Alfred the Great, Father of Englandâ
Alfred the Great was the first King of Anglo-Saxons, who fought back Viking invaders and created the âideaâ of England.
Son of Ăthelwulf & grandson of Ecgberht (kings of the Wessex), Alfred was born in 849. In 865, the Great Heathen Army, led by the sons of legendary Viking Ragnar Lothbrok, landed to conquer Saxon England. Upon his brotherâs death in 871, Alfred became king but was forced to flee and hide in the Somerset marshes. Hope seemed lost⊠until, in 878, he called the Saxon fyrds to meet at Egbertâs Stone. Their fate would be decided at the Battle of Edington, where Alfred defeated the Vikings, made peace with Danish chieftain Guthrum, and gave him Saxon East Anglia after being baptized.
In 886, Alfred handed London to his son-in-law, Ăthelred of Mercia, before styling himself âKing of the Anglo-Saxonsâ and having all Anglo Saxons submit to him. Another Viking invasion, led by Hastein, arrived from mainland Europe in 892-93. Alfred managed to defeat them with his son, Edward, and the ealdormen of Mercia.
During his reign, Alfred reorganized the âEnglishâ army by creating fortified towns (burhs), compiled a legal code, and encouraged translating religious texts into English. The first systematic year-by-year account of English history, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, was also started by Alfred. He laid the foundation for the flourishing of later Anglo Saxon periods.
Alfred was married to Ealhswith of Mercia. Their children included King Edward the Elder and ĂthelflĂŠd Lady of Mercia (his illegitimate son was Osferth). After Alfredâs death in 899, his body would move from the Old Minster (Winchester), to the New Minster, to Hyde Abbey when William the Conqueror invaded. His familysâ graves survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536) until being desecrated in 1788. In 2013, a pelvis bone was finally found, dated, and believed to be Alfredâs or his sonâs.
King Alfred remains the only English monarch given the epithet âthe Greatâ, a testament to his importance and lasting legacy.
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