Alfred the Great and Anglo-Saxon England
Alfred the Great and Anglo-Saxon England:
9th century
- Alfred the Great
- Like many other historical figures, has “founding father” myths of being a gifted poet and ordained by the Church.
- Youngest son of King Aelthelwulf of Wessex
- All of Alfred’s older brothers die before the age of 30, Alfred becomes King of Wessex
- Conflict with Vikings
- 865- Vikings invaded
- Ivar the Boneless is their fearsome leader
- Alfred’s army is destroyed causing Alfred to retreat to Somerset
- Alfred lives in exile and under the guise of a commoner for several years
- Myth of burning cakes
- Whether the myth is true or not, Alfred’s humility is shown
- Battle of Edington, 878
- Alfred’s army rallies and defeats the Vikings
- 2 major agreements as a result of the Viking defeat
- Danish king and all of his followers will be baptized
- Danelaw-the Danes/ Vikings live in an area Northeast of Wessex
- Changes to Anglo- Saxon culture after Viking defeat:
- Language (Danish/Scandinavian mingles with Anglo-Saxon)
- Cultural intermingling
- Alfred’s Reign:
- Focus on defense
- When a civilization doesn’t have to worry about constant invasion they are able to have stability, goodwill, and prosperity
- Alfred was educated, he knew both Latin and Anglo-Saxon (the language of the people)
- “Dom boc” or Doom book- codified English law so that uniform application and enforcement of the law occurred throughout the region.
- Supported the Church- monasteries were built. Monks educated nobles and other monks to transcribe books thereby also promoting education.
- Re-established London as a city, which goes on to become the cultural epicenter of England and the British Empire.
- Norman Invasion
- Harold Bluetooth, a Danish/Viking king, successfully infiltrates Normandy with his forces
- He has a variety of cultures under his rule
- Over the next 200 years, the Norman and Viking cultures become indistinguishable.
- Battle of Hastings, 1066
- 2 noblemen believed they had the right to the throne of England when the king died without an heir
- William, duke of Normandy, sailed across the English Channel to wage war on Harold
- William conquers Anglo-Saxon England
- Repercussions:
- the cultures of Anglo-Saxon England, Scandinavian/Viking, Germanic, and French are now combined
- English culture and language will take on Francophone characteristics and will no longer be connected to the Scandinavian world
- Long Term Results:
- Language- Anglo-Saxon/ Old English becomes French influenced
- Kings of England are vassals to Norman France- French becomes the language of British nobility
- Dynastic struggle between kings of England and France, eventually a major contributing factor of the 100 years war