Alfred the Great

By Philip Kwong

Alfred the Great

By Philip Kwong

Alfred the Great

By Philip Kwong

Biography

King Alfred the Great was born in 849 AD at Wantage, Berkshire. He started his reign in 871 AD and ended it in 899 AD He died in October 26, 899 AD at the age of 50 and was buried in Winchester

The reason for his death is unknown Burial place of the West Saxon royal family

Childhood

A story was told of him when he was 5 years old, he was annoited king by Pope Leo IV At the age of 16, Alfred's brother, Aethelred, became king of Wessex

There he became a seasoned warrior and became his borthers right hand man during one of the worst periods of invasions in English history.

Vikings(Danes) had seized East Anglia during his brothers coronation year.

Childhood(cont.)

As a result, the king and Alfred came along with the English army. This all led to the Battle of Ashtown where his brother won his greatest victory but in exchange, it cost him his life.

Alfred became king of Wessex ,at the age of 21, which was the only remaining Anglo-Saxon, independent kingdom.

Reign

He was unable to stop the viking menance, and pursued peace

He even piad the Vikings to go back to York for the next four years but in the long term only encouraged them to return

In the year 877 AD, the viking launched a surprise attack on him but he managed to escape capture.

Reign(cont.)

They held off for several months based on guerilla warfare until finnaly when he called a militia from Hampshire, and Wiltshire

They won a desicive battle at Edington(Wiltshire)

They pushed them back and besieged them at Chippenham for three weeks until their leader aggreed to sign a peace treaty.

Treaty of Wedmore- England into half, English ruling the south, Vikings took the north thence known as Danelaw

Reign(cont.)

There was a new period of peace and this allowed them to use defnsive forts as taxable trading centers and as places fo refuge as well Divided his army in half so that always half was in reserve and established a proper naval unit with improved ships. Alfred had an aggressive policy towards the Vikings and he retook London in 886 AD

This was given to his son in law and High-Reeve of Bamburgh

Reign(cont.)

Issued a new coinage to celbrate his becoming King of all the English The moral and religon of his people were important to the king.

Introduced laws based on the Traditional Old testament legislation.

Even though he got scolded by Pope JohnVII for annexing church lands, that didnt stop him from founding a lot of monastaries.

Reign(cont.)

He was a remarkable king who translated from latin to Old English.

institutes scholars, bishops and priests to do the same.

His Translation of Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius Consolation of Philsophy, was the most popular philosphical handbook of the Middle Ages. He died in October 26, 899 AD at the age of 50 and was buried in Winchester

Historical Significance

He was one of the best kings to ever rule mankind. He defended Anglo-Saxon England from Viking raids Formulated a code of laws Fostered a rebirth of religious, scholarly activity

Fun Facts

He created horn lanterns- candles that burn equaly fast Only king in brittish history to be ever called Great Thats it :)

Bibliography

http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/westeurope/AlfredGreat.h

http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Alfred_the_Great.ht

http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQuee http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/alfred.html

http://www.funtrivia.com/en/People/Alfred-the-Great-8721.htm

http://www.mirror.org/ken.roberts/king.alfred.html