5 - Asser and the Origins of Alfred’s Kingdom

Summary

No amount of special pleading could justify classifying the Life of King Alfred as an origo gentis text. Yet Asser was highly interested in uncovering origins. The previous chapter discussed his account of the settlement of the Isle of Wight, an origin legend integrated into an explanation of Alfred's ancestry on his mother's side. Preceding this is a genealogy of the West Saxon royal dynasty (§1). Here Asser includes certain common origin legend motifs, such as descent from an alleged deity, Geat in this instance, and a connection to Rome through the West Saxon king Ine, who ended his life there. It is not only the origins of Alfred's dynasty that interests Asser: the Life of King Alfred in its entirety is an explanation of the origins of a political community. Asser seeks to persuade his audience that they are part of this community and that membership is beneficial. It is the past of Alfred's lifetime that Asser draws upon and shapes to explain and justify the creation of this community; through incorporating Alfred's age alongside the year of the Incarnation as a chronological marker, the biography never loses sight of its subject. The events of 886 are a pivotal moment in the creation of this community: drawing on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Asser records the submission of all Angles and Saxons not under viking control to Alfred (§83).

The origin of Alfred's kingdom is not distilled to this single moment in the Life of King Alfred, however. Broadly, Asser adopts two overlapping strategies for defining and defending the political community. The first is to outline its creation and membership, with a particular focus on the benefits of participation. The account of the events of 886 is an example of this strategy, but Asser is also more ambitious in defining the parameters of Alfred's kingdom. As already discussed, the Welsh were likely among Asser's intended audiences; how he set about convincing them of their place in this community is consequently of particular interest. The second strategy is the definition of the community through reference to outsiders, those he terms pagani. A consequence of this strategy is that the Life of King Alfred in fact includes an extensive origin narrative of viking settlement in Britain.