battle, they thought the most pleasing devotion they could show to
their warlike gods. So this contest between the Danes and Saxons was
not only one for the possession of the fruitful land of England, but
was a contest between Paganism and Christianity. King Alfred was a
devout Christian, and although the Saxons’ ideas of religion were
mixed with much superstition and bigotry, they believed in the true
God, Jehovah, and in salvation through the redemption of Jesus Christ;
although the pure Gospel, as taught by Christ himself when on the earth
more than eight hundred years before this time, had become mixed with
all sorts of legends of saints and marvellous stories fabricated by
the priests, and handed down as traditions among the people, whose
ignorance placed them completely under the sway of the only class of
men who were educated sufficiently to read and write, and by whom all
copies were made of such books as they possessed at that day, which
consisted only of rolls of parchment, penned laboriously by hand in
the various monasteries, scattered throughout the different kingdoms of
the then civilized world. The most famous battle between the Saxons and
the Danes is known as the battle of Ashdown, and is thus described in
the old English annals:—
[Illustration: ALFRED.
_Roy d’Angleterre,_
_Né en 849. Mort le 28.8bre. 899._]
“At early dawn the hosts were on foot. Alfred marched up promptly with
his men to give battle, but King Ethelred stayed long time in his tent
at prayer hearing the mass. Now the Christians had determined that King
Ethelred with his men should fight the two pagan kings, and that Alfred
his brother, with his men, should take the chance of war against the
earls. Things being so arranged, the king remained long time in prayer,
while the pagans pressed on swiftly to the fight. Then Alfred, though
holding the lower command, could no longer support the onslaught of
the enemy without retreating, or charging upon them without waiting
for his brother. A moment of fearful anxiety was this for the young
prince, who thus no doubt mused: ‘Bagsac and the two Sidrocs at the
top of the down with double my numbers, already overlapping my flanks:
Ethelred still at mass—dare I go up at them? In the name of God and St.
Cuthbert, yes!’ and with a strong heart, brave for this great crisis,
Alfred puts himself at the head of his men, and leads them up the slope
against the whole pagan host, ‘With the rush of a wild boar.’ For he
too relied on the help of God. He formed his men in a dense phalanx to
meet the foe, which was never broken in that long fight. Mass being
over, Ethelred comes up to the help of his brother, and the battle
raged along the whole hillside. The pagans occupied the higher ground,
and the Christians came up from below. There was also in that place,
a single stunted thorn-tree. Round this tree the opposing hosts
came together with loud shouts from all sides, the one party to pursue
their wicked course, the other to fight for their lives, their wives
and children, and their country. And, when both sides had fought long
and bravely, at last the pagans, by God’s judgment, gave way, being no
longer able to abide the Christian onslaught; and after losing a great
part of their army, broke in shameful flight. One of their two kings
and five earls were there slain, together with many thousand pagans,
who covered with their bodies the whole plain of Ashdown. And all the
pagan host pursued its flight, not only until night, but through the
next day, even until they reached the stronghold from which they had
come forth. The Christians followed, slaying all they could reach until
dark. Neither before nor since was ever such slaughter known since the
Saxons first gained England by their arms.”
Alfred’s decision and promptness, in that time of emergency, not only
won the day, but hardened his own nerve to flint, and his judgment,
amid the clash of arms, to steel. Through all the weary years of
battle and misfortune that followed, there was no sign of indecision
and faint-heartedness. He had conquered fear and hesitancy there, as
valiantly as he had conquered temptations to evil in his earlier youth.
About two months after the battle of Ashdown, Ethelred and Alfred
fought for the last time together, against their unwearied foes. In
this contest Ethelred was mortally wounded, and died soon after, and
was buried by Alfred with kingly honors in Wimborne Minster.
