Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great was born in 849 as the fifth son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and his wife Osburh. He was sent to Rome at the age of four to be confirmed by Pope Leo IV and visited Rome again with his father in 855. He learned to read in Old English at a late age and had a lifelong interest in learning. He married Ealhswith, a Mercian princess, in 868 and had five children with her. Alfred became king of Wessex in 871 after the death of his brother Æthelred. He faced constant attacks from the Viking invaders who had occupied most of England. He fought bravely in many battles and managed to secure a decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 878. He made a peace treaty with the Viking leader Guthrum, who converted to Christianity and agreed to divide England into two realms: Wessex and the Danelaw. Alfred reformed his kingdom by improving its administration, law, defense, and education. He established a network of fortified towns called burhs to protect his people from Viking raids. He issued a new law code based on Christian principles and Anglo-Saxon customs. He reorganized his army and navy and built new ships to counter the Viking threat. He also encouraged learning and literacy among his subjects by translating many Latin books into Old English and patronizing scholars and writers. He himself wrote or edited several works on history, religion, philosophy, and poetry. He is credited with initiating the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record of events in England. Alfred died on 26 October 899 after a long illness that may have been Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. He was buried at Winchester, first in the Old Minster and then in Hyde Abbey. His son Edward succeeded him as king of Wessex and his daughter Æthelflæd ruled Mercia as Lady of the Mercians. Alfred is regarded as one of the greatest kings in English history and the only one to be called “the Great”. He is also venerated as a saint by some Christian churches.