General Notes

Alfred ruled after his 3 older brothers died in battle.

Alfred is the only English king to bear the title "The Great."  He fought the Danes, with whom he divided up England, eventually taking Mercia and Northumberland from them, along with Wessex, Kent, and London, he had almost all of England at the end.  He encouraged the production of copies of "The Anglo Saxon Chronicles."

Alfred was one of the greatest men in history.  He was crowned king at Winchester 871; founded the British Navy, organized the militia, compiled a code of laws, built schools and monasteries, and invited scholars to live at his court.  He was a good scholar and translated many books.

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Following copied from Barry Hummel, Jr, World Connect db=siderhummel, rootsweb.com:
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From the late 8th century, attacks by Vikings from Scandinavia increased. After a major invasion in 865, the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia were rapidly overrun, and in 871 the Danish army attacked Wessex. The Wessex forces under the command of Alfred (reigned 871-99), then aged 21, defeated the Danes at the Battle of Edington in 878. The Danes withdrew to an area north of a frontier running from London to Chester and known as 'Danelaw'.

This victory did not finish the Danish threat, and Alfred reorganised the Wessex defences by organising his army on a rota basis, so he could raise a 'rapid reaction force' to deal with raiders whilst still enabling his thegns and peasants to tend their farms. Second, Alfred started a building programme of well-defended settlements across southern England as a defence in depth against Danish raiders. Alfred also ordered the building of a navy of new fast ships to patrol the coasts and meet invaders before they penetrated inland.

Other reforms included establishing a legal code (assembled from the laws of his predecessors and of the kingdoms of Mercia and Kent), and reforming the coinage. Illiterate in Latin until the age of 38, Alfred promoted literacy, religion and education, and directed the translation of works of religious instruction, philosophy and history into the vernacular; this was partly so that people could read his orders and legislation. The energetic royal authority demonstrated in Alfred's policies presaged the Wessex kings' rule of all England during the next century.