Assers Life of Alfred 871. 871. 42. Alfred comes to the Throne; Battle of Wilton.⁹⁴ That same year the aforesaid Alfred (age 22), who had been up to that time, during the lifetime of his brothers, only of secondary rank, now, on the death of his brother, by God's permission undertook the government of the whole kingdom, amid the acclamations of all the people; and indeed, if he had chosen, he might easily have done so with the general consent whilst his brother above named was still alive, since in wisdom and every other good quality he surpassed all his brothers, and especially because he was brave and victorious in nearly every battle. And when he had reigned a month almost against his will - for he did not think that he alone, without divine aid, could sustain the ferocity of the heathen, though even during his brothers' lifetimes he had borne the calamities of many - he fought a fierce battle with a few men, and on very unequal terms, against all the army of the heathen, at a hill called Wilton [Map], on the south bank of the river Wiley⁹⁵, from which river the whole of that shire is named; and after a severe engagement, lasting a considerable part of the day, the heathen, seeing the whole extent of the danger they were in, and no longer able to bear the attack of their enemies, turned their backs and fled. But, shame to say, they took advantage of their pursuers' rashness⁹⁶, and, again rallying, gained the victory and kept the battle-field. Let no one be surprised that the Christians had but a small number of men, for the Saxons as a people had been all but worn out by eight battles in this selfsame year against the heathen, in which there died one king, nine chieftains, and innumerable troops of soldiers, not to speak of countless skirmishes both by night and by day, in which the oft-named [King] Alfred (age 22), and all the leaders of that people, with their men, and many of the king's thanes, had been engaged in unwearied strife against the heathen. How many thousand heathen fell in these numberless skirmishes God alone knows, over and above those who were slain in the eight battles above mentioned.

Note 94. Paraphrased and amplified from the Chronicle.

Note 95. A tributary of the Nadder, which it joins near Wilton [Map].

Note 96. Or, perhaps, 'fewness,' reading paucitatem for peraudacitatem (Stevenson).