Alfred, now at the age of twenty-three, ascended the throne of
his fathers, which seemed at that time tottering, and was not an
inheritance to be desired in the year of 871, when Alfred succeeded
his brother. It would not be surprising if for a moment he lost heart
and hope, and allowed himself to doubt whether God would by his hand
deliver his afflicted people from their relentless foes. In the eight
pitched battles which had been fought with the pagan army, the flower
of the youth of the Saxon nation had fallen. Kent, Sussex, and Surrey
were at the mercy of the Danes. London had been pillaged and was in
ruins, and several provinces in his own Wessex had been desolated. The
Danes were even then striking into new districts, and if the rich lands
yet unplundered were to be saved from their voracious grasp, it would
only be by prompt and decisive action.
A month has passed since the death of Alfred’s brother and his
succession to this tottering throne. Alfred, with the greatest
difficulty, collects enough men to take the field openly. The first
great battle that Alfred fought, as king, was at Wilton. At first
Alfred’s troops carried all before them, but the tide turned in favor
of the Danes, and Alfred and the Saxons were driven from the field.
There was immense loss upon both sides, and a treaty was agreed upon
between Alfred and Hubba, the Danish chieftain. By this treaty, the
Danes were to retire from Alfred’s dominions, provided that he would
not interfere with their conquests in other parts of England. Alfred
has been censured for making this treaty; but he was obliged to
choose between protection for his own realm, and perhaps the entire
destruction and overthrow of not only his dominions, but of all
England. He had no power to aid others, and therefore endeavored to
protect, if possible, his own subjects. The Danes then went to Mercia.
The king of Mercia was Buthred, the brother-in-law of Alfred. Buthred
paid the Danes large sums of money to leave his kingdom. The Danes
departed for a while, but treacherously returned, and were again
bought off. Hubba scarcely left the kingdom this time, but spent the
money received, and then went to plundering as before, regardless of
all promises. Buthred, in despair, fled the country and went to Rome,
where he died soon after of grief. The Danes then took possession
of Mercia, and set over the people a king from whom they demanded
an annual tribute. In the meantime, new hordes of Danes arrived in
England; and one place after another was plundered by them, and they
obtained possession of the town of Exancester (now Exeter), which was
a great loss to Alfred. King Alfred then determined to meet the Danes
upon their own element; and he built and equipped a small fleet, and
was successful in his first encounter with his enemies, having defeated
a fleet of Danish ships in the channel, and having captured one of the
largest of their vessels.
But after all, Alfred gained no decisive victory over his foes. He
then tried to bind the Danes by Christian oaths, in making a treaty
with them. The Danes were accustomed to swear by a certain ornament
which they wore, when they wished to impose a very solemn religious
oath; and to swear by this bracelet was to place themselves under the
most solemn obligations they could assume. Alfred, however, was not
satisfied with this pagan ceremony, but obliged them, in one treaty,
to swear by certain Christian relics, which were held in great awe and
sacredness by the Saxons. But the Danes broke their treaties with the
most reckless defiance; and, as years passed, Alfred found his army
broken, his resources exhausted, his towns and castles taken, until
about eight years after his coronation at Winchester, as monarch of
the most powerful of all the Saxon kingdoms, he found himself unable
to resist the further attacks of the Danes, who had come over in fresh
hordes, and captured his kingdom of Wessex; which calamity Alfred was
powerless to prevent.
[Illustration: ALFRED AND THE CAKES.]
The Saxon chieftains and nobles fled in terror, and Alfred himself,
with only one or two trusty friends, retired to the vast forests, which
skirted the remote western frontiers of his once proud realm. It was
during these homeless wanderings that the incident is said to have
occurred, which has ever since been related of this bitter experience
of want and misery in the life of Alfred the Great. The story is, that
Alfred, weary and hungry, sought shelter in the miserable hut of a
cow-herd, who gave him such poor fare as his lowly lot allowed. Alfred,
while remaining with these simple folks, was one day engaged in mending
his arrows, when the cow-herd’s wife, totally unconscious of the rank
and station of her guest, requested him, in no polite terms, to watch
her cakes which were baking in the coals, while she employed herself in
other labors. King Alfred, absorbed in his sorrowful musings, forgot
the injunctions of the ill-natured woman, and so allowed her cakes to
burn; which, when she perceived, she gave him a good scolding; saying,
“You man! you will not turn the bread you see burning, but you will be
very glad to eat it when it is done!” This unlucky woman little thought
she was addressing the great King Alfred.
