EXT9-OLD ENCLAND-ANCIENT CHRISTIANITY-KING ALFRED THE GREAT
January 04, 2026(1)
The life of people of British isles since ancient times had always been influenced by oceanic climate, the land being at the eastern edge of the vast Atlantic ocean which spreads 3000 miles up to shores of USA. The weather is influenced by the warm oceanic currents. The often rainy drizzling type weather and the greenery (forests and low hills in the south, forests and mountains and foggy weather in north) appear to make British Isles quite a picturesque place. A genuine love for nature—clearly visible in the descriptions of the greenery and forests, low hills and valleys and the once quiet and once gusty the seaside environment –pervade English literature from old to new times .“What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night...”
---W.H.DAVIES (1871-1940)
So on with many great poets like William Wordworth, Shelley, Keats, Lord Byron and Lord Tennyson, great old novelists like Sir Walter Scott, Oliver Goldsmith and Daniel Defoe( author of immortal Robinson Crusoe) and later novelists like Thomas Hardy.A sensitive heart and mind ,necessary for good writers, is visible in all their writings. But can we remain without mentioning the greatest of all ,the greatest dramatist William Shakespeare(1564-1616) and the great serious-minded writer John Milton(1608-1674) and the great Dictionary Johnson?
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In ancient times two thousand years ago-- when Europe and England (British Isles) were backward rural agricultural societies-- Greece(with its capital Athens) anf later Italy (with its capital Rome)developed militaristic, aristocratic ,urban societies . It was a millennium before Christian Era began.They also developed great sublime philosophies, principles of democracy and principles of city administration etc. They developed philosophy and spirituality just as the great Indian philosophers developed their sublime philosophies in ancient India . There were great mythological epics Iliad and Odyssey. Both Greece and Rome established empires and developed urban oriented philosophy . Both were majestic builders and their architectural and sculpture styles are followed even now in urban places all over the world.Ancient Rome rose after ancient Greece. There were many orators and thinkers with great intellectual brilliance and intellectual beauty. Their writings seem as if written yesterday and are very readable even in present times.
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Then ,2000 years ago came the great humanistic religion Christianity preaching justice, uplifting poor and propagating message of undiluted love and piety . It was a religion of common people and for poor people compared to the aristocratic militarist culture of Romans who ruled over the lands where Lord Jesus lived. The Roman emperors were first aloof and the Roman governors were antagonistic. But after two centuries the Roman rulers realized the sublimity and extreme humanism and loving teachings of Lord Jesus . First only the emperors accepted the new religion . But by 300 BC Christianity became the state religion. Soon beautiful churches big and small and great monasteries with monks were established everywhere. The Pope Head of entire Christianity in ancient world lived in Rome .Rome became the center of ancient world’s Christianity. The kings and emperors of all Europe and royal families treated the Pope with utmost respect and sought his blessings in every important matter. The bishops, representatives of Pope in every European country , commanded similar respect. All countries of Europe one by one came under spell of Lord Jesus Christ’s message of love.
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In British isles Christianity first came to Ireland. Great Irish saints went to England and Scotland and converted the rural illiterate farmers and fishermen to Christianity. The message of love and piety brought great change in hearts and minds of people. Every country of Europe went through such change . In Europe the national kingdoms were modeled after the Roman state. History tells us that Norman French language,culture and fashion dominated England for a long time before being assimilated into the dominant English cultural traditions.
In southern England there were several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms . The Wessex kingdom was the most powerful. There were frequent raids by Norwegian Viking pirates at sea but the powerful kings of Wessex defeated the invaders. Soon Wessex kings declared them selves as kings of all England (south England) and made the fast developing “ancient English” as language of Anglo-Saxon people. Old English is entirely different from modern English and was really like a German dialect. It took 500-600 years for English language to change its Germanic appearance . The Anglo-Saxon kings and people protected English which was crystallizing into a new language .
King Alfred the Great (849AD -899AD) was the king of Wessex. He was a mighty warrior and conqueror but very religious and philosophical loving the English language and culture . We can see photos of his home town Wantage in Oxfordshire on the Net. All Anglo-Saxon territories were united and became the single kingdom of England under his leadership. Before becoming king he travelled with his father (the king of Wessex )to European royal courts and then went to Rome where he could meet the Pope .Alfred mastered Latin . He became one of the mightiest kings of ancient Anglo-Saxon times. At that time there were frequent wars and disturbances . On the seafront there were frequent attacks and raids by Norwegian /Danish war bands. In 8th and 9th centuries England was divided into several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the Viking tribes monasteries and schools were being destroyed . King Alfred viewed this situation as a challenge. He adopted guerrilla tactics and won decisive victores over the far bigger raiding parties of Vikings. He forced the Danish/Viking raiders to accept the new boundaries with Anglo-Saxon territory. He reorganized the army, built a network of forts and started a separate navy to fight the raiders coming from the sea.He was a scholar and arranged for translations of ancient Christian moral books into “Old English” and established schools to teach English . He also got strict legal codes created for the administration of England taking the best from old Christian and Anglo-Saxon sources.He stressed that there should be justice and protection for the weak.Being a great Latin scholar himself, he translated many Christian classical books from Latin to old English.The old English of his days was like a German dialect with a few English words.
He acquired town of London from the Danes and made it part of Anglo-Saxon England. Scholars from Europe were attracted to his royal court. He felt that the ancient moral knowledge should not be lost and got the books translated into “Old English”.He started writing of “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” to record the important current events in Anglo-Saxon society . He ensured that copies of Anglo-Saxon Chronicle were supplied to all the monasteries in Wessex.Thus he proved himself to be a great protector of Anglo-Saxon culture .
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Slowly during several centuries , everywhere in Europe national kingdoms were developing and the old Roman Christianity was becoming established. Other European languages were also developing over the centuries. Roman Empire in western Europe declined and disintegrated and was forgotten over the centuries. Powerful European kingdoms with their rich royal courts developed following the Roman and Catholic tradions . The royal court of France dominated and France became center of European culture.In 1066 Norman invasion of Britain (British isles) occurred and changed the old Anglo-Saxon environment in England to continental and French type culture.
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