Queenhithe family connections

Queenhithe is a section of the north bank of the Thames

Map 1561-1570

Map 1561-1570

Burhs

Anglo-Saxon fortified settlements, built mostly in the late 9th and early 10th centuries as a response to Viking attacks. The first burhs were built at the end of the 8th century in the Midland kingdom of Mercia, but their systematic use as defensive centres began in Wessex under Alfred the Great (r. 871-899). In the 880s Alfred established a network of 30 burhs across Wessex so that no part of the kingdom was more than 32 kilometres from one. There were two categories of burh. The largest were planned as permanent settlements and market centres, most of which developed into successful towns. There was also a catagory of smaller burhs that were intended only as temporary forts: most of these were probably abandoned by the mid 10th century. Some burhs, such as South Cadbury, were sited to take advantage of surviving iron age fortifications; others such as Bath, Chichester, Exeter and Winchester, made use of old Roman fortifications. Burhs such as Walingford and Wareham had defences that were modelled on Roman forts; many others utilized natural defences. Each burh was given a tax assessment and a garrison of peasant levies according to length of its walls. The formula recorded in the Burghal Hidage, compiled c914-18, was that four men were needed to man each pole (about 5 metres) of wall, and that one man should be supplied by each hide (the area of land needed to support one peasant family). Thus Wareham, whose defences were 400 poles (about 2,000 metres) long was assigned 1,600 hides of land. The defences were usually built of clay or turf, topped with a timber palisade, though in a few cases these ramparts were rebuilt in stone in the 10th century. Alfred's son and successor, Edward the Elder (r. 899-924) and daughter Aethelflaed, lady of the Mercians, methodically extended the system of burhs to consolidate the conquest of the Danelaw.

Notes from Encyclopaedia of the Viking Age by John Haywood. Thames & Hudson 2000. pp 38-39

Additional information about burhs - Alfred the Great and the burhs

also Burghal Hidage (Alfred's towns, the burhs)

and Alfred the Great, including information on the Burghal Hidage

Alfred the Great part 2

Found two useful books in the public library dealing with aspects of the life of Alfred the Great - The political thought of King Alfred the Great by David Pratt (Cambridge University Press 2007) and Alfred the Great : Asser's life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources (Penguin Classics 1983).

Both books have a photo of the Alfred Jewel now in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum of British Archaeology at Oxford University. The jewel was believed to have been the top of a pointer (aestel) sent to bishops with copies of Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral care or it may have been a symbol of office. The Alfred Jewel is one of the few objects remaining from the Anglo-Saxon period.

Alfred translated Pope Gregory's Pastoral care from Latin into old English for the use of his bishops who he suspected were neglecting their duties. he also wrote a preface to the work explaining his program of educational reform. This is one of the works included in Penguin Classics volume. Other works include:

Asser's Life of King Alfred - available online as part of Online Medieval and Classical Library. Asser was the Bishop of Sherborne and wrote this work in Latin around 888.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - also available as part of Online Medieval and Classical Library . King Alfred commissioned the writing of the chronicle around 890 and it was subsequently added to by other writers until the middle of the 12th century.

Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius - available online as part of the Project Gutenberg. Boethius wrote this work c524.

Soliloquies by Augustine of Hippo - available online as part of  Internet Archive. Saint Augustine lived from 354 to 430.

Prose translations of Psalms 1 - 50 - available online Medieval Academy publications.

Other sources from the reign of Alfred include:

The laws of King Alfred - a selection is available online in Internet History Sourcebook. An article on the laws and a brief account of Alfred's life is also available online.

Will of King Alfred

Pratt's work provides a study of the translated works and their relevance to the understanding of Alfred as well as his contribution to the governance and development of England as one nation.

Alfred the Great

(d. 899) King of Wessex (r. 871-899). The youngest son of Aethelwulf of Wessex, Alfred succeeded to the throne on the death of his brother Aethelred I. The early years of his reign were taken up by a life-and-death struggle with the Danish Great Army, culminating in the near collapse of Wessex after a surprise attack on the royal manor at Chippenham in midwinter 878 forced Alfred into hiding at Athelney in the marshes of Somerset. From there, Alfred rallied his forces, and that May he won a decisive victory over the Danes at Edington and besieged their base at Chippenham, forcing them to surrender. By the treaty of Wedmore, the Danish king Guthrum accepted baptism and withdrew his army to East Anglia. Alfred embarked on a thorough reorganisation of the defences of Wessex, building a series of fortresses or burhs, reforming the army, and building a fleet to take on the Vikings at sea. He built a close relationship with Mercia, marrying his daughter Aethelflead to its ruler ealdorman Aethelred, and also with Northumbria, presenting himself as leader of all English not under Danish rule. In 886 Alfred recaptured London from the Danes after Guthrum had broken the the peace the previous year. In the peace settlement, Alfred forced Guthrum to grant equal rights to the English living under his rule. The effectiveness of Alfred's defences were tested by the arrival of a large Viking army from Francia in 892. But despite receiving support from the Danish settlers in the Danelaw, this new onslaught was contained. The Vikings faced constant harassment by Alfred's forces and in 896 their army broke up, most to settle in the Danelaw, others to join the Viking army on the River Seine.

A devout Christian, Alfred believed the Viking attacks were a punishment from God for the laxity of the English Church. As a result, Alfred began a programme of educational reform to raise the standard of the clergy, inviting scholars from abroad and translating into English several major works, including Pope Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care. He was responsible for beginning the Anglo Saxon Chronicle. In the late Anglo Saxon period, Alfred's reputation was overshadowed by those of his successors, Edward the Elder and Athelstan. Alfred's reputation began to grow in the 12th century, thanks to chronicler William of Malmsbury, and by the 16th century he had acquired his title 'the Great', the only English king to be so distinguished. Certainly, with the benefit of hindsight, Alfred's reign can be seen as decisive in English history, marking the beginning of a national kingship. In his combination of political, military and scholarly abilities. Alfred stands alone among the leaders of medieval Europe.

Notes from Encyclopaedia of the Viking Age by John Haywood. Thames & Hudson 2000. pp 21-22