Notes for AlfredThe Great, King Of Wessex: [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #2553, Date of Import: Jun 20, 1997]
ALFRED THE GREAT (848?-899). The course of English history would have been very different had it not been for King Alfred. He won renown both as a statesman and as a warrior and is justly called "the Great." The England of Alfred's time was a country of four small Saxon kingdoms. The strongest was Wessex, in the south. Born in about 848, Alfred was the youngest son of Ethelwulf, king of Wessex. Each of Alfred's three older brothers, in turn, ruled the kingdom. Alfred was by temperament a scholar, and his health was never robust. Nevertheless in his early youth he fought with his brother Ethelred against Danish invaders. Alfred was 23 when Ethelred died, but he had already won the confidence of the army and was at once acclaimed king in 871. By this time the Danes, or Vikings, had penetrated to all parts of the island. Three of the Saxon kingdoms Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia had one after another fallen to the Danish invaders. Under Alfred's leadership, the Saxons again found courage. The worst crisis came in the winter of 877, when the Danish king, Guthrum, invaded Wessex with his army. In 878 Alfred was defeated at Chippenham, where he was celebrating Christmas, and was forced to go into hiding. A few months later he forced Guthrum to surrender at Chippenham. The Danes agreed to make the Thames River and the old Roman road called Watling Street the boundary between Alfred's kingdom and the Danish lands to the north. The treaty, however, did not assure permanent peace. The Danes assaulted London and the coast towns repeatedly. In about 896 they finally admitted defeat and ceased their struggle for a foothold in southern England. Alfred was much more than the defender of his country. He took a keen interest in law and order and was concerned with the improvement of the cultural standards of his people. He encouraged industries of all kinds and rebuilt London, which had been partly destroyed by the Danes. He collected and revised the old laws of the kingdom. He invited learned men from other countries to instruct the people because even the clergy of Wessex no longer knew Latin, the international language of the church. He established a school similar to the Palace School of Charlemagne. The "books most necessary for all men to know" were translated from Latin into English so that the people might read them. Alfred himself took a part in preparing the translations. The 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' was probably begun under his direction. Alfred died at the age of about 51 in 899. He was in no sense a true king of England, for he ruled less than half of the island. After his death, however, his capable son, Edward the Elder, and his grandsons extended their rule over all of England.
--------------------------------------------------------- Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia Copyright c 1993, 1994 Compton's NewMedia, Inc.
Alfred, called The Great (849-99), king of the West Saxons (871-99), and one of the outstanding figures of English history. Born in Wantage in southern England, Alfred was the youngest of five sons of King Ethelwulf (790?-858). On the death of his brother Ethelred (reigned 866-71) Alfred became king, coming to the throne during a Danish invasion. Although he succeeded in making peace with the Danes, they resumed their marauding expeditions five years later, and by early 878 they were successful almost everywhere. About Easter of 878, however, Alfred established himself at Athelney and began assembling an army. In the middle of that year he defeated the Danes and captured their stronghold, probably at present-day Edington. During the following 14 years Alfred was able to devote himself to the internal affairs of his kingdom. By 886 he had captured the city of London, and soon afterward he was recognized as the king of all England.
In 893 the Danes invaded England again, and the following four years were marked by warfare; eventually, the Danes were forced to withdraw from Alfred's domain. The only ruler to resist Danish invasions successfully, Alfred made his kingdom the rallying point for all Saxons, thus laying the foundation for the unification of England.
Alfred was a patron of learning and did much for the education of his people. He began a court school and invited British and foreign scholars, notably the Welsh monk Asser (flourished 885-909) and the Irish-born philosopher and theologian John Scotus Erigena, to come there. Alfred translated such works as The Consolation of Philosophy by the Roman statesman and philosopher Boethius, The History of the World by the Spanish priest Paulus Orosius (circa 385-420), and Pastoral Care by Pope Gregory I. Alfred's laws, the first promulgated in more than a century, were the first that made no distinction between the English and the Welsh peoples.
"Alfred," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1993 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1993 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation
More About AlfredThe Great, King Of Wessex: Reign: Bet. 850 - 899, Crowned King of England.46
More About AlfredThe Great, King Of Wessex and Ealhswith: Marriage: WFT Est. 865-89147
More About AlfredThe Great, King Of Wessex and <Unnamed>: Marriage: WFT Est. 865-89147
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Children of AlfredThe Great, King Of Wessex and Ealhswith are:
+Aelfthryth, b. WFT Est. 869-89549, d. WFT Est. 891-97849.
AlfredThe Great, King Of Wessex (b. Abt. 848, d. October 26, 899)
Notes for AlfredThe Great, King Of Wessex: