History of Christianity in England: King Alfred

 
By the eighth century England had become a beacon of Christianity.  A man from York called Alcuin was the spiritual guide to the most powerful man in the world: Charlemagne creator of the Holy Roman Empire, whose rule over Europe extended over a thousand years.  For the first time people were united because of their faith: whether they lived in Northumberland or Naples, they were all part of a Christian Kingdom.

Then a disaster of immense proportions struck: the Vikings started to invade.  In wave after wave thousands of Vikings arrived on England's shores, massacring people and destroying property.  Even Lindisfarne, one of Christianity's holiest sites, was pillaged.  In fact, monasteries and churches were particularly targeted because of their relative wealth and lack of military protection.

"they miserably ravaged and pillaged everything; they trod the holy things under their polluted feet, they dug down the altars, and plundered all the treasures of the church. Some of the brethren they slew, some they carried off with them in chains"  Simeon of Durham, A History of the Church of Durham

"Lo, it is nearly 350 years that we and our fathers have inhabited this most lovely land, and never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race, nor was it thought that such an inroad from the sea could be made. Behold the church of St Cuthbert spattered with the blood of the priests of God, despoiled of all its ornaments; a place more venerable than all in Britain is given as a prey to pagan peoples" Letter from Alcuin to Ethelred, King of Northumbria

By the late 870s, only the Kingdom of Wessex survived as the last pocket of Christianity in a land that had turned savage, pagan and barbarian.  It's king was Alfred, and at his lowest point he was on the run, hiding in the marshes of Somerset. 

In an apocalyptic world his last remaining weapon was his faith, but it was enough to fortify him and rally the people of southern England against the Danish hordes, bringing them to battle at Ethandune in Wiltshire.  The battle resulted in an amazing Christian victory against the pagan Vikings, which was to decide the whole future of England.  Defeated, the Vikings readily converted to what they now saw as the superior faith.  Over time, Alfred's descendants took over the Danish-held parts of the country, creating a single kingdom.  Alfred was Great, not only because he defeated the Vikings and the pagan menace, but because he began the unification of England as a Christian nation under one law, regardless of race, culture or nation of origin.

King Alfred forms a code of law 

Did you know that King Alfred introduced our legal system, our juries, our monarchy and even our counties?  It is because of Alfred that our laws can be traced back to a profound Old Testament influence, combined with Christain mercy.  His great dream was to unite everyone under a Christian government and his legacy remains with us today.

Comments

[e-Mom]

Thanks for this wonderful historic interlude Buffy! When we visited York we went through a wonderful underground museum and I remember learning about those nasty Vikings! This is definitely a part of my heritage, and important to know.

[Jennifer]

I remember studying this (more than once!) with my girls. "King Alfred and the Cakes" always jogs their memory. :)

I wanted to respond to your comment this week on my Mary Westmacott blog post: YES!! Reading a good book is OFTEN like seeing something from a window. Which vividly reminds me of a poem, and I think your comment clarifies why I love the poem so much:

Robert Frost
to Ridgely Torrence
On Last Looking into His 'Hesperides'

I often see flowers from a passing car
That are gone before I can tell what they are.

I want to get out of the train and go back
To see what they were beside the track.

I name all the flowers I am sure they weren't;
Not fireweed loving where woods have burnt--

Not bluebells gracing a tunnel mouth--
Not lupine living on sand and drouth.

Was something brushed across my mind
That no one on earth will ever find?

Heaven gives it glimpses only to those
Not in position to look too close.

I hope the lines will be kept as this is translated into "comment" form! If not, you will know where to break, I'm sure. :)

Yes, that is how a good book feels to me. I was just tickled to hear you say it so well...

Jen