General Notes

[1700591.ged]
Youngest son of King Æthelwulf, Alfred became King of Wessex during a
time of constant Viking attack. He was driven into hiding by a Viking
raid into Wessex, led by the Dane, Guthorm, and took refuge in the
Athelney marshes in Somerset. There, he
recovered sufficient strength to be able to defeat the Danes decisively
at the Battle of Eddington in 878. As a condition of the peace treaty
which followed, Guthorm received Christian baptism and withdrew his
forces from Wessex, with Alfred
recognizing the Danish control over East Anglia and parts of Mercia. This
partition of England, called the "Danelaw", was formalized by another
treaty in 886.
Alfred created a series of fortifications to surround his kingdom and
provide needed security from invasion. The Anglo-Saxon word for these
forts, "burhs", has come down to us in the common place-name suffix,
"bury." He also constructed a fleet of
ships to augment his other defenses, and in so doing became known as the
"Father of the English Navy." The reign of Alfred was known for more than
military success. He was a codifier of law, a promoter of education and a
suppor|er of the arts. He,
himself, was a scholar and translated Latin books into the Anglo-Saxon
tongue. The definitive contemporary work on Alfred's life is an
unfinished account in Latin by Asser, a Welshman, bishop of Sherbourne
and Alfred's counsellor. After his death, he
was buried in his capital city of Winchester, and is the only English
monarch in history to carry the title, "the Great."
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/KingAlfred/part1.html