Christian Kingship

      The notion of Christian kingship in medieval Britain places demands upon both the Christian king and his subjects. Chief among these subjects are the ecclesiastics through whom a king may identify himself as Christian. The relationship here is a reciprocal one involving benefits given to and taken from both sides. In exchanging legitimization, both the king and the ecclesiastics receive a justification of their positions in the eyes of the people who recognize their separate and allied powers. There is also the giving of gifts and usually material benefits to create alliances and bonds of friendship. But the formulation of these ideas and practices takes time, and in some respects, they are also undone over time. Following trends of the dark ages, Christian kingship in medieval Britain peaks in its peaceful reciprocity between king and ecclesiastic during the time of Alfred the Great and declines in the time of the Norman conquest.

      The Christian king uses his relationship with the church and church officials in order to receive divine blessing and authority. It is hard for one of the ruled to oppose a ruler who acts in obedience to the Ruler of ultimate authority, because to reject God's chosen king is to reject His authority and be ostracized by one's own Christian countrymen. Eddius Stephanus writes in The Life of Wilfred that the dark-age king Alhfrith welcomes the holy man Wilfred into his court and that "Alhfrith humbly prostrated himself at the feet of God's chosen servant, received his message, and asked for his blessing (Farmer 112-13)." It is not a common occurrence for the king to prostrate himself before another man. This act shows that Alhfrith recognizes an authority higher than himself. He exhibits the proper respect for the emissary of this divine authority. After this act of submission, Alhfrith inquires about the administrative practices of the Roman Church, perhaps to help him in his own secular governance by using the government of the Church fathers as a model for his own. He requests that this godly man stay by his side to impart the wisdom of God in his court (113). This is more direct guidance than news of the Church as Wilfred can daily minister to the king's spiritual needs. These are the marks of a wise Christian king. Alhfrith desires to get closer to the divine, and in this he strengthens his authority to rule over the God-fearing people of his country.

      King Alfred's Christian kingship displays many of the same practices as that of King Alhfrith, practices that legitimized his rule by close relations to God and the Church. Submission to God in Alfred's reign may be seen in the way that he incorporates the Old Testament Mosaic law into his law-code (Alfred 163). Punishment for violations of Alfred's secular laws include practices that are ordinarily used only for violation of Church law. For breaking a legitimate oath (1.2), a man must go to a prison and "do penance there as the bishop prescribes for him (164)." If such a criminal becomes a fugitive (1.7), the law-code demands that he be excommunicated from the Church (165). This juxtaposition works vice versa when one of Alfred's laws (40.2) requires secular punishment, i.e., monetary compensation, for the violation of "ecclesiastical laws during Lent without permission (168)." For Alfred, his rule is so commingled with divine rule that it is difficult to separate them, and this seems to be entirely the point.

      Also like Alhfrith, Alfred surrounds himself with ecclesiastics. Writing a contemporary biographical work on Alfred in 893 C.E., the Welsh monk Asser details how Alfred gathers seven learned ecclesiastics from far and wide, even from outside the British isles, in order to revive divine erudition and the liberal arts in his country (92,93). Alhfrith has only one, but King Alfred has an entire council of holy men to help him walk in the ways of God. For the people it must seem that they have a truly godly king if all these men of God would leave their native lands, their own positions in the Church, to come to Alfred's court and help him rule as a proper Christian king.

      Another method of legitimizing his authority is to invoke the name of God. Alfred invokes the name of God at the beginnings of his will, his treaty with King Guthram, and his charter for Ealdorman Aethelhelm (174,171,179). These uses of the name of God in Alfred's public documents serve to put God's seal of approval on his administration and the actions he takes. Stating that he does something "by the grace of God" or "in the name of the Lord," Alfred reveals to the world that he is a servant of God doing His will and not some mere king doing as he pleases. In this way, Alfred raises himself to the status of a holy man, and indeed it seems that he and his ecclesiastics have some kind of partnership in God's will to repair the fallen state of learning throughout the nation. Alfred is himself a type of ecclesiastic. He receives papal ordination and is praised by Asser as one who "very often got up secretly in the early morning at cockcrow and visited churches and relics of the saints in order to pray (69,89)." Asser characterizes the king as a man of fervent faith, wholly committed to the service of God, and Alfred's biography begins with Asser's blessing of "my esteemed and most holy lord, Alfred, ruler of all the Christians of the island of Britain (67)." Alfred seems like the greatest of the ecclesiastics in practice, if not also in name.

