Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources (Penguin Classics)

I am finding this really interesting. It has a very good introduction which puts everything into context. Better than anything else I have found about this period of British history.

Seems to be the greatest source of history for Alfred the great and the dawn of Britain as we know it. Shame the originals don't still exist.

This book is a valuable and fascinating resource shedding light on the life and career on King Alfred of Wessex, who became known (in my opinion deservedly so) in later centuries as ‘The Great’. In the simplest level the main body of the book is simple an account of Alfred’s reign, written by the Welsh monk, Asser. Admittedly, his work was bound to be partisan and designed to make Alfred look good, and the cynical may claim that this renders in unreliable. Yet there may be found insights into the source of Alfred’s greatness. More than simply a warlord fighting against the Vikings, Alfred took steps to restore learning and education. The learning and application of wisdom’ seems to have been a subject close to Alfred’s heart, and though he himself did not learn to read until his later years, he seems to have established a school of sorts. Since the decline of the learning in England is lamented in the preface to the translation of Gregory’s Pastoral Care, this particular foundation may have been considered particularly important. The ‘other contemporary sources’ mentioned in the title include extracts from some of Alfred’s own translations’ of important works, including Boethius Consolation of Philosophy. There are some profound thoughts here, on life, leadership, philosophy and religion. ‘Wisdom is the highest virtue’ says Alfred’s translation of the work ‘one is caution, the second moderation the third courage and the fourth justice’. The King did take some liberties with his ‘translations’ sometimes inserting ideas of his own (one passage in the Boethius translation hints at the idea of the ‘three estates’ for instance. Some may challenge the notion that medieval religion was based on ‘blind faith’ with not room for rational inquiry “Therefore we must investigate God with all out might, so that we might know what He is. Although it is not within our capacity to know what He is like, we ought nevertheless to inquire with the intellectual capacity which he gives us” Or as in a passage from Augustine ‘He rules the Kings who have the greatest dominion on this earth, who are born and die like other men. He permits then to rule as long as He wills it’. Another translation reveals perhaps something of Alfred’s concerns, priorities and interests. Pastoral Care written by the seventh century Pope Gregory contains several short ‘chapters’, entitled respectively ‘Concerning the Burden of Government, and how the ruler must despise all hardships and must recoil from all sense or security’ and ‘How the administration of Government often distracts the mind of the ruler’. The latter warns against a ruler may becoming ‘puffed up’ by his achievements and his people’s praising of them. The preface speaks of how rulers of old ‘obeyed God and his messages’ and maintained not only peace but ‘morality and authority’ and home and in the places to which they extended their power, and ‘succeeded both in warfare and in wisdom’. Perhaps these were idealistic and naive expectations, rarely met, if indeed it was possible to do so. Yet it may be tempting to think they could be relevant to any age. Alongside translations, there are extracts from the King’s laws, in his capacity as a lawgiver, and even a mention in the main Life of his having possibly developed a more efficient way of measuring time. The Life of Alfred and other Contemporary Sources is a great start for learning of Alfred, and perhaps even understanding him in spite of the separation of over a millennium. Those interested in more academic analysis could of course read more, not that it is entirely lacking here. The notes are quite extensive. The two editors cum translators are also Cambridge scholars, who both worked on The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo Saxon England. Thus they are not historians out of their depth in an unfamiliar period, or enthusiastic laymen, but scholars who know their stuff, yet succeed in making it accessible- at least in my opinion.

Loved it.

ALFRED THE GREAT: ASSER'S LIFE OF KING ALFRED AND OTHER CONTEMPORARY... WAS A VERY ENJOYABLE READ. THIS AND AN ANGLO SAXON ENCYCLOPAEDIA WAS MY STARTING POINT FOR UNDERSTANDING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF KING ALFRED.

happy as received

Fascinating read. Most informative.

I liked that this volume included a variety of texts and good notes. Helpful for getting a picture of late 9th century life and thinking

Used it for teaching my lecture on Anglo Saxon customary law but loved it for all the complementary text besides Asser’s biography. A complete reader with Anglo Saxon chronicles, Alfred’s will, and more

I’ve recently read a couple of fiction books (as well as binge-watched “The Last Kingdom” on Netflix), so I reasoned it was time to find out the actual story concerning the English king that people kept writing about. I am happy that my search caused me to find this book. The subtitle “Asser’s Life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources” is a great description of this book. Along with Asser’s biography of King Alfred (and an incredibly extensive amount of footnotes) there are also translations of religious and philosophical books. All of them – for different reasons – serve to add another layer of information about King Alfred, and the author shares a wealth of knowledge with the readers. While interesting, it is not what I would call a historical page-turner. Don’t count on reading this in one or two sittings. Do count on an interesting picture of a historical figure who lived over 1000 years ago (written history by a contemporary from that long ago was enough to convince me to read the book). Very professional presentation. Five stars.

Interesting read

The book, written many centuries ago, is, against my expectations, very good to read and it is very interesting!

Re Alfredo è stato, da sempre, uno dei miei modelli:guerriero,innamorato della cultura, uomo di fede ma anche d'azione.Mi mancavano alcuni documenti contemporanei, come la "Vita" scritta da Asser e i testi redatti da Alfredo stesso, e nel libro li ho trovati.Tanto di cappello ad un uomo che( nel 9°secolo!),obbliga i suoi contemporanei ad imparare a leggere e scrivere perché la cultura aiuta a migliorarsi e poter coltivare così la giustizia!