Beacon Lights of History, Volume 08 | Page 8

his dominion from sudden
attacks, Alfred then turned his attention to the reorganization of his
army and navy. Strictly speaking he had no regular army, or standing
force, which he could call his own. When the country was threatened
the freemen flew to arms, under their eorls and ealdormen; and on this
force the king was obliged to rely. They sometimes acted without his
orders, obeying the calls of their leaders when danger was most
imminent. On the men in the immediate neighborhood of danger the
brunt of the contest fell. Nor could levies be relied upon for any length
of time; they dwindled after a few weeks, in order to attend to their
agricultural interests, for agriculture was the only great and permanent
pursuit in the feudal ages. Everything was subordinate to labors in the
field. The only wealth was in land, except what was hoarded by the
clergy and nobles.
How well Alfred paid his soldiers it is difficult to determine. His own
private means were large, and the Crown lands were very extensive.
One-third of his income was spent upon his army. But it is not probable
that a large force was under pay in time of peace; yet he had always one

third of his forces ready to act promptly against an enemy. The burden
of the service was distributed over the whole kingdom. The main
feature of his military reform seems to have been in the division of his
forces into three bodies, only one of which was liable to be called upon
for service at a time, except in great emergencies. In regard to tactics,
or changes in armor and mode of fighting, we know nothing; for war as
an art or science did not exist in any Teutonic kingdom; it was lost with,
the fall of the Roman Empire. How far Alfred was gifted with military
genius we are unable to say, beyond courage, fertility of resources,
activity of movement, and a marvellous patience. His greatest qualities
were moral, like those of Washington. It is his reproachless character,
and his devotion to duty, and love of his people which impress us from
first to last. As has been said of Marcus Aurelius, Alfred was a Saint
Anselm on a throne. He had none of those turbulent and restless
qualities which we associate with mediaeval kings. What a contrast
between him and William the Conqueror!
Alfred also gave his attention to the construction of a navy, as well as
to the organization of an army, knowing that it was necessary to resist
the Northmen on the ocean and prevent their landing on the coast. In
875 he had fought a naval battle with success, and had taken one of the
ships of the sea-kings, which furnished him with a model to build his
own ships,--doing the same thing that the Romans did in their early
naval warfare with the Carthaginians. In 877 he destroyed a Danish
fleet on its way to relieve Exeter. But he soon made considerable
improvement on the ships of his enemies, making them twice as long as
those of the Danes, with a larger number of oars. These were steadier
and swifter than the older vessels. As the West Saxons were not a
seafaring people, he employed and munificently rewarded men from
other nations more accustomed to the sea,--whether Frisians, Franks,
Britons, Scots, or even Danes. The result was, he was never badly
beaten at sea, and before the end of his reign he had swept the coast
clear of pirates. Within two years from the treaty of Wedmore his fleet
was ready for action. He was prepared to meet the sea-kings on equal
terms, and in 882 he had gained an important naval battle over a fleet
that was meditating an invasion.

In the year 885 the Danes again invaded England and laid siege to
Rochester, but fled to their ships on the approach of Alfred. They were
pursued by the Saxon king and defeated with great slaughter, sixteen
Danish vessels being destroyed and their crews put to the sword. Nor
had Guthrun Athelstan, the ex-viking, been true to his engagements. He
had allowed two additional settlements of Danes on the East Anglian
coasts, and had even assisted Alfred's enemies. Their defeat, however,
induced him to live peaceably in East Anglia until he died in 890.
These successes of Alfred secured peace with the Danes for eight more
years, during which he pursued his various schemes for the
improvement of his people, and in preparations for future wars. He had
put his kingdom in a state of defence, and now turned his attention to
legislation,--the supremest labor of an enlightened monarch.
The laws of Alfred wear a close resemblance to those which Moses
gave to the Hebrews, and moreover are pervaded