Alfred, though restless and wretched in his apparently hopeless
seclusion, bore his privations with patience and fortitude, and did
not cease to plan some way by which he might reorganize his forces
and rescue his country from the ruin into which it had fallen. Alfred
now established himself at a place called Ethelney; and, having
gradually collected a few followers, they built a kind of fortress,
where Alfred’s family at length joined him, and to which numbers of
his old troops began to repair. The following incident is recorded in
the old annals concerning this time in King Alfred’s life. It was very
difficult to supply his little garrison with food, and sometimes they
found themselves in sore want. At one time the provisions in the house
were nearly exhausted, and to add to their distress, it was also in
the winter. All of Alfred’s little band having gone away with their
fishing apparatus and bows and arrows in the hope of securing some
food, Alfred was left alone with only one attendant. King Alfred was
sitting reading, when a beggar came to the door and asked for food.
Alfred, looking up from his book, inquired of his attendant what food
there was in the house. It was found that there was only a single loaf
of bread remaining, and a little wine in a pitcher. This would not
be half enough for their own wants, should the hunting party return
unsuccessful. Alfred ordered half of the loaf to be given to the
stranger; but when he had been served he was seen no more, and the loaf
remained whole, as though none had been taken from it, and the pitcher
was now full to the brim. Alfred, meantime, had turned to his reading,
over which he fell asleep, and dreamed that St. Cuthbert stood by him
and told him it was he who had been his guest; and that God had seen
his afflictions and those of his people, which were now about to end,
in token whereof his people would return that day from their expedition
with a great take of fish. And while Alfred yet mused on this strange
dream from which he had awakened, his servants came in, bringing fish
enough to have fed an army. The legend also goes on to say, that on
the next morning King Alfred went forth in the forests and wound his
horn thrice, which drew to him before noon five hundred men. Another
story is told of the manner in which King Alfred discovered the number
and power of his enemies’ forces. It is said that he assumed the garb
of a minstrel, and with one attendant visited the camp of the Dane
Guthrum. Here he stayed, amusing the Danish king and nobles with his
songs and harp, boldly venturing into their very tents, until he had
learned all he desired to know concerning their plans.
Whereupon he returned to Ethelney; and the time having arrived for a
great effort, he sent word to his people to meet him at a place called
Egbert’s Stone. Here, on the 12th of May, 878, King Alfred met his
gathered forces, and losing no time, moved forward toward Guthrum’s
camp. Alfred encamped for the night on an eminence from which he could
watch the movements of his enemies. That night, as he was sleeping in
his tent, he had a remarkable dream. St. Neot appeared to him, and told
him to have no fear of the immense army of pagans whom he was about
to encounter on the morrow, as God had taken him under his special
protection, having accepted his penitence for all his faults; he might
now go forward into the battle without fear, as God was about to give
him the victory over all his enemies.
The king related this dream to his army the next morning, and the
men were inspired with new ardor and enthusiasm as Alfred led them
to the camp where their enemies lay; for it was Alfred’s intention
to surprise the Danes. The Saxons advanced to the attack; and the
Danes, surprised and terror-stricken, soon began to yield. At last
the flight among the pagans became general. They were pursued by
Alfred’s victorious columns. The retreating army was in a short time
reduced to a small force, which, with Guthrum at their head, reached a
castle, where they took refuge. Guthrum, shut up in this castle, was
now besieged by Alfred’s forces; and when many of his men were raving
in the delirium of famine and thirst, or dying in dreadful agony, he
could resist no longer, but surrendered to Alfred. Thus King Alfred was
once more in possession of his kingdom. The treaty which Alfred now
made with the Danes evinces his generous Christian forgiveness; and
perhaps even the pagan Guthrum, in accepting the terms proposed, was
influenced by emotions of gratitude and admiration for the example of
Christian virtue which Alfred exhibited. As the Danes had now become
so intermingled with the Saxons by their long residence in England
and frequent intermarriages, Alfred determined to expel only the
armed forces from his dominions, allowing those peaceably disposed to
remain in quiet possession of such lands in other parts of the island
as they already occupied. Instead, therefore, of treating Guthrum
with harshness and severity as a captive enemy, he told him that he
was willing to give him his liberty, and to regard him, on certain
conditions, as a friend and an ally, and to allow him to reign as king
over that part of England which his countrymen already possessed. The
conditions were that Guthrum was to go away with his forces out of
Alfred’s kingdom under solemn oaths never to return; that he was to
give hostages for the faithful fulfilment of these stipulations; and
that Guthrum should become a convert to Christianity, and publicly
avow his adhesion to the Saxon faith by being baptized in the presence
of the leaders of both armies in the most open and solemn manner.
