{"product_id":"the-political-thought-of-king-alfred-the-great-hardback-9780521803502","title":"The Political Thought of King Alfred the Great (Hardback) 9780521803502","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Political Thought of King Alfred the Great\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn illuminating study of the political thought of ninth-century West Saxon king, Alfred the Great.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eDavid Pratt (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780521803502, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 31 May 2007\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e436 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.5 x 16.5 x 3.4 cm, 0.826 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eReview of the hardback: 'This book, with its focus on political thought, and exceptionally large coverage of political practice and the real-life contexts in which ideas were generated and discussed, is a manifesto for a history uniting thought and action. Pratt's central contention, that Alfred was a considerable political thinker in his own right, as well as being a king with a notably successful style and performance of his own, is presented with maximum conviction. It convinces this reviewer. Anyone arguing to the contrary will have to contend with a new-powered case. Anglo-Saxonists will not be the only scholars to await further David-and-Goliath contests with bated breath. Meanwhile this wide-ranging, deep-delving, shiningly crafted book ought to put its author on the historiographical map as surely as it puts King Alfred on political ideas syllabi.' Janet Nelson, H-Albion\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eThis book is a comprehensive study of political thought at the court of King Alfred the Great (871–99). It explains the extraordinary burst of royal learned activity focused on inventive translations from Latin into Old English attributed to Alfred's own authorship. A full exploration of context establishes these texts as part of a single discourse which placed Alfred himself at the heart of all rightful power and authority. A major theme is the relevance of Frankish and other European experiences, as sources of expertise and shared concerns, and for important contrasts with Alfredian thought and behaviour. Part I assesses Alfred's rule against West Saxon structures, showing the centrality of the royal household in the operation of power. Part II offers an intimate analysis of the royal texts, developing far-reaching implications for Alfredian kingship, communication and court culture. Comparative in approach, the book places Alfred's reign at the forefront of wider European trends in aristocratic life.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eAcknowledgements\u003cbr\u003e List of abbreviations\u003cbr\u003e 1. Introduction\u003cbr\u003e Part I. The West Saxon Political Order: 2. Resources and extraction\u003cbr\u003e West Saxon resources and royal power\u003cbr\u003e Military service and the common burdens\u003cbr\u003e 3. Royal lordship and secular office-holding\u003cbr\u003e The king's thegns\u003cbr\u003e The royal household\u003cbr\u003e Gifts and gift-giving\u003cbr\u003e 4. Royal lordship and ecclesiastical office-holding\u003cbr\u003e A new accommodation: royal monasteries and the council of Kingston (838)\u003cbr\u003e The southumbrian episcopate and the state of ecclesiastical discipline\u003cbr\u003e Bishops as the 'best king's thegns'\u003cbr\u003e Royal priests in the royal household\u003cbr\u003e Frankish ecclesiastical conditions and Carolingian kingship\u003cbr\u003e 5. The articulation of power under King Alfred's predecessors\u003cbr\u003e Collective office-holding: West Saxon royal devotion\u003cbr\u003e Royal office-holding: the first English coronation order\u003cbr\u003e The uses of literacy?\u003cbr\u003e Sources of textual culture (1) ecclesiastical communities\u003cbr\u003e Sources of textual culture (2) the west Saxon royal household\u003cbr\u003e 6. The impact of the Vikings\u003cbr\u003e Logistics of defence\u003cbr\u003e Lordship and manpower\u003cbr\u003e Land and landholding\u003cbr\u003e Royal income and urban development\u003cbr\u003e Collective security (1) 'king of the Anglo-Saxons'\u003cbr\u003e Collective security (2) 'ruler of all the Christians of the island of Britain'\u003cbr\u003e Part II. Alfredian Discourse and its Efficacy: 7. The field of Alfredian knowledge\u003cbr\u003e Alfredian innovation: Alfredian wisdom and the shift to vernacular prose\u003cbr\u003e Intended audiences and the shift to vernacular literacy\u003cbr\u003e Textual dissemination and the field of Alfredian knowledge\u003cbr\u003e 8. The construction of Alfredian discourse\u003cbr\u003e 'Royal' production: Alfredian discourse and its distinctiveness\u003cbr\u003e Languages of office-holding (1) Georgian language\u003cbr\u003e Languages of office-holding (2) Solomon's dream\u003cbr\u003e The implications of Alfredian discourse\u003cbr\u003e 9. Alfredian technology: books and aedificia\u003cbr\u003e Books and book production\u003cbr\u003e Candle-lantern, 'aestels' and the Fuller brooch\u003cbr\u003e 10. The Hierdeboc as a treatise of power\u003cbr\u003e Language and context\u003cbr\u003e The origin and purpose of power\u003cbr\u003e The active and contemplative lives\u003cbr\u003e The hierdeboc and the southumbrian episcopate\u003cbr\u003e 11. The Domboc as a Reorientation of royal law\u003cbr\u003e Written law: authority and status\u003cbr\u003e The construction of Alfredian judgement\u003cbr\u003e The historical projection of secular law\u003cbr\u003e The defence of lordship\u003cbr\u003e The Domboc in practice\u003cbr\u003e 12. Tribulation and triumph in the first fifty psalms\u003cbr\u003e Apparatus and voice\u003cbr\u003e God, rihtwisnes and sinful enemies\u003cbr\u003e Royal hardships and divine justice\u003cbr\u003e Alfred's psalms and Alfredian theatre\u003cbr\u003e 13. The search for a satisfactory consolation\u003cbr\u003e The consolatio philosophiae in context\u003cbr\u003e Royal translation and Carolingian expertise\u003cbr\u003e Alfredian adaption: mind, wisdom and the 'wordly blessings'\u003cbr\u003e Craeft, tools and  resources\u003cbr\u003e Wyrd and divine justice\u003cbr\u003e The Froferboc and Alfredian theatre\u003cbr\u003e 14. Seeing God as he is\u003cbr\u003e The Soliloquia in context\u003cbr\u003e Royal translation and Carolingian expertise\u003cbr\u003e Alfredian adaption: wisdom and the sight of God\u003cbr\u003e Lordship and authority\u003cbr\u003e Alfred's soliloquies and Alfredian theatre\u003cbr\u003e 15. Conclusion\u003cbr\u003e Appendix: West Frankish deployment of Solomon's dream\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Political ideologies [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Political ideologies\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Political%20ideologies%20%5BJPF%5D%22\"\u003eJPF\u003c\/a\u003e], History of ideas [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History of ideas\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History%20of%20ideas%20%5BJFCX%5D%22\"\u003eJFCX\u003c\/a\u003e], Early history: c 500 to c 1450\/1500 [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Early history: c 500 to c 1450\/1500\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Early%20history:%20c%20500%20to%20c%201450\/1500%20%5BHBLC%5D%22\"\u003eHBLC\u003c\/a\u003e], British \u0026amp; Irish history [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on British \u0026amp; Irish history\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22British%20\u0026amp;%20Irish%20history%20%5BHBJD1%5D%22\"\u003eHBJD1\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46265109578008,"sku":"9780521803502","price":81.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9780521803502i.jpg?v=1692019628","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-political-thought-of-king-alfred-the-great-hardback-9780521803502","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}