Remembering, Forgetting and Inventing: Attitudes to the Past in England at the End of the First Viking Age
Sarah Foot
‘Remember’, King Alfred wrote to his bishops, sending them a copy of the translation he had made Pope Gregory Great's Cura pastoralis , ‘remember what punishments befell us in this world when we ourselves did not cherish learning nor transmit it other men’. To remedy twofold disaster consequent on intellectual and pedagogic failure – just ransacking churches throughout England loss their treasures books, but, worse, English wisdom books preserved arranged have young men among subjects taught read vernacular. Set-texts for programme were be supplied by translating ‘certain which are most necessary all know’. Among these was Boethius’ Consolation Philosophy generally thought been translated king himself include some Alfred's own musings. Towards end text context discussion nature God, eternity place humanity divine plan, Wisdom declare: ‘we can know very little concerning before our time, except through memory inquiry, even less comes after us. Only one thing is certainly present us, namely that now exists. But God present, before, now, shall The central point at issue here disjunction between an omniscient deity frail past, but usefully introduces linking process obtaining information about past with personal memory.
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society