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Seeking A lfred's body: royal tomb as political object in the reign of E dward the E lder
Author(s) -
Marafioti Nicole
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
early medieval europe
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.1
H-Index - 24
eISSN - 1468-0254
pISSN - 0963-9462
DOI - 10.1111/emed.12097
Subject(s) - reign , politics , legitimacy , punishment (psychology) , history , object (grammar) , ancient history , law , political science , psychology , philosophy , social psychology , linguistics
This article addresses a crux in the F onthill L etter: why H elmstan, an outlawed thief, visited K ing A lfred's grave. This episode coincided with a succession dispute in which A lfred's son, E dward the E lder, was resisting a challenge for the kingdom. To enhance his legitimacy, E dward celebrated his father's legacy and promoted his grave, building Alfred a monumental mausoleum. E dward removed H elmstan's outlawry after the visit – a reversal that resembles instances in which condemned criminals were spared punishment after seeking sanctuary protection. I propose that as part of his political efforts, E dward offered comparable clemency to offenders who visited A lfred's grave.