A Companion to Alfred the Great

Aelfred mec heht gewyrcan: sociolinguistic concepts in the study of Alfredian English

“…The only attempt to apply social networks to OE data, so far as I am aware, is Ursula Lenker's article on the ‘Winchester School’ (Lenker 2000), although it should be acknowledged that smaller (intellectual) communities of Anglo-Saxon England and their linguistic practices are often singled out and referred to by the names of their key figures: the ‘School of Theodore and Hadrian’ (Lapidge 1996), the ‘Alfredian Circle’ (Discenza & Szarmach 2014), the ‘School of Æthelwold’ (Lenker 2000: 225–6). Lenker, therefore, suggests that the concept as such is not exactly new to Anglo-Saxon studies, but its systematic application depends on the rigidity of definitions and analysis.…”

“…After taking into account the individual people, I also address their links to the anonymous body of clerks working for King Alfred in an office roughly equivalent to the later chancery. In the final step I discuss these two communities (court and proto-chancery) and draw tentative conclusions as to their sociolinguistics roles, with an eye to how these can contribute to our understanding of whether King Alfred authored, co-authored, supervised, commissioned or inspired the Pastoral Care and other texts associated with his canon (Bately 2003, 2009; Godden 2004, 2007; Discenza & Szarmach 2014).…”

“…Socially superior to other actors, he promotes his ‘own’ people to key positions and contracts ties with foreign advisers. From the educated discussions within this network spring the translations of the Pastoral Care, Boethius , Augustine's Soliloquies , and Prose Psalms , and, possibly, Orosius , Gregory's Dialogues, OE Martyrology and Bald's Leechbook (see Discenza & Szarmach 2014). The assumption that we are dealing with a network of actors and a network of texts allows us to reunite the social structure of this community with the problem of individual authorship, for ultimately it does not matter who wrote what and whether Alfred translated anything or offered his patronage to a group of scholars who decided to sanction their own work with his name.…”