King Alfred: Burnt Cakes and Other Legends (Profiles in History)

In 878, about 12th night, King Alfred was wintering in Chippenham, as one does. The Vikings carried out a lightening attack, and the few that survived escaped to the Somerset Marshes at Athelney. Thus started a whole legislative and social structure that changed the world. David Horspool's book is not about “Burnt Cakes and Other Legends” but is a scholarly work about the life and legacy of King Alfred examining many sources and critical comment. He does examine the myths and tries to extract any underlying truths in them eg. The story of the cakes, and others set at this time, may be no more than colourful illustrations, but they are illustrations of a profound truth: that Alfred's grip on his kingdom was only as secure as he could make it. In the measures he took for the military defence of the kingdom, and the keeping of the peace within it, we can see aspects of his understanding of this point at work. But it is also at work in his enactment of a programme of translation and education. To Alfred a persoal interest in wisdom was a facet of true Christian kingship. And the withering away of learning in his kingdom was not a regrettable side-effect of the concentration on defendign the realm. It was a root cause of that kingdom's vulnerability to attack, a 'punishment' for neglect. Alfred understood very well the connection between the nadir of Athelney and the importance of learning. As his translation of Pslams 2:12 put it: 'Embrace learning, lest you incur God's anger and lest you stray away from the right path.' His programme to revive learning was a practical as much as a symbolic or spiritual measure. For one attempting to understand the roots of English culture, David Horspool's book provides an excellent starting place.