To push back the Viking onslaught, to repair some of the terrible damage they'd done, would need more than just a competent tribal warrior chief. It was gonna need someone who had a vision, and a vision not just of victory, but of government; someone who could harness Anglo-Saxon energy and determination to Roman military discipline. It was going to need, in fact, a local Charlemagne, someone with the intelligence and imagination of a truly Roman ruler. And he, of course, was Alfred. Our cherished image of Alfred is of the hero on the run, up against steep odds, muddling through, taking it on the chin when getting scolded for burning the cakes. But the story which really tells you all you need to know about Alfred isn't set in the swamps of Somerset but on the Palatine Hill of Rome. And it's much more startling and illuminating, and it happens to be true.


想要抵御住维京海盗的猛攻，在他们留下的废墟之中重建家园，仅有一个骁勇善战的部落首领是远不够的。他还须具有深谋远略，不仅着眼于胜利，更要善于管理。一个能将盎格鲁-撒克逊部落力量与决心，转变成罗马式军纪的领袖。实际就是需要一位查理曼大帝式的首领，一位极具天赋与想象力的真正罗马统治者，这便是阿尔弗雷德大王。我们对阿尔弗雷德大王的印象，或许是落难英雄，或是绝处逢生，吉人天相，甚至是因烤糊蛋糕而受责骂的临时工（传说阿尔弗雷德落难后被好心人收留，却在烤蛋糕时不慎将蛋糕烤糊，被勤俭的女主人责骂）。而真正应该讲述的，你不可不知的阿尔弗雷德。并非萨默塞特泥沼中的他，而是在罗马帕拉蒂尼山巅的他，这个他更加光辉耀眼，也更为真实。