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The Medieval Church · c. 890–896
The Old English Pastoral Care
Alfred the Great · 849–899
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What it is
Gregory's handbook for bishops translated into English by a king, with a preface lamenting that learning had so decayed that few south of the Humber could understand Latin.
Why it lasted
The beginning of English prose as a vehicle for serious thought, and a rare instance of a monarch translating a book himself.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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