The medieval life of king alfred of wessex purports to be written by asser, a monk in the kings service. The story of king alfreds rule comes from the records in the anglosaxon chronicle. Asser s life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest medieval kings. Assers life of king alfred 1904 edition open library. 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. 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. Jun 01, 2019 open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. The medieval life of king alfred the great a translation. Ingild, and ina, the famous king of the westsaxons, were two brothers. 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. It was used in victorian times to create a cult of alfred. The net result has been to convince me that, although there may be no very definite proof that the work was written by bishop asser in the lifetime of king alfred.
On the authenticity of assers life of king alfred king alfred the great. He differed from all other kings in leaving writings of his own. There is, next in importance to assers life, the anglosaxon chronicle. The date is known from assers mention of the kings age in the text. Keynes, on the authenticity of assers life of king alfred, journal of. 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. The manuscript survived to modern times in only one copy, which was part of the cotton. The project gutenberg ebook of the life and times of alfred the. 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. In the first paragraph, asser notes that alfred was born in 849 at the royal estate named wantage. The life of king alfred asser, bishop of sherborne translated by dr. The subtitle assers life of king alfred and other contemporary sources is a great description of this book.
Asser was a welshman from st davids, who later became bishop of sherborne. Assers life of king alfred and other contemporary sources. 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. In 886, eager to learn latin, alfred summoned asser, who had acquired some reputation for learning, to his court in.
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. Lehman records4 that king alfred himself boldly traced his own ancestry via the scythians, to. Ina went to rome, and there ending this life honourably, entered the heavenly kingdom, to reign. Life of alfred the great by asser, bishop of sherborne. 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.
Asser, welsh monk, chiefly remembered as the friend, teacher, counsellor, and biographer of alfred the great. For historical events, it draws largely on the anglosaxon chronicle. Summary asser s life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings. Asser is most famous for his the life of king alfred, written in 893, which is one of the first biographies of a ruler in english history. And now, to return to that from which i digressed, lest i be compelled by my 1 there was a battle in frisia, about december, 884, and. 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. Giles introduction the life of alfred the great from ad 849 to ad 887. It is also the source of most of contemporary historians knowledge of alfred s life and rule. 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. 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. 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. It must be confessed that in many of the recent writings on king alfred we look for. Life of alfred the great audio book by asser, bishop of sherborne, translated by j. 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.
Asser s life of king alfred and other contemporary. 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. Alfred the great by asser, 9780140444094, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. The life of king alfred ebook by asser 9781420941760. Asser was a welsh monk who accepted a position in the court of king alfred around 886. On the authenticity of assers life of king alfred king. Alfred the great, assers life of king alfred and other. The book, alfred the great, contains an introduction that explains the details of alfred s life. In 893 asser wrote a biography of alfred, called the life of king alfred. After spending a year at caerwent because of illness, asser accepted. Full text of assers life of king alfred internet archive. A life of king alfred of england originally composed in latin, possibly sometime around 888 a. Alfred the great biography childhood, life achievements.
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. King 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. Publication date c1906 topics alfred, king of england, 849899 publisher. The genuine asser by dorothy whitelock it is no accident that we know more about king alfred than about any other anglosaxon king. Assers life of king alfred and other contemporary sources by asser. Alfred the great was the king of the southern anglosaxon kingdom of wessex from 871 to 899. Introduction translation of the life of king alfred. 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. In 893, asser wrote a biography of alfred entitled the life of king alfred. He traced his own genealogy all the way back to noah. Assers life of king alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings.
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