Alfred the Great

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The Anglo-Saxons believed it was just as important for girls to be educated as it was for boys. All Alfred’s children learned to read and write. c. 868 Æthelred joins Burgred in fighting against the Vikings. Meanwhile, Alfred marries Ealhswith in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.

Alfred's grandfather, Ecgberht, became king of Wessex in 802, and in the view of the historian Richard Abels, it must have seemed very unlikely to contemporaries that he would establish a lasting dynasty. For 200 years, three families had fought for the West Saxon throne, and no son had followed his father as king. No ancestor of Ecgberht had been a king of Wessex since Ceawlin in the late sixth century, but he was believed to be a paternal descendant of Cerdic, the founder of the West Saxon dynasty. [d] This made Ecgberht an ætheling – a prince eligible for the throne. But after Ecgberht's reign, descent from Cerdic was no longer sufficient to make a man an ætheling. When Ecgberht died in 839, he was succeeded by his son Æthelwulf; all subsequent West Saxon kings were descendants of Ecgberht and Æthelwulf, and were also sons of kings. [18] A year later, in 886, Alfred reoccupied the city of London and set out to make it habitable again. [63] Alfred entrusted the city to the care of his son-in-law Æthelred, ealdorman of Mercia. Soon afterwards, Alfred restyled himself as "King of the Anglo-Saxons". The restoration of London progressed through the latter half of the 880s and is believed to have revolved around a new street plan; added fortifications in addition to the existing Roman walls; and, some believe, the construction of matching fortifications on the south bank of the River Thames. [64] Learning from a book was only part of Alfred’s education. A noble boy was expected to learnt the skills he would need as an adult in battle. Alfred won a decisive victory in the ensuing Battle of Edington which may have been fought near Westbury, Wiltshire. He then pursued the Danes to their stronghold at Chippenham and starved them into submission. One of the terms of the surrender was that Guthrum convert to Christianity. Three weeks later, the Danish king and 29 of his chief men were baptised at Alfred's court at Aller, near Athelney, with Alfred receiving Guthrum as his spiritual son. [37] By the year 876, the Danes had regrouped and made their assault on Wessex. The occupation of Wareham forced Alfred to negotiate a more permanent peace deal… a deal that disintegrated almost as soon as it was sealed.When Alfred finally did learn to read at age 12, he wasn’t taught in a school, he was taught by a tutor. c. 848 Alfred is born in Wantage, Berkshire, son of Æthelwulf, the King of Wessex, and his wife, Osburh. Alfred was born in 849 and served as King of Wessex, a Saxon kingdom based in the southwest of modern day England, from 871 to his death on 26th October 899 AD. In this time he ruled successfully over his Anglo-Saxon kingdom and emerged as a military force, a strong leader and a promoter of reforms. His most important achievement was to prevent an island-wide invasion from the Danes and establish a united Anglo-Saxon culture. The Doom Book, Dōmbōc, Code of Alfred or Legal Code of Ælfred the Great was the code of laws ("dooms" being laws or judgments) compiled by Alfred the Great ( c.893 AD). Alfred codified three prior Saxon codes– those of Æthelberht of Kent ( c.602 AD), Ine of Wessex ( c.694 AD) and Offa of Mercia ( c.786 AD)– to which he prefixed the Ten Commandments of Moses and incorporated rules of life from the Mosaic Code and the Christian code of ethics.

With the signing of the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, an event most commonly held to have taken place around 880 when Guthrum's people began settling East Anglia, Guthrum was neutralised as a threat. [54] The Viking army, which had stayed at Fulham during the winter of 878–879, sailed for Ghent and was active on the continent from 879 to 892. [55] [56] Alfred instructed Bishop Asser to write his biography. The writing of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles also commenced during his reign. 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, dividing England between Anglo-Saxon territory and the Viking-ruled Danelaw, composed of Scandinavian York, the north-east Midlands and East Anglia. Alfred also oversaw the conversion of Viking leader Guthrum to Christianity. He defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, becoming the dominant ruler in England. [3] Alfred began styling himself as "King of the Anglo-Saxons" after reoccupying London from the Vikings. Details of his life are described in a work by 9th-century Welsh scholar and bishop Asser.While he was busy with the burial ceremonies for his brother, the Danes defeated the Saxon army in his absence at an unnamed spot and then again in his presence at Wilton in May. [37] The defeat at Wilton smashed any remaining hope that Alfred could drive the invaders from his kingdom. Alfred was forced instead to make peace with them. Although the terms of the peace are not recorded, Bishop Asser wrote that the pagans agreed to vacate the realm and made good their promise. [39] In Anglo-Saxon times there were few schools in England and only a handful of people went to them. Schools were established in the 6th or 7th century.

