John Asser

“ Thus his bishops, earls, nobles, favorite thanes, and prefects, who, next to God and the king, had the whole government of the kingdom, as was fitting, continually received from him instruction, compliment, exhortation, and command; nay, at last, if they were disobedient, and his long patience was exhausted, he would reprove them severely, and censure in every way their vulgar folly and obstinacy; and thus he wisely gained and bound them to his own wishes and the common interests of the whole kingdom. ”

“ This was the case because for many years previous the love of a monastic life had utterly decayed in that as well as in many other nations; for, though many monasteries still remain in that country, yet no one kept the rule of that kind of life in an orderly way, whether because of 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. On this account it was that King Alfred sought to gather monks of different kinds in the same monastery. ”

“ Alfred judges the Poor with Equity.285—When all these things were properly arranged, the king, eager to hold to the half of his daily service, as he had vowed to God, 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 was ever wonderfully attentive. For in the whole kingdom the poor, besides him, had few or no helpers ”

“ And again, the seventh week after Easter, he rode to Egbert’s Stone,125 which is in the eastern part of Selwood Forest (in Latin ‘Great Forest,’ and in Welsh Coit Maur) . Here he was met by all the neighboring folk of Somersetshire and Wiltshire, and such of Hampshire as had not sailed beyond sea for fear of the heathen; and when they saw the king restored alive, as it were, after such great tribulation, they were filled, as was meet, with immeasurable joy, and encamped there for one night. ”

“ But he, being ever a man of keen mind, and, as I have heard say, not unacquainted with the art of fighting, if he had not been proficient in better lore, no sooner heard the noise of the robbers, even before he saw them, than he rose up against them before he was wounded, and, shouting at the top of his voice, struggled against them with all his might, crying out that they were devils and not men—and indeed he knew no better, as he thought that no men would dare to attempt such a deed. ”

“ But as love has no perception of loss, nor faith of injury, and no remoteness of regions can part those whom the tie of unfeigned affection joins together, we have most willingly assented to your request—for to you we76 have no power to refuse anything—nor do we grudge him to you, whose advantage we rejoice in as much as if it were our own, and whose profit we count as ours: for we know that in every place one only God is served, and that the Catholic and Apostolic Church is one, whether it be at Rome or in the parts beyond the sea. ”

“ Edward and Ælfthryth were always bred up in the king’s court, and received great attention from their tutors and nurses; nay, they continue to this day, with much love from every one, to show humbleness, affability, and gentleness towards all, both natives and foreigners, while remaining in complete subjection to their father. Nor, among the other pursuits which appertain to this life and are fit for noble youths, are they suffered to pass their time idly and unprofitably without liberal training ”

“ But if, 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, because they were not carried through, did not redound to the advantage of those who put them in execution—take as an example the fortresses which he ordered, but which are not yet begun or, begun late, have not yet been completely finished—when hostile forces have made invasions by sea, or land, or both, then those who had set themselves against the imperial orders have been put to shame and overwhelmed with vain repentance. ”

“ But if any one, from old age or the sluggishness of an untrained mind, was unable to make progress in literary studies, he would order his son, if he had one, or one of his kinsmen, or, if he had no one else, his own freedman or servant, whom he had long before advanced to the office of reading, to read Saxon books before him night and day, whenever he had any leisure. ”

“ His brother Æthelbert, as was right, added Kent, Surrey, and Sussex to his realm. In his days a great army of heathen came from the sea, and attacked and laid waste the city of Winchester. As they were returning laden with booty to their ships, Osric, Ealdorman of Hampshire, with his men, and Ealdorman Æthelwulf, with the men of Berkshire, faced them bravely. Battle was then joined in the town, and the heathen were slain on every side; and finding themselves unable to resist, they took to flight like women, and the Christians held the battle-field. ”

“ And Æthelwulf, King of the Saxons, and his son Æthelbald, with the whole army, fought a long time against them at a place called Aclea,15 that is, ‘Oak-plain’; there, after a lengthy battle, which was fought with much bravery on both sides, the most part of the heathen horde was utterly destroyed and slain, so that we never heard of their being so smitten, either before or since, in any region, in one day16; and the Christians gained an honorable victory, and kept possession of the battle-field. ”

“ Of which number you specially demand one from us, namely, Grimbald, priest and monk, to be sent for this office, and to preside over the government of the pastoral charge. To whom the whole Church, which hath nourished him, gives her testimony from his childhood, with true faith and holy religion, and which hath advanced him by regular steps, according to ecclesiastical custom, to the dignity of the priesthood. We affirm openly that he is most deserving of the honor of the episcopate, and that he is fit to teach others also. ”

“ When both armies had fought bravely and fiercely for a long while, the heathen, being unable by God’s decree longer to endure the onset of the Christians, the larger part of their force being slain, betook themselves to shameful flight. ”

“ The Danes fight with the Franks.—In the year of our Lord’s incarnation 881, which was the thirty-third of King Alfred’s life, the army went further on into Frankland, and the Franks fought against them; and after the battle the heathen, obtaining horses, became an army of cavalry. ”

“ They counted happy the youth of the present day, who could be delightfully instructed in the liberal arts, while they considered themselves wretched in that they had neither learned these things in their youth, nor, now they were old, were able to do so. ”

“ When I remembered how the knowledge of Latin had formerly decayed throughout England, and yet many could read English writing, I began, among other various and manifold troubles of this71 kingdom, to translate into English the book which is called in Latin Pastoralis, and in English Shepherd’s Book, sometimes word by word, and sometimes according to the sense, as I had learned it from Plegmund my archbishop, and Asser my bishop, and Grimbald my mass-priest, and John my mass-priest. ”

