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Assess the view that the most significant achievement of Alfred’s reign was the cultural and educational revival that he inspired.
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Assess the view that the most significant achievement of Alfred’sreign was the cultural and educational revival that he inspired.
On any view, Alfred’s reign is regarded as a ‘crucial turning point’ 1 in British history. The
popular view of Alfred focuses on his military achievements in the face of repeated Viking
invasions. However, the cultural and educational revival that he inspired has an increasingly
strong claim to be seen as his most significant achievement. Historians such as Stenton argue
for the former on the basis that Wessex faced an existential threat from the Vikings in the
early part of Alfred’s reign. Whereas more modern interpretations, such as those of Abels and
Keynes and Lapidge prioritise the value of this revival, notably in its laying the foundations
for a unified Christian state. Alfred’s encouragement of education, his religious reforms, his
development of law and justice and his building of fortified settlements all contributed to the
creation of a form of Anglo-Saxon nationalism, unifying the Saxons under the banner of
Christianity in preparation for the return of the Vikings. These efforts by Alfred can be seen
as a revival, bringing back to life the culture and education of an earlier time. Comparing the
relative significance of Alfred’s military and cultural achievements is inherently problematic,
since they are so different in nature, but an assessment can be made by considering all of the
available sources and making judgements as to the consequences of Alfred’s different
achievements. In summary, it will be seen that, despite the ever-present threat of the Danes
when Alfred came to throne in 871, his reforms in the aftermath of victory at Edington are
what truly made his reign remarkable, and in turn, significant.
Alfred’s scheme for the promotion of learning can be seen as a revival of the ideas of an
undefined era of past justice in the Anglican isles, and similarly in the era of Charlemagne.
The latter rose to the role of Emperor of the Romans, while simultaneously ruling over the
Lombards and Franks. His influence on Alfred is natural to consider, as Alfred visited Rome
twice as a youth and undoubtedly will have witnessed the splendour of the Carolingian
empire. Charlemagne’s reign is often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance, due to his
admiration for learning and education, as well as his numerous reforms. Abels writes of the
Alfredian Renaissance, detailing the revolutionary nature of Alfred’s translations and the
striking parallels between Alfred’s ‘desire to educate the free-born’ 2 and the educational
programme led by Charlemagne. Nelson’s studies into these respective periods evoke similar,
but often different, ideologies. She writes of the young Alfred’s visits to Rome and raises the
1
Richard Abels, Alfred the Great: War, Kingship and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England (London, 1998), p. xiii.
2
Abels, p. 230.
, question of the extent to which his encounters with the Carolingian rulers left an impression
on the child.3 Through drawing comparisons between Alfred’s ‘governmental methods’ 4 and
those of the Carolingians, Nelson demonstrates Alfred’s continuation of a written tradition
previously observed by a dominant hegemonial empire. The conclusion Nelson arrives at
illustrates Alfred’s ability to elevate and refine his own rulership with the knowledge of those
that had come before him; surmising that if indeed Alfred had a Carolingian model, ‘it was
perhaps, rather than any contemporary, an imagined Charlemagne.’ 5 An important similarity
between Alfred and the Carolingians can be seen in their view of their dynasty’s rule as
divinely authorised.6 Abels also identifies the common goal held by Alfred and
Charlemagne, that is, ‘the renewal of religion, through the revival of literacy.’ 7 For Alfred, as
is noted by Keynes and Lapidge, the arrival of the Vikings was a divine punishment for the
‘decay’8 of religion and learning in Anglo-Saxon England. Therefore, the King felt a personal
responsibility to revive the ideals and practices of the past in order to atone for this decay.
The primary sources attest to Alfred’s efforts to enact this revival, as well as the inspiration
Charlemagne was to him. Alfred, during his period of reforms, sought to diversify his court
by bringing in scholars and monks from all over Europe, hoping to achieve a centre of well-
rounded learning. Fulk’s letter to Alfred demonstrates this, as it is evidently a response to a
letter sent by Alfred, in which he had singled out Fulk’s mass priest Grimbald in the hope of
attaining his services. Fulk, the archbishop of Rheims, cites Alfred’s declaration that the
Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical order has ‘fallen into ruin’9, therefore Alfred can be seen to have
been phrasing his educational reforms as a desire to improve the religious adherence of his
nation. This letter ultimately demonstrates that Alfred was requesting the support of
continental clergymen, in an attempt to broaden and improve Anglo-Saxon education.
However, this is not the only factor which causes Fulk’s letter to be of such significance.
Stenton describes Fulk as ‘the most prominent ecclesiastic of the Frankish kingdom’ 10, and
therefore one can see that Alfred was seeking the help of the greatest literary and religious
minds of his time. Charlemagne too was immensely influential in Rheims, building churches
3
Reuter (ed), Alfred the Great (Hampshire, 2003), Janet Nelson, Alfred’s Carolingian contemporaries, p. 296.
4
Nelson, p. 304.
5
Nelson, p. 310.
6
Nelson, p. 303
7
Abels, pp. 230-231.
8
Alfred the Great, Preface to the Pastoral Care, ed. and trans. S Keynes and M Lapidge (London, 1983) p. 125.
9
Fulk, The letter of Fulk, archbishop of Rheims, to King Alfred, ed. and trans. S Keynes and M Lapidge
(London, 1983) p.
10
Sir Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford, 1943) p. 271.
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