fessor of mathematics and Oriental languages at Leyden: this work, which came out in 1669, 4to, after the death of Golius, is accompanied with the Arabic text, and many learned notes upon the first nine chapters, for this author did not live to carry them farther. 1 ALFRED (THE GREAT), the youngest son of Æthelwolf king of the West Saxons, was born in the year 849, at Wannating, or Wanading, which is supposed to be Wantage in Berkshire. Æthelwolf, having a great regard for religion, and being extremely devoted to the see of Rome, sent Alfred to that city at five years of age; where pope Leo IV. adopted and anointed him, as some think, with a regal unction, though others are of opinion he was only confirmed. Soon after his return, his father, being in the decline of life, and going to visit the holy see, took his favourite son with him; where he had an opportunity of seeing and hearing many things, which made such strong impressions on him, as remained during his whole life. Æthelwolf had five sons, and a daughter; of whom Æthelstan, the eldest, was king of Kent in his father's life-time, and died before him. Æthelbald, the second son, raised a rebellion against his father, when he returned from Rome; who, to avoid any effusion of blood, consented to divide his dominions with him. Æthelwolf did not long survive this; but, before his death, he, by a full and distinct testa * There are many reasons why the anointing Alfred to be king is scrupled. (See Leland, p. 145.) 1. He was his father's younger son, and had three, at least, if not four brethren between him and the crown. 2. He was but five years old, and therefore it is unlikely, his father should intend him for a viceking. 3. Such an unction could have had no other consequence than that of making him obnoxious to his brethren, But, notwithstanding these objections, many authors speak of Alfred's journey to Rome, and of his unction. Asser bishop of Sherborne, who was intimate with king Alfred, in the memoirs he wrote of that prince, has these words: (De rebus gestis Alfred, p. 7.) "The same year king Æthelwoif sent his son Alfred to Rome, attended by many of the nobility and persons of the lower rank. Leo IV. then possessed the apostolic see, who appointed the said infant Alfred as a king, confirmed him, and adopted him as his own son." Æthelred, a monk of the royal family, who lived very near these times, says, (Chronic. lib. iii. fol. 478.) that after Leo had consecrated him king, he, from that act, styled him his son, as bishops, at the time of confirmation, are wont to call those little ones their children. Robert of Glocester says, (Chronicle, p. 264.) that he was crowned king, and anointed. Sir Henry Spelman, after mentioning some authorities, concludes that he was anointed king. (Life of Alfred, p. 20.) Alford, the jesuit, alleges he was both anointed king, and confirmed, by pope Leo; and that in respect to this last ceremony the pope was his god-father. Annal. tom. iii. p. 66. Hutton's Mathematical Dictionary. - Moreri. Biog. Universelle. : ment, endeavoured to settle all the claims of his children. By this will Æthelbald and Æthelbert had his kingdoms divided betwixt them; and he left his private estate, with all the money in his coffers, to his younger sons Æthelred and Alfred. Æthelwolf died in the year 858, and was succeeded by Æthelbald, who reigned but two years and a half. On his demise Æthelbert seized the crown, which he held for five years, and died in the year 866. He was succeeded by his brother Æthelred; who, while he was a private man, had solemnly promised Alfred to do him that justice which had been denied by the two former kings, by giving him what his father had bequeathed him. On his accession Alfred demanded a performance of his promise; but the king excused himself on account of the troublesome times, and assured him that at his death he would leave him all. Alfred having given proofs of his courage in the former king's reign, Æthelred would never part with him, but employed him as his first minister and general of his armies. In the year 866 a great fleet of the Danes, under the command of Hinguar and Hubba, sons of Lodbroch, a Danish king, invaded England: in the year 871 they marched to Reading in Berkshire, where they received a considerable reinforcement, and took that town and castle. Æthelred and his brother Alfred came with an army to Reading a week after it was taken: he divided his forces into two bodies, one of which he assigned to Alfred, and the other he kept under his own command, Alfred rashly engaged the Danish army, which being very numerous, he would probably have been totally defeated, had not the king come to his assistance with a fresh body of troops: this changed the fortune of the day so far, that the Danes were defeated, and lost great numbers of their