Part 15

[31] _King Alfred’s West-Saxon Version of Gregory’s Pastoral Care_, with an English translation, etc. By Henry Sweet, Esq., Balliol College, Oxford, 1871 and 1872. (Early English Text Society.)

[32] My excuse for using an obsolete word is that it is Alfred’s own, and I could not do without it. Moreover, I was fortified by the hope that some poet might adopt it and revive its transitival use.

[33] It is said that a critical edition, based upon the three manuscripts, is in preparation by Herr Hans Hecht.

[34] This bizarre composition was published by Dr. Krebs in _Anglia_, iii. (1880).

[35] Yet there is a later edition proceeding from the press, by Dr. Schipper, Professor of English at Vienna.

[36] A chapter from a work in preparation, reprinted here, with some omissions and alterations, from the _Law Quarterly Review_.

[37] There is more authority for this short form than for the fuller Witena-Gemót (not witenágemot as sometimes mispronounced by persons ignorant of Old-English inflexions).

[38] Such a court, after the Conquest, was that which restored and confirmed the rights of the see of Canterbury on Penenden Heath: but it was held under a very special writ from the king.

[39] The common form of reference in Domesday Book.

[40] _Æthelr._ ii. 9.

[41] There is a curious French variant of the cold-water ordeal in which not the accused person, but some bystander taken at random, is immersed: I do not know of any English example.

[42] The cold-water ordeal was apparently most feared; see the case of Ailward, _Materials for Hist. St. Thomas_, i. 156, ii. 172; Bigelow, _Plac. A.-N._ 260. For a full account, see Lea, _Superstition and Force_.

[43] See more in Neilson, _Trial by Combat_, an excellent and most interesting monograph.

[44] Cases from D. B. collected in Bigelow, _Plac. A.-N._ 40-44, 61. Even under Henry II. we find, in terms, such an offer, but it looks, in the light of the context, more like a rhetorical asseveration—in fact the modern “j’en mettrais ma main au feu”—than anything else: _op. cit._ 196.

[45] The so-called laws of Edward the Confessor, an antiquarian compilation of the twelfth century largely mixed with invention, do not even profess to be actual dooms of the Confessor, but the customs of his time collected by order of William the Conqueror.

[46] The modern forms of these words, _thane_ and _churl_, have passed through so much change of meaning and application that they cannot be safely used for historical purposes.

[47] There were minor distinctions between ranks of free men which are now obscure, and were probably no less obscure in the thirteenth century: they seem to have been disregarded very soon after the Conquest.

[48] Blackstone, _Com._ iv. 203.

[49] _Wite_ was probably, in its origin, rather a fee to the court for arranging the composition than a punishment. But it is treated as penal from the earliest period of written laws. In the tenth century it could mean pain or torment; see C. D. 1222 _ad fin._

[50] See the customs of Chester, D. B. i. 262 b, extracted in Stubbs, _Sel. Ch._

[51] Ælf. 36. The statement is rather obscure. One is tempted to suppose that an accident of that kind had happened to some well-known person at the king’s court.

[52] Ælf. 23.

[53] See Holmes, _The Common Law_, 7-12.

[54] See especially Edg. iv. 6-11.

[55] Ælf. 19.

[56] Ælf. 13.

[57] Maitland, _Domesday Book and Beyond_, 106.

[58] Ælf. 43.

[59] See C. D. 226 compared with 256.

[60] A strictly accurate statement in few words is hardly possible. See the section “Book-land and Folk-land” in Maitland, _Domesday Book and Beyond_, p. 244 _sqq._

INDEX

Æstel, the, 192, 195

Africa, description of, 164

Alfred regains his kingdom, 17, 18 as law-giver, 22-26 permanence of his work, 32 personal appearance of, 33 as king, 41 legendary and real, 42, 43 army, 45 accession to throne, 46, 133 visit to Rome, 58, 172 portrait of a king, 61, 62 writings of, 63, 64 life work, 66 mother of, 71 parentage, 71, 72 his youth, 76 as a musician, 81 his laborious life, 88-90 translations of books, 100-104 religious views, 107 will of, 110, 203 military tactics, 118 first campaign, 129 marriage, 129 campaigns against Hasting and the “Great Army,” 145-147 as a geographer, 151 selection of books for the people, 177-181 minor literary works, 199-202 as architect, writer, musician, 243

Anglo-Saxon dooms, 222 justice, 218 landholding, 234-239 life, 209 women, 7, 8

Anglo-Saxons, gods of, 3-5 manners and customs of, 7-10

Ashdown, battle of, 118

Basing, battle of, 133

Bede, literary works of, 180

Bede’s _History_, 198

_Benedictional_, 255

Boethius’s _Consolation of Philosophy_, 30, 178, 183 extract from Sedgefield edition, 185, 186

