Alfred the Great (849 – 899)

Alfred the Great was the King of Wessex in the south of England, he is famed for his defence of the kingdom against the Danes and is regarded as the first King of England.

Alfred was the fourth son of King Ethulwulf of Wessex, with whom he went on a pilgrimage to Rome as a boy. During Alfred’s life, the Danes; Viking raiders from Norway, were establishing themselves in the east of England and coming into conflict with the Saxon kingdoms of Mercia in the Midlands, Kent in the south east and Wessex, Alfred’s home.

When his brother Ethelred died in 871, Alfred became King of Wessex and the task of defeating the Danes fell to him. Alfred quickly established himself as a great warrior and keen military leader through a number of battles with the Danes, but none proved decisive. Then in 878, disaster struck Alfred’s court when, on Christmas Eve, the pagan Vikings launched a surprise attack on Alfred’s camp at Chippenham and massacred all its inhabitants. But Alfred and a small band managed to escape through the swamps. 

One legend tells how, as a fugitive in disguise, living in the Somerset marches, Alfred was taken in by a peasant woman. The woman was baking some cakes and asked Alfred to watch them, but Alfred preoccupied with his problems, burnt them. On her return the woman was furious to find her cakes burnt, after scolding Alfred, she realised his true identity and humbly apologised, but Alfred insisted it was he that was at fault. Another legend of Alfred tells how he disguised himself as a harpist and entered the court of his arch-enemy Guthrum on a spying mission.

By Easter Alfred had again raised an army and his preparations for counter attack were ready. Alfred defeated the Danes at the Battle of Edington in Wiltshire and afterwards the Danish leader Guthrum was baptised, with Alfred as his sponsor. By 886 Alfred had freed London from Danish occupation and a truce was signed between the Danes and the Saxons, which established the Danelaw territories in the east of England between the River Thames and the River Tees, and the Saxon Kingdoms in the rest of England.

King Alfred established his court at Winchester, making the town the capital of England in the Middle Ages. From here Alfred set about reorganising his Kingdom and ushered in a wave of social reform. Alfred extended education in his kingdom, by attracting scholars from overseas, he established new principles of law and is credited with creating Britain’s first navy