King Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great died on this day in 899. His biographer, Bishop Asser, claims that he had a keen interest in literature from an early age and that his mother gave him a volume of poetry as a prize after he'd managed to memorise it. In later life, stressed by fighting off the Vikings, he found refuge in books and went on to translate various philosophical writings from Latin into English. One was Boethius' Consolation of Philiosophy and contains these lines:

"Thus Alfred told us an old story,

the King of West Saxons showed off his craft,

his skill of verse-making.

His wish was wide-reaching,

that to these people he should pass on poetry,

and be delighted by men using his phrases

so that dreariness might not overwhelm

those self-absorbed characters,

who only attend

to their own whinging.

But I must speak

to make common philosophy fashionable

and tell it to the high-minded.

Heed it, who will!"