Britons of Cornwall and Wales, 58, 59

Burhs, 142

Candle-clocks, invention of, 91

Canute on pilgrimages to Rome, 74

Capital punishment, 228

Castles built by Alfred, 250

Church, Alfred’s relation to the, 63

_City of God_, Orosius’s, 177

Code of Alfred, 174-176

Courts of bishops and great men, 212

_Cura Pastoralis_, 179, 180 translation of, 187

Danes, Alfred’s feelings towards, 83 baptism of, 85 first appearance of, 11 second invasion of, 55 wars of, 15

Danish Conquest, 15 invasion, 46-50

_Dialogues_ of Gregory the Great, 180

Ealhswith, 129

Ecclesiastical Laws, 97-99

Eddington, battle of, 118

Edmund the Martyr, 130

Education of Alfred’s children, 87, 88 of children, Alfred’s views on, 188

Embassies to foreign parts, 95, 96

England in Alfred’s time, map of, 2

Ethelred, death of, 133

Ethelwulf’s will, 73

Europe, summary of inhabitants, 154-156

Final judgment in court, 220

Foreign discoveries, 59, 60

Fortification of towns, 141, 143

Gregory the Great, 179

Gregory’s treatise, 105

Guthrum, King of Danes, 50 treaty with, 55

Haddeby, 160

_Hierdebóc_, 187-192

Hyde Abbey, Register of, 110

Income, distribution of, 92

John the Scot, 108

Kingdom, settlement of, 54

King, portrait of, by Alfred, 61, 62

King’s peace, 228

Kriegs Spiel, 16

Laws, code of, compiled, 53

Learning, encouragement of, 60, 61 introduced, 90

Letter to bishops, 189-192

Life work of Alfred, 66

Literature fostered by Alfred, 29

London fortified, 19, 20 restoration of, 57

Map of Alfred’s England, 2

Manual, formation of Alfred’s, 94

Military tactics of Alfred, 118

Monasteries, foundation of, 93, 94 rebuilt, 26, 27

Monument to Alfred, reasons for, 36

Naval forces, state of, 123-125

Navy, development of, 135, 140 foundation of, 52

Oath, in court of law, 214-217

Oht-here, voyage of, 157-160

Orosius, Paulus, 152, 177

Payments for convenience, 225, 231

Peace of 878, 139

Pilgrimages to Rome, 75

Property law, 231, 232

Religion of the tribes, 3-5

Religious bequests by Alfred, 112

Rome, Alfred’s connection with, 28 communication with, 86

Slaves, freedom of, 113 of Anglo-Saxons, 223-225

St. Cuthbert, 15

St. Lawrence, Bradford-on-Avon, 248

State of English defences, 119-123

Stone masonry, 248

Thegnhood increased, 143, 144

Viking raids, 125-129, 135-139

Vikings, invasion of, 55

Voyages of Oht-here and Wulfstan, 157-160

Walls of London restored by Alfred, 245, 247

Wergild, payment of, 233

Will of Alfred, 110, 203 of Ethelwulf, 73

Witenagemot, 31, 32, 211

Women of Anglo-Saxons, 7, 8

Writings of Alfred, 63, 64

Wulfstan, voyage of, 160, 161

York, battle of, 128

_Printed by R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, Edinburgh._

THE THOUSANDTH ANNIVERSARY

OF

KING ALFRED THE GREAT

1901

King Alfred died (according to the accustomed authorities) in October 901 A.D., and it is proposed to hold in 1901, the Thousandth Anniversary of his Death, a NATIONAL COMMEMORATION of the King to whom this Empire owes so much in many various ways. The antiquity of the Monarchy still held by his descendants has no parallel in Europe, and the traditions which have gathered round his name are those of religion, learning, defence, seamanship, law, and culture. It is hoped that all who use our mother tongue will join, without distinction of creed, race, nation, or party, in honour to one who was both Hero and Saint.

Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen

has been pleased to signify her approval of the proposal.

It is decided that the City of Winchester, which was the Capital of Wessex, the Royal Residence and Burial Place of the King, shall occupy a prominent position in the celebration.

_The National Commemoration & Memorial._

At a Meeting convened by the Lord Mayor of London at the Mansion House on the 18th of March 1898, the LORD MAYOR in the Chair,

It was proposed by the BISHOP OF LONDON, seconded by the Rt. Hon. J. BRYCE, M.P., and unanimously resolved, that: “The Thousandth Anniversary of the Death of King Alfred, which occurs in October 1901, should be celebrated by a National Commemoration.”

