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Alfred the Great
(
Old English
:
Ælfrēd
,
Ælfr
ǣ
d
, "elf counsel"; 849 – 26 October 899) was King of
Wessex
from 871 to 899.
Alfred is noted for his defence of the
Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms of southern England against the
Danes
, becoming the only
English
monarch still to be accorded the
epithet
"the Great".
[1]
Alfred was the first
King of the West Saxons
to style himself "King of the Anglo-Saxons". Details of his life are described in a work by the
10th century
Welsh
scholar and bishop
Asser
. Alfred was a learned man who encouraged education and improved his kingdom's
legal
system and
military
structure. He is regarded as a
saint
by some
Catholics
, but has never been officially canonised.
[2]
The
Anglican Communion
venerates him as a
Christian hero
, with a
feast day
of 26 October,
[3]
and he may often be found depicted in
stained glass
in
Church of England parish churches
.
Childhood
Alfred was born in the village of Wanating, now
Wantage
,
Oxfordshire
. He was the youngest son of King
Æthelwulf of Wessex
, by his first wife,
Osburh
.
[4]
In 853, at the age of four, Alfred is said to have been sent to Rome where, according to the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
,
[5]
he was confirmed by
Pope Leo IV
who "anointed him as king".
Victorian
writers interpreted this as an anticipatory
coronation
in preparation for his ultimate succession to the throne of Wessex. However, his succession could not have been foreseen at the time, as Alfred had three living elder brothers. A letter of Leo IV shows that Alfred was made a "
consul
"; a misinterpretation of this investiture, deliberate or accidental, could explain later confusion.
[6]
It may also be based on Alfred's later having accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Rome where he spent some time at the court of
Charles the Bald
,
King of the Franks
, around 854–855.
On their return from Rome in 856, Æthelwulf was deposed by his son
Æthelbald
. With civil war looming, the
magnates
of the realm met in council to hammer out a compromise. Æthelbald would retain the western shires (i.e., traditional Wessex), and Æthelwulf would rule in the east.
When King Æthelwulf died in 858, Wessex was ruled by three of Alfred's brothers in succession, Æthelbald,
Æthelbert
and
Æthelred
.
[7]
Bishop Asser tells the story of how as a child Alfred won a prize of a volume of poetry in
English
, offered by his mother to the first of her children able to memorise it. Legend also has it that the young Alfred spent time in Ireland seeking healing. Alfred was troubled by health problems throughout his life. It is thought that he may have suffered from
Crohn's disease
. Statues of Alfred in Winchester and Wantage portray him as a great warrior. Evidence suggests he was not physically strong, and though not lacking in courage, he was more noted for his intellect than a warlike character.
[8]
Under Æthelred
19th century depiction of Alfred the Great
During the short reigns of the older two of his three elder brothers,
Æthelbald of Wessex
and
Æthelberht of Wessex
, Alfred is not mentioned. However, his public life began with the accession of his third brother,
Æthelred of Wessex
, in 866. It is during this period that Bishop Asser applied to him the unique title of "secundarius", which may indicate a position akin to that of the
Celtic
tanist
, a recognised successor closely associated with the reigning monarch. It is possible that this arrangement was sanctioned by Alfred's father, or by the
Witan
, to guard against the danger of a disputed succession should Æthelred fall in battle. The arrangement of crowning a successor as royal prince and military commander is well known among other
Germanic
tribes
, such as the
Swedes
and
Franks
, to whom the Anglo-Saxons were closely related.
In 868, Alfred is recorded as fighting beside Æthelred in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the invading
Danes
led by
Ivar the Boneless
out of the adjoining
Kingdom of Mercia
.
[5]
However, at the end of 870, the Danes arrived in his homeland. The year which followed has been called "Alfred's year of battles". Nine engagements were fought with varying outcomes, though the place and date of two of these battles have not been recorded.
In Berkshire, a successful skirmish at the
Battle of Englefield
on 31 December 870 was followed by a severe defeat at the
siege and Battle of Reading
by Ivar's brother
Halfdan Ragnarsson
on 5 January 871; then, four days later, Alfred won a brilliant victory at the
Battle of Ashdown
on the
Berkshire Downs
, possibly near
Compton
or
Aldworth
. Alfred is particularly credited with the success of this latter battle. However, later that month, on 22 January, the English were defeated at the
Battle of Basing
and, on the 22 March at the
Battle of Merton
(perhaps Marden in
Wiltshire
or Martin in
Dorset
), in which Æthelred was killed.
The two unidentified battles may have occurred in between
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