Alfred the Great
King of England
Alfred was born sometime between 847 and 849 in Wantage in what is known today as Oxfordshire, England. He was the fourth son of King Ethelwulf of Wessex by his first wife Osburga. Alfred ended up being the first “King of England” and was also the only king in English history that was called “the Great. Previously different sections of England were divided up into small Kingdoms such as Wessex, Essex, Mercia, etc. Most, if not all of the information that we have about Alfred was chronicled by the Welch scholar Asser.
Alfred was a learned man and encouraged education and became an acknowledged writer and poet. There is a legend that he was given a book of prose at an early age by his mother because he was the first of her children that showed and interest in the written word and the only one that could read. It was told that at the age of five, his father took him on a pilgrimage to Rome at which Pope Leo IV “anointed him as king”. Early writers looked upon this as an anticipatory coronation. However, this could not have been seen at the time. Alfred had three older brothers ahead of him and the whole tale was probably just a myth. It might have been based on the trip that Alfred took with his father to visit the king of the Franks, Charles the Bald, in about 855. Ethelwulf died in 858 and Wessex was ruled by a succession of Alfred’s three older brothers. At this time in history England was split in two with southwestern England being Anglo Saxon and the northeastern part being ruled by a succession of Danish Viking kings. The northeastern part, including what is now known as London, was known as Danelaw. Little is known of Alfred after Ethelwulf had died and the succession of his two eldest brothers. It was the succession of Alfred’s third brother Ethelred I that Alfred is mentioned as “secondarius” or second in command or kind of like a Vice President. The people of Wessex wanted an undisputed transfer of power should Ethelred fall in battle because there was a constant danger of invasion by the Vikings. In 868 the neighboring kingdom of Mercia was invaded by the Vikings and Ethelred and Alfred led and army in an unsuccessful attempt to relieve Mercia. In the past Wessex had been spared invasion but in the autumn of 870 the wild-eyed Vikings came to Wessex. In the next year there were nine different engagements documented but there were probably more. The victories and defeats were split nearly equally between the Anglo Saxons and the Vikings.
In 871 Ethelred died probably as a result of wounds he received at the Battle of Merton and Alfred rose to power. While Alfred was taking care of the funeral and burial of his brother, the Vikings struck and were victorious at two different engagements without Alfred present and then were victorious at Wilton with Alfred present. Alfred and the Vikings came to a period of peace for the next five years. But the Vikings were active in other parts of England. Then a Viking named Guthrum came to power in 876. This man was not only ambitious he was a wily military commander. In late 876 the Vikings under Guthrum were able to slip by the English army and capture Wareham and in early 877 they continued westward to Exeter. Alfred cornered the Vikings with their backs to the Irish Sea. A relieving force of Viking ships came after Guthrum but a severe storm scattered the fleet and Guthrum had no choice but to fight his way out to Mercia. In January of 878 Guthrum made a sudden attack on Chippenham. This was a royal retreat for Alfred and he was there for Christmas but Alfred and few of his men were able to escape “through wood and swamp.” Alfred and Guthrum being nearly equal in military tactics fenced with each other for several years. Between 890 and 894-895 there were many encounters with the Britains and the attacking Vikings with the wins and losses about evenly split.
In 893 some of the Vikings in Continental Europe sent 330 of their dragon boats across the English Channel loaded with their wives and children meaning they were going to try and colonize England. They landed in two divisions near Kent. Alfred went to a position where he could watch both encampments. The Vikings struck out across England ending up on the Irish Sea. Finally the Vikings found themselves too far afield to feed themselves and retreated to Exeter.
In about 896 the Vikings drew their dragon boats up the Thames and Lea rivers and fortified themselves about 20 miles above London. Alfred found a way to block those rivers so the Viking boats could not escape and the Vikings knew they had been out maneuvered. Alfred decided not to engage the Vikings in battle and set out to destroying the Viking supplies.
In 896 or 897 the Vikings gave up trying to invade Wessex, Exeter and Mercia and all the others and they dispersed throughout the countryside. The struggle with the Vikings was over. After this Alfred set about improving the British navy so as to prevent any further invasions. He also divided his army into two branches, those that were afield and those that stayed at home in organized villages called Burhs. This system eventually became the “boroughs” and National Guard of today.
Alfred began exercising his skills in writing and delivered to us some of the best written epistles of that time. His translation of The Consolation of Philosophy is one of the most read books in the middle ages. There were several other essays of different books that Alfred did that changes the way people thought. Alfred was a very competent military leader and organizer. He prepared his country in an organized manner that is still in use to this day. His interplay with the church was muddled to say the least because of the influence of the Vikings. He did send emissaries abroad to Europe and even communicated with people of power in Jerusalem. He was a complete leader, unlike what is afoot today. He died in October 26, 899 but how he died is not known. He was buried temporarily in the abbey of Old Minister. Then he was moved to New Minister when the new abbey was built. And finally in the year of 1110 his body was permanently moved to Hyde Abbey where he rests to this day.
This short essay does not even scratch the surface of the accomplishments that Alfred gave to this world in his relatively short life. It would be worth everyone’s time to read about this hero of Great Britain who showed unflagging determination to rid his country of invaders, or illegal aliens if you will. By the way, the very first ship commissioned by the Unites States was the USS Alfred in his honor. There are statues of Alfred throughout the length and breadth of England.
Quotable quotes:
“It seems a pity that they allowed Jane Austen to die a natural death” Mark Twain
“When it is 3:00 o’clock in New York it is 1938 in England.” Bette Midler
“Love conquers all except poverty and a toothache.” Mae West
“Some weasel took the cork out of my lunch”. W.C. Fields
“Some say marriage is made in heaven, but so is thunder and lightning.” Clint Eastwood
“All men make mistakes. But it is only the married men that are never allowed to forget it.” Red Skelton
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