men. after, however, the Danes attacked and routed the two brothers at Merden, near the Devizes. In this engagement Æthelred received a wound, of which he died, after having reigned five years. Soon Upon his death, Alfred succeeded to the crown, agreeably to the will of king Æthelwolf and the appointment of Æthelred*. This happened in the year 871, and the 22d of Alfred's age. He had scarce time to attend the funeral of his brother, when he was obliged to fight for the crown he had so lately received. He engaged the Danish army at Wilton, and at the beginning of the battle had the advantage; but, in the pursuit, the Danes, discovering his weakness, rallied, and drove him out of the field. Soon after a treaty was concluded; but the Danes paid little regard to it, roaming up and down the country, and pillaging wherever they came. They at last put an end to the kingdom of Mercia, and obliged Burrhed, the king, not only to quit his dominions, but the island. Alfred fitted out a fleet to guard the coasts; and a squadron of five Danish ships approaching the coast, one of them was taken. A considerable army of Danes, however, having contrived to land, marched as far as Grantbridge, and quartered in that neighbourhood. Next summer they advanced to Werham: here Alfred met them with all the forces he could raise; but not finding himself strong enough to engage them, he concluded a peace, and the Danes swore never more to invade his dominions; but in a little time they broke their faith*; for being on the road to Mercia, they met a body of English horse, advancing in a peaceable manner, under the faith of the treaty: of them they slew the greater part, and soon after surprised Exeter. The king immediately marched against them with what forces he could collect, and besieged them in that city. While things were in this situation, his majesty's fleet, having engaged a numerous one of the enemy, sunk many and dispersed the rest, which, attempting to gain some of the English ports, were driven on the coasts, and all miserably perished. This so terrified the Danes, that they were again obliged to sue for peace, and give hostages. However, in 877, having obtained new aids, they came in such numbers into Wiltshire, that the Saxons, giving themselves up to despair, would not make head against them; many fled out of the kingdom, not a few submitted, and the rest retired every man to the place where he could be best concealed. In this distress, Alfred, conceiving himself no longer a king, laid aside all marks of royalty, and took shelter in the house of one who kept his cattle*. He retired afterwards to the isle of Æthelingey in Somersetshire, where he built a fort for the security of himself, his family, and the few faithful servants who repaired thither to him. When he had been about a year in this retreat, having been informed that some of his subjects had routed a great army of the Danes, killed their chiefs, and taken their magical standardt, he issued his letters, giving notice where he was, and inviting his nobility to come and consult with him. Before they came to a final determination, Alfred, putting on the habit of a harper, went into the enemy's camp; where, without suspicion, he was everywhere admitted, and had the honour to play before their princes. Having thereby acquired an exact knowledge of their situation, he returned in great secrecy to his nobility, whom he ordered to their respective homes, there to draw together each man as great a force as he could; and upon a day appointed there was to be a general rendezvous at the great wood, called Selwood, in Wiltshire. This affair was transacted so secretly and expeditiously, that in a little time the king, at the head of an army, approached the Danes before they had the least intelligence of his design. * Before Æthelred came to the crown, there had been a treaty between him and Alfred, concerning their respective estates; and Æthelred, in presence of divers of the nobility, acknowledging Alfred's right to certain demesnes left him by his father, which were then, as it appears, withheld from him, promised in a solemn manuer, if ever he came to be king, he would not only permit Alfred to enjoy quietly the lands bequeathed to him, but likewise give him a share of all the territories which they should gain from the enemy. But when the crown fell to Æthelred, being required to perform his agreement, he refused, alleging, The could not divide his dominions, but would leave them entire to Alfred, if he should survive. Alfred, though kept from his right, gave his brother all the assistance in his power; and, upon his death, was desired by the archhishop, nobles, and commons of West Saxony, to take the government upon himself, which he accordingly did, and was crowned at Winchester. Spelman, p. 44. * All the ancient historians agree in