Among the speakers at the Mansion House, when a National Memorial was also decided on, and the Committee appointed, were the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Winchester, Lord Wantage, Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., the Chief Rabbi, Dr. Clifford, Professor Burrows, Mr. Louis Dyer (representing the Chicago Historical Society), and several others.

The Committee appointed—

_Chairman_—The Right Hon. THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON. _Treasurer_—The Right Hon. Sir JOHN LUBBOCK, Bart., M.P. _Honorary Secretary_—Mr. ALFRED BOWKER (Mayor of Winchester, 1897-8). Their Worships the Mayors of Cities and Boroughs.

Lord Aberdare The Earl of Aberdeen, G.C.M.G. Lord Acton Lord Bishop of St. Albans Mr. Alderman and Sheriff Fred. P. Alliston Sir W. R. Anson, Bart. (Vice-Chancellor of Oxford) Sir Arthur Arnold Sir Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. The Lord Bishop of St. Asaph The Right Hon. Evelyn Ashley Lord Balcarres The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, M.P. (Chancellor Edinburgh University) Sir Squire Bancroft Mr. Godfrey Baring Lord Basing Lord Battersea Mr. W. W. B. Beach, M.P. Mr. W. à Beckett Mr. E. H. Beerbohm Tree The Lord Mayor of Belfast Rev. G. C. Bell (Headmaster Marlborough College) Canon Benham, F.S.A. Mr. E. F. Benson Sir Walter Besant The Lord Mayor of Birmingham Mr. Augustine Birrell, Q.C., M.P. Sir James Blyth, Bart. Mr. Albert Brassey, M.P. Lord Brassey Professor James W. Bright (Honorary Secretary to the United States Committee) The Lord Bishop of Bristol Sir H. W. Campbell (Chairman of London and South-Western Railway Company) Mr. Andrew Carnegie (New York) The Hon. D. Carnegie Mr. J. Bonham-Carter (High Sheriff of Hampshire) Mr. A. Bonham-Carter Rev. Stopford Brooke Mr. Oscar Browning (Cambridge) The Right Hon. J. Bryce, M.P. Sir Henry Burdett, K.C.B. Sir Philip Burne-Jones, Bart. Professor Montagu Burrows, M.A. (Chichele Professor of Modern History, Oxford) Sir Frederick Burton Dr. H. M. Butler (Cambridge) Lord Bishop of Calcutta Lord Calthorpe Archbishop of Canterbury The Dean of Canterbury Lord Bishop of Carlisle The Earl of Carlisle Mr. R. K. Causton, M.P. The Lord Chief Justice The Chief Rabbi (The Rev. Dr. Adler) Professor E. C. Clark (Regius Professor of Civil Law, Cambridge) Dr. John Clifford (Westbourne Park Baptist Chapel) The Master of the Clothworkers’ Company Mr. W. G. Clough, M.P. Mr. J. Colman Professor Albert S. Cook (Yale University, U.S.A.) The Master of the Coopers’ Company Viscount Cromer, G.C.B. Dr. Cunningham Mr. Lionel Cust (National Portrait Gallery) Col. Sir Horatio Davies, K.C.M.G., M.P. Mr. Dewar Professor Albert V. Dicey, Q.C. (Vinerian Professor of Law, Oxford) Viscount Dillon (President of the Royal Archæological Institute) Alderman Sir Joseph Dimsdale Dr. Conan Doyle The Master of the Drapers’ Company The Lord Mayor of Dublin Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, K.P. Lord Bishop of Durham The Dean of Durham Mr. Louis Dyer (Representing the Chicago Historical Society and other American Societies) Professor J. Earle (Oxford) The Lord Provost of Edinburgh Sir Whittaker Ellis, Bart. Mr. A. J. Evans (Ashmolean Museum) Sir John Evans, K.C.B. (Treasurer Royal Society) Sir Francis H. Evans, K.C.M.G., M.P. (Chairman of the Union Steamship Company) Mr. C. E. Fagan (British Museum) Dr. Fearon (the Headmaster of Winchester College) The Duke of Fife, K.T. Mr. J. Staats Forbes (Chairman of London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company) Mr. E. A. Onslow Ford, R.A. Professor M. Foster (Cambridge, President British Association) Mr. Lewis Fry, M.P. Professor Gayley (Representing the Universities of Berkeley and Michigan, U.S.A.) Professor S. R. Gardiner, D.C.L. Dr. R. Garnett (British Museum) The Right Hon. H. Gladstone, M.P. The Lord Provost of Glasgow Lord Glenesk Mr. E. L. Godkin The Right Hon. G. J. Goschen, M.P. (First Lord of the Admiralty) Mr. Edmund Gosse Sir Mountstuart E. Grant Duff, G.C.S.I. (President Royal Historical Society) Lord Grantley Mr. Alderman Frank Green Sir E. Grey, M.P. The Lord Bishop of Guildford The Right Hon. W. C. Gully, M.P. (Speaker of the House of Commons) Sir Francis Seymour Haden, F.R.C.S. (President Royal Society of Painter Etchers) Mr. Rider Haggard Professor Hales, F.S.A. Mr. W. Hamilton Yatman The Right Hon. Sir William Harcourt, Bart., M.P. Mr. Thomas Hardy Mr. G. W. Harper Mr. Frederic Harrison Sir F. Dixon Hartland, Bart., M.P. Lord