KING ALFRED’S LITERARY ACTIVITY AS A STAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN EARLY MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

Abstract

The paper proposes an in-depth analysis of King Alfred’s literary and translation legacy and its influence on the making of the English nation and state. The author have made a comparative analysis of the texts of the original Latin works (“Pastoral Care” and “Dialogues” by Pope Gregory I; “The Consolation of Philosophy” by Boethius; “Soliloquies” by Augustine of Hippo; “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” by Bede the Venerable; “History against the Pagans” by Orosius) and their translations into Old English. The author concludes that the main purposes of the King Alfred’s work were raising the educational level of Angles, the cultural adaptation and Christianization of the Latin authors’ ideas, as well as strengthening the positions of Christianity, and consolidation of state authority in Early Medieval England.