Alfred the Great, a Scolding Woman, and the Alfred Jewel - Part 1

Alfred the Great is the only English king who has the suffix 'the Great' after his name. Born in 849 in Wantage, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), Alfred was King of Wessex or King of the West Saxons, and latterly, as he was the one Anglo-Saxon leader defeating the Vikings on a regular basis, regarded as the King of the Anglo-Saxons. In these two articles, I'll write about Alfred's life, achievements, and the mystery of the Alfred Jewel (see photo here).

Discovered in 1693, in North Petherton, near Bridgwater, Somerset, England, the beautiful Alfred Jewel from the 9th Century was made during the reign of King Alfred the Great, the first recognized great king of post-Roman England. Alfred was also the guy who, while hiding in a woman's house (innocently, I'm sure) from the Danes in the marshy area of Athelney, Somerset, burnt the cakes he was meant to be watching, and received a good scolding - if the history books are correct! In fact, some would say that he probably got a worse beating from her than he ever did from the Danes! The Alfred Jewel was perhaps given to people loyal to Alfred, and, as the one existing Alfred Jewel was found only a few miles from Athelney, I wonder if this woman was the recipient of the Jewel. An interesting thought?

Alfred the Great is remembered for defeating the invading Danes (part of the Viking invasion), most famously at the Battle of Edington in 878, south of Chippenham, Wiltshire, bringing in a fairer legal system, also being called 'the father of the English Navy', and for his ambitions in raising the standards of learning among his people. Alfred the Great made England a safer nation both on land and at sea. As the King of Wessex, Alfred the Great had a vast expanse of land to defend, which covered a good deal of South West England - modern day Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, and Devon (and, for a time, Wessex also included Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire), also later incorporating Kent and Sussex. Alfred's father, Ethelwulf, was also a king of Wessex.

Alfred's mother, Osburga, really passed on her ability to read to him, and his three brothers. A story, which may be myth, is that Alfred won a book of poetry, after his mother offered it as a prize to the first of her sons who could memorize it.

Alfred the Great, a Scolding Woman, and the Alfred Jewel - Part 2

Sources

1. A Dictionary of British History. Edited by J.P. Kenyon (Lawrence Urdang Associates Ltd, 1981)

2. Alfred the Great - Wikipedia

3. Alfred Jewel - Wikipedia

4. Wessex - Wikipedia

5. Uffington White Horse - Wikipedia

6. Uffington White Horse - BBC