With the passage just quoted may be compared an extract from chapter 88 of Asser, the translation of which is given below (pp. 49, 50): ‘Ac deinde cotidie inter nos sermocinando, ad hæc investigando aliis inventis æque placabilibus testimoniis, quaternio ille refertus succrevit, nec immerito, sicut scriptum est, “super modicum fundamentum ædificat justus et paulatim ad majora defluit,” velut apis fertilissima longe lateque gronnios interrogando discurrens, multimodos divinæ scripturæ flosculos inhianter et incessabiliter congregavit, quis præcordii sui cellulas densatim replevit.’ Such Latin as this is difficult to translate into satisfactory English. If one renders it literally, the result is apt to look rather absurd; and beyond a certain point condensation is impracticable, or else misrepresents the original, faults and merits alike. Hitherto there have been three translations of Asser into English--that by J. A. Giles in Bohn’s _Six Old English Chronicles_, London, 1848; that by Joseph Stevenson in _Church Historians of England_, Vol. 2, London, 1854; and that by Edward Conybeare, _Alfred in the Chroniclers_, London, 1900. As the basis of my work I have taken the translation of Giles, sometimes following it rather closely, and at other times departing from it more or less widely. The reader familiar with the traditional Asser will miss some matter with which he is familiar, such as the story of Alfred and the cakes, that of the raven-banner of the Danes, etc. These are derived from interpolations made in the manuscript by Archbishop Parker, which modern critical scholarship has at length excised. For all matters regarding the manuscript, the earlier editions, etc., as well as for copious illustrative notes on the text, the reader is referred to Stevenson’s edition. Insertions made in the text by Stevenson, on what he considers sufficient grounds, are indicated by < >. The chapter-divisions and -numbering are Stevenson’s; the chapter-headings mine. Where modern forms of proper names exist, I have not hesitated to adopt them, and in general have tended rather to normalize them than scrupulously to follow the sometimes various spellings of the text. The notes have almost always been derived from Stevenson’s edition, whether or not explicit acknowledgment has been made, but now and then, as in the case of the long note on chapter 56, are my own. YALE UNIVERSITY July 4, 1905 CONTENTS PAGE 1. Alfred’s Birth and Genealogy 1 2. Genealogy of Alfred’s Mother 2 3. The Danes at Wicganbeorg and Sheppey 3 4. The Danes sack Canterbury 3 5. Battle of Aclea 4 6. Defeat of the Danes at Sandwich 4