Asser

• 1. Welsh Origins And Early Life

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  Asser, a Welsh monk from St David's in the kingdom of Dyfed, lived from at least 885 until about 909. Almost nothing is known of his early life beyond the fact that he was tonsured and ordained within the area where he grew up. The name Asser likely comes from Aser or Asher, the eighth son of Jacob in Genesis. Old Testament names were common in Wales during this period, though some scholars suggest the name may have been adopted when he entered the church. He mentions Nobis, a bishop of St David's who died in 873 or 874, as being a kinsman of his own.

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• 2. Recruitment By Alfred The Great

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  In early 885, King Alfred invited Asser to leave St David's and join a circle of learned men at his court. One possibility for how Alfred heard of him relates to overlordship of south Wales. Several kings including Hywel ap Rhys of Glywysing and Hyfaidd of Dyfed had submitted to Alfred's rule by 885. A charter dated around 885 lists an Asser among its witnesses, which might be the same person. Asser first met Alfred at the royal estate at Dean in Sussex. On St Martin's Day, the 11th of November 887, Alfred decided to learn Latin reading. Working backwards from that event suggests recruitment occurred earlier in 885. After falling ill with fever, Asser spent twelve months and one week confined to Caerwent monastery before recovering in 886.

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• 3. Episcopal Career At Sherborne

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  Sometime between 887 and 892, Alfred gave Asser the monastery of Exeter. He subsequently became Bishop of Sherborne though the exact year remains unknown. Wulfsige, Asser's predecessor as bishop, attested a charter in 892. Asser's first appearance in the position appears in 900 when he witnessed another charter. This places his succession somewhere between those two years. Evidence shows Asser was already a bishop before his appointment to Sherborne since Wulfsige received a copy of Pastoral Care describing him as such. He may have been a suffragan bishop within Sherborne or possibly remained bishop of St David's. He mentions being expelled on occasion by King Hyfaidd during his tenure.

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• 4. Composition Of The Royal Biography

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  In 893, Asser wrote a biography titled The Life of King Alfred in Latin as Vita Aelfredi regis Angul Saxonum. The work contains less than twenty thousand words yet serves as the main source for information about Alfred. It draws from multiple texts including Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum and Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni. About half the text translates part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle covering years 851 through 887 while adding personal opinions. Asser also includes material relating to events after 887 plus general character assessments of Alfred. His prose style features weak syntax and baroque vocabulary common among Insular Latin authors. The manuscript ends abruptly without concluding remarks suggesting it remains an incomplete draft.

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• 5. Manuscript History And Reconstruction

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  Only one copy of The Life survived into modern times known as Cotton MS Otho A xii written around 1000. This unique manuscript was destroyed in a fire on Saturday morning the 23rd of October 1731 at Ashburnham House. Transcriptions made earlier combined with extracts used by other early writers allowed reconstruction of the original text. Byrhtferth of Ramsey included large sections in his Historia Regum written late tenth or early eleventh century. Florence of Worcester incorporated parts into his chronicle during early twelfth century. An anonymous chronicler at Bury St Edmunds produced The Annals of Saint Neots using material differing slightly from the Cotton version. John Leland owned the manuscript in 1540s before passing it to Matthew Parker who held it until death in 1575. Robert Cotton acquired it by 1621 leading to its eventual destruction decades later.

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• 6. Scholarly Debates On Authenticity

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  During nineteenth and twentieth centuries several scholars claimed Asser's biography was not authentic but rather a forgery. V.H. Galbraith published an essay titled Who Wrote Asser's Life of Alfred? in 1964 arguing anachronisms proved impossibility of contemporary authorship. He pointed to usage rex Angul Saxonum appearing only late tenth century plus parochia referring to Exeter diocese created 1050. Galbraith identified Leofric bishop of Devon and Cornwall from 1046 as true author seeking justification for re-establishing see. Dorothy Whitelock refuted these arguments satisfactorily in her 1967 Stenton Lecture Genuine Asser. More recently Alfred Smyth argued in 2002 that Byrhtferth forged the work based on Latin vocabulary analysis though few historians accept this theory today.

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