So, did
Alfred really burn the cakes?
By Chris
Bishop
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| A Victorian portrayal of the 12th-century legend of Alfred burning the cakes ~ Wikipedia |
Whilst you might not think this to be the most important question ever asked about one of the truly revered figures from English history, it is the one most frequently posed whenever I give talks about my novels in The Shadow of the Raven series, all of which feature Alfred the Great.
Of course, the answer is that we’ll never know
whether or not the story is true. It’s
one of those strange ‘facts’ which have emerged from the misty realms of folklore
and have somehow managed to survive the ravages of both time and historical
interpretation. As such it’s easy to
dismiss it as trivial nonsense yet even now, over 1000 years after it is
supposed to have happened, it can reveal a good deal more than you might think about
what was going on at this crucial turning point in English history.
To explain what I mean let me quickly summarise the
backdrop to the story. England was all
but dominated by the Vikings following the Great Invasion in 865 until Alfred’s
realm of Wessex stood alone. Alfred (and
his older brother Aethelred) did sterling work in holding back the Vikings,
fighting numerous battles and skirmishes in an attempt to drive them from
Wessex. Unfortunately, apart from Ashdown where the Saxons were successful,
none of the battles were decisive and most could best be described as a ‘no
score draw’ until, in 877, Alfred, no doubt weary and needing to regroup, returned
to his Royal Vill at Chippenham for the winter.
Whilst there, a surprise Viking attack led by Guthrum left his army all
but annihilated and Alfred, we’re told, was forced to flee with a small band of
survivors to hide out in the desolate marshes in the Somerset Levels. It is from this wretched period that the
story of the cakes emanates – along with others.
Actually, recent archaeological findings may
suggest that Alfred was not quite as isolated as we might have previously
thought. For example, there is the
suggestion that Ceolwulf II, the ruler of the neighbouring realm of Mercia, was
also involved in the all-important Battle at Edington later that same year when
the Saxons at last managed to turn the tide of the Viking invasion. However, the evidence for Ceolwulf’s part in this
is far from conclusive. It rests on some
coins which have been found from this period depicting both rulers side by
side, suggesting that Alfred enlisted (or perhaps accepted) help from
Ceolwulf. Does this infer two realms
coming together to fight a common enemy or did they form an alliance once
victory had been achieved?
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| Map of Britain in 886 ~ Wikipedia |
Setting that aside, we can only imagine how
devastating that defeat at Chippenham would have been for a man who stood to
lose his entire Kingdom to the Vikings. Also,
to go from the comfort of his Royal Vill to sheltering in the marshes would
have been a severe blow not just to Alfred’s ego and his pride, but to his
confidence as well. The marshes would
have been a bleak and depressing place, particularly in winter, with precious
little to commend them beyond the fact that they were probably a relatively
safe place in which to hide – as I say in my novel, Blood and Destiny, Alfred would have gone there for one simple
reason - the Vikings would not. Whatever
the truth of that, it does at least put Alfred in the right place at the right
time for the story about the cakes to be true.
It’s easy to envisage the situation where Alfred,
ever determined, sets about planning how best to strike back – no easy task
when most Saxons would have had their fill of battles and, anyway, many people probably
thought him either dead or to have fled abroad.
Some sort of covert mechanism for rallying what was left his army would
have been needed, supported by tactics which can probably best be described as guerrilla
warfare – striking when and where he could.
It is generally accepted that he would have established a base within
the marshes for that very purpose (the ‘Isle’ of Athelney is thought by many to
have been a possible site for this) but in undertaking various raids he would
have had to venture further afield and would doubtless have identified some isolated
settlements where he could safely seek temporary shelter. Thus the prospect of him stopping off at one
of these is certainly not an unreasonable proposition and, if he did, it is not
too hard to think in terms of him resting whilst his host, supposedly a poor
and wretched soul, went about her tasks.
So why then did this great King abuse this poor woman’s hospitality and
allow her cakes to be ruined?
The answer must surely lie in the fact that
Alfred would have had a great deal on his mind at the time and a huge
responsibility on his shoulders. Hardly
surprising then that he was so distracted as to take his mind off such a menial
task. If we want to be pedantic we could
ask why the most important man in the realm was alone at this time – and
assuming he wasn’t, why one of the others could not have been given the more
mundane task of minding a few cakes leaving Alfred to concentrate on planning
his come-back, rebuilding his kingdom and saving his people from the ravages of
the Viking invaders. It is also recorded
that Alfred was sometimes unwell, suffering from an inflammation of the gut
(possibly Crohn’s Disease?) which may have been made worse by the stress of all
he had endured and by the discomfort of living within the cold damp marsh
through the winter. Might such a
debilitating complaint have contributed to his being distracted?
So, from what we have so far it does seem
plausible to assume that the incident could
have happened. But there is a major flaw
– having burned the cakes, it is said that the woman scolded him for his
inattention to what, to her, would have been a very important task – preparing
food for the table.
