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3.1. The Anglo-Saxon KingsIn the Anglo-Saxon society, the king was elected by the Witan – the King’sCouncil – a formal body including senior warriors and churchmen who issued lawsand charters It was not at all democratic and the king could choose to ignore the!itan’s ad"ice #ut he knew that it might be dangerous to do so $or the !itan’s

authority was based on its right to choose kings, and to agree to the use of theking’s laws !ithout its su%%ort, the king’s own authority was in danger &he!itan established a system which remained an im%ortant %art of the king’smethod of go"ernment '"en today, the king( )ueen has a Privy Council, a grou%of ad"isers on the a*airs of state

$rom the se"enth century on, the %ower of the recently Christianised Anglo-Saxon kings increased as they were su%%orted by the +oman Christian Church Itis worth mentioning here that, in ., Augustine started the %rocess ofChristianisation of the Anglo-Saxons from king 'thelbert of Kent’s court, and that,in its com%etition with the Celtic Christian Church that had been s%readingChristianity among ordinary %eo%le, the +oman Christian Church /interested inthe u%%er classes0 became a winner because in 112, at the Synod of !hitby, the

king of 3orthumbria decided in its fa"our

Saxon kings hel%ed the Church to grow, but the Church also increased the %owerof kings #isho%s ga"e kings their su%%ort, which made it harder for royal %owerto be )uestioned Kings had 45od’s a%%ro"al6 $or exam%le, when king 7*a of8ercia arranged for his son to be crowned as his successor, he made sure thatthis was done at a Christian ceremony led by a bisho% It was good %olitical%ro%aganda, because it suggested that kings were chosen not only by %eo%le butalso by 5od

$rom among the late Anglo-Saxon kings, by far one of the most heroic 9gureswas Alfred the Great (871-900) Chosen by the !itan u%on his elder brother’s

death, he was com%ared to Charlemagne owing to his many-sided talents as:

o a warrior ;e defeated the <anes led by 5uthrum and forced them to

sign, in =.=, the treaty of !edmoreo an administrator After the war, the burghs/boroughs /walled

settlements0, initially built for defence, became %ros%erous market townso a scholar ;e taught himself >atin and translated, or ordered to be

translated, books of theology, history and geogra%hy ;e had#ede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People translated into Anglo-Saxon, in fact into the !est Saxon dialect ;e initiated the kee%ing ofthe Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, the 9rst year-by-year historical records e"ercom%osed in 'nglish ;e encouraged the foundation of the 9rst %ublicschools in the monasteries

?nlike Alfred the 5reat, the last Anglo-Saxon kings could not%rotect 'ngland from the new wa"es of in"aders and with them the Anglo-Saxonage in 'ngland came to an end

 &o be more s%eci9c, Edward the Confessor (1042-66) was more ofa 3orman than an 'nglishman@ he s%ent most of his life in 3ormandy ;e wasmore interested in the Church than in kingshi%, as he li"ed among 3ormanmonks during the <anish rule in 'ngland

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Conse)uently, under his rule, his secretaries and cha%lains at courtwere 3ormans and he raised se"eral 3ormans to be #isho%s while he made a3orman rimate of 'ngland, ie Archbisho% of Canterbury &he %attern of the'nglish "illage, with its manor house and church, dates from 'dward’s time ;ebegan the building of !estminster Abbey in >ondon

An im%ortant document shedding light on 'dward the ConfessorBs reign andfamily relationshi%s is Vita Eduardi /The ife of !ing Ed"ard #ho $ests at#est%inster& attributed to a %on' of Saint-(ertin, translated into 'nglish by$rank #arlow0 !ritten about the time of the 3orman Con)uest, this text is anim%ortant and intriguing source for the history of Anglo-Saxon 'ngland in theyears ust before DE11, attributed to 5oscelin of St #ertin /a manuscri%t of cDDEE0 It %ro"ides a fascinating account of 'dward the Confessor and his family,including his wife 'dith, his father-in-law 'arl 5odwin, and the )ueen’s brothers

 &ostig and ;arold /who became king in DE110, laying the foundations of thelegend of St 'dward the Confessor

After his death, though chosen by the !itan, Harold Godwinson (1066), thedescendent of the most %owerful family of !essex, was challenged by the onewho claimed to be the Confessor’s real heir, ie, !illiam, <uke of 3ormandyChallenged in DE11 by both the Fikings and the 3ormans, he managed to defeatthe 3orwegian king ;arald ;ardrada at Stanford #ridge, but he was defeated bythe 3ormans at ;astings ;e died on the battle9eld with his eye %ierced by anarrow

Among the best 9ctional re%resentations of the last Anglo-Saxon kingBs reign, thefollowing could be mentioned:

o the %lay Harold by Alfred &ennyson /D=.10@

o the no"el ast of the Saxon !ings by 'dward #ulwer->ytton /D=G=0@

o the short story 4&he &ree of Hustice6 included in +udyard

Ki%ling’s $e"ards and )airies /DDE0, etc