t he began to demand that other nobles of the land be able to do so. Alfred once told a group of judges who were poorly educated; they were told "either to relinquish immediately their offices of worldly power, or else to apply themselves much more attentively to the pursuit of wisdom." Inevitably they chose the latter option (Appletoft 6).In the last twelve years of his life, from 887 until 899, the king was giving all the time he could spare from the campaigns of war and the burden of government to his work of enlightening the ignorance of his people, making books available to them in their own language. This job was, indeed, furthered and eased by his learned friends. Yet much of it was to be done by himself, carried out in his own way, in words chosen by himself, and with an increasing desire for his independence not only of these counselors but, as time went on, of the very originals which he undertook to translate (Duckett 142). It was through his devotion to his country, doubtless, and his interest in its history that Alfred turned his mind to those Old English annals known as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. All scholars agree that they were compiled during his reign; but experts differ in their theories regarding the manner and the source of this compiling (Duckett 191). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is the first great work of English prose and the most important source of English history from about 800 to 1066. No other European country has a history in its own language being so old. Alfred following destructive raids began the Chronicle as part of a cultural renewal by Danish invaders. The first part of the Chronicle, dealing with events up to 891, was adapted from earlier English historical sources, now lost. After about 892, a number of writers contributed to the Chronicle in copies circulated among several English cathedrals. The Chronicle consists of short yearly descriptions of major events, especially warfare, and the...
