Note 1 — PREFACE

This, at any rate, is usually stated on the authority of the monkish chroniclers. J. R. Green in A Short History of the English People (London, Macmillan, 1875), p. 46, records that the Ten Commandments and a portion of the Law of Moses were prefixed to the code drawn up by Alfred and so became part of the law of the land. Whether this ancient tradition will survive modern criticism remains to be seen. The tradition at any rate continues to command widespread credence.