King Alfred the Great

King Alfred the Great (871-899) was one of the best kings ever to rule. He defended his kingdom from Viking raids, enacted a code of laws, and helped to give rebirth to religious and scholarly activity. During Alfred’s reign, he demonstrated military and strategic skills, sound authority and the capability to inspire men and plan for the future, great devotion to the support of religion, personal scholarship and the promotion of education.

King Alfred was born in 849 AD at Wantage, Berkshire. Aethelwulf, the King of Wessex and Alfred’s father, had four sons and one daughter. Alfred was the youngest of the four other children. At the age of four, Alfred had the desire to become a monk. As a result, his father sends him to accompany Pope Leo IV in Rome. Alfred would go to Rome again with his father in 855 on a pilgrimage. In 858, Aethelwulf dies, leaving Wessex to be governed by his three other brothers, Ethelbald, Ethelbert, and Elthred. (Alfred the Great)

In 865 a "great heathen army" (“Alfred the Great”) arrived in England seizing a dispute in Northumbria in order to control the divided kingdom. By 870, the army had built multiple roads into Mercia, subdued East Anglia, and killed its king Edmund. By 871

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Ealhswith was the granddaughter of a past King of Mercia. He first designed ships that were stronger than the Viking ships. Thus, England would be divided into two different territories. The construction of these fortified towns also known as “burhs” were to protect the people from Dane invasion. As a result, “Alfred brought his kingdom into a golden age filled with social stability and artistic achievements. He also established a legal code and he assembled the laws of Offa. First, he split the army into two parts months. Guthrum would also seize Exeter, England. Alfred defeated the invaders and forced then to take solemn pledges of peace. Alfred would not ascend to the throne until the death of his brother Elthred, in Easter of 871. But his rally ended quickly when Alfred blockaded Guthrum, forcing him to retreat to Mercia. In return for protection the men soldiers were given free plots of land within the burh.

Approximate Word count = 1008
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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