[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 12, Ed. 1, Tree #3953, Date of Import: Apr 25, 1999]
Taken from 1993 Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. "IS UNDER COPYRIGHT"
"Alfred, b. 849, d. Oct. 26, 899, succeeded his brother AEthelred as king
of Wessex in April 871. Both he and his brother were sons of King
AEthelwulf. The only English king called "the great", Alfred is renowned
both for his ability as a war leader and his love of learning. He can be
counted, with CHARLEMAGNE, as one of the two most outstanding rulers of
the 9th century.[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 21, Ed. 1, Tree #1186, Date of
Import: Apr 26, 1999]
The first kings to exert a stable hegemony over England were the rulers
of Northumbria in the 7th and 8th centuries. This was the golden age of
Northumbrian culture; the monastery at wearmouth-Jarrow then counted
among its member Bede the Venerable, the greatest scholar of his day. By
the late 8th century the hegemony over England passed to the rulers of
Mercia(A province in England). King Offa, a contemporary of
Charlemagne's was known even to the Pope as King of Britain. Mercian
leadership was, however, short-lived; and after Offa's death the honor
passed to Egbert of Wessex (another province) and his successors. To the
kings of Wessex fell the task of defending England against the Danes. The
greatest of these kings was Alfred the Great. After experiencing
military defeats by the Danes in the early years of his reign, Alfred
reorganized the defense of the kingdom. He reformed the militia to keep
a larger and more mobile army in the field and built fortresses to defend
the land and ships to defend the coast. In 886 the Danes agreed to
accept Christianity and settle in the Danelaw, a region north and east in
England. Alfred was the first king effectively to rule over the entire
English people and was one of the outstanding figures of English
history. Born in Wantage in southern England, Alfred was the youngest of
five sons of King Ethelwulf. On the death of his brother Ethelred,
Alfred became king, coming to the throne during a Danish invasion.
Although he succeeded in making peace with the Danes, they resumed there
marauding expeditions five years later, and by early 878 they were
successful almost everywhere. About Easter 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 mond Asser 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, and the 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 Welsh peoples.
During his reign an official record of events in England, the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle, was begun, which is an indispensable source for early English
history. The English resurgence initiated under Alfred continued under
his successors for almost a century.