John 14:9 …Anyone who has seen me has seen My Father! So why are you asking me to show Him to you?
{{tncms-inline alignment=”right” content=”<p>Edwin Woolsey’s family has lived in Shannon, Texas, and Howell counties since 1860. He taught 31 years at Missouri public schools and is currently the pastor of a small country congregation at Pilgrim Rest Community Church. Follow him on Twitter at <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/EdwinWoolsey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@edwinwoolsey</a></strong>.</p>” id=”5f9562b0-99ae-43eb-9882-c606a6642cba” style-type=”bio” title=”Bio Box” type=”relcontent” width=”half”}}
In 839, Aethelwulf of Wessex was a very pious man. Due to his spiritual devotion, He was possibly a better Christian than he was a king. Whether or not the monarch neglected his duties as sovereign, yet he never failed to focus fatherly attention on his five sons; Aethelstan, Aethelbald, Aethelberht, Aethelred, and finally the youngest, Alfred. Aethelwulf’s only daughter, Aethelswith, married King Burgred of Mercia in 853 but was driven from her kingdom in 874 by the Vikings. Curiously, Aethelwulf named all of his children, but one, using the common prefix – Aethel, meaning “noble.” However, that last child with the mismatched name was noblest of all.
Little Alfred was born in 849 at Wanating in Berkshire. He was a weak, sickly child from the very beginning, and his physical disabilities followed him through life. But, lacking stamina, the boy excelled in integrity, interest, and wit.
After Aethelwulf’s oldest son Aethelstan was killed by the Vikings in 851, the king decided to take 4-year-old Alfred on a pilgrimage to Rome to be confirmed by Pope Leo IV in 853. Sadly, the journey ultimately cost Aethelwulf his crown in 856 when Aethelbald decided to seize the throne of Wessex in his father’s absence. Rather than wage war against his son, Aethelwulf agreed to give the best part of the western kingdom to Aethelbald, while keeping what remained in the east. All the while, Alfred was watching his father’s noble example.
All of Aethelwulf’s remaining sons would inherit the Wessex throne in their own order. Each would be severely tested during their reign by the Vikings’ Great Heathen Army. After his father and brothers were all dead, Alfred would face insurmountable odds while dealing with the Danes.
Alfred’s darkest hour came on Christmas in 878 as the young king was in Chippenham, celebrating Christ’s birth. Little did he know that the Viking chief Guthrum had planned a midnight raid. Although most of Chippenham was slaughtered, young Alfred and a few loyal friends escaped to the swamps of West Somerset. Wessex and the rest of England were now totally under the control of the Vikings.
There are turning points in history when the future hangs on a thread. Except for the smallest factor, the outcome might go either way; i.e., the victory of Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours… the Spanish Armada lost in a freak storm off the coast of England… and a teenage boy hiding in a swineherd’s hut in the swamps of southwestern England.
This young man was totally alone. His father and all his brothers were dead. The weight of the world rested on his shoulders, and all he had to bolster him were the lessons he learned from his father. Far worse than Hitler’s attack on Europe or the Battle of Britain, English civilization and Western Christianity were virtually lost. Having defeated all the other kingdoms of Britain, the only barrier standing in the way of a total Viking victory was a child running for his life. The boy’s only crime was the misfortune of becoming king during one of the bleakest periods of western civilization. Graffiti scrawled by dying monks on monastery walls testified to this stark reality, “The End of the World has come!”
Following the Viking slaughter at Chippenham, the ominous words of the dying priests almost came true, had the boy not miraculously marshaled an army in those same Athelney swamps. Alfred, the youngest son of old King Aethelwulf, gruelingly struggled to reclaim Anglia from the cruel clutches of the Great Heathen Army. Old Aethelwulf might have been a good king, but Alfred was a better one, to the extent of being considered GREAT by those who loved him and those he loved. He proved his bravery by leading others, rather than commanding them to go where he would not. Pious as his father, Alfred was a better administrator. Unlike his father, the boy was able to keep his eyes both on heaven as well as his god-given obligation on earth. After many hard-fought victories, Alfred eventually surrounded his kingdom with a network of manned forts. The king of Wessex designed new ships, expanded the size of the fleet, and hired competent seamen to sail. Alfred codified a common law, providing equal justice for both rich and poor. He stressed education’s importance. Anyone who could learn should be able to read English. Beyond that, gifted scholars must master the universal language of Latin. To facilitate his passion for learning, the king personally translated the books he thought people should read. (Please understand, Alfred did not assign these duties to others, her personally did ALL THESE THINGS HIMSELF… while also battling the Vikings.) Architect, inventor, chronicler, and student of the classics, no endeavor was beyond Alfred’s scope. He was honest, merciful, always defender but never conqueror. Alfred invited all nationalities to become English and his opponents to become friends. By his own godly example, Alfred converted his enemies to Christ rather than slaughtering them. He did not preach Christ as much as he lived Christ. And by his own words, he sincerely eulogized himself… “My will was to live worthily as long as I lived, and after my life to leave to them that should come after, my memory in good works.” Finally, Alfred established a solid foundation during his life upon which his children built a unified England in the footsteps of their father. Since the days of Jesus Christ, no better man has ever lived than Alfred the Great.
But the truth of the matter is this… the man’s noble character rested on the virtues his father instilled when the boy was young. Consequently, the seed of Alfred’s greatness was originally planted by the boy’s father. Although King Aethelwulf’s accomplishments quickly followed him to the grave, yet the investment he made in his children’s character endured for generations. Characteristic of a good man, Aethelwulf received greater renown as the “father” of Alfred the Great than being king in his own right. Undeniably, the noble mark of true greatness is a father’s legacy to his children. Through it all, Alfred not only listened to his father’s counsel but also carefully watched the way a noble king conducted himself in every crisis. Thus, due credit goes to the father as much as to the son. Regardless of what a man aspires to do, his greatest gift is the noble seed implanted in the lives of his children.
Edwin Woolsey’s family has lived in Shannon, Texas, and Howell counties since 1860. He taught 31 years at Missouri public schools and is currently the pastor of a small country congregation at Pilgrim Rest Community Church. Follow him on Twitter at @edwinwoolsey.
