Simon Keynes

An abbot, an archbishop, and the viking raids of 1006–7 and 1009–12

Abstract After a period of sustained viking pressure, from 991 to 1005, the English had to endure two major raids in quick succession: the attack by ‘the great fleet’ in 1006–7, and the attack by ‘the immense raiding army’, also known as ‘Thorkells army’, in 1009–12. This article reviews the impact of these raids on the English people, as reflected in the writings of Ælfric, abbot of Eynsham, and Wulfstan, archbishop of York, with reference at the same time to Æthelreds programme of prayer (VII Æthelred), devised by the king and his councillors in 1009, to the Agnus Dei coinage, and to the appearance of distinctive chrismons in charters. It is also suggested that Wulfstans Sermo ad Anglos originated during these tumultuous years.

The cult of King Alfred the Great

King Alfred the Great has long been regarded as the archetypal symbol of the nations perception of itself. Beset throughout his reign with the reality or threat of Viking invasions, Alfred battled fiercely and suffered heroically in leading his people to their eventual victory; at the same time he promoted the causes of religion and learning, and by the example of his government upheld truth, justice and the Anglo-Saxon way. Moreover, although himself fundamentally English (with West Saxon parents and a Mercian wife), he stood for a combination of political interests which made it easier to pass him off as prototypically British. Certainly he has done well, over the years, from the processes which turn history into legend. It may have taken a while for the cult to get going; but once up and running, the bandwagon could not be stopped. My purpose in reviewing the development of the cult of King Alfred is to explore the variety of factors which in their different ways contributed to the process from the ninth century to the present day, and to show how Alfredophilia, and latterly Alfredomania, found expression not only in religious, legal, political and historical writing, but also in much else besides. The overdy ‘literary’ manifestations of the cult of King Alfred, in poetry, drama, music, and prose, are not unfamiliar; yet they must be taken in connection with manifestations of the cult of King Alfred in sculpture, painting, engraving, and book-illustration, and all placed in whatever contexts may be appropriate, if we are to understand how the image of the king was formed and then transmitted to the next generation.

Gender and historiography : studies in the earlier middle ages in honour of Pauline Stafford

The chapters in this volume celebrate the work of Pauline Stafford, highlighting the ways in which it has advanced research in the fields of both Anglo-Saxon history and the history of medieval women and gender. Ranging across the period, and over much of the old Carolingian world as well as Anglo-Saxon England, they deal with such questions as the nature of kingship and queenship, fatherhood, elite gender relations, the transmission of property, the participation of women in lordship, slavery and warfare, and the nature of assemblies. Gender and historiography presents the fruits of groundbreaking research, inspired by Pauline Staffords own interests over a long and influential career.