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Born

849

Born At

Died

26 Oct 899

Buried At

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Titles Include: King of Wessex from 871 to 899

The youngest son

lfred the Great, King of Wessex from 871 to 899, is probably the most famous of the Saxon kings because a large amount of information was written about him. His life was documented by a Bishop called Asser, but this account may not be entirely true. Alfred was the sixth child of Aethelwulf. He had four elder brothers (Athelstan, Athelbald, Aethelbert and Aethelred) and one elder sister Athelswith. Alfred visited Rome twice when he was child to spend time at the court of Pope Leo IV and he spent time at the Frankish court of Charles the Bald. The foreign courts he visited may have been the model on which he based his own court when king. Alfred's elder brothers became kings of Wessex in succession after the death of their father.

Viking Invasions

Aethelred became king of Wessex in 865 and Alfred became his deputy. In 868 Alfred and Aethelred were assisting the King of Mercia whose lands were being attacked by the Danes. The Danes accepted payment to leave. Aethelred and Alfred held the Danes off until 871 when after Alfred defeated the Danes at Ashdown but lost subsequent battles. Aethelred was wounded and died of his injuries. Although Aethelred had sons they were too young to rule and so Alfred succeeded his elder brother as King of Wessex.

The Marshes

His control lasted until 878 when a Viking army led by Guthrum attacked Alfred's court at Chippenham in the middle of winter. The Saxons were dispersed into marshes around Athelney where they could hide and regroup. Alfred began a period of guerrilla warfare against the Danes from his base in the marshes. The story of Alfred and the burnt cakes probably took place while Alfred was in hiding from the Danes and while he was in disguise. Alfred built up an army including men from Somerset and Wiltshire and arranged for them to meet at Selwood. The large army was then able to overpower the Danes at the battle of Edington. After the battle Guthrum, the leader of the Danes, agreed to be baptised as a Christian by Alfred and agreed to a peace treaty.

Reorganisation

After the battle of Edington, although there were smaller raids by the Danes, Wessex moved into a period of relative peace that lasted for the remainder of his reign. Alfred set about creating a series of fortified villages known as burghs. He created a standing army and ensured there were smaller forces of men to provide support at a local level. He also created a small navy.

Learning

Alfred dedicated a lot of time to improving his own knowledge and the knowledge of his people. He organised the translation of many works of literature from Latin. He was involved with the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (Click here to see the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle index page), ordering copies to be made and their distribution to major abbeys. When Alfred died his son Edward became King of Wessex.

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Family Tree Details

Father:	Aethelwulf (King of Wessex 839-858) ( - d.858)
Mother:	Wife of Aethelwulf

ALFRED (The Great, King of Wessex 871-899) (b.849 - d.899)
         +Ealhswith ( - d.905)
                  =EDWARD (the Elder, King of West Saxons, 899-924) (b.871 - d.924)
                  |        +Wife of Edward the Elder
                  |                 =ATHELSTAN (King of the English 924-939) (b.895 - d.939)
                  |                 =EDMUND (I, King of the English 939-946) (b.922 - d.946)
                  |                 |        +Aelfgifu ( - d.944)
                  |                 |                 =EADWIG (King of the English 955-959) (b.939 - d.959)
                  |                 |                 =EDGAR (I, King of the English 959-975) (b.944 - d.975)
                  |                 |                          +Ethelflead
                  |                 |                          |        =EDWARD (The Martyr, King of the English 975-978) (b.962 - d.978)
                  |                 |                          +Wulfryth
                  |                 |                          +Elfthyrth (b.945 - d.1000)
                  |                 |                                   =Edmund (b.965 - )
                  |                 |                                   =AETHELRED (II The Unready, King of the English 978-1013, 1014-1016) (b.967 - d.1016)
                  |                 =EADRED (King of the English 946-955) (b.923 - d.955)
                  =Athelflaed (Lady of the Mercians) ( - d.918)
                           +Aethelred (of Mercia) ( - d.911)

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Mini Timeline (Ages are approximate)