Hawkesbury Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins Admiral Sir J. C. Dalrymple Hay, Bart., K.C.B. The Hon. J. S. Hay (Secretary of State, America) Mr. J. K. J. Hichens (Chairman of the Stock Exchange) Mr. Hubert Herkomer, R.A. Dr. Alexander Hill (Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge) Rev. Hugh Price Hughes Sir Robert Hunter Sir Henry Irving Mr. T. H. Ismay Lord Iveagh, K.P. Professor R. C. Jebb, M.P. (Cambridge) The Earl of Jersey, G.C.M.G. The Right Hon. Sir F. H. Jeune, K.C.B. (President Probate Division) Field-Marshal Lord Roberts of Kandahar, K.P., G.C.B. Mr. A. Barton Kent (The Skinners’ Company) Mr. Rudyard Kipling Mr. H. L. W. Lawson, L.C.C. The Lord Mayor of Leeds Mr. G. D. Leslie, R.A. Lord Bishop of Lichfield Sir J. D. Linton (President Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours) Lord Lister (President Royal Society) The Lord Mayor of Liverpool Lord Llangattock Lord Loch, G.C.B., K.C.B. Professor R. Lodge (Glasgow University) The Lord Bishop of London The Marquess of Lorne, K.T. Mr. Albert G. Sandeman (President of the London Chamber of Commerce) The Right Hon. Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P. Sir A. C. Lyall Rev. Edward Lyttelton, M.A. (Headmaster of Haileybury College) Mr. G. Macmillan Dr. J. R. Magrath (Oxford) Professor F. W. Maitland (Cambridge) The Lord Mayor of Manchester Sir C. R. Markham, K.C.B. (President Royal Geographical Society) Mr. Justin M’Carthy, M.P. Lord Monkswell Lord Morpeth Sir Lewis Morris Mr. Walter Morrison, M.P. The Right Hon. Sir J. R. Mowbray, Bart., M.P. Mr. John Murray Mr. W. H. Myers, M.P. The Lord Bishop of Oxford The Warden of Merton College (Oxford) Professor Napier (Oxford) Lord Bishop of Newcastle Mr. William Nicholson Dr. Joseph Parker (City Temple) Sir Walter Parratt Mr. Passmore Edwards The Dean of St. Paul’s Mr. C. Arthur Pearson Viscount Peel Mr. E. H. Pember, Q.C. Lord Bishop of Peterborough The Earl of Pembroke, G.C.V.O. The Master of the Pewterers’ Company The Poet Laureate Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart. (Corpus Professor of Jurisprudence, Oxford) Rev. B. Pollock, M.A. (Headmaster of Wellington College) Mr. Melville Portal Mr. Wyndham S. Portal (Ex-Chairman of London and South-Western Railway Company) Mr. W. W. Portal The Bishop of Portsmouth The Earl of Portsmouth Sir E. J. Poynter (President Royal Academy) Professor York Powell (Regius Professor of Modern History, Oxford) Captain E. G. Pretyman, M.P. Mr. Sheriff Clifford Probyn Professor G. W. Prothero (Edinburgh University) Sir James H. Ramsay, Bart. Canon Rawnsley Lord Reay, G.C.S.I. (Chairman of London School Board) Sir Wemyss Reid Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B., R.A. Marquess of Ripon, K.G., G.C.S.I. Mr. Briton Riviere, R.A. Sir J. R. Robinson Lord Bishop of Rochester Lord Rothschild Mr. John Ruskin Sir Richard Rycroft, Bart. The Marquess of Salisbury, K.G. The Earl of Sandwich The Earl of Scarborough Sir Samuel Scott, Bart. Mr. W. J. Sedgefield (Cambridge) The Earl of Selborne Rev. E. C. Selwyn, M.A. (Headmaster of Uppingham School) The Right Hon. G. Shaw Lefevre, L.C.C. The Lord Mayor of Sheffield Mr. T. W. Shore, F.G.S. Professor W. W. Skeat (Cambridge) Professor H. Sidgwick (Cambridge) Mr. W. B. Simonds Hon. W. F. D. Smith, M.P. Mr. Henry Sotheran Mr. W. J. Soulsby, C.B. The President of the Southampton Chamber of Commerce Lord Bishop of Southwell Lord Stalbridge (Chairman of London and North-Western Railway Company) Lord Stanmore Mr. Leslie Stephen Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal Sir Arthur Sullivan His Excellency the U.S. Ambassador The Right Hon. J. G. Talbot, M.P. The Master of the Temple (Rev. Canon Ainger) Lord Tennyson Mr. William L. Thomas Sir E. Maunde Thomson, K.C.B. (British Museum) Lord Bishop of Truro Viscount Valentia, M.P. Cardinal Vaughan Lord Bishop of Wakefield Sir Spencer Walpole, K.C.B. Lord Wantage, V.C. Rev. Edmund Warre, D.D. (Headmaster of Eton College) Mr. Ernest A. Waterlow (President Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours) Sir Richard E. Webster, G.C.M.G., M.P. Lord Welby, G.C.B. The Duke of Wellington Mr. Julius Wernher Rev. F. B. Westcott, M.A. (Headmaster of Sherborne School) The Duke of Westminster The Dean of Westminster The Lord Bishop of Winchester The Dean of Winchester The Dean of Windsor Field-Marshal Viscount Wolseley, K.P. Dr. J. Wood (Headmaster of Harrow School) Sir H. T. Wood (Secretary Society of Arts) The Archbishop of York

