Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was king of the West Saxons from 871 to c. 886. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex. After ascending the throne, Alfred spent several years fighting Viking invasions. He won a decisive victory in the Battle of Edington in 878. Alfred oversaw the conversion of Viking leader Guthrum to Christianity. He encouraged education, proposing that primary education be conducted in Old English rather than Latin.
About Alfred the Great in brief
Alfred the Great was king of the West Saxons from 871 to c. 886. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex. After ascending the throne, Alfred spent several years fighting Viking invasions. He won a decisive victory in the Battle of Edington in 878 and made an agreement with the Vikings, creating what was known as the Danelaw in the North of England. Alfred oversaw the conversion of Viking leader Guthrum to Christianity. He encouraged education, proposing that primary education be conducted in Old English rather than Latin and improving the legal system and military structure and his people’s quality of life. Alfred was given the epithet ‘the Great’ during and after the Reformation in the 16th century, and together with Danish Cnut the Great, is the only king of England to be given such a name. He had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature. He died in 899 and was succeeded by his son, Æthelbald, who reigned in turn before him. Alfred’s only known sister, Æthelswith, married Burgred,King of the midland kingdom of Mercia in 853. For 200 years, three families had fought for the throne of West Saxon and no son had followed his father as king. No son of his ancestor Ecght had followed him as king, and no daughter of his father became king of WestSaxon.
Alfred died in 999 and is buried at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. He is survived by his wife, Ealhswith and their three children, who were all born in the 9th century. He also had a son, Alfred the Great II, who died in the 10th century and was buried in the Tower of London. Alfred had a daughter, Ealh Swith, who was married to a Mercian nobleman and had three children. Alfred the Great and his children were: thelflred, Edward Elder, Edward the Elder, and Edward the Elder’s successor as king of Mercians; thethelfs abbess, Edward the Elder; thelfthryth, and thelweard, who married Baldwin, count of Shaftesbury; and Alfred Ecgberth, who became king of Wessex in 802, in the view of the historian Richard Abels. Alfred also had two sons, Æ thelbald and þelberht, both of whom reigned before him in turn. He was the youngest of six children. His father died when he was young. His eldest brother was old enough to be appointed sub-king of Kent in 839, almost 10 years before Alfred was born. His next three brothers were successively kings of Wes Sex, but Alfred was only a year or two older.
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This page is based on the article Alfred the Great published in Wikipedia (as of Jan. 03, 2021) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
