Paulus Orosius

Orosius' Seven Books of History against the Pagans provide a Christian interpretation of history from God's creation of the world to the period of the Gothic attacks on the Roman Empire in the early fifth century. By the end of that century, Orosius' work was already a classic and its Christian perspective ensured that it remained an immensely popular and standard work of reference on antiquity in the medieval world. Available now in English translation for the first time since 1936, this key work of historical and geographical reference in the medieval world will delight scholars of early Christianity and pagan history.

It abounds in deviations from the original, expansions and insertions, which make it the more interesting; he (Alfred) included there a full description of the lands where Germanic languages were spoken.

"The Old English History of the World is a translation and adaptation of the Latin history known as the Seven Books of History against the Pagans, written by the Spanish cleric Paulus Orosius at the prompting of Saint Augustine after the sack of Rome in 410. To counter the pagan and republican narratives of Livy and other classical historians, Orosius created an account of the ancient world from a Christian and imperial viewpoint. His work was immensely popular throughout Europe in succeeding centuries, down to the end of the Middle Ages. Around the year 900, an Old English version was produced by an anonymous writer, possibly encouraged or inspired by King Alfred. The translator actively transformed Orosius’s narrative: cutting extraneous detail, adding explanations and dramatic speeches, and supplying a long section on the geography of the Germanic world. This volume offers a new edition and modern translation of an Anglo-Saxon perspective on the ancient world."--

When the puppy gets in trouble for chewing shoes, his owner makes plans to run away.