The Submission of Guthrum to King Alfred

What it is

This is a sepia-toned historical painting by Herbert Albert Bone, made about 1922. It shows a scene of armed warriors in helmets and mail holding spears and round shields. A crowned, bearded king stands centre-right and reaches toward a kneeling bearded man who holds a staff. Children and a woman in a headscarf crouch in the foreground, and a robed elder watches at right.

Why it matters

The painting shows an event from Alfred's reign: the submission of Guthrum, a Viking leader, to Alfred. The scene is imagined by a painter who lived many centuries later, so it reflects 1920s ideas about the past rather than a record of what happened. It shows how the story of Alfred and the Danes was retold for a modern audience.

Look closer

• Who is kneeling and who is standing, and what does their position suggest about power?
• Why might a painter around 1922 choose to show women and children in the scene?
• What details of weapons and clothing might be accurate, and which might the painter have invented?