These conditions were accepted, and some weeks after the surrender,
the baptism was performed in the presence of many chieftains of both
nations. Guthrum’s Christian name which he received at this ceremony
was Ethelstan. King Alfred was his god-father. The various ceremonies
connected with the baptism were protracted through several days,
and were followed by a number of festivities and public rejoicings.
The admission of the pagan chieftain into the Christian church did
not mark, perhaps, any real change in his personal opinions, but it
prepared the way for the reception of the Christian faith by his
followers; and Alfred, in leading Guthrum to the baptismal font, was
achieving, in the estimation of all England, France, and Rome, a far
greater and nobler victory than when he conquered his enemies on the
field of battle. A full and formal treaty of peace was now concluded
between the two sovereigns; for Guthrum received the title of king,
and was to hold a separate kingdom in the dominions assigned to him.
Guthrum endeavored to keep this treaty faithfully, and whenever other
parties of Danes came upon the coast of England, they found no favor or
assistance from him against the Saxons.
The generosity and nobleness of mind displayed in his treatment of
Guthrum made a great impression on the world at that time, and has
never ceased to throw a halo of glory around the memory of this good
and great king. Many stories are told to illustrate the kindness of
Alfred the Great. It is said that once, while hunting in the forest
with a party, he heard the cries of a child, which seemed to come
from the air above their heads. It was found, after much searching,
that the sounds proceeded from an eagle’s nest in the top of a lofty
tree. On climbing to the nest, it was discovered that a child had been
carried by the eagle to its nest, and the infant was screaming with
pain and terror. Alfred ordered the boy to be brought to his castle,
and not being able to find the parents of the child, he adopted him
as his own son, gave him a good education, and provided for him well
when he grew to manhood. King Alfred manifested great interest in the
arts of peace, notwithstanding the warlike influences and habits of his
life. He was the ruler of a race capable of appreciating intelligence,
order, justice, and system; and, foreseeing the future power of this
people, his chief attention during all the years of his reign was
devoted to their advancement in learning, setting them an example in
his own case by pressing forward diligently in his own studies, even
in the midst of his overwhelming cares. It was not possible in those
days to educate the masses, as there were no books; but Alfred made
great efforts to promote the intellectual improvement of his people,
which was all the more remarkable at that time when all other monarchs
were ambitious only of their own power and personal glory. King Alfred
wrote and translated many books, which were copied and, so far as it
was possible, circulated amongst those who could read them. These
writings of King Alfred exerted a wide influence. They remained in
manuscript until the art of printing was invented, when many of them
were printed. Some of the original manuscripts may still be seen in
various English museums. One of the greatest of King Alfred’s measures
was the founding of the great university of Oxford. He also repaired
the castles, which had become dilapidated in the wars. He rebuilt
the ruined cities, organized governments for them, restored the
monasteries, and took pains to put men of learning and piety in charge
of them. He revised the laws of his kingdom. Through all his reign,
his desire was to lay lasting foundations for the permanent prosperity
of his realm. His own life was governed by fixed principles of justice
and of duty; and his calm, patient, unselfish character gave him a wide
influence over his people, and made him a shining example of the truths
he endeavored to impress upon them. King Alfred invented a plan for
marking the different hours of the day by the burning of wax candles,
so exactly made as to size that they would each burn a certain fixed
time. The candles were each a foot long, and would burn four hours.
