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BRITISH HISTORY THE STORY of
Four great themes emerge as the Brits fight for freedom.
THE KNIGHT Never a dull moment on the road to Runnymede
THE SUPRA-REGIONS OF THE EU Only bureaucrats, and people who hated Britain could come up with this. The EU would tear Britain apart and put some of our people in a supra-region called the North Sea; some in the supra-region of TransManche; some in the Atlantic region; some in Ireland/Wales; and some in the North Atlantic supra-region. See YOUR OWN CHOICE if you care.
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ALFRED the GREAT One of the best educated of all English kings, and one of England's greatest warriors, Alfred hated war. Only after he offered and kept three truces, and the Danes broke each one of them, and plundered and pillaged his people did he understand that he would have to give peace sinews. When he did, he understood another thing deeply and truly - that if necessary he would die to defend his people. His modern leadership lessons are valuable - and in short supply - today. His timeless brilliance established defence on land and by sea, common law, and the design of cities, but before he could achieve anything he had to endure betrayal and assault. His kingdom shrank to a few square miles of swamp and he faced not only his own imminent death but the destruction of his family and two small children, his pregnant wife, his kingdom and his people. It was almost more than a man could endure. on Twelfth Night that the Danes led by Guthrum Winchester Cathedral Library Does Alfred's history give us any clues about the upbringing and survival of our children? We think it does. Some of the monks who preserved civilisation were Irish, as has been famously described elsewhere. Some, like St Swithun, were British. In violent times they offered children several distinct advantages, aside from being able to teach them. By the time Alfred became king, the chaos created by repeated invasions was so terrible that civilisation hung by a few threads. He later wrote, “I did not know one priest south of the Thames who could render his Latin service-book into English.” From the monks, who swore a vow to stability, and from the ghastliness of life lived under repeated attack, Alfred developed an appreciation for the stability that makes life, learning and the pleasures of life possible. He came to realize that this stability was based on fundamental principles of truth, goodness, and excellence that had stood the test of time and which, like fertile soil, allowed new growth and developments. Alfred found these truths written in books, but the books were in Latin. He wanted them in English so English people could read them, but his schedule was a little tight for working on translations, since he was fortifying towns, building a navy to defend England, establishing the common law and hearing and reviewing cases. However you do what you have to do, and Alfred made time to translate the books he had from Latin into English. They included the universal history of Orosius, Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, the Consolation of Boethius, and the Pastoral of Pope Gregory. Alfred expanded on his texts. Having heard Othere’s account of his journey round the North Cape to explore the “White Sea”, Alfred added it to the universal history. When he translated an account of Nero, he added a passionate denunciation of the abuses of power. To the stoicism of Boethius he added warm words about the goodness of God.
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