Cylchgronau Cymru

A Welsh Scholar at the Court of King Alfred N E STACY HISTORY SPRINGS MANY SURPRISES. How many people with a passing knowledge of Welsh history during the period of Anglo-Saxon rule in England, if asked the nationality of the author of the most famous biography of an Anglo-Saxon king, would answer 'Welsh' ? Gildas, the Welsh writer of the sixth century, could find no words too harsh with which to execrate the Teutonic invader who had driven the Britons from the fertile lands so passionately defended by their ancestors against all-comers, including the legions of Caesar. His hostility typifies the attitude of Welshmen towards Saxons for centuries-until indeed the coming of the Norman. And yet the greatest of Anglo-Saxon monarchs, Alfred of Wessex, had not only as his friend, but also as his eulogist, a Welshman. It is exactly one thousand and fifty years ago that there died Asser, Bishop of Sherborne, ten years after the decease of the king whose servant, admirer and teacher he was. Born in Wales, Asser began his career as a monk at St David's. Alone of Welsh monasteries, St David's managed to preserve a high standard of learning during the devastating Viking attacks of the ninth century. Asser seems to have taken a lead in the scholastic life of St David's, for his reputation as a scholar by 885 had spread eastwards to the court of the West Saxon king. Preoccupied as he was with Scandinavian assaults on his realm, Alfred was intent on restoring the shattered literary life of his kingdom, and for this reason he invited the Welsh monk to follow his reputation beyond the monastic walls of remote St David's and over the mountains to Wessex. He had already drawn to his court clerics from the West and East Franks; now he hoped that the universal interests of scholarship would surmount any racial prejudices possibly entertained by a Welshman. Asser travelled to Sussex to meet the Saxon king. Of his interview with Alfred, Asser wrote: 'After he had received me with every kindness, he began to beseech me earnestly to devote myself to his service and join his household; promising me greater possessions as compensation, he asked me to leave for his sake all that I had west of the Severn'. This Asser refused to do; the king had to content himself with the monk's promise to return six months later. Asser stayed four days at Alfred's court and then set out on his return to Wales. The journey, however, was interrupted at Winchester, where Asser was attacked by a dangerous fever which invalided him for over a year. During