The Ballad of the White Horse GK Chesterton 9781534690769 Books
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The Ballad of the White Horse
By G.K. Chesterton
This ballad needs no historical notes, for the simple reason that it does not profess to be historical. All of it that is not frankly fictitious, as in any prose romance about the past, is meant to emphasize tradition rather than history. King Alfred is not a legend in the sense that King Arthur may be a legend; that is, in the sense that he may possibly be a lie. But King Alfred is a legend in this broader and more human sense, that the legends are the most important things about him.
The cult of Alfred was a popular cult, from the darkness of the ninth century to the deepening twilight of the twentieth. It is wholly as a popular legend that I deal with him here. I write as one ignorant of everything, except that I have found the legend of a King of Wessex still alive in the land. I will give three curt cases of what I mean. A tradition connects the ultimate victory of Alfred with the valley in Berkshire called the Vale of the White Horse. I have seen doubts of the tradition, which may be valid doubts. I do not know when or where the story started; it is enough that it started somewhere and ended with me; for I only seek to write upon a hearsay, as the old balladists did. For the second case, there is a popular tale that Alfred played the harp and sang in the Danish camp; I select it because it is a popular tale, at whatever time it arose. For the third case, there is a popular tale that Alfred came in contact with a woman and cakes; I select it because it is a popular tale, because it is a vulgar one. It has been disputed by grave historians, who were, I think, a little too grave to be good judges of it. The two chief charges against the story are that it was first recorded long after Alfred's death, and that (as Mr. Oman urges) Alfred never really wandered all alone without any thanes or soldiers. Both these objections might possibly be met. It has taken us nearly as long to learn the whole truth about Byron, and perhaps longer to learn the whole truth about Pepys, than elapsed between Alfred and the first writing of such tales. And as for the other objection, do the historians really think that Alfred after Wilton, or Napoleon after Leipsic, never walked about in a wood by himself for the matter of an hour or two? Ten minutes might be made sufficient for the essence of the story. But I am not concerned to prove the truth of these popular traditions. It is enough for me to maintain two things that they are popular traditions; and that without these popular traditions we should have bothered about Alfred about as much as we bother about Eadwig.
Contents
DEDICATION
- BOOK I. THE VISION OF THE KING
- BOOK II. THE GATHERING OF THE CHIEFS
- BOOK III. THE HARP OF ALFRED
- BOOK IV. THE WOMAN IN THE FOREST
- BOOK V. ETHANDUNE THE FIRST STROKE
- BOOK VI. ETHANDUNE THE SLAYING OF THE CHIEFS
- BOOK VII. ETHANDUNE THE LAST CHARGE
- BOOK VIII. THE SCOURING OF THE HORSE
The Ballad of the White Horse GK Chesterton 9781534690769 Books
The virgin Mary appears to King Alfred and tells him nothing to his profit, only that the sea grows higher and the sky grows darker. So he gathers what little remains of the free peoples of England to fight, the Saxon who has fought too much and is tired, the Roman who clings to Rome, the Gael who hates and mocks him. They march against the hosts of the Vikings who want to conquer and destroy all and fight and die and win. Because they have nothing to lose and all to win.Poetry to make you weep. To make your soul soar. Epic but not in the glorifying style that glorifies folly. Religious in a way, Alfred is a Christian king with many sins who marches to kill without the blessing of Mary and he knows it. But he fights because his foes are worse still and not fighting them the end of all.
The style is a bit confusing at times, as poetry can be, but mainly clear. You can understand Alfred's humble speech to the chieftains and the mockery of the Gael when he tells him that better kings than him were defeated. You can understand the madness of the Vikings. You can understand Alfred's speech to his young lords long after the battle when they reproach him not having carried on and swept the Norse off England.
This is a poem about people who fought and died and won because they had nothing to lose. There is no glory here or boasting or honor. The Vikings fight well and cleverly and the Saxons only win because they fight to the end and the Vikings don't have to.
Chesterton has writen a dark poem of strife and despair, of humility and bleak courage before the end. Of the wisdom of Alfred who saved what could be saved and held the line for civilization and Christianity until the times were less dark. It is a poem worth reading and remembering. For it tells of a king who lost it all and won it back and knew the true value of things.
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The Ballad of the White Horse GK Chesterton 9781534690769 Books Reviews
Wonderful ballad with a great poetic artist lovingly telling an epic story. Should be required reading for middle school literature students.
One of the most beautiful epic poems ever written. I find myself reflecting on the story of Alfred and wish there was an epic movie to match the poem...
