Alfred's only known sister, Æthelswith, married Burgred, king of Mercia in 853. Æthelbald (858–60) and Æthelberht (860–65) were also much older than Alfred, but Æthelred (865–71) was only a year or two older. Alfred's next three brothers were successively kings of Wessex. His eldest brother, Æthelstan, was old enough to be appointed sub-king of Kent in 839, almost 10 years before Alfred was born. Berkshire had been historically disputed between Wessex and the midland kingdom of Mercia, and as late as 844, a charter showed that it was part of Mercia, but Alfred's birth in the county is evidence that, by the late 840s, control had passed to Wessex. Richard Abels in his biography discusses both sources but does not decide between them and dates Alfred's birth as 847/849, while Patrick Wormald in his Oxford Dictionary of National Biography article dates it 848/849. This dating is adopted in the biography of Alfred by Alfred Smyth, who regards Asser's biography as fraudulent, an allegation which is rejected by other historians. West Saxon genealogical lists state that Alfred was 23 when he became king in April 871, implying that he was born between April 847 and April 848. According to his biographer, Asser, writing in 893, "In the year of our Lord's Incarnation 849 Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons", was born at the royal estate called Wantage, in the district known as Berkshire (which is so called from Berroc Wood, where the box tree grows very abundantly)." This date has been accepted by the editors of Asser's biography, Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge, and by other historians such as David Dumville and Richard Huscroft. He was given the epithet "the Great" in the 16th century and is the only English monarch to be labelled as such.įurther information: House of Wessex family treeĪlfred was a son of Æthelwulf, king of Wessex, and his wife Osburh. Details of his life are described in a work by 9th-century Welsh scholar and bishop Asser.Īlfred had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature who encouraged education, proposing that primary education be conducted in English, rather than Latin, and improving the legal system and military structure and his people's quality of life. Alfred began styling himself as "King of the Anglo-Saxons" after reoccupying London from the Vikings. He defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, becoming the dominant ruler in England.
Alfred also oversaw the conversion of Viking leader Guthrum to Christianity. 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.
Īfter ascending the throne, Alfred spent several years fighting Viking invasions. Under Alfred's rule, considerable administrative and military reforms were introduced, prompting lasting change in England. Three of Alfred's brothers, Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred, reigned in turn before him. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfred was young. 849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899.
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