and night, among other
duties of this life, he ever was wonderfully attentive. For in
the whole Kingdom the poor, besides him, had few or no
protectors; for all the powerful and noble of that country had
turned their thoughts rather to secular than to heavenly things:
each was more bent on secular matters, to his own profit, than on
the public good. |
| 127 | He strove also, in his own judgments, for the benefit of both the
noble and the ignoble, who often perversely quarrelled at the
meetings of his earls and officers, so that hardly one of them
admitted the justice of what had been decided by the earls and
prefects, and in consequence of this pertinacious and obstinate
dissension, all desired to have the judgment of the king, and
both sides sought at once to gratify their desire. But if any
one was conscious of injustice on his side in the suit, though by
law and agreement he was compelled, however reluctant, to go
before the king, yet with his own good will he never would
consent to go. For he knew, that in the king's presence no part
of his wrong would be hidden; and no wonder, for the king was a
most acute investigator in passing sentence, as he was in all
other things. He inquired into almost all the judgments which
were given in his own absence, throughout all his dominion,
whether they were just or unjust. If he perceived there was
iniquity in those judgments, he summoned the judges, either
through his own agency, or through others of his faithful
servants, and asked them mildly, why they had judged so unjustly;
whether through ignorance or malevolence; i.e., whether for the
love or fear of any one, or hatred of others; or also for the
desire of money. At length, if the judges acknowledged they had
given judgment because they knew no better, he discreetly and
moderately reproved their inexperience and folly in such terms as
these: "I wonder truly at your insolence, that, whereas by God's
favour and mine, you have occupied the rank and office of the
wise, you have neglected the studies and labours of the wise.
Either, therefore, at once give up the discharge of the temporal
duties which you hold, or endeavour more zealously to study the
lessons of wisdom. Such are my commands." At these words the
earls and prefects would tremble and endeavour to turn all their
thoughts to the study of justice, so that, wonderful to say,
almost all his earls, prefects, and officers, though unlearned
from their cradles, were sedulously bent upon acquiring learning,
choosing rather laboriously to acquire the knowledge of a new
discipline than to resign their functions; but if any one of them
from old age or slowness of talent was unable to make progress in
liberal studies, he commanded his son, if he had one, or one of
his kinsmen, or, if there was no other person to be had, his own
freedman or servant, whom he had some time before advanced to the
office of reading, to recite Saxon books before him night and
day, whenever he had any leisure, and they lamented with deep
sighs, in their inmost hearts, that in their youth they had never
attended to such studies; and they blessed the young men of our
days, who happily could be instructed in the liberal arts, whilst
they execrated their own lot, that they had not learned these
things in their youth, and now, when they are old, though wishing
to learn them, they are unable. But this skill of young and old
in acquiring letters, we have explained to the knowledge of the
aforesaid king. (60) |
