Ballad of the White Horse (Chesterton - Dover ed.)

Author: G. K. Chesterton

ISBN: 9780486475639

Binding: paperback

Section: Poetry

More than a thousand years ago, the ruler of a beleaguered kingdom saw a vision of the Virgin Mary that moved him to rally his chiefs and make a last stand. Alfred the Great freed his realm from Danish invaders in the year 878 with an against-all-odds triumph at the Battle of Ethandune. One of the last great epic poems, this tale unfolds in the Vale of the White Horse, where Alfred fought the Danes in a valley beneath an ancient equine figure etched upon the Berkshire hills. In this ballad, G. K. Chesterton equates Alfred's struggles with Christianity's fight against nihilism and heathenism — a battle that continues to this day.