Well, let’s just look at that for a moment. Given that he was under attack, Alfred
probably left Chippenham in haste with little more than his weaponry and the
clothes on his back. Certainly it’s
unlikely that he would have had any regalia or robes that might reflect his
status and, whilst we don’t know exactly when the cakes incident is supposed to
have taken place, even if it happened after only a few weeks of living rough,
it’s reasonable to assume that Alfred would have looked dishevelled and well
the worse for wear. Also, Wessex was the
last piece in the Viking’s invasion jigsaw and they had only to capture Alfred
in order to complete it and thereby secure their domination of all England. Thus the price on Alfred’s head would have
been enormous - certainly enough to tempt someone to betray him and, in those
circumstances, it’s not unreasonable to think of him disguising himself, with
his true identity being known only to the small band of survivors whose loyalty
was beyond question and whose fate was inextricably bound with his own. To achieve this, he may well have presented
himself as just another ragged and destitute soul who had been driven from his
home and thus the poor woman who offered him shelter may have had no idea who
she was taking in. However, I have to
question whether that is a realistic contention. Alfred, and those with him, would surely have
had their war gear and weapons, particularly if they were indeed carrying out
raids on Viking targets and positions. That
alone should have marked them out as being at least of noble blood and for a
lowly coerl or peasant woman to scold her betters over such a trivial matter as
a few cakes seems highly improbable.
So, even finding Alfred in the right place at
the right time and being able to envisage the circumstances in which he might have been seeking shelter at a
humble abode, the story doesn’t quite hold water. However, there is another story which also
stems from this period which suggests that Alfred disguised himself as a
wandering minstrel and actually entered the Viking camp to learn what he could
of Guthrum’s plans. That also makes
little sense given all that was at stake for Alfred personally – not just the
loss of his Kingdom, but also the prospect of a gruesome death given that the
Viking’s hated spies and reserved some particularly brutal torments for those
they caught! However, if you consider the
two stories together there is a common thread depicting traits such as humility
and bravado which are often ascribed to the heroes from our past – Robin Hood who
robbed the rich and gave to the poor being a case in point. Folklore seems to embrace characteristics like
these and so perhaps that’s what we’re hearing with both stories about Alfred –
tales which spring from the popular culture of the time, perhaps originating in
the tradition of oral story telling which is how most people would have heard
and repeated them at the time. If so
they are probably not entirely without foundation. Alfred was indeed a man of the people. Being the youngest of five brothers, he was
never destined to be King in the first place, particularly as at that time succession
was more a matter of selection rather than birthright. He earned the right to rule Wessex on the
battlefield, proving himself a skilled and daring military commander. But, by the same token, he was also a very religious
man, the depth of his faith perhaps stemming from the fact that as boy he twice
made a pilgrimage to Rome which is thought to have made a huge impression on
him. This would have been an important
consideration at the time given that the Saxons were themselves a deeply
religious people.
Put his military skill and his religious
convictions together and you begin to understand why Alfred, as great warrior
King, not only had the resolve and determination to win back his kingdom (when
many probably thought that impossible) but he was also driven by an altruistic
desire to improve things for all his subjects.
That was a rare thing in those days when social justice could be
described as rudimentary at best and it might well explain why these affectionate
and flattering stories were founded - and why they endured. If that is indeed the case it is a much more
significant part of Alfred’s story than the burning of a few cakes.
Actually, they probably weren’t cakes at all –
they were more likely to be small loaves of bread but I find the image of those
battle hardened Saxon warriors sitting down to scoff a few cakes between
battles (burnt or otherwise) an endearing one.
That said, I do wonder how or why a woman somewhere in or near the dank
marshes at Athelney was cooking enough cakes to share – and where she got the
ingredients in the middle of winter when large swathes of the realm were
probably starving!
Most likely, wherever and however the story
originated it has since been embellished by others over the centuries (including
the Victorians who held Alfred in particular esteem), so much so that the truth
of it is probably lost forever. Frankly I’m
not sure it matters all that much if it is.
The story of Alfred has served as both an inspiration and a role model throughout
history to such an extent that if he hadn’t existed, we would probably have had
to invent him. He is one of the few men
in the history of the world to be afforded the title ‘Great’ which reflects all
that he achieved – so what does it matter if his skills didn’t extend to baking
a few cakes?
The Warrior With The
Pierced Heart
Despite his great
victory at Edington, Alfred’s Kingdom is far from secure as bands of restless
Vikings still roam free, armed and intent on vengeance.
Matthew is charged with
carrying news of Alfred’s triumph ahead of the main Saxon army to rally support. But his mission goes dreadfully wrong when he
and his small escort are all but destroyed in a surprise Viking attack. Seriously wounded, Matthew is left for dead
but, for reasons of her own, a mysterious pagan healer helps to heal his
wounds. His adventures thereafter take
him to the very depths of despair as he strives to return to his king - and to
the woman he loves. But fate stalks him
like a shadow and he endures much hardship and cruelty along the way - and is
forced to fight for his life just to survive.
AVAILABLE FROM ALL GOOD BOOKSHOPS AND ONLINE
Chris Bishop
Chris Bishop is the author of The Shadow of the Raven Series, a trilogy set at the time of Alfred the Great. Part 1 – Blood & Destiny - was published in 2017 and Part 2 – The Warrior with the Pierced Heart - in July this year. Part 3 - The Final Reckoning - will be published next year.
Chris is a member of the Historical Writers’ Association and the Historical Novels Society.
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See you on your next coffee break!
Take Care,
Mary Anne xxx