In assers life, the picture that emerges of the king is of a man keen to promote religion and learning, and with an interest in justice. The life of alfred the great bishop of sherbourne asser 908909, translated by j. Assers life aking alfred and other contemporary sources new york. The manuscript survived to modern times in only one copy, which was part of the cotton. Alfred was the son of king ethelwulf, who was the son of egbert, who was the son of elmund, who was the son of eafa, who was the son of eoppa, who was the son of ingild. Arabic page numbers begin in the header of the first page of text, with your last name before it. In the year of our lords incarna tion 868, which was the twentieth of king alfreds life, the aforesaid revered king alfred, then occupying only the rank of viceroy secundarii, betrothed and espoused a noble mercian lady, daughter of thelred, surnamed mucin, ealdorman of the gaini. Assers biography draws on a variety of continental sources, the most famous and widely discussed being einhards vita karoli. Assers life of king alfred and other contemporary sources represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in evansville vanderburgh public library. Giles 1808 1884 a life of king alfred of england originally composed in latin, possibly sometime around 888 a.
Assers life of king alfred and other contemporary sources, trans. Alfred the great, assers life of king alfred and other. Warrior, lawgiver, and scholar, alfred the great was an extraordinarily gifted and highly successful king, pushing back the vikings to preserve what is now thought of as the heart of england. Life of king alfred internet history sourcebooks project. The life of king alfred asser, bishop of sherborne translated by dr. The medieval life of king alfred of wessex purports to be written by asser. Introduction translation of the life of king alfred. Alfred is the only english king honoured with this name and is credited with various. The project gutenberg ebook of the life and times of alfred the.
Full view hathitrust digital library hathitrust digital library. Asser s life of king alfred begins with asser s dedication of the work to alfred ruler of all the christians of the island of britain, king of the angles and saxons. Asser s life is a onesided treatment of alfred, though since alfred was alive when it was composed, it is unlikely to contain gross errors of fact. Ina went to rome, and there ending this life honourably, entered the heavenly kingdom, to reign there for. Asser s life of king alfred and other contemporary sources. Michael lapidge asser s life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest medieval kings. Jul 01, 2004 asser s life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings. After spending a year at caerwent because of illness, asser accepted in 893 asser wrote a biography of alfred, called the life of king alfred. The anglosaxon chronicle, commissioned at the time of alfred, was probably written to promote unification of england, whereas asser s the life of king alfred promoted alfred s achievements and personal qualities. Summary asser s life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings. Assers life of king alfred follows alfreds career from his birth to his accession in 871, and describes in detail his reign and his wars, stopping abruptly in 887, 12 years before alfreds death. Introduction, section ii, asser and his life of king alfred summary and analysis. Alfred, burhred king of the mercians, sent messengers, and prayed ethelwulf, king of the west saxons, to come and help him in reducing the. Saxons, at the royal village of wanating, 1 in berkshire, which country has its name from the wood of berroc, where the box.
An illustration of a computer application window wayback machine an illustration of an open book. The life and times of king alfred the great alfreds father was king ethelwulf, who ruled over the south west of england. The life of king alfred by bishop asser is the earliest known source about an anglosaxon king, a king often known today as alfred the great r. One of the most important sources of information on alfred the great king of wessex from 871 to 899 is asser s the life of king alfred.
The legend was interpolated in an edition of assers life of alfred, based on parkers text, which camden published in 16023. In the year of our lords incarnation the eight hundred and seventyeighth, andthe thirtieth from king alfred s birth, the oftmentioned army left exeter andcame to chippenham, a royal vill located in the north of wiltshire. His name is actually hebrew, following the eighth son of jacob. Longman, 1998,324326 and simon keynes and michael lapidge, alfred thegreat. The medieval life of king alfred the great a translation and. He traced his own genealogy all the way back to noah. Alfred the great by asser, 9780140444094, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. To the feiends of honest and capable government in america preface the issue of stevensons long and eagerly expected edition of asser s life of king alfred has provided an opportunity to supply the ever increasing number of the great kings admirers with a more satisfactory rendering into english of this, perhaps the most. Michael lapidge assers life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest medieval kings. That copy was destroyed in a fire in 1731, but transcriptions that had been made earlier, together with material from assers work which was included by other early writers.
Asser, welsh monk, chiefly remembered as the friend, teacher, counsellor, and biographer of alfred the great. Assers life of king alfred begins with assers dedication of the work to alfred ruler of all the christians of the island of britain, king of the angles and saxons. It explains that there was a relationship between wessex and the carolingian culture king alfreds grandfather, egbert, was an exile in charlmagnes court and asser was also a follower of the frankish historian einhard the one who wrote the. Assers life differs also in its use of latin, not the vernacular that most sources from alfreds reign are written in. The life of king alfred online englisch bei online medieval and. The manuscript survived to modern times in only one copy, which was part of the cotton library.
