Alfred's court Flashcards
(3 cards)
What was the flexibility of Alfred’s court like?
Alfred’s court was fluid and flexible - different individuals attended depending on the time and his requirements
How did Alfred’s Itinerant kingship maintain unity?
Itinerant kingship meant that there was no fixed royal court and Alfred would travel around the kingdom
(Local bases of royal administration were called ‘royal vills’, whilst staying at royal vills, Alfred and his court would live off food renders collected from the surrounding population)
Despite having the final word on all decisions, who would Alfred consult?
He would sometimes consult the Witan (an advisory body), holding councils called a SYNOD for religious matters, and an assembly for secular matters
Membership for these would change dependent on the issue at hand - eg. could just be local figures, or men from across the whole realm, like when Alfred called men to discuss the treaty with Guthrum (although, large assemblies were fairly infrequent)
Generally though, Alfred was an authoritarian ruler - those who became apart of his household/witan did so to gain status, not with the hope of meaningfully challenging his power.
