Many thanks for Barry Shurlock's article about King Alfred (Chronicle, October 17).
His writing is always informative and entertaining. He rightly emphasises Alfred's importance as the champion of the Saxons against the Danes and of the English language and of Christianity, but in a post-Christian age it is easy for us to under-estimate the importance of religion in Alfred's time.
READ MORE: Barry Shurlock - Winchester: the cradle of England and English
It was not lost on the Victorians who commissioned the statue of King Alfred in the Broadway. He is portrayed as a warrior with a helmet and shield and sword. But he does not hold his sword by the hilt and pointed at the enemy.
Instead he holds his sword by its point and upright like a cross, the symbol of Christianity.
Christopher Sharratt,
Waverley Drive,
South Wonston
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