Alfred The Great's Threefold Division In The World

Alfred the Great who ruled from the years 871-899 in England, and two French bishops stated that the kingdom needed “men of prayer, men of war, and men of work.” (Noble 260.) The threefold division showed hoe some people looked at the world. It left room for all sorts of people. It had a place for the clergy, those who fought in the wars, and the “peasants.” In this essay, we are going to look at those three sections of people more closely.

In this first section of people, we will discuss “those who pray” or the clergy. The clergy assigned its leaders to conduct the prayers. This, sparked arguments and disputes between other members of the clergy. However, another purpose that the clergy served was to regulate disputes in society. For an example, if a community was disagreeing on something, or torn with different opinions, it could turn into a legal matter. They then have to go through a judicial procedure to find what they call “divine justice.” A person that was being accused of something would have to go through tests. They would be made to carry hot iron for a certain distance. After they did this, their hand would be wrapped up. In a couple days, they would examine the hand. If it was healing, the person was considered innocent. And if it began to
These people were known as the nobles. Noble is identified as either an adjective or a noun. It means to have shown or to show fine personal qualities or high moral principles. Ideally, in this time period, they wanted a noble to be well-born and cultivated. They looked for kind, and responsible people. Because there were so many people ruling, and showing off their power, military power became much more useful and valuable. These men served their people, and eventually, women came into the mix and they were affected greatly by the nobles who were serving their lands. The last group we are going to discuss are the