849		Alfred 'the Great' is born
		Alfred was the fifth son of Ethelwulf, King of Wessex. ¹
853		Alfred goes to Rome	Age: 4
		Alfred is sent to Rome by his father to see Pope Leo IV.¹
855 - 856		Ethelwulf and Alfred visit Rome	Age: 6
		Ethelwulf and Alfred visit Rome to see Pope Leo IV.¹
865		Ethelred becomes King of Wessex	Age: 16
		Following the death of his elder brother, Ethelred became the King of Wessex. Alfred (the Great) became his deputy.¹
867		Danes are attacked and move south	Age: 18
		Armies from Northumbria attacked the Danes at York but were defeated. The Danes moved south attacking Nottingham and taking the city. The king of Mercia asked Ethelred and Alfred for assistance and an army from Wessex went to help.¹
868		Alfred marries Ealhswith	Age: 19
		Alfred marries the daughter of a Mercian nobleman.
	Autumn	A peaceful settlement is reached
		Ethelred and Alfred married Mercian noble women whilst assisting the King of Mercia with the Danes on his land. A peaceful settlement was reached with the Danes and a Danegeld was paid for them to leave.¹
871 - 875		Alfred rebuilds his defences	Age: 22
		During the period between 871 and 875 while the Danes were occupied in the north, Alfred had time to rebuild his defences.¹
	Qtr 1	Battle of Ashdown
		Aethelred and Alfred defeated the Danes at Ashdown.
	Apr	Alfred 'The Great' becomes king of Wessex
		After fighting the Danes all winter Aethelred died. He was only in his twenties. He was buried at Wimborne and was succeeded by his younger brother Alfred 'the Great'.¹
	Qtr 2	More Danes arrive in Britain
		Another army of Danes landed in London and were joined by those at Reading. The army defeated Alfred at Wilton and so the king decided to pay the Danes some money to keep the peace.¹
875		Alfred builds a small navy	Age: 26
		Alfred the Great organised a small number of ships to attack invading Danes.
876		Danes defeated in the south	Age: 27
		Led by Guthrum, an army of Danes moved to Wareham in Dorset where they were met by a new army from the sea who landed at Poole. Alfred trapped the army and demanded hostages in return for a peaceful settlement. The Danes divided, half fleeing to Exeter where they besieged the town while the other half escaped in their ships but were drowned in heavy seas. Those at Exeter were forced to surrender and were moved up to Gloucester.¹
878	Jan	The Danes take the advantage	Age: 29
		After Exeter. Alfred was hoping that trouble with the Danes was over, but again led by Guthrum, an army headed for Alfred at his Chippenham residence. Alfred fled under overwhelming odds leaving Chippenham in the hands of the Danes. ¹
	Spring	Alfred burns the cakes
		During the winter and spring period Alfred was in hiding. He ran a guerrilla warfare style war against the Danes and set up his headquarters on the Isle of Athelney in Somerset. It was on one of his scouting missions (the story goes) that he took refuge and not being recognised as the King was asked to watch the cakes which he burnt.¹
	Apr	Battle of Edington
		Alfred called for his men to form an army and attack the Danes. He ordered the army to meet at a location known as Egbert's Stone and seven weeks after Easter an army was formed. Once formed the army quickly moved towards Guthrum and the Danes and the two armies met at Edington. The battle at Edington was won by Alfred and the Danes retreated to Chippenham. The Danes were surrounded and surrendered. Guthrum along with several other high ranking members of the Danish army were converted to Christianity under Alfred's sponsorship. Guthrum and Alfred agreed on peace terms and the Danes returned to their holdings in East Anglia known as the Danelaw.¹
879		Start of reorganisation	Age: 30
		After the success at Edington Alfred decided to construct of a series of fortified villages or burhs to help protect Wessex. He set up a system that provided Wessex with both a standing army and defence at a local level.
		New Viking Invasion
		A new Viking fleet sailed up the Thames and built a camp at Fulham. For Alfred this was a worrying situation as he was unsure if this new Viking army would move to join Guthrum. Alfred did not have to worry as the army soon broke camp and headed for France.¹
882		Alfred attacks Viking ships	Age: 33
		Alfred had been increasing the size of his new navy and in 882 used it to good affect when he sailed out to attack four Viking ships. Two Viking ships were captured and their crews killed.¹
885		Vikings besiege Rochester	Age: 36
		An army of Vikings landed in Kent from the Continent and besieged Rochester. Alfred's work in improving the defences of the major towns paid off and the town held out long enough for Alfred to organise an army and force the Vikings to flee back across the Channel to the Continent.¹
886		Alfred captures London	Age: 37
		Alfred took full control of London and strengthened its defences in defiance against Viking attacks. London had not been a capital town before now but Alfred raised London's status.
890		Guthrum dies	Age: 41
		Guthrum died in 890 and his peace agreements with Alfred were maintained by his successor.
893		Danish Invasion	Age: 44
		A huge army of Danes travelled from Boulogne using some 250 ships and crossed the Channel landing in Kent at the Lympne Estuary, now called the River Rother. The army found a half-completed Saxon fort at Appledore which they attacked and took control of. At the same time another Danish army led by Haesten had arrived in the Thames estuary and set up camp at Milton. Alfred was facing a serious threat but decided to position his army half way between the two enemy encampments and wait.
894		Battle at Farnham	Age: 45
		While Alfred concentrated his efforts against the Danes at Milton, the Danes at Appledore left their camp. Alfred's son Edward took an army and caught the Danes at Farnham. Edward dealt a heavy blow and forced the Danes to retreat to an island on the River Colne. At the same time Danes from East Anglia had sailed around to the Cornish coast and had besieged Exeter. Aflred, who had been on his way to help Edward deal with the Danes on the island, changed direction and headed for Exeter. Back in Essex Haesten had gained reinforcements and moved to a new fortified site at Benfleet, but the fort was attacked by the Saxons while the Danes were on a raiding trip and this forced Haesten to move to Shoebury. The Danes outside Exeter ended their siege and sailed around to the join Haesten at Shoebury.
895		Danes march west	Age: 46
		The combined Danish army left Shoebury and marched west up the Thames valley through Worcestershire and up the Severn valley finally reaching Chester where they were besieged by the Saxons who tried to starve the Danes out. The Danes managed to escape into Wales where they raided and left with a great deal of spoils.
899	Oct 26	Alfred dies, Edward 'The Elder' becomes King	Age: 50
		Alfred the Great died on October 26th and Edward, his son, became king of Wessex. Apart from the English people under Danish rule, Alfred had ruled over all the English in the country.¹