Alfred the Great 871-899

Alfred was the fourth son and fifth child of Athelwolf. His mother is recorded as Osburh, though he may have been the son of a second, unknown, marriage as there is a gap of several years between Alfred's birth and those of his elder brothers. Alternatively Alfred may have been older than we are led to believe, a point which may be attested by his ill health in his final years. Little is known of his childhood as the youngest son with three elder brothers he was not thought likely to become king - so even the place of his birth is not certain. Asser's reference to Wantage is generally accepted but not definite, and somewhere like Wimborne is more probable. It is also unlikely that, as a child, Alfred was sent to Rome on his own and consecrated by the pope as future king. It is likely that he accompanied his father on his pilgrimage to Rome from 854-855 and spent some time at the court of Charles the Bald, king of the Franks. Alfred became fascinated with the Frankish world, the court of the descendants of Charlemagne, and modelled his own court on it, which included his passion for scholarship. Alfred was probably being groomed for the church, as his father was intensely religious.

Although Alfred's name begins to appear on authenticated charters around the year 861, he does not step onto the stage of history until around 865 and 866 when we find him in harness with his brother Athelred in battle against the Danes who had been harrying England for decades but were now showing greater strength of arms. At best Athelred and Alfred held the Danes at bay, but in 871 Athelred died of wounds and, though he had two infant sons, it was Alfred who was declared successor. Alfred had already proved his battle prowess, particularly at Ashdown in 870, but there was no time to celebrate his succession - there is no record of his coronation, despite the claim that he was crowned at Kingston upon Thames. Within a month of his succession Alfred was in pitched battle with the Danes at Wilton, a day which Alfred thought he had won but the wiliness of the Danes with a false retreat caught the English off guard. Battle followed battle that first year, the outcomes swinging both ways till, at the end of the year, Alfred bought peace with the Danes. The Danes settled north of the Thames, where peace was also bought with the Mercians, and for a period Alfred could consolidate his army. It was also during this time that Alfred began to develop a navy in order to meet the Danes on their own terms.

In 876 a new generation of Danish warrior leaders, of whom the most significant was Guthrum, began further incursions into Wessex. His army descended on Alfred's camp at Wareham, but Alfred was prepared and defeated the Danes, buying extra time. The Danes also suffered defeat in a naval campaign off the coast at Swanage, but in the winter of 878 they caught the English by surprise at Chippenham, taking over the royal court, and forcing the English to flee into the surrounding marshes at Athelney, in Somerset. It is to this period that belong the legends of Alfred burning the cakes and disguising himself as a harper to spy in the camp of Guthrum. Other Danish forces were called to the area, including a Danish fleet established in the Bristol Channel, endeavouring to blockade Alfred. However, Alfred's forces in Devon defeated the fleet and then, with his local knowledge, Alfred was able to outwit the Danes and led his army out of Atheiney to Selwood. There he strengthened his forces, marched on the Danes and defeated them at the battle of Ethandune (probably Edington). The Danes submitted and, more significantly, Guthrum agreed to be baptized a Christian. Peace was declared with the treaty of Wedmore.

The next eight years, 878-885, were a period of peace in Wessex. It was now that Alfred became regarded by all the Saxons of England as their overlord, but he was never king of all England, as the Danes still held the greater part of the north and east. He spent this period reviewing the administration, fortification and legal system of the Saxons. He created a series of twenty-five fortified boroughs around his kingdom, such as Oxford and Hastings, and extensively refortified London. He developed seats of learning across southern England, and introduced his law code, extensively revising that of Ine. This code was administered by a number of local reeves (or sheriffs) and judges, and Alfred reviewed their activities in his own series of visits. This forced the local administrators to read to ensure the books were properly kept. Alfred also decreed that all the sons of freemen should learn to read and write, firstly in English and, for those destined for high office, in Latin.

Apart from a brief skirmish with the Danes in 885, peace held until 893 when another war with the Danes of East Anglia erupted and lasted until 897. The Danes caused havoc across Mercia and into Wales, but were unable to penetrate the fortifications of Wessex. Alfred re-organized the navy into a major fleet, for which he is remembered as the father of the English navy. Alfred's strength eventually drained the Danish vitality and their army faded away. Although they would return again and again, Alfred had established a kingdom which, for the next few decades, was invincible.

Alfred had married in around 868 at a time when he had not expected to become king. His wife, Ealhswith, was the daughter of a Mercian nobleman and, through her mother, descended from the Mercian royal line, so that Alfred's sons could claim the royal blood of both Wessex and Mercia. He had five children (possibly six; one may have died in infancy) including Athelfleda, who became the Lady of the Mercians, and Elfreda, who married Baldwin, count of Flanders, whose mother was Judith, Alfred's own stepmother. From Elfreda was descended Matilda, who became the wife of William I. Alfred was succeeded by his son Edward. In later centuries, when Alfred earned the epithet "the Great", it was not solely because he held the Saxon nation together against the Danes, but because he improved the strength, culture and quality of his realm. Although this golden age also owed something to his son and grandson, Alfred was truly the most impressive of the Saxon kings.