They were divided into inches by marks upon them, and each inch would
last twenty minutes. A large number of these candles were prepared,
and a person was appointed to keep a succession of them burning in a
chapel, and to ring bells to designate the successive periods of time
denoted by their burning. There was one difficulty, however, which
interfered somewhat with their exactness, which was that the blowing
of any slight breeze or draught would make the burning uncertain. To
obviate this trouble, King Alfred contrived a kind of lantern made of
sheets of horn so thin that they were almost transparent. A plate of
horn was set in each of the four sides of a box, which was fastened
over the candle, thus forming a sort of rude lantern. This was the
first lantern in England, and King Alfred is generally credited with
being their first inventor; but as Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, was
said to have carried a lantern in the old story, the English lantern
of King Alfred may not have been the earliest ever invented. Alfred
the Great was very systematic about the employment of his own time.
He was accustomed to give one-third of the twenty-four hours to sleep
and refreshment, one-third to business, and one-third to religious
duties. Under this last head was probably included study, writing, and
the management of ecclesiastical affairs. At length, however, at the
close of King Alfred’s life, a famous Northman leader, named Hastings,
landed in England, at the head of a large force, so that Alfred’s reign
ended as it had begun,—in desperate and protracted conflicts with
the Danes. Hastings had made one previous invasion into England, but
Guthrum, faithful to his promise to Alfred, repulsed him. But Guthrum
was now dead, and so King Alfred was forced to meet this tireless and
implacable foe again. Year after year passed, during which a succession
of battles were fought between the two nations, now the Danes gaining
an advantage, now the Saxons. Hastings was finally expelled from
England in 897, and once more Alfred’s kingdom was at peace. But King
Alfred’s life was now drawing very near its close. His children had
now grown to manhood, and repaid his love and care by endeavoring to
imitate their illustrious father’s example. His eldest son Edward
was to succeed King Alfred on the English throne. A daughter named
Ethelfleda, who was married to a prince of Mercia, was famed all over
England for the superiority of her mind, her many accomplishments, and
her devoted piety. Alfred the Great was fifty-two years of age when he
died. His body was interred in the great cathedral at Winchester, and
the kingdom passed peacefully to his son. His own dying farewell to his
son Edward is the best memorial encomium which can be passed upon his
life, and he most truly earned the title of Alfred the Great,—great in
wisdom, great in power, and, best of all, great in goodness; and his
purified spirit passed from earth with these truly great words upon his
dying lips:—
“Thou, my dear son, sit thee now beside me, and I will deliver thee
true instructions. I feel that my hour is coming. My strength is
gone; my countenance is wasted and pale; my days are almost ended.
We must now part. I go to another world, and thou art left alone in
the possession of all that I have thus far held. I pray thee, my dear
child, to be a father to thy people. Be the children’s father and the
widow’s friend. Comfort the poor, protect and shelter the weak, and,
with all thy might, right that which is wrong. And, my son, govern
_thyself_ by _law_. Then shall the Lord love thee, and God himself
shall be thy reward. Call thou upon Him to advise thee in all thy need,
and He shall help thee to compass all thy desires.”
RICHARD CŒUR DE LION.
A.D. 1157-1199.
“Yet looks he like a king; behold his eye,
As bright as is the eagle’s, lightens forth
Controlling majesty.”—SHAKESPEARE.
THE history of Richard Cœur de Lion is a history of the third crusade,
and the most memorable one of all. Upon the side of the Mussulmans
was Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria. Saladin, whose name means
“splendor of religion,” was a noble and generous man, and though a
Mohammedan, he often evinced a far more humane and commendable spirit
than many of his foes, who called themselves Christians. Upon the side
of the Mohammedans, as well as that of the Christians, this conflict
was regarded as a holy war; for the Christians were fighting to obtain
Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulchre, where the body of Jesus Christ was
supposed to have lain, while the Mohammedans were just as zealously
fighting to retain Jerusalem; and Saladin’s answer to the Christians,
when they demanded the surrender of that city was, “Jerusalem never
was yours, and we may not without sin give it up to you; for it is the
place where the mysteries of our religion were accomplished; and the
last one of my soldiers will perish before the Mussulmans renounce
conquests made in the name of Mohammed.”
[Illustration: RICHARD CŒUR DE LION.]