Thus we see that King Alfred, in his struggle with the Danes, was battling only with one part of a great movement akin to that which had first brought the English into Britain; and that the foundation of Normandy, about ten years after King Alfred's death, is but another of its incidents, although an incident of first importance in the history of Europe.

King Alfred, having secured some peace with the new settlers on his coast, proceeded to restore strength to his people with the help of the best advisers he could gather to his court. Churches and monasteries had suffered for their wealth; but their plunder and destruction meant also destruction of their schools. "There are only a few," said Alfred, "on this side of the Humber, who can understand the divine service, or even translate a Latin letter into English, and I believe not many on the other side of the Humber either. They are so few, indeed, that I cannot remember one south of the Thames when I began to reign." Alfred re-established monasteries, and took pains to make them efficient centres of education for his people. Partly because the knowledge of Latin had to be recovered, partly because good knowledge is most widely diffused through a land when it is written in the language of the people, Alfred made, or caused to be made for him, translations of the books which had been most valued when they were among the Latin text-books of the days of Bede and Alcuin. One of these was Bede's "Ecclesiastical History," or History of England, translated into English without any of the added information with which it could have been enriched. Perhaps a reverence for Bede's work caused Alfred to present it to his countrymen without change or addition.

The same feeling would not stand in the way of a free handling of "The Universal History" of Orosius. This had been the accepted manual in monastery schools, for general history from the creation to A.D. 416. Its author was a Spanish controversial Christian of the fifth century, and it was written at the suggestion of St. Augustine of Hippo. Augustine was himself writing "De Civitate Dei" to sustain the faith of Christians who had seen Alaric sack Rome, by showing from church history that the preaching of the Gospel could not add

to the world's misery. He suggested to Orosius, who just then came to consult him on some question of heresy, that he might show from profane history the same thing for the re-assurance of the faithful. Orosius produced, therefore, in Latin, a dull book, written, as Pope Gelasius I. said, "with wonderful brevity against heathen perversions," and it became in the monastery schools the chief manual of universal history. King Alfred, in giving a free translation of it to his people, cleared the book of church controversy, omitted, altered, and added, with the sole purpose of producing a good summary of general history and geography.

King Alfred's other work in aid of a right knowledge of history was, probably, the establishment of that national record of events which was kept afterwards for a long time from year to year, and is now commonly known as "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle." It begins, after a brief account of Britain, with Cæsar's invasion; is in its earlier details obviously a compilation, and that chiefly from Bede, but begins to give fuller details after the year 853; and so, from a date within Alfred's lifetime, begins to take rank with Bede as one of the great sources of information on the early history of England. It may be supposed, that, for the keeping of this annual record of the nation's life, local events were reported at the headquarters of some one monastery in which was a monk commissioned to act as historiographer; that, at the end of each year, this monk set down what he thought most worthy to be remembered, and that he then had transcripts of his brief note made in the scriptorium of his monastery, and forwarded to other houses for addition to the copies kept by them of the great year-book of the nation. Geoffrey Gaimar, writing in the twelfth century, says that King Alfred had at Winchester a copy of a chronicle fastened by a chain; so that all who wished might read. In some such way as this "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" was kept up until the time of the Norman conquest, and for three generations after that. Its last record is of the accession of Henry II. in the year 1154.

King Alfred not only tried to make his countrymen acquainted with the world in which they lived, but he sought

also to aid each in acquiring a firm rule over the world within himself. For this reason he turned into English the famous Latin work of Boëthius, the last man of genius produced by ancient Rome. Boëthius, a Roman senator, lost the favor of Theodoric by a love for his country, which his enemies called treason; was imprisoned, and from prison led to execution, about the year 525. In prison he wrote his noble work called "The Consolation of Philosophy," in five books of prose, mixed with verse. The first of its five books recognized as the great source of consolation that a wise God rules the world; the second argued that man in his worst extremity possesses much, and ought to fix his mind on the imperishable; the third maintained that God is the chief good, and works no evil; the fourth, that, as seen from above, only the good are happy; and the fifth sought to reconcile God's knowledge of what is necessary with the free-will of mankind. The charm of a philosophic mind expressed through a pure strain of natural piety had made this dialogue between Philosophy and the Prisoner so popular, that the church justified its use of the volume in schools by claiming Boëthius as a Christian martyr. He was canonized as a saint in the eighth century, though in his book he turns from the depth of worldly calamity to explore all sources of true consolation, and does not name Christ. Alfred believed, as he was told, that Boëthius suffered as a Christian under Theodoric, and told it again when he gave "The Consolation of Philosophy" in English to his people.

