Thursday, April 19, 2007

The reading for today consists of an assortment of documents, beginning with the quaintly-named "Dooms," which means "decrees." This is followed by the treaty between Alfred and Guthrum, a letter to King Edward the Elder (Alfred's successor), Asser's Life of Alfred (not as famous as Einhard's Life of Charlemagne, but equally important), and finally, excerpts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Guthrum was the Danish king who converted to Christianity upon being defeated by Alfred's forces. For all you media-savvy types out there, there's a 1969 film entitled "King Alfred" starring David Hemmings (made famous by the cult-classic "Blowup") as Alfred and Michael York as Guthrum.

Homework Questions (choose 4):

1. In your reading of Alfred's Dooms, begin by picking one in particular that you'd like to discuss in class, explaining why it interests you.
2. Is there anything that distinguishes this group of laws from the Laws of Ethelbert? Anything that they have in common?
3. What are the issues involved in the land dispute outlined in the letter to King Edward?
4. Compare the Life of King Alfred to the Life of Charlemagne, both the style of presentation and the trajectory of the king's life. What features do the two share in common? What differences do you notice? This is obviously a big question, so choose what seems interesting to you, and all of us can compare notes in class.
5. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle documents the interactions between the Danes and the Anglo-Saxons, from the point of view of the latter. What light does it shed on the nature of warfare in general and Danish aggression in particular during this period? Choose specific examples. Again, this is a big question, and I expect a variety of responses.

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