“ Night and day, whenever he had any leisure, he commanded such men as these to read books to him—for he never suffered himself to be without one of them—so that he came to possess a knowledge of almost every book, though of himself he could not yet understand anything of books, since he had not yet learned to read anything. ”

“ Æthelward, the youngest, by the divine counsel and by the admirable foresight of the king, was intrusted to the schools of literary training, where, with the children of almost all the nobility of the country, and many also who were not noble, he was under the diligent care of the teachers. Books in both languages, namely, Latin and Saxon, were diligently read in the school.171 They also learned to write; so that before they38 were of an age to practise human arts, namely, hunting and other pursuits which befit noblemen, they became studious and clever in the liberal arts. ”

“ No one there knew, nor even those who daily see him up to the present time—and this, sad to say, is the worst of all, that it should have continued uninterruptedly through the revolutions of so many years, from the twentieth to the fortieth year of his life and more—whence such a malady arose. Many thought that it was occasioned by the favor and fascination of the people who surrounded him; others, by some spite of the devil, who is ever jealous of good men ”

“ I speak of vain repentance on the authority of Scripture, whereby numberless persons have had cause for sorrow when they have been smitten by great harm through the perpetration of deceit. But though by this means, sad to say, they may be bitterly afflicted, and roused to grief by the loss of fathers, wives, children, thanes, man servants, maid servants, products, and all their household stuff,54 what is the use of hateful repentance when their kinsmen are dead, and they cannot aid them, or redeem from dire captivity those who are captive? ”

“ For to prevent this irremediable danger to Wessex of a war between father and son, or rather of the whole nation waging civil war more fiercely and cruelly from day to day, as they espoused the cause of the one or the other,—by the extraordinary clemency of the father, seconded by the consent of all the nobles, the kingdom which had hitherto been undivided was parted between the two, the eastern districts being given to the father, and the western to the son. ”

“ These four King Alfred had called to him from Mercia, and he exalted them with many honors and powers in the kingdom of the West Saxons, not to speak of those which Archbishop Plegmund and Bishop Werfrith had in Mercia. By the teaching and wisdom of all these the king’s desire increased continually, and was gratified. ”

“ Wherefore we implore the divine mercy with unwearied prayers that He who hath moved and warmed your heart to this73 would give effect to your wishes, by replenishing your desire with good things, that in your days both peace may be multiplied to your kingdom and people, and that ecclesiastical order, which as you say hath been disturbed in many ways, either by the continued irruptions and attacks of the pagans, or by lapse of years, or by the negligence of prelates, or by the ignorance of subjects, may by your diligence and industry be speedily reëstablished, exalted, and diffused. ”

“ His name was Offa, and it was he who had the great dike made from sea to sea between Wales and Mercia.35 His daughter, named Eadburh, was married to Beorhtric, King of the West Saxons. The moment she had possessed herself of the king’s good will, and practically the whole power of the realm, she began to9 live tyrannically, after the manner of her father. Every man whom Beorhtric loved she would execrate, and would do all things hateful to God and man, accusing to the king all whom she could, thus depriving them insidiously either of life or of power. ”

“ The Danes at Nottingham.71—In that same year the above-named army of heathen, leaving Northumbria, invaded Mercia, and advanced to Nottingham, which is called in Welsh Tigguocobauc,72 but in Latin ‘The House of Caves,’18 and wintered there that same year. Immediately on their approach, Burgred, King of the Mercians, and all the nobles of that nation, sent messengers to Æthelred,73 King of the West Saxons, and his brother Alfred, entreating them to come and aid them in fighting against the aforesaid army. ”

“ For they so wrought upon two hired servants of the same Gallic race 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 there, and wait till the abbot should enter the church alone. ”

“ Their request was readily granted; for the brothers, as soon as promised, assembled an immense army from every part of their , and, entering Mercia, came to Nottingham, all eager for battle. When now the heathen, defended by the castle, refused to fight, and the Christians were unable to destroy the wall, peace was made between the Mercians and the heathen, and the two brothers, Æthelred and Alfred, returned home with their troops. ”

“ Thus where the father ought by just right to have reigned, there did his unjust and obstinate son bear rule; for the western part of Wessex is always superior to the eastern.
13. Judith’s Position in Wessex.31—When Æthelwulf, therefore, returned from Rome, the whole nation, as was fitting, so rejoiced32 in the arrival of the ruler that, if he had allowed them, they would have expelled his unruly son Æthelbald, with all his counselors, from the kingdom. But he, as I have said, acting with great clemency and prudent counsel, would not act in this way, lest the kingdom should be exposed to peril. ”

“ Grimbald and John, the Old Saxon.192—But since the king’s commendable avarice could not be gratified even in this, he sent messengers beyond sea to Gaul, to procure teachers, and invited from thence Grimbald,193 priest and monk, a venerable man and excellent singer, learned in every kind of ecclesiastical discipline and in holy Scripture, and adorned with all virtues. ”

“ A Crime committed at Athelney.254—There was a crime committed once in that monastery, which I would ,255 by my silence, utterly consign to oblivion, although it is an atrocious villainy, for throughout the whole of Scripture56 the base deeds of the wicked are interspersed among the reverend actions of the righteous, like tares and cockle among the wheat. Good deeds are recorded that they may be praised, imitated, and emulated, and that those who pursue them may be held worthy of all honor ”

“ But77 should this happen, it will be your duty then to make special provision against this, and by all means to discourage by your royal censure all such persons, if they should chance to show themselves, and check barbaric rudeness by the curb of your authority; and it will be his duty always to consult for the salvation of the people committed to his pastoral skill, and rather to draw all men after him by love than to drive them by fear. ”