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A review by udykumra
Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources by Asser, Alfred the Great, Simon Keynes, Michael Lapidge
3.0
I've only read the Life of Alfred and bits and pieces of the rest of the book, but I believe the Life of Alfred is the soul of this book and the reason why people will even deign to pick it up.
Asser is not as entertaining of a writer as some of his Greco-Roman predecessors. He has none of the intellectual passion of Herodotus, the tactical genius of Caesar, the snarky undermining of Tacitus, or the soldier's experience in Ammianus Marcellinus. Asser falls more along the lines of the mediocre historians of the premodern world, sitting alongside the likes of Sallust, Appian, Cassius Dio, etc.
But that's okay. Asser didn't set out to revolutionize the field of history-writing. All that he wanted to do was to write a nice biography for the King he so dearly loved, and he accomplished that—and did a damn fine job.
If anyone is interested in the life of Alfred the Great, I would heartily recommend you pick up Asser's text. I will warn you, it is dry at times, but it also paints a glorious picture of this King that captured the hearts of so many in his day.
Asser is not as entertaining of a writer as some of his Greco-Roman predecessors. He has none of the intellectual passion of Herodotus, the tactical genius of Caesar, the snarky undermining of Tacitus, or the soldier's experience in Ammianus Marcellinus. Asser falls more along the lines of the mediocre historians of the premodern world, sitting alongside the likes of Sallust, Appian, Cassius Dio, etc.
But that's okay. Asser didn't set out to revolutionize the field of history-writing. All that he wanted to do was to write a nice biography for the King he so dearly loved, and he accomplished that—and did a damn fine job.
If anyone is interested in the life of Alfred the Great, I would heartily recommend you pick up Asser's text. I will warn you, it is dry at times, but it also paints a glorious picture of this King that captured the hearts of so many in his day.