Table of contents : Cover Table of Contents Foreword Acknowledgments I. Cult and Canon: The Chronicle 1. Kiss the Reliquary Victorian reliquarianism The death of Alfred The birth of Alfred A relic of Alfred 2. Remember the Pope Hagiography Chronology Psychology 3. Fix the Date Harmony from dissonance From Rome to Athelney The Infidel vs The Believer Stubbs’ Gambit Plummer’s blind spot II. Too Good to be True: The Life 4. Write the Life Respect Allusion Plagiarism Echoes Clichés Irony 5. Win the Book Transcendental flotsam and jetsam Redaction criticism The Poem Itself. Et legit Appendix A Six translations of Race for the Book III. The Curve of Destiny: The Works 6. Cross the Border The Pope and the Book Legere et interpretari simul From Bonifatian to Alfredian biliteracy A game of figures Typologie interne 7. Win the Crown Envoi Scylla and Charybdis When I was young Race for the crown Commentary Bibliography