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2. Alfred the Great (849-901)
Alfred the Great is
quite famous in Old English prose. He was an inspiring leader. His
contribution to the peace of England, the English literature, education and
liberty in England made him prominent in English history.
He was born in 849. When he was a child, he was taken
to visit the culture center of Europe. Rome and France influenced him
deeply, so later he introduced the European culture into England. Then the
invasion of Danes threatened the established culture centers in Northumbrian
and East Anglia, and the kingdom of Wessex. In 871, Alfred became the King
of Wessex and continued to lead his people to fight against those invaders.
Finally, a peace agreement of the Treaty of Wedmore (878) was signed, so
that the southern part of England got a period of peace and political
stability. However, the northern and eastern parts of the country were still
under the rule of the Danes. At the peacetime, Alfred reformed the army,
built the navy and established a stable system of government and law. Then
he developed education to change the ignorant condition of his nation and
introduced Christianity into England. Under his influence, the early poetry
written by Northumbrian dialect was all translated into the West Saxon
dialect, which later became quite popular in literature. He gathered many
scholars to translate Latin works with him. Alfred taught his people to read
and write in their own language. Before him, all prose was written in Latin.
Thus, under his influence, the early English culture was very fruitful. He
was given the title of “Father of English Prose”.
Alfred contributed a lot to English literature. First, with
the help of scholars from England and abroad, he mastered Latin, studied
Christian classics and he also organized scholars to translate numerous
works from Latin into English. Among them, there are four translation works
which are most famous: Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, a
philosophical work of the early 6th century, based on the Platonic and Stoic
beliefs of ancient Greece; Bede’s The Ecclesiastical History of the
English people making the common people understand the work in English
but not in Latin; Orosius’s History of the World, a book giving the English
people the knowledge of history and geography of the world; Gregory The
Great’s Pastoral Care, with a preface added by Alfred, which has been
considered as “the first important piece of prose in English”. He even
translated some books from Latin into English by himself. Alfred not only
realized the backward learning situation in Britain and determined to reform
the school of Wessex, but also pointed out the necessity and the importance
of translating works from Latin into Anglo-Saxon dialect. These translation
works increased cultural exchange between English people and other nations.
Secondly, Alfred created an Anglo-Saxon prose style. He changed the old
disconnected Latin style, making it easier to understand and to express
fluently. In his translation works, the words he chose, added or cut off,
suited to the popular taste in his age. He translated freely, which helped
to form a natural style in English, which is simple, straightforward, clear,
and effective. Thirdly, more important literary work is
The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle, a year-by-year description of important events in Britain, a
very important historical document and example of Anglo-Saxon prose,
compiled under Alfred’s order in 891. It began with Caesar’s conquest until
1154 A. D., a century after Norman Conquest in 1066. The book includes
important events of politics, economy, culture, religion and wars. In
Britain, the events happened during 7th century and 9th century, were
written in most details. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle contains religious
thoughts and more significantly, it reflects thoughts and feelings of common
people: people’s ideas on different kings, the political and economic
oppression and sufferings. This work was written in simple and
straightforward language, and it was the transition from Old English to
Middle English
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