6/12/2023 0 Comments Blood and roses alfred 4![]() He decided to retreat to Somerset, in what is now called the West Country. He could flee to France, as some of his thegns and ealdormen had done, but to Alfred this was also out of the question. Alfred would not submit surrender was not a viable alternative. Others stayed and submitted to Viking rule. Those who could, fled, and because Wessex hugged the southern coast of England many crossed the Channel into France. Word of Viking depredations spread like a verbal plague, infecting all with an unreasoning panic. Yet as Alfred sat in his Dorchester long hall, with a score of ealdormen and thegns looking to him for leadership, the situation seemed well nigh hopeless. If he made the wrong choice, he might lose his throne and perhaps his life. His decision would not only affect Wessex, but would determine the entire course of English history. Alfred Retreats to SomersetĪlfred was only 28 at the time, but he possessed a wisdom and experience beyond his years. As “heathens” they looted churches and monasteries with equal gusto, slaughtering the monks, priests, or nuns who had the misfortune of falling into their hands. The Vikings were pagans, worshiping their own pantheon of Norse gods, which made them even more sinister in Saxon eyes. Saxon peasants were cut down or trussed up to be sold as slaves. Towns and villages were thoroughly looted, then put to the torch. The central part of the kingdom, the area covered by the English counties of Wiltshire and Hampshire, now lay in the path of the invaders. Guthrum made his move shortly after Twelfth Night, seizing the royal manor of Chippenham to use as a base of operations. The Vikings had a huge army of perhaps 5,000 battle-hardened, professional warriors. ![]() The only forces that were readily available were his own personal bodyguard, the hearthweru (literally “hearth-guard”), but they numbered only around 300 men. The Vikings had been trying to wrest leadership of England from the Anglo-Saxons for two centuries.Īlfred was thus faced with a crisis of monumental proportions. Danish longboats attack King Alfred the Great’s navy. When a crisis passed, or a campaign ended, the thegns scattered to the four winds, going back home to run their own large or small estates. The fyrd was composed of thegns, members of a warrior class that owed allegiance to the king or one of his ealdormen. Wessex did not have a standing army, only a levy called a fyrd that was summoned when needed. For one thing, the Saxons had been caught completely off guard. Viking raids were an old story, but this incursion was serious. This was quite literally sobering news minds befuddled by drink must have quickly cleared. Alfred received word that a huge Danish army under the Viking leader Guthrum was sweeping into Wessex, apparently bent on conquest. But comforting legend was soon displaced by frightening reality. Musicians plucked at harps, and at intervals boisterous thegns quieted enough to listen to a scope (storyteller) regale them with stories of mythic warriors and glorious deeds. Toasts were given, and no doubt many wished King Alfred “wes hael” (“good health” in Old English). Dancing flames caressed the sides of a water-filled iron cauldron that was suspended from a roof beam, and as the water boiled the air was scented with the pungent odors of cooking meat. The English countryside was snowbound, cold, and forbidding, but inside the hall was cozy and welcoming, warmed by the bodies of the guests and the presence of a large hearth fire in the center. The winter of ad 877-878 was probably a typical one. The ealdormen (noblemen) and thegns (thanes, feudal lords) drank freely, the excess running down bearded faces, and as liquor loosened tongues the hall was filled with loud boasts and raucous laughter Women would start serving mead and ale and perhaps a little wine. Alfred’s great hall was the heart of the palace, a great timber structure that was the setting for the many feasts that marked the holiday.ĭuring such a feast the king and his retainers would crowd into the hall, where trestle tables of food would await them. It was the custom for King Alfred of Wessex to celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas at his royal palace at Dorchester, in the county of Dorset.
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