King Alfred also, with the same desire to give men inward strength, translated into English a famous book by Pope Gregory the Great. This book, known as the "Regula Pastoralis,' showing what the mind of a true spiritual pastor ought to be, was made English as "Gregory's Book on the Care of the Soul." It is in the preface to this that King Alfred tells of the decay of learning in his kingdom, and of his desire for its true restoration.

We cannot know with certainty whether much of the work ascribed to King Alfred was done by his own hand, or whether he may rather be said to have encouraged, by strong fellowship in industry, the labors of those good men whom he

gathered to his court, and who worked under his direction, giving and receiving counsel, for the furtherance of his most royal enterprise. What we do know with certainty assures us, that, although King Alfred lived a thousand years ago, a thousand years hence, if there be England then, his memory will yet be precious to his country.

4. There is little to be said of our First English literature after the time of King Alfred, who died in 901. Two devout ecclesiastics, Ethelwold and Dunstan, sought to reform monastic life by putting more purity and zeal into it; and, in the prosecution of this work, Ethelwold translated into English Benedict's "Rule of a Monastic Life." Dunstan wrote an adaptation of the same rule for the use of English monks, and also a large "Commentary on the Benedictine Rule," doubtless from notes of the lectures given by him to his pupils in the monastery schools. Some fragments of First English in the chapter library at Gloucester have been partly published in facsimile as "Gloucester Fragments," and include a detail of miracles that preceded and directed the dedication, by Archbishop Dunstan, of Ethelwold's restored Cathedral of Winchester.

5. No vigor of independent genius was developed by this movement towards greater strictness of monastic rule. The best intellectual effort among us in the century following the death of Alfred took the same direction. Earnest and religious men felt in their youth an enthusiasm stirred by the re-founding of those monasteries in which they were trained; and, looking only to the farthest limit of their little world, they devoutly sought to raise their country by putting purer and intenser life into the men who were its teachers. But the nation was advancing, through much stir of blood, into a new age of its life, and could be little helped by a fixed reproduction of past forms.

Alfred's grandson, Athelstan, attacked by Danes from Ireland and Danes of the north of England, with allies from among the Gael and Cymry, overcame his enemies in the year 937 at the great battle of Brunanburh. Trouble with Danes continued, till there was more quiet in the reign of Edgar, who

began to rule at the age of sixteen, and from the outset of his reign took Dunstan for chief counsellor. Edgar, therefore, supported the great efforts made for a revival of monasticism. He died in the year 975, after sixteen years of rule, and was called Lord of the whole Isle of Albion. Blending of all constituents of the great nation of the future was still going on. An England had been formed, and now came the foreshadowing of a Great Britain. The days of the first generations of Engglish are therefore drawing to a close.

Meanwhile Denmark, Sweden, and Norway had grown also into compact powers; and in the reign of Ethelred the Unready England was not merely disturbed by the Danes settled on her shores, but had to face their power as invaders. In the year 994 they attacked Ipswich, ravaged the surrounding country, and were met unsuccessfully at Maldon in Essex by the patriotic bands which had been trained and led by Byrhtnoth, who fell in the battle.

6. These were the days of outward tumult, in which Elfric wrote his "Homilies." Elfric was one of the first pupils of Ethelwold at Abingdon. When Ethelwold became Bishop of Winchester, Elfric acted as chief of the teachers in his diocese, and wrote for the use of schools a lively little book of Latin "Colloquy." It was afterwards enlarged and republished by Elfric Bata, who had himself been taught Latin by it at Winchester. Latin being in his time, and long before and after, spoken and written as the common language of the learned, colloquy was a common way of teaching. Elfric represents in his dialogue pupils who beg to be taught, answering questions as to their respective trades; and thus he brings out in a few pages a very large number of words that would be used by them in talk over the daily business of life. Elfric wrote also for his pupils a "Glossary" in Latin and English. He was removed from Winchester to the Abbey of Cerne in Dorsetshire by the wish of its founder, and there it was, that, at the request of the founder's son, Elfric produced his "Homilies," compiled and translated from the Fathers, in two sets each of forty sermons. The first set was completed in the year 990, and is a harmony of the opinions of the Fathers on all points