The Executive Committee.

_Chairman_—The Right Hon. THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON _Treasurer_—The Right Hon. Sir J. LUBBOCK, Bart., M.P.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Carlisle Mr. R. K. Causton, M.P. The Right Hon. the Lord Lister The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Winchester The President of the Royal Academy The Right Hon. J. Bryce, M.P. His Excellency the Ambassador of the United States Sir Walter Besant Mr. Frederic Harrison The Right Hon. G. Shaw Lefevre, L.C.C. The President of the Royal Geographical Society Mr. Walter Morrison, M.P. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart. Sir E. Maunde Thompson, K.C.B. The President of the London Chamber of Commerce The Rt. Worshipful the Mayor of Winchester Sir Arthur Arnold Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B., R.A. Lord Edmund Fitzmaurice, M.P. The Chairman of the Committee of the London Stock Exchange Mr. William Wyndham Portal The Honourable the Warden of Merton College, Oxford Mr. Alfred Bowker, _Honorary Secretary_

At a Meeting of the General Committee at the Mansion House, held on the 3rd November 1898, it was unanimously resolved:—

“That the National Memorial decided on at the Mansion House Meeting of March 18th shall be at Winchester, and consist of a Statue of King Alfred, together with a Hall to be used as a Museum of Early English History.”

The Site considered most appropriate for the Statue has been given by the unanimous vote of the Corporation of Winchester for that purpose.

The Executive Committee have under consideration the expediency of holding an exhibition of objects pertaining to the Alfred period, in London, during the anniversary year.

Several other suggested means of Commemoration are before the Committee, and receiving their consideration, including a Military Review, Naval Display, Historic Pageant, and a Meeting of Learned Societies.

It is proposed that the Government be approached with a view to obtaining their co-operation in the Commemoration, on which the execution of some of the suggestions before the Committee obviously depend.

It is estimated that £30,000 will be required in order to provide a Memorial worthy of the nation and to cover incidental expenses. It is hoped that the Memorial will be completed by the time of Commemoration, so that Funds are now needed that the work may be undertaken forthwith.

Subscriptions are invited (payment of sums of £25 and upwards may be spread over two years), and may be forwarded either to The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of London, the Mansion House, The Right Hon. Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., care of Messrs. Robarts, Lubbock, and Co., 15 Lombard Street, London, or will be received by any of the following Banks:—The Bank of England; Messrs. Barclay and Co.; Brown, Janson, and Co.; Capital and Counties; Coutts and Co.; Cox and Co.; Glyn, Mills, and Currie; Lloyds; London and County; London and Provincial; London and South-Western; London and Westminster; London Joint Stock; National Provincial; Parrs; Prescott and Co.; Smith, Payne, and Smith; Stillwell and Sons; or may be forwarded to the Honorary Secretary, Guildhall, Winchester, to whom all communications should be addressed.

BY SIR WALTER BESANT

THE SURVEY OF LONDON