The Persuasive Agency of Objects and Practices in Alfred the Great's Reform Program

Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-1-80270-287-3
Verlag: ARC Humanities Press

Buch, Englisch, 242 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Alfred the Great's early English kingdom was the only one to resist Viking conquest. His reform program strengthened the kingdom and enabled it to hold fast against the Vikings. But texts are largely silent on the process of reform. There has been a tendency to assume that these reforms would obviously be beneficial, but Alfred’s elites were not to know that in advance. What motivated them to do as their king bid them?

This book analyzes how objects and behaviours shaped aristocratic response to the reform program, using assemblage theory and social practice theory. The Alfred Jewel (as shown on the cover) exercised a powerful persuasive agency in Alfredian reform. Broadening the frame of inquiry beyond textual evidence, giving objects and behaviours their due, permits a richer and more nuanced understanding.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Pitt, Georgina

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Vor- und Frühgeschichte, prähistorische Archäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Mittelalterliche, neuzeitliche Archäologie (Europa)
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

Abbreviations

Prelude. The Enigmatic Alfred Jewel

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Military Innovation: Performing Alfredian Ideology

Chapter 3. Alfredian Ideology

Chapter 4. Alfredian Learning and Its Implications for Alfredian Reform

Chapter 5. Text-Bodies: A Crucial Actant

Chapter 6. Social Practices: Routinized Ways of Doing Things

Chapter 7. The Enigmatic Alfred Jewel: A Powerful Player in Alfredian Reform

Coda. Looking Forward: Alfred’s Successors

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Pitt, Georgina
Georgina Pitt is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on the early medieval period, across the disciplines of history, literary studies, and archaeology. She has published on Alfredian reform, Sutton Hoo, and the medieval experience of war.