      The concept of divine legacy seems to be very prevalent in Alfred's life. Obedience to the Mosaic law identifies the Christian people under Alfred's rule as inheritors of an ancient relationship between the human and the divine first established between the Hebrews and God. Here the modeling of Alfred's law-code using that of Moses is like Alhfrith's possible modeling of his government using that of the Church. A clear expression of Alfred's belief in his divine legacy lies in his genealogy. Asser begins with an account of the king's great ancestors. Among them, the notables are Ingild and Ine, Cerdic, Gewis, Geat, and eventually the line of Adam and the biblical patriarchs (67). To trace his lineage all the way back to godly men such as Noah, Methuselah, and Enoch is to recognize that he is inheriting the godliness and divine favor that was with these men. Even from the beginning of his life, Alfred carries this legacy. As a very young child, Alfred's father Aethelwulf sends him to Pope Leo in Rome so that he may be anointed and ordained king. Pope Leo even adopts Alfred as a son (69). This tradition follows a long line of God's anointed kings including King David of Israel who was anointed by the holy man Samuel (I Samuel 16.13). Through these identifications with other godly men, Alfred states that he is part of something larger than himself and his governance; he is part of God's plan for His people.

      With William of Normandy, there seems to be a complete breakdown in the legitimizing relationship between the king and the ecclesiastics. No longer does the Church play such a large role in offering the king a source of divine justification, and where there is a role, it seems only superficial. William's laws commence with the traditional invoking of God, and he states that "he wishes one God to be revered throughout this whole realm, one faith in Christ to be kept ever inviolate, and peace and security to be preserved between English and Normans (Douglas 399)." So William does announce his intentions to rule over a Christian nation, but nowhere else in the document is God or Christianity mentioned. The very last clause of the sentence reflects the true intent of the laws to follow: peace between English and Normans. By introducing his secular laws with a Christian reference, William is making a very poor attempt at unifying his rule with God's. When in 1087 C.E. an annalist of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle writes of William, he describes him as "more worshipful and stronger than any predecessor of his had been... gentle to the good men who loved God (163)." But these kind words seem out of place when compared to the numerous other references to all the cr e committed against the Church and the ecclesiastics. The annalist gives an account of how William waged a war in France where he razed the city of Mantes, destroying all the churches, and killing two anchorites devoted to the worship of God (163). The description of William's death less than a month later seems to say it was some kind of divine judgment for this heinous crime. According to the Abingdon Chronicle, when the monks of Abingdon joined the rebellion against William, he had them captured and punished, while also imprisoning Abbot Ealdred of Abingdon . The annalist also writes that "no respect was paid to the threshold of the holy places, and no pity was shown to the afflicted monks. Outside, with a similar lack of respect, the villages were widely devastated (901)." One wonders how the people can reconcile these two conflicting images of William. Here it appears that William does not even need divine legitimization. It is not the case that the ecclesiastics are simply passively withholding support for William; they are actively opposed to their supposedly "Christian" king. If William is truly concerned about gaining the favor of God and the Church, imprisoning monks in rebellion to his administration and killing others are some of the worst ways to accomplish this end. He does not repent for the grievances he has caused the people or listen to the complaints of the ecclesiastics. William's Christian kingship shows very little resemblance to that of Alhfrith and Alfred.

      Reciprocity in the legitimizing relationship of king and ecclesiastic can be seen in how the king also has a certain amount of gravity in making or breaking men of God. King Alhfrith pleads with the visiting Bishop Agilberht so that the holy man Wilfred will be ordained as a priest (Farmer 114). Alhfrith's recommendations are instrumental in helping Wilfred gain position in the Church. Likewise the annalist of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle in 891 C.E. writes that three Irish zealots come Alfred so that they may be able to go on a pilgrimage (Alfred 113-14). The Christian king seems to have some authority to send people on pilgrimages because these Irishmen feel that it is proper to seek the blessing of a Christian king and not go out to a holy site by their own whims. Alfred's direction over ecclesiastics is even found in his law-code where there are laws that concern the protection (18) of innocent nuns and punishment (21) of priests guilty of murder (166). These ecclesiastics are not outside of Alfred's sphere of influence simply because they are under God's dominion. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 1087 C.E. recounts how William removes ecclesiastics from office, even high-ranking ones such as bishops and abbots, if they displease him (Douglas 163). The removal of Abbot Ealdred of Abingdon is followed by the appointment of Athelhelm by direct order of William. Again the balance of power and peaceful relations between king and ecclesiastic have a much more negative slant during William's reign.

