Food for Thought

Week 3 (September 9-15)

Asser's Life of Alfred (ca. 890)

As you read Asser's Life of Alfred, try to keep the big picture in mind. Look for patterns. The details possess importance only insofar as they form part of such a larger pattern. Below, you'll find some useful information that might help you understand this piece better:

• Asser describes Alfred's illness in only a vague way. Historians agree the first one was hemorrhoids (yes, historians get paid to figure these things out). The second one has inspired much speculation, but several historians think it was Crohn's disease, a chronic illness with symptoms similar to colitis.
• A clear rendition of Wessex's succession might help you out a bit. Ethelwulf was the father of (in order of age) Ethelbald, Ethelbert, Ethelred, and Alfred.
  • When Ethelwulf went away to Rome, Ethelbald, the eldest son, attempted to seize the throne. He failed, but obtained the western half (and more preferable part) of Wessex.
  • Upon Ethelwulf's death, his will maintained this division of Wessex, with the eastern half going to Ethelbert, the next eldest son. At the same time, big, bad Ethelbald, married his stepmother-Ethelwulf's second wife, Judith.
  • Ethelbald died in 860. Ethelbert, who already controlled the eastern half of Wessex (Kent, Surrey, and Sussex), joined this portion to the western half of Wessex.
  • Ethelbert died in 865. He was succeeded by Ethelred.
  • Ethelred died in 871 of wounds sustained in battle against the Danes. He was succeeded by Alfred.
• When Ethelred died, he had two young sons, Ethelheld and Ethelwold. If the Anglo-Saxons had determined the matter strictly by inheritance, Ethelheld would have obtained the throne. Why didn't he? By the time Asser wrote his Life, Ethelheld was in his twenties. Why do you think Asser said nothing about Ethelred's sons?

  1) What purpose do you think Asser hoped this text would serve? What basic philosophy seems to guide Asser's history? In other words, why do things happen the way they do? Look at Asser's description of the following incidents: Ethelwulf's will; Alfred's illnesses; and Alfred's humiliation at Athelney. Why does Asser cover them in the way he does?

  2) Why does Asser spend so much time recounting Alfred's ancestry?

  3) How does Asser portray women? From what he writes, how do you think Anglo-Saxon society viewed women?

  4) How did the Anglo-Saxons (or Wessex, at least) determine succession? How did they choose their leaders? What factors guided their decision?

  5) In what light did Alfred, Asser, and most Anglo-Saxons see their war against the Danes? What were the Anglo-Saxons fighting for and against? What did the Danes represent?

  6) Why did Alfred place such a high premium on education?

  7) Why does Asser think Alfred was a good king? What did Alfred do that was praiseworthy?

King Athelstan's Laws (ca. 930)

1) In Athelstan's time, what was the law? What made law legitimate? In what ways would a king find written law a convenient means of exercising authority? In what ways would he find it a restraint on his power?

2) Why do so many transactions require witnesses?

3) Why is the church responsible for dealing with people who have given false oaths? Why does giving a false oath carry such a large penalty?

4) In the most general sense, what seems to be the overall concern of this law code? What does it seek to preserve? Specifically, what does it hope to accomplish socially?

5) Who executed the law? How strong was the Anglo-Saxon state?

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