Alfred is not mentioned during the short reigns of his older brothers Æthelbald and Æthelberht. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the Great Heathen Army of Danes landing in East Anglia with the intent of conquering the four kingdoms which constituted Anglo-Saxon England in 865. [34] Alfred's public life began in 865 at age 16 with the accession of his third brother, 18-year-old Æthelred. During this period, Bishop Asser gave Alfred the unique title of secundarius, which may indicate a position similar to the Celtic tanist, a recognised successor closely associated with the reigning monarch. This arrangement may have been sanctioned by Alfred's father or by the Witan to guard against the danger of a disputed succession should Æthelred fall in battle. It was a well known tradition among other Germanic peoples – such as the Swedes and Franks to whom the Anglo-Saxons were closely related – to crown a successor as royal prince and military commander. [35] Viking invasion [ edit ] In April 871 King Æthelred died and Alfred acceded to the throne of Wessex and the burden of its defence, even though Æthelred left two under-age sons, Æthelhelm and Æthelwold. This was in accordance with the agreement that Æthelred and Alfred had made earlier that year in an assembly at an unidentified place called Swinbeorg. The brothers had agreed that whichever of them outlived the other would inherit the personal property that King Æthelwulf had left jointly to his sons in his will. The deceased's sons would receive only whatever property and riches their father had settled upon them and whatever additional lands their uncle had acquired. The unstated premise was that the surviving brother would be king. Given the Danish invasion and the youth of his nephews, Alfred's accession probably went uncontested. [38] Anglo-Saxon Britain was divided into seven kingdoms. There was often fighting between the different kingdoms. The Vikings started to invade Britain and overran many kingdoms. Wessex was the only kingdom to survive Viking invasion. Alfred gave money for the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to be written. Monks wrote the Chronicle in English. This was a document which recorded important events in Anglo-Saxon history.At the same time King Alfred, with his small band of nobles and also with certain soldiers, was leading a restless life in great distress amid the woody and marshy places of Somerset. He had nothing to live on except what he could forage by frequent raids, either secretly or even openly, from the Vikings as well as from the Christians who had submitted to the Vikings' authority. (Asser, 53, Keynes & Lapidge, 83) Alfred & the Burnt Cakes He built more warships to guard the coast and stabilised the army by declaring people would fight on a rota. This meant that half the army could rest while the other half would remain active, ready to fight. As part of the peace terms, Guthrun was baptised as a Christian (the religion which Alfred followed) with Alfred as his godfather. The Danelaw There were 4 huge battles that happened almost at once: the Battle of Reading, the Battle of Ashdown; then the Battles of BasingandMeretun. After 5 years of fighting and leading, Aethelbald died in 871. His sons were young children and could not lead during this period of war.

Turk, Milton Haight (ed.). The Legal Code of Ælfred the Great. Lawbook Exchange. ISBN 1-58477-392-8. Alfred undertook no systematic reform of ecclesiastical institutions or religious practices in Wessex. For him, the key to the kingdom's spiritual revival was to appoint pious, learned, and trustworthy bishops and abbots. As king, he saw himself as responsible for both the temporal and spiritual welfare of his subjects. Secular and spiritual authority were not distinct categories for Alfred. [125] [126]With these lessons in mind Alfred capitalised on the relatively peaceful years following his victory at Edington with an ambitious restructuring of Saxon defences. On a trip to Rome Alfred had stayed with Charles the Bald, and it is possible that he may have studied how the Carolingian kings had dealt with Viking raiders. Learning from their experiences he was able to establish a system of taxation and defence for Wessex. There had been a system of fortifications in pre-Viking Mercia that may have been an influence. When the Viking raids resumed in 892 Alfred was better prepared to confront them with a standing, mobile field army, a network of garrisons and a small fleet of ships navigating the rivers and estuaries. [76] [77] [78] Administration and taxation [ edit ] The wills of Anglo-Saxon kings Alfred the Great (871-899) and Eadred (946-955) are the only wills to have survived to the present day