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Alfred the Great (Old English: Ælfrǣd [ˈæɫvˌræːd]; c. 849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfred was young.
- Æthelred I
Æthelred I (alt. Aethelred, Ethelred; Old English:...
- Æthelwulf, King of Wessex
Æthelwulf (Old English: [ˈæðelwuɫf]; [1] Old English for...
- King of The West Saxons
The chart shows their (claimed) descent from the traditional...
- Edward The Elder
Edward the Elder (870s? – 17 July 924) was King of the...
- Son of Alfred
Æthelweard (died 920 or 922) was the younger son of King...
- Æthelflæd, Lady of The Mercians
Æthelflæd (c. 870 – 12 June 918) ruled as Lady of the...
- Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders
She was the youngest daughter of Alfred the Great, [1] the...
- King of The Anglo-Saxons
Alfred styled himself king of the Anglo-Saxons from about...
- Æthelred I
In 871 AD, Alfred defeated the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown in Berkshire. The following year, he succeeded his brother as king.
On 24 May 1866, Alfred was created Duke of Edinburgh and Earl of Ulster and Earl of Kent by his mother Queen Victoria. While in command of the Galatea, Alfred engaged on a voyage around the world. On 7 June 1867, he left Gibraltar, arriving at the Cape of Good Hope on 24 July and paid a royal visit to Cape Town on 24 August 1867.
- Youth & Rise to Power
- The Viking Wars
- Alfred & The Burnt Cakes
- The Battle of Eddington
- Restoration, Reform, & Education
- Efforts to Unite England
Alfred was born in 849 CE, the son of King Aethelwulf of Wessex and his wife Osburh. At the age of four, his father sent him to Rome on pilgrimage, where he was confirmed in the faith by the Pope and, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, was anointed as king. Although it is possible this ceremony took place, it seems unlikely as Alfred was the y...
In 865 CE the Great Army of Vikings led by Halfdane and Ivar the Boneless invaded East Anglia and swiftly defeated any force sent against them. In 866 CE they took the cityof York, and in 867 CE they killed the Northumbrian kings Osbert and Aelle and consolidated their control of the region. In 868 CE they made constant raids throughout Mercia and ...
It is during this period that the events related in the legends surrounding Alfred are said to have taken place. Although it is often assumed that these legends come from Asser's work, they are all later creations, c. 10th century CE. The most famous of these is the story of Alfred and the burnt cakes, which comes from The Life of St. Neot. It rela...
Alfred remained in exile, hiding from the Vikings, for less than three months, during which time he seems to have been preparing for an offensive against the Vikings through a network of spies and chieftains who remained loyal to him. By March, according to Asser, he was waging a successful guerrilla waragainst the Danes. By May of 878 CE, he had a...
The theory that Viking raids were the wrath of Godhad gone unchallenged since the Lindisfarne raid in 793 CE as there was no better available, and Alfred most certainly believed it. Following the Battle of Eddington, he went to work to resolve the underlying causes of the raids which, in his view, were the poor state of education, clerical learning...
In 886 CE Alfred captured London in a stunning victory, and “all the English people that were not under subjection to the Danes submitted to him” (Keynes & Lapidge, 38). There may have been an official oath of loyalty to the king that the populace, or at least landowners, had to take, but even if there was not, it is clear that Alfred had united th...
- Joshua J. Mark
Oct 3, 2024 · Alfred, king of Wessex (871–899), a Saxon kingdom in southwestern England. He prevented England from falling to the Danes and promoted learning and literacy. Compilation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle began during his reign. Learn more about Alfred’s life and rule.
- Dorothy Whitelock
- Alfred spent much of his reign defending his kingdom of Wessex from Danish invaders. He won a great victory at the Battle of Edington in 878 but co...
- Alfred administered Wessex well and was a studious lawgiver. He promulgated an important code of laws after studying the principles of lawgiving fr...
- Alfred considered learning and literacy to be crucial for the acquisition of wisdom and therefore necessary for men to live in accordance with God’...
Oct 26, 2021 · Alfred the Great is famous for his victories against the Vikings, and is the only English monarch known as 'the Great'. But how much do you know about him? Barbara Yorke, professor emerita of early medieval history at the University of Winchester, brings you the facts about the Anglo-Saxon king
Mar 14, 2020 · King Alfred the Great (849-899 AD) Alfred was king of Wessex from 871-899. An educated and cultured man, he fought Viking invaders to secure greater security and a sense of identity for Anglo-Saxon England.
