King Alfred and the Sibyl: sources of praise in the Latin acrostic verses of Bern, Burgerbibliothek, 671

This article offers an analysis of the possible sources that influenced the composition of the sole surviving set of Latin verses that were composed for the Anglo-Saxon King Alfred the Great (871–899). In particular, a hitherto unrecognized textual model is identified, namely the ‘Sibylline acrostic’. Consideration of potential sources also provides a greater appreciation of the social and cultural values of these Latin verses and of what, in turn, this poetry tells us about the Alfredian milieu in which it was produced, presented and consumed.