Who was Asser the Welsh monk from St David's?
Asser was a Welsh monk from St David's in the kingdom of Dyfed who lived from at least 885 until about 909. He became Bishop of Sherborne and wrote The Life of King Alfred as his main historical work.
Asser was a Welsh monk from St David's in the kingdom of Dyfed who lived from at least 885 until about 909. He became Bishop of Sherborne and wrote The Life of King Alfred as his main historical work.
King Alfred invited Asser to leave St David's and join his circle of learned men in early 885. This recruitment likely occurred before the 11th of November 887 when Alfred decided to learn Latin reading.
Asser first appeared in the position of Bishop of Sherborne in 900 after Wulfsige attested a charter in 892. His succession took place somewhere between those two years though the exact date remains unknown.
Only one copy of The Life of King Alfred 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.
V.H. Galbraith published an essay titled Who Wrote Asser's Life of Alfred? in 1964 arguing anachronisms proved impossibility of contemporary authorship. He identified Leofric bishop of Devon and Cornwall from 1046 as the true author seeking justification for re-establishing see.