After the final dispersal of the Danish invaders Alfred turned his attention to the increase of the navy, and ships were built according to the king's own designs, partly to repress the ravages of the Northumbrian and East Anglian Danes on the coasts of Wessex, partly to prevent the landing of fresh hordes. This is not, as often asserted, the beginning of the English navy. There had been earlier naval operations under Alfred. One naval engagement was certainly fought under Aethelwulf (851), and earlier ones, possibly in 833 and 840. Nor were the new ships a great success, as we hear of them grounding in action and foundering in a storm. Much, too, was needed in the way of civil re-organization, especially in the districts ravaged by the Danes.
In the parts of Mercia acquired by Alfred, the shire system seems now to have been introduced for the first time. This is the one grain of truth in the legend that Alfred was the inventor of shires, hundreds and tithings. The finances also would need careful attention; but the subject is obscure, and we cannot accept Asser's description of Alfred's appropriation of his revenue as more than an ideal sketch. Alfred's care for the administration of justice is testified both by history and legend; and the title "protector of the poor" was his by unquestioned right. Of the action of the witenagemot we do not hear very much under Alfred. That he was anxious to respect its rights is conclusively proved, but both the circumstances of the time and the character of the king would tend to throw more power into his hands. The legislation of Alfred probably belongs to the later part of the reign, after the pressure of the Danes had relaxed. The details of it cannot be discussed here.
Asser speaks grandiosely of Alfred's relations with foreign powers, but little definite information is available. He certainly corresponded with Elias III., the patriarch of Jerusalem, and probably sent a mission to India. Embassies to Rome conveying the English alms to the pope were fairly frequent; while Alfred's interest in foreign countries is shown by the insertions which he made in his translation of Orosius. His relations to the Celtic princes in the southern half of the island are clearer. Comparatively early in his reign the South Welsh princes, owing to the pressure on them of North Wales and Mercia, commended themselves to Alfred. Later in the reign the North Welsh followed their example, and the latter co-operated with the English in the campaign of 893 (894). The Celtic principality in Cornwall, which seems to have survived at least till 926, must long have been practically dependent on Wessex. That Alfred sent alms to Irish as well as to continental monasteries may be accepted on Asser's authority; the visit of the three pilgrim "Scots" (i.e. Irish) to Alfred in 891 is undoubtedly authentic; the story that he himself in his childhood was sent to Ireland to be healed by St Modwenna, though mythical, may point to Alfred's interest in that island.
The history of the church under Alfred is most obscure. The Danish inroads had told heavily upon it; the monasteries had been special points of attack, and though Alfred founded two or three monasteries and imported foreign monks, there was no general revival of monasticism under him. To the ruin of learning and education wrought by the Danes, and the practical extinction of the knowledge of Latin even among the clergy, the preface to Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care bears eloquent testimony. It was to remedy these evils that he established a court school, after the example of Charles the Great; for this he imported scholars like Grimbald and John the Saxon from the continent and Asser from South Wales; for this, above all, he put himself to school, and made the series of translations for the instruction of his clergy and people, most of which still survive. These belong unquestionably to the later part of his reign, not improbably to the last four years of it, during which the chronicles are almost silent.
Continued on page four.
This article is from the 1911 edition of an encyclopedia, which is out of copyright here in the U.S. See the encyclopedia main page for disclaimer and copyright information.