charging the Danes with numerous acts of perfidy. Their want of faith seems to have been the effect of their barbarism, from making it their constant practice to burn and destroy whatever they could not carry away. By this means they were quickly straitened in their quarters; and thus, being obliged to shift them often, they soon found themselves in such a situation, as to have no means of subsisting without obtaining it by force from those with whom they had lately made peace. To this was owing the wretched condition in which this whole island then was, all its best towns, many of its finest monasteries, and the far greatest parts of its villages, being but so many heaps of rums. The want of cultivation also produced dreadful famines; and these, as usual, were followed with consuming plagues, as we read in Asserius and other ancient writers. * While he remained in this retreat, a little adventure happened, of which most of our histories take notice. The good woman of the house, having one day made some cakes, put them before the fire to toast, and seeing Alfred sitting by, trimming his bow and arrows, she thought he would of course take care of the bread; but be, intent on what he was about, let the cakes burn; which so provoked the woman, that she rated him roundly, telling him he would eat them fast enough, and ought therefore to have looked after their toasting. Asser, p. 30. "This (says sir John Spelman) was a banner with the image of a raven magically wrought by the three sisters of Hioguar and Hubba, on purpose for their expedition, in revenge of their father Lodebroch's murder, made, they say, almost in an instant, being by them at once begunu and finished in a noontide, and believed by the Danes to have carried great fatality with it, for which it was highly esteemed by them. It is pretended, that being carried in battle, towards good success it would always seem to clap its wings, and make as if it would fly; but towards the approach of mishap, it would hang down and not move." Life of Alfred, p. 61. Alfred, taking advantage of the surprise and terror they were in, fell upon them, and totally defeated them at Æthendune, now Eddington. Those who escaped fled to a neighbouring castle, where they were soon besieged, and obliged to surrender at discretion. Alfred granted them better terms than they could have expected: he agreed to give up the whole kingdom of the East-Angles to such as would embrace the Christian religion; on condition that they should oblige the rest of their countrymen to quit the island, and, as much as it was in their power, prevent the landing of any more foreigners. For the performance thereof he took hostages; and when, in pursuance of the treaty, Guthrum, the Danish captain, came with thirty of his chief officers to be baptized, Alfred answered for him at the font, and gave him the name of Athelstan; and certain laws were drawn up betwixt the king and Guthrum, for the regulation and government of the Danes settled in England. In 884, a fresh number of Danes landed in Kent, and laid siege to Rochester; but, the king coming to the relief of that city, they were obliged to abandon their design. Alfred's success was now complete, chiefly owing to his fleet, an advantage of his own creating. Having secured the sea coasts, he fortified the rest of the kingdom with castles and wailed towns; and he besieged and recovered from the Danes the city of London, which he resolved to repair and keep as a frontier*. After some years respite, Alfred was again called into the field; as a body of Danes, being worsted in the west of France, appeared with a fleet of 250 sail on the coast of Kent, and having landed, fixed themselves at Appletree. Shortly after, another fleet of eighty vessels coming up the Thames, the men landed, and built a fort at Middleton. Before Alfred marched against the enemy, he obliged the Danes, settled in Northumberland and Essex, to give him * The Danes had possessed themselves of London in the time of his father, and had held it till now as a convenient place for them to land at, and fortify themselves in; neither was it taken from them but by a close siege. However, when it came into the king's hands, it was in a miserable condition, scarce habitable, and all its fortifications ruined. The king, moved by the importance of the place, and the desire of strengthening his frontier against the Danes, restored it to its ancient splendor. And observing that, through the confusion of the times, many, both Saxons and Danes, lived in a loose disor-, derly manner, without owning any government, he offered them now a comfortable establishment, if they would submit, and become his subjects. This proposition was better received than he expected; for multitudes, growing weary of a vagabond life, joyfully accepted the offer. Chron. Sax. p. 88. |