Alfred the Great (871-899)

Alfred the Great, a very important figure in English history, was King of Wessex from
871 to 900. He had many-sided talents as warrior, administrator and scholar. He was chosen king
by the Witan (members of the royal house) at the age of 22 upon the death of his elder brothers.
He is one of only two English monarchs to be given the epithet the Great.

Alfred the Great grew up in a very hectic time, when the Danes were raiding the Saxon
kingdoms of England on land and invading them by sea. He was the son of Ethelwulf, King of
Wessex and his first wife, Osnaburgha who was illiterate and died when Alfred was five years
old. According to the Welsh monk Asser, Alfred was a attractive and intelligent boy but he could
not read until he was twelve.

As he succeeded to the throne, he led a stubborn resistance to the Danes, who were
gradually taking over more and more Wessex. In the winter of 877, when the Saxon thought the
fighting was over for the year, the Danes attacked and took Alfred off his guard and swept
everything before them. Alfred went into hiding to plan his come-back and organize a new
attack. The next battle, the battle of Ethandune, was a brilliant victory for Alfred. Therefore, the
Danes were prepared to agree to Alfreds terms. After the Treaty of Wedmore,in 878, Guthrum
promised that his army would leave Wessex, and in return Alfred recognized Danish rule over
East Anglia ( part of Mercia and Norhumbria). After defeating a landing in Kent, in 885, Alfred
recaptured London, a Mercian city which the Danes had occupied. Hence, Guthrum and Alfred
made further terms that were more convenient to Wessex than the Peace of Wedmore. A year
after taking London, Alfred was more than the King of Wessex , because all the English
submitted to Alfred except those who submitted to Guthrum. The biggest invasion came in 892,
when 330 Danish ships sailed from Europe carrying two armies. Alfred stationed himself
between the two armies to keep an eye on them. After a long fight that it was like a game of
chess, with Alfred cancelling out every Danish move almost as soon as it had begun, the Danes
realized that they were fighting a losing battle. Their armies broke up soon afterwards and
decided to leave Wessex alone.

When Alfred came to the throne most of the monks in England had been either killed or
carried off as captives. Alfred was very concerned about the effect this had on learning because
the monks where giving a proper education to everybody. Furthermore, the monks were about
the only people who could read and translate Latin, in which almost all the books were written.
In order to increase their number, he founded monasteries. He also began to gather scholars to
his court, not only from Mercia and other parts of England, but from France and Saxony and the
Celtic monasteries as well. The best-known was Asser, that from working on the translations, he
also taught the king to read Latin, and the king himself translated a lot of books for example:
Bedes History of The English Church And People , The Consolation of Philosophy. Alfred
added to the translations his own introductions and notes. Also, he ordered to be translated
books of theology, history and geography. Because a lot of people were illiterate, Alfred started a
school where the sons of his thanes could be taught to read and write. He also initiated the
keeping of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, the first year by year historical records ever composed
in English. The capital of Winchester became a cultural center in which the early poetic works
were transcribed into West Saxon dialect. Alfred had revived learning in England when it
seemed in danger of disappearing and created o body of English literature big enough to survive
the Danish occupation of the 11th century. Shortly, he ensured the English continuity, thats why
he is a very important figure in English history, quite apart from its military achievements.

With the approval of the Witan, Alfred modified the Anglo-Saxon law, making treason a
more serious crime than it had been before. He made no other major changes, and we are told
that it was because he knew not how it might like [please] those that came after him. Alfred
also issued (realized) a legal code which included some earlier Mercian, Kentish and West-
Saxon laws and customs. No king of England had issued laws for a long time before this, thats
why he became an example to his successors.

As a war leader of kingdom which could be attacked by land and sea, Alfred the Great
had to study naval tactics as well as military ones. His fleet was never quite so successful as his
land forces, but it still played an important part. Alfreds ships were never able to stop a really
big landing in force, but they won some notable victories and twice captured a Danish fleet
intact.

In order to get through the enormous amount of work, he devided his day into three parts:
one third was for running the kingdom, another for physical exercise and one for sleep. In
addition to building walls round the towns of Wessex, he restored the walls and buildings of
London which werent in a good condition. This was very important, because it made the towns
safe for more people to live in in the event of future attack.

Alfred died in 899

Soldier, administrator, writer, statesman and patron of arts, Alfred was one of the most
energetic and versatile kings that England has had. He raised English status and ensured its
continuity. Furthermore, Alfred had given such an impetus to English culture that it had a big
effect on Continental culture even before the Norman Conquest.