Astral Codex Ten

Alfred

5 min read

Alfred

Article

Alfred is a recurring person in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 3 times across 3 issues between June 15, 2023 and September 20, 2024. The archive places it in contexts such as “a totally different guy named Alfred was a jerk on Twitter”; “should be accompanied by a butler named Alfred”; “where Alfred receives a vision of Mary”. It most often appears alongside Jesus, Shakespeare, 15th century Sicilian manuscript.

Metadata

  • Category: People
  • Mention count: 3
  • Issue count: 3
  • First seen: June 15, 2023
  • Last seen: September 20, 2024

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Your Incentives Are Not The Same As Media Companies'
June 15, 2023 · Original source
I don’t just block you on Twitter. Until I forget who you are - which might take years - I get mildly upset every time I see your name. If someone links to an article you write, I’ll close it as soon as I recognize the byline. If you’re at some kind of real-life event I’m attending, I’ll avoid you. I’ve had negative associations with whole political movements just because one of their members insulted a person I respect, in some especially unfair way. I’ve sometimes found myself being irrationally uncharitable to everyone named Albert or Allen or Alvin just because a totally different guy named Alfred was a jerk on Twitter.
Book Review: The Alexander Romance
September 19, 2023 · Original source
Mass culture follows somewhat different rules than its more prestigious relative: War And Peace sits perfect and untouchable in the temple of genius, but Batman is invented anew every few years. Really Batman is less of a specific book or movie and more of a genre. The genre has some conventions: the protagonist must be a man named Bruce Wayne with a secret identity as a bat-themed superhero; he should be accompanied by a butler named Alfred and a sidekick named Robin; he should live in a city called Gotham. And it has some suggestions: if you need a villain, how about the Joker? If you need a style, how about dark and gritty? Beyond that, anything goes. You can write a story of his origin only tangentially related to anyone else’s, you can add in new adventures, you can shift the tone from gritty to campy and back.
Your Book Review: The Ballad of the White Horse
September 20, 2024 · Original source
Their great souls went on a wind away, And they have not tale or tomb; And Alfred born in Wantage Rules England till the doom.
On the surface level the poem is about King Alfred the Great, a pre-Hastings Anglo-Saxon king who has the twin qualities of being both legendary and real. There was certainly an actual King Alfred who really did fight a Viking lord named Guthrum and built the foundation needed for his grandson to form the Kingdom of England. He is considered the first English king, and is the only English monarch to be given the epithet “the Great”. At the same time he is also a figure of legend. They say he disguised himself as a wandering minstrel and played the harp for Guthrum in his own camp on the night before they would meet in battle. They also say he once accidentally burned a peasant woman’s cakes, and she, not knowing he was her king, chewed him out thoroughly (I’d expand on that, but that’s really the whole legend; one of those stories told to children that seem to have no moral or point).
The legend of King Alfred the Great is well told by Chesterton and his story is entertaining and engaging with a climactic battle, death duels, suspense, and burnt cakes. If all you get out of it is an entertaining yarn then your time will be well spent. The poetry is excellent, and accessible to the layman. As the tweet said, people want poetry to rhyme so bad. Chesterton gives that to us. His lines are a joy to read aloud (as all good poetry should).
Inline links: tweet