To the feiends of honest and capable government in america preface the issue of stevensons long and eagerly expected edition of assers 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. Asser s life differs also in its use of latin, not the vernacular that most sources from alfred s reign are written in. In the year of our lords incarnation 849, was born alfred, king of the anglo. 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. 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.
It studies the use of the placename santwic sandwich in armes prydein, and presents evidence that this form derives from a written source. Asser s life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings. The word file is viewable with any pc or mac and can be further adjusted if you want to mix questions around andor add your own headers for things like name, period, and date. The life of king alfred ebook by asser 9781420941760. Asser wrote of alfred in his life of king alfred, now, he was greatly loved, more than all his brothers, by his father and motherindeed, by everybodywith a universal and profound love, and he was always brought up in the royal court and nowhere else. Saxons, at the royal village of wanating, 1 in berkshire, which country has its name from the wood of berroc, where the box.
The life of king alfred 4 by asser his companion and official biographer the same year, which was 871 ad the aforesaid alfred, who had been up to that time only of secondary rank, whilst his brothers were alive, now, by gods permission, undertook the government of the whole kingdom, amid the acclamations of all. Download and read online for free assers life of king alfred by cook, albert s. The life of king alfred asser, bishop of sherborne translated by dr. The consequence of the educational and literary activity of alfreds reign was to transfer the centre of learning from northumbria to wessex. Asser died 909, bishop and scholar dictionary of welsh. A life of king alfred of england originally composed in latin, possibly sometime around 888 a.
Literary contributions of king alfred the great free. The medieval life of king alfred the great a translation. His name is actually hebrew, following the eighth son of jacob. In 893 asser wrote a biography of alfred, called the life of king alfred. Asser s life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest medieval kings. The legend was interpolated in an edition of assers life of alfred, based on parkers text, which camden published in 16023. Alfred the great, assers life of king alfred and other.
Assers life of king alfred and other contemporary sources by asser. The foundation of the english monarchy abstract alfred the great, one of the bestknown anglosaxon kings in england, set the foundation for the future english monarchy. The genuine asser by dorothy whitelock it is no accident that we know more about king alfred than about any other anglosaxon king. The life of king alfred by the welsh monk asser, who is said to have been the bishop of st. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read alfred the great. And capable government in america preface the issue of stevensons long and eagerly expected edition of assers li fe 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.
Assers life of king alfred and other contemporary sources ebook written by asser. This article examines the connections between assers life of king alfred and the tenthcentury welsh poem armes prydein vawr. Domino meo venerabili piissimoque omnium brittanniae insulae christianorum rectori, aelfred, anglorum saxonum regi, asser, omnium servorum dei ultimus, millemodam ad vota desideriorum utriusque vitae prosperitatem. It was used in victorian times to create a cult of alfred. 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. The medieval life of king alfred of wessex purports to be written by asser, a monk in the kings service. Albert stanburrough, 18531927 at the best online ebook storage. 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. Alfred the great by asser, 9780140444094, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Asser s life of king alfred and other contemporary sources.
Asser was a welshman from st davids, who later became bishop of sherborne. On the authenticity of asser s life of king alfred king. The subtitle assers life of king alfred and other contemporary sources is a great description of this book. 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. 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. The subtitle asser s life of king alfred and other contemporary sources is a great description of this book. Historians at odds over claim that alfred the greats. Asser s life of king alfred follows alfred s 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 alfred s death. On the authenticity of asser s life of king alfred king alfred the great. There is a suspicion that much of asser s research was written by the clerics later in history. By the welsh monk asser, who was bishop of sherborne, and possessed the monastery at exeter. During this period, bishop asser gave alfred the unique title of secundarius, which may indicate a position similar to the celtic tanist, a recognised successor closely.
Download and read online for free assers li fe of king alfred by cook, albert s. It explains that there was a relationship between wessex and the carolingian culture king alfred s grandfather, egbert, was an exile in charlmagnes court and asser was also a follower of the frankish historian einhard the one. For historical events, it draws largely on the anglosaxon chronicle. In the first paragraph, asser notes that alfred was born in 849 at the royal estate named wantage within the berkshire district. 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. Type book authors john asser, simon keynes, michael lapidge, asser date 1983 publisher penguin pub place harmondsworth volume penguin classics isbn10 0140444092.
He differed from all other kings in leaving writings of his own. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library. In 886, eager to learn latin, alfred summoned asser, who had acquired some reputation for learning, to his court in. The manuscript survived to modern times in only one copy, which was part of the cotton. Abbot alfred s anglosaxon annals appear army ashdown asser athelney athelstan attack battle beorhtric birth of king bishop brother burhred called carloman character charles christians chronicle s. 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. Along with assers biography of king alfred and an incredibly extensive amount of footnotes there are also translations of religious and philosophical books. In the year of our lords incarnation 867, which was the nineteenth of the life of the aforesaid king alfred, the army of pagans before mentioned removed from the eastangles to the city of york, which is situated on the north.
Some contemporary sources have a few references to. A tremendous tribute to the life of king alfred and his many achievements despite a life long battle with his health. This essay examines the practices and policies of his rule which left a lasting impact in. Asser was a welsh monk who accepted a position in the court of king alfred around 886. After spending a year at caerwent because of illness, a.
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. Asser s life of king alfred is the first biography of an anglosaxon king that historians know of, but we know little about asser. Our understanding of the literary achievements of king alfred depend very much. 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 precious document, notwithstanding all its faults, for the comprehension of his life and character. 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. 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. In the year of our lords incarnation 849, was born alfred, king of the anglosaxons, at the royal village of wantage in. Asser s 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. This chapter explores asser s historical work called the life of king alfred and looks at its link to the carolingan tradition of historiography. Assers life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings. The literary contributions of king alfred the great. Ina went to rome, and there ending this life honourably, entered the heavenly kingdom, to reign there for. He has at last given 11 a trustworthy text of bishop assers life of king alfred,a life which, if con temporary, is of the first importance as a source of history in an age otherwise illuminated only by the oldenglish chronicle and a few charters, preserved in much later chartularies of a more or less suspicious nature. Asser, welsh monk, chiefly remembered as the friend, teacher, counsellor, and biographer of alfred the great.
Along with asser s biography of king alfred and an incredibly extensive amount of footnotes there are also translations of religious and philosophical books. 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. Ingild, and ina, the famous king of the westsaxons, were two brothers. Summary asser s life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings.
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