Historic Kent - Through the Ages

Through the Ages - Saxons & Danes

Ethelred II - AD 953 to 1012

St Alphege

Vikings Attack

Alphege, or Aelfheah, was a young man when he renounced the material world and entered a life in the Church. As fate would have it though, he was not long to enjoy a state of peace and solitude, for this was a turbulent time in England, characterised by violent Viking raids.

Alphege, born in AD 953, is believed to have been a member of a noble family living in Weston, near Bath in Somerset. The family held a comfortable position in life and had wealth and some power. Alphege was not interested in these luxuries, however, and while still in his teens he chose to enter the monastery at Deerhurst in Gloucestershire. Even the monastic life was not sufficiently ascetic for him, though. After a time, Alphege became a hermit, making his solitary home near the hot springs at Bath.

Britain suffered frequent attacks by the Vikings (right) as their leaders considered the country to be a rich source of plunder, ransoms and bribes. In 1011 Vikings captured and looted the City of Canterbury. Archbishop Aphelge was among the many prisoners taken.

By the time he moved to Bath Alphege had made a name for himself as a teacher and he was soon joined by several followers, which rather discounted the absolute solitude he so desired. Eventually, St Dunstan, then primate of all England, persuaded Alphege to become abbot of a community of canons near Bath. In AD 984 Dunstan appealed to Alphege's sense of Christian duty and persuaded him to became Bishop of Winchester.

Alphege and the Vikings

Transferring to Winchester, the capital of the kingdom of Wessex, put Alphege where he least wanted to be: at the heart of a realm whose king, Ethelred II (the Unready), was desperately trying to fend off the marauding Vikings. Several times Ethelred had bribed the invaders to leave him in peace but, they always came back for more. Alphege, however, had his own methods: he tried to persuade the Vikings to desist through Christian teachings.

Alphege had surprising success with Olaf Tryggveson, the king of Norway, after Olaf's attacks on London and the south coast of England in AD 994. Alphege persuaded Olaf, who was nominally Christian, to enter into peace talks with Ethelred. Olaf agreed and a truce was drawn up with Ethelred, who adopted Olaf as his son. Alphege confirmed Olaf as a Christian, and the Norwegian king promised never to raid England again. This time the promise was kept.

Alphege at Canterbury

Alphege, however, was not deceived by this success. He knew that there were many other Viking leaders who saw Britain as a fruitful source for raiding and pillaging. In 1005 Alphege became Archbishop of Canterbury and one of the first tasks he undertook was to improve the defences of the vulnerable coast of Kent against future Viking attacks. As it turned out, this was not a moment too soon. In 1008 the Vikings returned, this time from Denmark. Their raiding continued for three years and in 1011, they captured Canterbury itself.

Alphege persuaded Olaf Tryggveson, King of Norway, to enter peace talks with King Ethelred following Olaf's many attacks around the South of England. Surprisingly successful, the talks resulted in Olaf keeping his promise to never raid England again.

Canterbury was systematically plundered, its cathedral burned and many prisoners taken - Alphege among them. The hard-pressed Witangemot, the council of royal advisers, eventually agreed to pay the Danes £84,000 to persuade them to leave Britain in peace. An extra £3,000 was offered as ransom for Alphege, but he refused to pay this huge sum, and neither would he allow anyone else to do so.

His Danish captors, however, wanted their money and on the night of 19 April 1012, while in a drunken rage, they pelted Alphege with ox-bones. Alphege, by now a frail 59 years old, was soon on the brink of death. He was finally dispatched when a Dane named Thrum struck him with an axe.

Alphege, Martyr and Saint

Subsequently, the parish church of St Alphege was built in Greenwich at the place where he was murdered. Alphege was first buried in St Paul's Cathedral, which soon became a popular place of pilgrimage. In 1023 King Canute removed Alphege's corpse to Canterbury, where it was reinterred near the high altar. A cult soon grew up around it.