![]() ![]() ![]() It is also possible that a third brother of Alfred was buried at Sherborne as well. He would have been about eleven years old at the time of the first death, and about sixteen at the time of the second. Sherborne’s most important feature is its abbey, and it is here that two elder brothers of King Alfred, Æthelbald (died 860) and Æthelberht (died 865) were buried, and I consider it likely that Alfred would have been present at their funerals, or would have at least visited their resting places. They are viewed through a glass panel fitted into the floor. Although they are located near the plaque there is no evidence that these are the bones of King Alfred’s brothers. Plaque inside Sherborne Abbey, Dorset, informing us that King Æthelberht and King Æthelbald were interred nearby The bones to be found near the plaque. There is no evidence that this was the case. This of course challenges what you might read elsewhere, in that Winchester was King Alfred’s “Capital”. I believe there is a plausible case to be made for this to have been the most important place in Wessex until shortly after King Alfred died (when Winchester appears to have become more important). One of Anglo-Saxon history’s most important characters, Asser, King Alfred’s companion and “biographer” became bishop here. ![]() ![]() It was the most important ecclesiastical location in an area covering Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. At least two Kings of Wessex were buried at Sherborne. ![]()
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