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THECITYTHATISNOT:APOPHASISANDANGLO-SAXONURBANISM
15
displayingarareaptnessforlearning,10pleadingwithhisfathertotake
himtoRomeoncemore,onhearingthatthekingisplanningavisit
there.Andregardlessofwhatthepopewantedtoachievepoliticallyby
thisgesture,theimageofafive-year-olduponwhomtheRomanPontif
bestowsallthetrappingsofaconsulinasolemnceremonyisespecially
evocative,evenifAsser)saccountofitwasaninstanceofalateninth-
centurypoliticalspin.Temyth-makingpowerofthatmomentlater
becameoneoftheseminalapocryphalstoriesassociatedwiththeking
thatcontributedtohiscultandtothevisionofEnglandaspartaking
intheculturalandpoliticalinheritanceofRome.Teinvestitureof
AlfredasaRomanconsul,howevertrueorfictionalised,didnotfailto
produceiconicrepresentationsofanangelicboyrespectfullykneeling
orresolutelystandingbeforePopeLeo,fromRichardWestell)sPrince
AlfredbeforePopeLeo
III
,paintedforRobertBowyer)suHistoricGallery”
(1794),11toJ.W
.Kennedy)sillustrationtoEvaMarchTappan)snovel,In
theDaysofAlfredtheGreat(1900).12
HoweverwejudgethepossibilityofAlfred)sinvestiture,sincewe
knowofnoothercontinentaljourneysundertakenlaterbyhim,the
recollectionsofhisRomanexperiencesmaybeassumedtohavebeen
amongstthemostimportantandmostvaluedofhischildhoodmemo-
ries.Conceivably,theymayhaveaccompaniedhimduringtheyears
oftheVikingcampaigns,inwhatmighthaveseemedtohimasafinal
struggletopreservetheSaxonChristianitasandtopreservewhatever
waslefoftheRomancivilizationinBritain.Perhapstheywerealso
amongthemanifoldreasonswhichfacilitatedAlfred)suniquepro-
grammeoflearning,introducedbyhimintheversedprefacetoalleg-
edlyhistranslationofGregorytheGreat)sPastoralCare.InitAlfred
thetranslatorispositionedassomeoneresemblingtheliteralsenseof
thewordpontifex,abridge-builderbetweenthewisdomofGregory,the
PontifexMaximus,andthoseoftheking)scountrymenwhoknewlittle
10Asser,LifeofKingAlfred,74-75.
11SimonKeynes,uTeCultofKingAlfredtheGreat,”Anglo-SaxonEngland
28(1999),plateXIa.
12
EvaMarchTappan,IntheDaysofAlfredtheGreat(Boston:LeeandShephard,
1900),77.
