ALFRED AND THE DEFENCE OF THE REALM

OVERVIEW ALFRED HAD WON A RESPITE WITH THE TREATY OF WEDMORE BUT NO MORE, IF HE WAS TO SECURE PERMANENT PEACE HE WOULD NEED TO MILITARISE WESSEX THIS INVOLVED DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE SYSTEM OF DEFENCE AND TAXATION. ALFRED’S SYSTEM INVOLVED DEFENCE IN DEPTH CENTRED ON APPROXIMATELY THIRTY BURGHS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A STANDING ARMY AND NAVY.

THE BURGHAL SYSTEM 1 USING THE EXISTING HUNDRED SYSTEM, EACH BURGH WAS PROVIDED WITH A CERTAIN AREA OF THE KINGDOM TO PROVIDE IT WITH REVENUE IN THE FORM OF TAXATION AND MANPOWER, A SYSTEM KNOWN AS ‘BURGHAL HIDAGE’. BURGHS WERE EARTH WALLED FORTIFICATIONS BUILT A DAY’S MARCH APART FROM EACH OTHER. WHERE EXISTING FORTIFICATIONS EXISTED E.G. AT PORTCHESTER THEY WERE USED. THEY CONTAINED A MINT, AN ARMOURY AND SUFFICIENT FOOD SUPPLIES FOR THE LOCAL POPULATION TO SEEK REFUGE THERE FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. TOGETHER THEY CREATED A SYSTEM OF ‘DEFENCE IN DEPTH’ SLOWING MOBILE VIKING RAIDERS AND ALLOWING TIME TO COUNTERATTACK. ALFRED CALCULATED THAT 27,000 MEN WOULD BE NEEDED AT ANY ONE TIME TO GARRISON THEM – 25% OF FREEMEN AT ANY ONE TIME REPRESENTING 6% OF WESSEX’S POPULATION OF 450,000.

THE BURGHAL SYSTEM 2 IN ADDITION TO THEIR DEFENSIVE FUNCTION, ALFRED INTENDED BURGHS TO ACT AS TOOLS OF ROYAL POWER PROJECTION. AS SUCH HE TURNED THEM INTO CENTRES OF GOVERNMENT AND TRADE. NEW BURGHS WERE CREATED TO CEMENT THE RULE OF WESSEX OVER PREVIOUSLY ALIEN TERRITORY E.G. EASHING IN SURREY AND THUS THEY SERVED AS INSTRUMENTS OF IMPERIALISM AS WELL AS SECURITY. UNDER EDWARD AND ATHELSTAN THE SYSTEM WOULD BE CONTINUED ALL THE WAY TO THE SCOTTISH BORDER. THEY DEFENDED CENTRES OF GOVERNMENT (E.G. LANGPORT DEFENDED SOMERTON) AND COMMUNICATION (THE THAMES WAS PROTECTED BY NO LESS THAN FIVE). WHERE ROADS DID NOT EXIST BETWEEN THE BURGHS, THEY WERE CONSTRUCTED – ‘HEREPATHS’ THE BURGHAL HIDEAGE OF CIRCA 914 AD PRECISELY LINKS THE LAND TAXABLE TO THE BURGH WITH THE LENGTH OF THE WALLS TO BE MAINTAINED AND THE SIZE OF THE GARRISON NEEDED TO MAN IT – 4 MEN EVERY 5 METRES.

The preserved earth walls of Wareham burgh

Wareham, Dorset: The best preserved of Alfred’s Burgh’s

ALFRED’S BURGH’S WITH THEIR HIDEAGE 8- Winchester 2400 (CAPITAL) 27 - Wallingford Warwick 2400 * 31 - Southwark Wareham Buckingham 1600 * 5 - Chichester Cricklade Wilton Oxford 1400 * 3 - Lewes Malmesbury Worcester Sashes Bath Bridport Exeter 734 (probably an error, too low) 4 - Burpham Shaftesbury Chisbury Langport Eashing Watchet Hastings Portchester 500 * 12 - Twynam Axbridge Pilton Eorpeburnan Halwell Southampton Lydford Lyng 100

BORDERS OF WESSEX DEFINED BY BURGHS ON ALFRED’S DEATH IN

REFORM OF THE FYRD THE FYRD WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A STANDING FORCE ON THE LINES OF THE TERRITORIAL ARMY – ALL ELIGIBLE MEN WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO WITH ONE HALF PERMANENTLY ON STANDBY. FYRDSMEN WERE ALSO REQUIRED TO FURNISH THEMSLVES WITH SIXTY DAYS OF SUPPLIES IF POSSIBLE HORSES. THIS CRERATED A MOBILE STANDING ARMY ABLE TO SWIFTLY MOVE FROM ONE THREATEND AREA OF THE KINGDOM TO ANOTHER.

THE ROYAL NAVY IN 897 ALFRED COMMANDED THE BUILDING OF A SMALL NAVY TO COUNTERACT CONTINUING RAIDS BY THE VIKINGS. IT WAS THE FRIST STATE NAVY IN BRITIAN SINCE THE ROMANS BASED IN SOUTHAMPTON, IT COMPRISED APPROXIMTAELY 12 VERY LARGE SHIPS BUILT IN THE LONGSHIP STYLE. ITS PURPOSE, AS WITH THE BURGHS, WAS TO DENY THE VIKINGS MOBILITY. ON ITS LAUNCH IT WAS IMMEDIATELY DEPLOYED IN A SUCESSFUL BATTLE IN THE SOLENT.

THE COST A STANDING ARMY AND THE MAINTENANCE OF THE BURGH SYSTEM WAS A HUGE FINANCIAL AND PHYSICAL BURDEN ON AN ALREADY DEPELKETED WESSEX – A TYPICAL BURGH TOOK 120,000 MAN HOURS TO CONSTRUCT (WALLINGFORD). TO PAY FOR THIS ALFRED HAD TO PERMANENTLY TAX THE CHURCH, KEEP A RESENTFUL NOBILITY ACQUIESCENT AND EXPAND TRADE. THE MEASURES REQUIURED HAD THE SIDE EFFECT OF CONCENTRATING ROYAL POWER EVEN MORE THAN PREVIOUSLY.

FISCAL CONTROL ALFRED’S MILITARY REFORMS REQUIRED ADDITIONAL CURRENCY TO THIS END HE EXPANDED THE NUMBER OF MINTS FROM TWO TO NINE AND REBASED THE SILVER CONTENT. HE MUST HAVE RADICALLY INCREASED THE AMOUNT OF SILVER IN CIRCULATION. THE ACTUAL PROCESS OF REBASEMENT IS A REMAKRBALE ACHEIVEMERNT FOR AN EARLY MEDIEVAL KING INVOVLING WITHDRAWING AND REISSUING OVER TEN MILLION COINS, A TESTIMONY TO THE CENTRALISED NATURE OF ALFRED’S STATE. ALFRED ALSO FOLWIOED THE CAROLINGIANS IN ‘MOENTARY RENNOVATION’ – REISSUING COINS WITH THE ‘PUBLIC FACE’ OF THE KING AS A MEANS OF PWOER PROJECTION. HIS COINS ARE DELIBERAETLY BASED ON ROMAN DESIGNS AND IDENTIFY HIM AS ‘KING OF THE ENGLISH’.