The issue of Stevenson’s long and eagerly expected edition of Asser’s Life of King Alfred has provided an opportunity to supply the ever increasing number of the great king’s admirers with a more satisfactory rendering into English of this, perhaps the most precious document, notwithstanding all its faults, for the comprehension of his life and character. The authenticity of the Life was impugned by Thomas Wright in 1841, by Sir Henry Howorth in 187677, and by an unknown writer in 1898, an...

Asser's Life of King Alfred is a seminal work that intricately weaves biography with historiography, providing a vivid portrait of one of England's most revered monarchs. Written in Latin by Asser, a Welsh monk and scholar, the text employs a blend of hagiography and secular history to frame Alfred as a model ruler whose virtues and wisdom were pivotal in the formation of a united England. Rich in detail, Asser's narrative offers insights into the socio-political landscape of 9th-century E...

Asser's *Life of King Alfred* is the principal near-contemporary biography of Alfred the Great and a foundational work of Anglo-Saxon historical writing. Composed in Latin, it combines royal panegyric, political narrative, anecdote, biblical allusion, and moral instruction, presenting Alfred's illnesses, education, military struggles, administrative reforms, and patronage of learning as elements in a providential career. Asser adapts conventions drawn from classical biography, especially S...

Asser's Life of King Alfred is a significant historical text that provides a detailed account of the life and reign of King Alfred the Great, the ruler of Wessex. Written by Asser, a Welsh monk and scholar, the biography highlights Alfred's military strategies, his efforts in education, and his religious devotion. The work is not only a personal narrative but also serves as a vital source for understanding the political and cultural landscape of 9th-century England, showcasing Alfred's con...

Author Asser, John, -909Translator Cook, Albert S. (Albert Stanburrough), 1853-1927Title Asser's Life of King Alfred

Amidst political upheaval and the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the State of Kuwait emerged as an independent country under British protection in 1899, with Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah widely accredited as the instrument of its foundation. But the path to power for Mubarak was not a simple or smooth one. The author here presents an original perspective on the difficulties and controversies surrounding Mubarak's ascension. With unparalleled insights and access to original sources she reveals t...

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

One of the most important sources of information on Alfred the Great (King of Wessex from 871 to 899) is Asser's "The Life of King Alfred". Asser was a Welsh monk who accepted a position in the court of King Alfred around 886. His work is both a translation of part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (for the years 851-887), as well as eyewitness accounts and opinions of Alfred's kingship. Although the only copy of the manuscript was destroyed by fire in 1731, transcriptions and material from oth...

"IN the year of our Lord's Incarnation 849 light rose out of darkness. Alfred, King of the English, was born in the royal 'vill' [villa regia] which is called Wanetinge [Wantage]." To later historians, as to the early chronicler who wrote these words, King Alfred has appeared as a phenomenon to be wondered at rather than to be understood, a lonely light shining in the midst of an impenetrable darkness.The ninth century, the time of the break-up of the Empire of Charles the Great, a...

The new edition of Medieval England, 500-1500, edited by Emilie Amt and Katherine Allen Smith, spans several centuries in 102 documents that present the social and political history of England. The documents include constitutional highlights and records such as the Magna Carta and Froissart's Chronicles, as well as narrative sources describing the lived experiences of a range of historical actors. These narratives fit into thematic clusters covering topics such as the Ang...

The documents referred to under this title are not one single continuous work, but were written independently in various English monasteries. Taken as a whole these manuscripts form the oldest and most complete annals in any European vernacular tongue: only the Russian and the Irish chronicles can compare with them for antiquity. The difficulty in publishing them in compact form has always been to show the differences in the way they deal with events without repeating a large amount of mat...

Riveting selections from a 15-century account of Scottish history, one of Scotland's national treasures.Writing on a small island in the Firth of Forth in the 1440s, Walter Bower set out to tell the whole story of the Scottish nation in a single huge book, the Scotichronicon— "a history book for Scots." It begins with the mythical voyage of Scota, the Pharaoh's daughter, from Egypt with the Stone of Destiny. The land that her sons discovered in the Western ...