      The giving of gifts, chiefly material, is well attested, and it is usually the case that the wealthy Christian king gives to the ecclesiastic. King Alhfrith gives Wilfred a total of 40 hides of land and a monastery over which Wilfred administers as abbot. The account continues to say that these gifts of material wealth give Wilfred the opportunity to do many good deeds through charity, helping all manner of people in need (Farmer 113). The generosity of this Christian king helps to advance the work of the Church which otherwise has little means. King Alfred gives many more gifts to the Church. Asser writes that Alfred builds an international monastery for monks at Athelney and a nunnery at Shaftesbury directed by his own virgin daughter Aethelgifu (Alfred 102,103,105). Both of the monasteries have lands and are supported by a full eighth of the nation's revenue. This eighth is only part of the fifty percent cut of his revenue that Alfred devotes to the service of God. With this five-fold tithe, Alfred succors the poor, supports a school for boys, and endows monasteries throughout the isles (107). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 888 C.E. mentions that Alfred sends alms to the Church in Rome (113). As a final provision for the Church, Alfred notes in his will that he wants to set apart an amount of money for various bishops and other men of God (177). Alfred and Alhfrith receive little material wealth from the Church in return for these gifts. The only mention of ecclesiastical gifts is when Asser writes that Pope Marinus sends various gifts, including a piece of Christ's Cross, to Alfred (88). It seems that these two kings give to the Church in order that they may receive some kind of spiritual blessings. Of Alhfrith's motivations for giving Wilfred a monastery, Eddius Stephanus notes that he does it "for his own soul's good (Farmer 113)." Similarly, Alfred's will notes that his gifts to the Church are "to be distributed for my sake, for my father and the friends for whom he used to intercede and I intercede (177)." These Christian kings believe that their material wealth may be used to advance the causes of the Church on earth and earn spiritual blessings for their own souls.

      William takes this practice and seems to feel that the reciprocity of giving should be materially equal on both sides. Like his predecessors, William builds and endows several monasteries including those at Caen, Hastings, and Canterbury (Douglas 163). Concerning the giving of gifts to the Church, the similarities between William and his predecessors end here. Now William decides that the Church owes him a debt. He extracts this debt in two ways as a debt of material wealth and a debt of service (servitia debita). Writing an annal of 1070 C.E. in the thirteenth century, Matthew Paris writes that "King William following most evil advice took spoils of gold and silver from all the monasteries of the English... [and] caused to be set down in his rolls according to his pleasure how many knights he wished each bishopric and abbacy to produce in time of war for himself and his successors (qtd. in Douglas 894-95)." There exist many other documents detailing how William plunders the treasures of the monasteries and exacts a tax of knight-service in all the church lands. How odd it must be for men of God to find themselves having to so directly involve themselves in the business of war by producing knights from their lands. This type of feudalism is unknown to the natives of William's conquered island, and the resulting unrest is evidenced by the rebellion that even involves the monks of Abingdon (901). William is not satisfied to receive only spiritual blessings, and he takes the idea of reciprocity to a new level in the relationship between king and ecclesiastic.

      The notion of Christian kingship, comprised of many responsibilities and accountabilities, changes dramatically over time. It may be that William of Normandy does not understand the legacy of Christian kingship that develops in England. His own notions of Christian kingship may be the legacy of his own people's history. In any case, William does not conform to the customs of his predecessors in medieval Britain. The emphasis on divine legitimization declines strongly while that concerning service to the king greatly intensifies. It may be inappropriate to call this change either good or bad. History is not that simple. The only constant is change.

Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources. Trans. Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge. New York: Penguin, 1983.

Douglas, David C. ed. English Historical Documents. New York: Oxford UP, 1953-.

Farmer, D.H. ed. The Age of Bede. Trans. J.F. Webb. Lives of the abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow. Trans. D.H. Farmer. New York: Penguin, 1983.