I find myself quoting passages from this epic poem and rereading parts of it frequently.
One of the great poems in the English language--and certainly a top contender for the greatest narrative poem. A retelling of the Alfred the Great's defeat of Guthrum and the Danes at the Battle of Ethandune (or the victory of the true power of Christianity over the inherent weakness of paganism), written to be read aloud or to oneself (but please do read it aloud). A ranking of ten stars would be more accurate. [This review refers to the first edition.]
G. K. Chesterton is always both erudite and accessible. This poem is a delightful re-telling of several legends / historical incidents regarding King Alfred the Great, and in a ballad form which could easily be set to music.
My son cannot read enough of Chesterton. His writings have helped him to solidify his Christianity in a a decidedly Christian hostile world.
Out of the thousand or so books I have read in my life, if I were to put the Bible aside (since the Bible speaks with a special authority to believers and cannot really be compared to other books), I have read no more than five or six books that I would call truly great. That means there are only five or six books I would rate at five stars. This is one. Yes, it is that good.
I have never read any author who could make the English language sing the way Chesterton does in this poem -- for over a hundred pages. In contrast to contemporary "poets" whose "poems" consist of a bunch of strange words scattered apparently at random on a page, whose meaning, if there is one, is far beyond obscurity, Chesterton had apparently unlimited ability to create rhyme and alliteration, and then he bound it all tightly in the sing-song ballad style that carries it all swiftly along. The words of this poem are glorious to hear, and really, this book should be read aloud, so that one might hear the music of the words.
And few have ever been able to match the way Chesterton paints pictures with words. I will quote one passage, and hope it is not to long, to illustrate this. The scene here is Alfred's army making one final charge against the Danish camp
Then bursting all and blasting
Came Christendom like death,
Kicked of such catapults of will,
The staves shiver, the barrels spill,
The waggons waver and crash and kill
The waggoners beneath.
Barriers go backward, banners rend,
Great shields groan like a gong,
Horses like horns of nightmare
Neigh horribly and long.
Horses ramp and rock and boil
And break their golden reins,
And slide on carnage clamorously,
Down where the bitter blood doth lie,
Where Ogier went on foot to die
In the old way of the Danes.
It would be hard to imagine anyone anyone describing such a violent scene in so few words any better than Chesterton does in that passage. And this passage is but one of dozens of glorious word-pictures that Chesterton's poetry paints in this book.
Beyond its magnificent use of the English language, this book also contains much philosophical insight -- insight that, although first published in 1911, is directly and clearly applicable today. Chesterton expresses very clearly the way that Christianity has formed the heart of Western culture over the ages, and the way that Christian faith -- which seems all about self-denial and thus sadness -- leads to unconquerable joy.
The book, of course, is not perfect; no work of literature can be. There are places where it gets a bit too preachy for my taste. But the book's flaws are few and minor, while its good points are many and glorious.
How good is this book? I have read it at least 50 times in my life, and I still enjoy reading it. In my opinion it is one of the truly greatest works written in the English language. It is one of the few books I have read that truly deserves five stars.
The virgin Mary appears to King Alfred and tells him nothing to his profit, only that the sea grows higher and the sky grows darker. So he gathers what little remains of the free peoples of England to fight, the Saxon who has fought too much and is tired, the Roman who clings to Rome, the Gael who hates and mocks him. They march against the hosts of the Vikings who want to conquer and destroy all and fight and die and win. Because they have nothing to lose and all to win.
Poetry to make you weep. To make your soul soar. Epic but not in the glorifying style that glorifies folly. Religious in a way, Alfred is a Christian king with many sins who marches to kill without the blessing of Mary and he knows it. But he fights because his foes are worse still and not fighting them the end of all.
The style is a bit confusing at times, as poetry can be, but mainly clear. You can understand Alfred's humble speech to the chieftains and the mockery of the Gael when he tells him that better kings than him were defeated. You can understand the madness of the Vikings. You can understand Alfred's speech to his young lords long after the battle when they reproach him not having carried on and swept the Norse off England.
This is a poem about people who fought and died and won because they had nothing to lose. There is no glory here or boasting or honor. The Vikings fight well and cleverly and the Saxons only win because they fight to the end and the Vikings don't have to.
Chesterton has writen a dark poem of strife and despair, of humility and bleak courage before the end. Of the wisdom of Alfred who saved what could be saved and held the line for civilization and Christianity until the times were less dark. It is a poem worth reading and remembering. For it tells of a king who lost it all and won it back and knew the true value of things.
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