Dictionary of universal biography; being the lives of eminent persons of all times / [Samuel Orchart Beeton].

  • Samuel Orchart Beeton
Date:
1870
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dictionary of universal biography; being the lives of eminent persons of all times / [Samuel Orchart Beeton]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    70/1294 (page 50)
    Alfred second, volume of his edition of the New Testa- ment; from 1853 to 1857 lie was minister of Quebec-strect chapel, where lie enjoyed a high reputation l'or eloquence. In 1857 he was ap- pointed dean of Canterbury. Alfred me Gi:eat was the youngest son of Ethelwolf, king of the West Saxons, and Osburga, daughter of Oslac the Goth, who inherited the blood of the sub-kings of the Isle of Wight. At the age of five he was sent to Rome, where Pope Leo IV. anointed him with the royal miction. Ethelwolf died in 857, leaving his dominions to Ethelbald and Ethelbert, and his personal estate to his younger sons, Ethelred and Alfred. Ethel- bald did not long survive his father, and was succeeded by Ethelbert; but he dying in S66, left the throne to Ethelred, who made Alfred his prime-minister and general of his armies. Ethel- red dying in 871, from a wound which he received from the Danes at the battle of Mertune,—pro- bably Merton, near Reading,—Alfred found him- self, at the age of 22, the monarch of a distracted kingdom. After several unfortunate actions with the Danes, he disbanded his followers and wandered about the woods, and finally found shelter hi the cottage of a herdsman named Denulf, at Athelney, hi Somersetshire. In this retreat he remained about five months, when he received information that Odun, earl of Devon, had obtained a victory over the Danes, in Devon- shire, and had taken their magical standard. On this, Alfred is said to have disguised himself as a harper, and obtained admission to the Danish camp, where his skill was so much ad- mired that he was retained a considerable time, and was admitted to play before King Gorm, or Guthrun, and his chiefs. Having gained a knowledge of the state of the camp, Alfred directed his nobles to collect their vassals, and to meet him at Selwood, in Wiltshire, which was done so secretly that the Danes were surprised at Eddington, and completely defeated. This was in M ay, 878. After the victory Alfred behaved with great magnanimity to his foes, giving up the kingdom of the East Angles to those of the Danes who embraced the Christian religion. His success now enabled him to put his kingdom into a state of defence, and to increase his navy. Having recovered London, which had been taken by the Danes, the whole country seemed to ac- quire a new life under his vigorous administra- tion. After the repose of a few years, an immense number of Danish forces landed in Kent; on which those who were settled in Northumber- land broke their treaty, and, fitting out two fleets, sailed round the coast, and committed great ravages. They were, however, soon defeated by Alfred, who caused several of their leaders to be executed at Winchester as an example. Thus by his energy, activity, bravery, and wisdom, did he secure the peace of his dominions, and strike terror into the hearts of liis enemies, leaving the country in a very different condition, as to . its internal safety and prosperity, from that in which lie found it. n. at Wantage, in Uerkshire, 849; n. 900.—There is, perhaps, no prince who has had the surname of “Great” given him with more universal consent than Alfred. He is said to have been Engaged in 66 battles by sea and land, al- though his valour as a warrior has excited less admiration than his wisdom as a legislator. He composed a body of statutes, instituted trial by jury, and divided the kingdom into shires and tithings. He was so exact in his government that robbery was unheard of, and valuable goods 60 Algardi might be left on the high-road without danger. He also formed a parliament, which met in London twice a year. There was so little learn- ing in his time, that from the Thames to the Humber hardly a man could be found who un- derstood Latin. To remedy this state of things, he invited learned men from all parts, and endowed schools throughout his kingdom; and if indeed he was not the founder of the University of Oxford, he raised it to a reputation which it had never before enjoyed. Among other acts of munificence to that seat of learning, he founded University College. He was himself a learned prince, composed several works, and translated others from the Lathi. He divided the twenty- four hours into three equal parts; one he devoted to the service of God, another to public affairs, and the third to rest and re- freshment. To Alfred, also, England is indebted for the foundation of her navy. In private life he was benevolent, pious,’ cheerful, and affable; and his deportment was both dignified and engaging. Several of the romantic incidents of his eventful life have suggested subjects for the historical painter: one of the best known of these is his allowing the cakes to bum whilst making his arrows in the cottage of the herds- man, during his obscurity at Athelney. “You can eat the cakes fast enough, though you will not take the trouble to look after them,” was the rebuke which the herdsman’s angry wife gave on this occasion to the disguised monarch for his want of vigilance. (See Pearson’s “ Early and Middle Ages of England,” &c.) Alfred, the son of Ethelred the Unready, by Emma, daughter of Richard 1., duke of Nor- mandy. The ravages of the Danes induced his father to send him with his brother, afterwards Edward the Confessor, to Normandy, where they were educated. On the death of Canute, he landed hi England with a chosen band of Normans, and would have succeeded in de- throning Harold, surnamed “Harefoot,” if it had not been for the treachery of Earl Godwin. Alfred was taken prisoner, and his eyes were put out; after which he was confined in the monastery at Ely, where he died, or, as some say, was murdered, about 1037. n. 1003. Alfred Ernest Albert, Duke of Edin- burgh, second son of her Majesty Queen Vic- toria and the late Prince Consort, was bom at Windsor Castle, April 6, 1814. Having decided to enter the navy, he passed his examination as a naval cadet in 1858, and was appointed to the Euryahis. In December 1862 the Greeks wished to place him on the throne of their country, which he declined. In 1866 he was created Duke of Edinburgh, and took his scat in the House of Lords : in the same year he was sworn in as Master of the Trinity House. In 1867 he left England in the Galatea on a voyage round the world, visiting the Cape of Good Hope, Australia, &c. On March 13, 1S68, at the Sailors’ Home picnic, near Sydney, a Fenian, named 0’Earrel],shot him in the back, inflicting a severe wound. On his recovery the Duke re- turned to England, and was warmly welcomed. Algardi, Alexander, al-gar'-de, an Italian architect and sculptor, was the son of a silk- mercer. He studied under Louis Caracci, and ex- ecuted many fine works; amongst which may be mentioned the Attila, which is the largest alto- relievo in the world, and is in St. Peters church or the Vatican at Home. n. at Bologna; n. at Romo, 1654.—As a sculptor, Algardi ranks