О.М.Елина, Н.С.Маринчук - Методическая разработка к фильму The History of Britain - Part 1 (1098532), страница 6
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But the story which reallytells you all you need to know about Alfred isn’t set in the swamps of Somerset but on thePalatine Hill of Rome and is much more startling and illuminating – and it happens to be true.As a small boy, Alfred’s father, king Aethelwulf, sent him on a special mission to Rome tosee Pope Leo |V, probably to ask the Pope’s help in the struggle against the Vikings. In aceremony, the Pope dressed the little fellow in the imperial purple of a Roman consul andwound a sword belt around hiss waist, turning little Alfred into a true Roman Christian warrior.On a second trip, Alfred spent a whole year in the Eastern City, along with his father, walkingthe ruins of the empire and the sacred sites.
It was sure this experience which made him whathe was – a philosopher prince, and someone who, in more than a literal sense, translated theworks of Roman wisdom for Anglo-Saxon consumption. Through Alfred, England got somethingt hadn’t had since the legions departed: an authentic vision of a realm governed by law andeducation, a realm which, since Alfred commissioned a translation of Bede into Anglo-Saxon,understood its part and its special destiny as the western bastion of a Christian Roman world.First he had to win these battles. He took the throne of Wessex at a time when, despitea recent victory, the collapse of his kingdom seemed imminent, and with it the entirety ofAnglo-Saxon England.
It was here amidst the reed of Athelney Island that the heroic legend ofAlfred, the fugitive on the run, finally turning the tide against his enemies, was born.By the spring of 878, Alfred had managed to piece together an improvised alliance ofresistance. At King Egbert’s stone on the borders of Wiltshire and Somerset, near the site of this19th-century holly built to celebrate it, he took command of an army which two days later,fought and defeated Guthrum’s Vikings.
Alfred’s victory was a holding operation, forcing theVikings to settle for less than half the country. But when in 886 Alfred entered London, rebuiltover the old Roman site, something of a deep significance did happen. He was acclaimed as thesovereign lord of all the English people not under subjection to the Danes.So it appears that during Alfred’s lifetime the idea of a united English kingdom hadbecome conceivable and even desirable. The exquisite Alfred Jewel found not far from Athelneyhas inscribed on its edge: “Aelfred mec heht gewyrcan” – “Alfred caused me to be made.” Andat the same might well be said of his reinvention of the English monarchy.
The enormoushaunting eyes which dominate the figure are said to be symbols of wisdom or sight, aptqualities for a ruler whose ambitions were so lofty. Alfred’s special gift was indeed to be able tosee clearly England’s place in the scheme of things, the depth of his realm to antiquity, hisbequest to posterity.With his realm transformed, Alfred made possible a true Anglo-Saxon renaissance in the10th century, creating stunning works of Christian art and architecture. But the long shadow ofRome still fell over all this brilliance. Alfred’s grandson would be crowned the first King ofEngland in a great Roman-style coronation.
And where did this momentous even happen?Where else but Bath.Well, we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. England has been conceived, not yet born,and to north, Pictland has even further to go before its recongnisably a kingdom of Scotland. Fora generation or two it did look as though the grafting of Anglo-Saxon culture onto the enduringlegacy of Roman Britain had produced an extraordinary flowering. But the shoots were stillgreen, the buds were tender and vulnerable, and before this new kingdom had a chance tomature, it would be cut down by the devastating blow of an invader’s axe..
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