Asser s life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest medieval kings. For historical events, it draws largely on the anglosaxon chronicle. Assers life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings. Another objection has been based on the passage21 in which asser relates how, at the close of his first. In 886, eager to learn latin, alfred summoned asser, who had acquired some reputation for learning, to his court in. In addition to being the primary source for alfred s life, asser s work is also a source for other historical periods, where he adds material to his translation of the anglosaxon chronicle. About 885 he was asked by alfred the great to leave st davids and join the circle of learned men whom alfred was recruiting for his court. Assers life of king alfred and other contemporary sources. This comprehensive collection includes asser s life of alfred, extracts from the anglosaxon chronicle, and alfred s own writings, laws, and will. Full text of assers life of king alfred internet archive.
For more than seventy years, penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the englishspeaking world. The medieval life of king alfred the great a translation. Illness, power and prayer in assers life of king alfred. Composed by a monk of st davids in wales who became bishop of sherborne in alfred s service and worked with him in his efforts to revive religion and learning in his kingdom, this life is among the earliest surviving royal biographies. His name is hebrew, from the old testament figure of aser asher, the 8th son of jacob genesis 30.
Asser s life of king alfred and other contemporary. Assers work appears to have been mutilated and altered, or added to in many places, but the greater part. The life of king alfred ebook by asser 9781420941760. In 886, eager to learn latin, alfred summoned asser, who had acquired some reputation for learning, to his court in wessex, and on st. He invited scholars to his court, and he was the sort of man to inspire one of them, the welshman asser, to write a biography of him. The consequence of the educational and literary activity of alfreds reign was to transfer the centre of learning from northumbria to wessex. Assers life of king alfred and other contemporary sources by asser. Assers life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest medieval kings. In the year of our lords incarnation the eight hundred and seventyeighth, andthe thirtieth from king alfreds birth, the oftmentioned army left exeter andcame to chippenham, a royal vill located in the north of wiltshire. Asser was a welshman from st davids, who later became bishop of sherborne. Vita alcuini, asser and scholarly service at the court of.
He differed from all other kings in leaving writings of his own. Browse your favourite books and read alfred the great. The genuine asser by dorothy whitelock it is no accident that we know more about king alfred than about any other anglosaxon king. Ingild and ina were the sons of coenred, who was the. The anglosaxon chronicle, commissioned at the time of alfred, was probably written to promote unification of england, whereas assers the life of king alfred promoted alfreds achievements and personal qualities. This account of one of englands best loved and most famous kings has been accepted as offering evidence on most aspects of life in early medieval england and beyond. Although similar to the anglosaxon chronicle in its annalistic approach, asser personalized his life of king alfred so that the man, and not just the christian king who vanquished the paganistic heathen, was presented. Summary assers life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings. Composed by a monk of st davids in wales who became bishop of sherborne in alfreds service and worked with him in his efforts to revive religion and learning in his kingdom, this life is among the earliest surviving royal biographies.
Lehman records4 that king alfred himself boldly traced his own ancestry via the scythians, to. Publication date c1906 topics alfred, king of england, 849899 publisher. It was used in victorian times to create a cult of alfred. One of the most important sources of information on alfred the great king of wessex from 871 to 899 is assers the life of king alfred. Our library add to their collections from a catalog of over 2 million ebooks.
Assers life of king alfred, a biography of alfred the great composed by a welsh monk from st davids in 893, is a key source for understanding connections between ninthcentury britain and the continent. Keynes, on the authenticity of assers life of king alfred, journal of. Asser was a welsh monk who accepted a position in the court of king alfred around 886. Assers account of alfreds mysterious illnesses is one of the most puzzling and most. In the first paragraph, asser notes that alfred was born in 849 at the royal estate named wantage within the berkshire district. It was possible that the document was designed this way so that it could be disseminated in wales, as alfred had recently acquired. In the year of our lords incarnation 849, was born alfred, king of the anglo. Other articles where life of king alfred is discussed.
Ingild, and ina, the famous king of the westsaxons, were two brothers. Simon keynes and michael lapidge harmondsworth, middlesex, england. His work is both a translation of part of the anglosaxon chronicle for the years 851887, as well as eyewitness. The story of king alfreds rule comes from the records in the anglosaxon chronicle. This chapter explores assers historical work called the life of king alfred and looks at its link to the carolingan tradition of historiography. In 893 asser wrote a biography of alfred, called the life of king alfred. Assers life of king alfred together with the annals of saint neots erroneously ascribed to asser. The medieval life of king alfred of wessex purports to be written by asser, a monk in the kings service. Assers life of king alfred is the first biography of an anglosaxon king that historians know of, but we know little about asser. Asser s life aking alfred and other contemporary sources new york. This article attempts to place this account in its contemporary setting, analysing its devotional, intellectual and political contexts, in order to argue that, far from being an anomaly, it reflects the cultural interests of the alfredian court and the influence upon it of. That copy was destroyed in a fire in 1731, but transcriptions that had been made earlier, together with material from asser s work which was included by other early writers. This comprehensive collection includes assers life of alfred, extracts from the anglosaxon chronicle, and alfreds own writings, laws, and will.