General Notes

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One of the outstanding figures of English history.  Born in southern England, Alfred was the youngest of five sons of King Ethelwulf.  On the death of his brother Ethelred he became King.  It was during a Danish invasion and although he succeeded in making peace with the Danes, they resumed their raiding five years later, and by early 878 they were raiding at will.  However, about Easter of 878 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 England.  In 893 the Danes invaded England again and it wasn't until about 897 that Alfred forced them to withdraw.  The only ruler to resist Danish invasions successfully, Alfred made his kingdom the rallying point for all Saxon's, 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 to come there.  Alfred's laws, the first new ones in more than a century, were the first that made no distinction between the English and Welsh peoples.