In the years after Edington, the Vikings and Saxons
hammered out the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum. The treaty divided England into
two zones. Alfred gained most of the west and south, including Wessex, western
Mercia, Kent, Sussex, Essex, and the city of London, which had been depopulated
after Viking attacks. The Vikings received most of Northumbria, East Anglia and
parts of Mercia, forming a region which came to be known as the Danelaw. The
northernmost portion of Northumbria, centred around Bamburgh, became an
independent Saxon kingdom. After resettling London, Alfred took a new title:
King of the Anglo-Saxons. For the first time in history, a king had claimed
dominion over all the Saxons. One king, one people.
Or should that be two people? After the treaty with
Guthrum, the Saxon lands would become multicultural; some Norse would recognise
Saxon overlords, and some Saxons would find themselves under Viking kings. In
both Wessex and the Danelaw, laws were passed that protected the rights of
their Saxon or Norse minority. These treaties were firm in the equal
application of justice and the equal value of life regardless of cultural
background. In the Wergild laws, a system of compensation for murders between
Norse and Saxon was formalised that aimed to prevent blood feuds, hopefully
quelling the endless cycles of killings and revenge that had so often brought
war between the two peoples.
In previous years, the Saxons had warred with each other
just as much as with the Norse. Alfred therefore needed a stable settlement to
keep his new Anglo-Saxon realm together. The large and powerful Mercia was the
greatest threat to the supremacy of the House of Wessex. Alfred installed his
son-in-law Aethelred as its earl, who was loyal to Wessex but also, as a
Mercian himself, backed by the local people.
Aethelred died in 911, and was replaced as ruler by his
wife (and Alfred’s daughter) Aethelflaed. As the decades wore on, Alfred and
Guthrum’s peace had faltered, and Aethelflaed was forced to deal with Viking
incursions into Mercia. Aethaelfled quickly proved a talented leader, driving
the Vikings back and capturing the midland towns of Derby, Nottingham, and
Leicester. Then, after Alfred’s death, his son Edward the Elder succeeded him
as king and conquered East Anglia. Wessex and the Saxons now held the balance
of power in the country, but a strong Viking rule persisted in
Northumbria.
Alfred went some way toward addressing possible resentment
to Wessex’s rule. Instead of imposing the laws of his home kingdom, Alfred made
sure to incorporate the legal traditions of the other Saxon kingdoms into his
new law book. He also worked to improve local governance, attempting to ensure
that officials were literate and had knowledge of the law, and creating a royal
school to educate and train the elites who would help run the kingdom.
He legitimised his kingship by presenting himself as a
guarantor of justice, and issued written royal charters awarding property
rights to his elite allies. These charters granted ownership of land and served
as a promise that disputes would be settled judiciously. This tied powerful
families across the realm to the House of Wessex as guaranotrs of their right
to their fiefs. It also gave them security, as they now knew the king would
back them up if someone attempted to deprive them of their property rights.
Alfred possessed a refined education and a keen interest in
philosophy and Christian thought. Later in his reign, he began searching the
British Isles for learned men who would work under his patronage; copying
manuscripts, debating the finer points of theology, and recording the events of
his life and times. Asser, our main source for Alfred, was part of this small
literary renaissance surrounding Alfred’s court, writing his account of his
patron’s reign in 893. He is extremely positive towards his employer,
presenting him as a kind of saviour figure who derived his right to kingship
from defeating the Vikings and maintained it through just and prudent rule.
Alfred’s interest and encouragement of scholarly pursuits
helped the Saxons define themselves against the Viking invaders. It was a game
of contrasts; the Vikings were illiterate, heathen barbarians, totally ignorant
of the word of Jesus Christ. The Saxons were literate, learned and Christian.
As they clashed with the Vikings, the Saxons began to develop a sense of
themselves as a distinct people, unified by a shared literature, culture and
faith.
Though most historians baulk today at calling Alfred the
first king of England, his reign laid much of the legal, cultural, and
ideological groundwork that the later idea of an English nation was built upon.
This Englishness was contested, especially in the Danelaw. Here, a culture with
its own laws, customs, worldview, and even gods developed, mixing Norse and
Saxon influences, and producing a distinct northern identity that exists to
this day.
No comments:
Post a Comment
It's so good to see you here . . .