I wonder if King Alfred’s army really sang this, so long ago.
King Alfred’s War Song, sung by eight men at the Antioch Baptist Church… I do wonder how this sounded when it was sung by a whole army. How I’d love to hear that!
Tag: alfred the great
‘King Alfred’s War Song’
I haven’t posted this in a while, but I think today we need it: King Alfred’s War Song. “For the Lord is our defense, Jesu defend us!”
There is evil afoot in this world today that I never thought to see in all my days–and people who should know better are calling it good.
Evil confronted King Alfred, and threatened to overwhelm his country; but he trusted in the Lord, and the Lord helped him. May the Lord help us, too.
The Great Horn of Pokesleigh (‘Oy, Rodney’)
“I have anticipated great interest in the origins and history of the Great Horn of Pokesleigh,” writes Violet Crepuscular, introducing Chapter CLXXXV of her epic romance, Oy, Rodney. In Chapter CLXXXIV, the village blacksmith blew the horn to disperse a dangerous peasant revolt throughout Scurveyshire.
“The Great Horn of Pokesleigh has been kept by the smiths of Scurveyshire–real smiths, I mean, not just people named Smith–since the year 818 A.D., when King Alfred the Great gave it to Mandrake, First Earl of Scurveyshire. He was also the last earl, as the result of a tragic accident with gumballs, and the Horn was left in his will to Horny Tom the Blacksmith, to make up for unpaid bills.
“Throughout history the Horn has been blown to ward off dire emergencies. It is said William the Conqueror was deathly afraid of it. Before the incident described so vividly in Chapter CLXXXIV of my epic romance, Oy, Rodney, the last time the horn was blown was in 1678, to end a plague of click beetles.
“The Horn is said to be a genuine prehistoric woolly rhinoceros horn overlaid with pure gold contributed by the Saxon Ladies’ Garden Club in 993 and engraved with mystic pictures of centaurs, unicorns, and strangely disturbing not-quite-human faces. It takes a mighty man to blow it, and he will never be the same afterward. In 1484, blacksmith Big Ned Wigwam blew it to avert a catastrophic battle in the Wars of the Roses and was hanged by Richard III, who had had big plans for that battle. Other smiths came to equally bad ends. This has discouraged them from blowing the horn just to whoop it up for New Year’s.”
All of this is very interesting, but it does nothing to get Lord Jeremy Coldsore’s foot healed so he can marry Lady Margo Cargo.
Meanwhile, the complete re-upholstering of Lady Margo’s sprawling country house continues, despite some over-zealousness on the part of the upholsterers. An attempt to upholster the aquarium housing Oswin the Crayfish had to be vetoed at the last minute, before any real damage could be done.
We are not told what “Pokesleigh” is or was.
‘King Alfred’s War Song’
King Alfred the Great (849-899 A.D.), the Christian king who defended England from the invading Danish pagans, reputedly wrote the words to this battle hymn. Waffy-doffy churches won’t like it: “F0r the Lord is out defense…”
But if the Lord is not our defense, then we have no defense that will avail us anything. This great warrior was great enough to know that.
Andy Kenway has a wonderful version of this anthem. I couldn’t find video for it, but you can listen here, https://soundcloud.com/andy-kenway/king-alfreds-war-song
PETA Demands Ancient Pub Honor Chickens (Honest)
When I read that the notorious wacko “animal rights” group, PETA, had sued the oldest pub in England to force it to change its name, because its old, old name was “offensive to chickens,” I didn’t believe it at first. Had to be a hoax.
I should know better. No lawsuit is too asinine, when PETA is involved. ( http://www.opposingviews.com/i/world/peta-asks-pub-change-its-name-because-it-offensive-chickens )
The pub, Ye OIde Fighting Cocks, is over 1,000 years old, going back to the age of Alfred the Great. Yes, once upon a time cock fighting went on there. Cock fighting has been banned in England since the 19th century, there is no cruelty to animals going on here–but hey, we’re lefty prigs, why not force them to change the name?
I’d change the name, if it was my pub–to A Pox on You, PETA. Or something more Anglo-Saxon, in keeping with the great age of the place.
Rush Limbaugh suggested that the reason people get involved in high-handed but profoundly stupid groups like PETA, and ridiculous actions like this lawsuit, is because they have no God in their lives.
I think it’s more a case that they have way, way too many gods in their lives, every single one of them a false god. But of course what they’re really worshiping, always, is themselves and their own vast self-righteousness (to say nothing of their self-importance). Every time. Out of the way, you peasants–here we come from PETA! We’ll make vegans of you yet!
Well, you can think of as many colorful replies as I can.