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- Title
Seeking Alfred's body: royal tomb as political object in the reign of Edward the Elder.
- Authors
Marafioti, Nicole
- Abstract
This article addresses a crux in the Fonthill Letter: why Helmstan, an outlawed thief, visited King Alfred's grave. This episode coincided with a succession dispute in which Alfred's son, Edward the Elder, was resisting a challenge for the kingdom. To enhance his legitimacy, Edward celebrated his father's legacy and promoted his grave, building Alfred a monumental mausoleum. Edward removed Helmstan'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, Edward offered comparable clemency to offenders who visited Alfred's grave.
- Subjects
ENGLAND; ALFRED, King of England, 849-899; TOMBS; MAUSOLEUMS; OUTLAWRY; EDWARD, King of England, d. 924
- Publication
Early Medieval Europe, 2015, Vol 23, Issue 2, p202
- ISSN
0963-9462
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/emed.12097