Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886 and the first ruler to bear the title King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. The youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and Queen Osburh, he rose to prominence during a period of intense Viking pressure on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. His reign combined military resilience, administrative innovation, cultural revival, and legal reform, creating conditions that shaped the later unified kingdom of England. By the High Middle Ages he had acquired the epithet “the Great,” the only English monarch to be so styled.

Family and Early Background

Alfred was born at Wantage in Berkshire, traditionally in 849, though some historians have suggested dates between 847 and 849 based on genealogical evidence. He was the youngest of at least six children of Æthelwulf, king of Wessex, and Osburh, a noblewoman described by medieval chroniclers as pious and of distinguished lineage. His elder siblings included Æthelbald, Æthelberht, Æthelred, and a sister, Æthelswith, who married Burgred of Mercia. An older half-brother, Æthelstan of Kent, served as sub-king of Kent during his father’s rule.
Alfred’s lineage linked him to the West Saxon ruling house traced to the semi-legendary Cerdic. His grandfather Ecgberht had established a durable dynasty in the early ninth century after a long period when the West Saxon throne circulated among rival families. Under Ecgberht and Æthelwulf, Wessex expanded its influence over Kent, Sussex, and parts of Surrey, often interacting as allies with Mercia against Welsh rulers and increasingly frequent Viking incursions.
As a child Alfred is described by Asser as intelligent and devout. Unable to read until his early teens, he is said to have been inspired by a beautifully illuminated book of poetry offered as a reward by his mother. Though the story is partly conventional, it reflects the later emphasis placed on Alfred’s devotion to learning.
In 853 Alfred travelled to Rome, where Pope Leo IV confirmed him, an event sometimes misinterpreted in later tradition as a premature coronation. Another journey to Rome with his father in 855–856 exposed him to Frankish court culture. During this time political tensions emerged within Wessex, culminating in the division of the kingdom between Æthelbald in the west and Æthelwulf in the east. Subsequent reigns of his elder brothers Æthelbald, Æthelberht, and Æthelred gradually reunited Wessex and Kent into a single, more cohesive realm.

The Viking Challenge

In 865 the arrival of the Great Heathen Army in East Anglia signalled a new phase of Scandinavian conquest. Over the next decade the invaders subdued Northumbria, East Anglia, and much of Mercia. Alfred’s public role grew under King Æthelred, with whom he fought several engagements. These included battles at Reading, Ashdown, and Basing in 871, a year of intense conflict that cost many West Saxon lives.
When Æthelred died in April 871, Alfred became king amid severe military pressure. Unable to secure a decisive victory, he paid tribute to gain temporary respite. However, Viking forces shifted to Mercia and returned in 875–876, taking advantage of winter conditions to seize Chippenham early in 878. Alfred was forced into hiding in the marshlands of Athelney, a period later embellished with legendary narratives.

Victory and Consolidation

Alfred’s fortunes reversed dramatically in 878 when he rallied local levies and defeated the Viking leader Guthrum at the Battle of Edington. The subsequent treaty required Guthrum’s baptism and established territorial divisions between Anglo-Saxon Wessex and the Danelaw, comprising Scandinavian-governed areas in northern and eastern England.
In the 880s Alfred expanded his authority. The reoccupation of London around 886 strengthened West Saxon control in the southeast and marked the moment when Alfred’s title shifted from King of the West Saxons to King of the Anglo-Saxons, signalling supremacy over all unconquered English territories. His relations with Mercia were cemented through the marriage of his daughter Æthelflæd to Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, laying foundations for later reconquest under Alfred’s son Edward.

Administrative and Military Reforms

To defend against renewed Viking threats, Alfred reorganised the military system of Wessex. He established a network of fortified settlements, or burhs, strategically sited across the kingdom. These fortifications, maintained at public expense, provided refuge for local populations and created an integrated defensive grid. Associated reforms created a more regular system of troop rotation, enabling part of the army to serve continually while the remainder attended to agricultural duties.
Alfred also invested in naval development, commissioning long ships to counter Viking vessels. Though early encounters at sea were inconclusive, this represented the emergence of an English fleet.
His legal reforms sought to consolidate royal authority and articulate a Christian moral order. Alfred issued a law code that combined earlier West Saxon legislation with biblical and patristic material, establishing a doctrinal justification for kingship and justice.

Cultural and Educational Revival

One of Alfred’s most enduring achievements was the promotion of learning. Disturbed by what he perceived as the decline of Latin literacy following decades of warfare, he sponsored translation projects to render key texts into Old English. Works associated with his court include adaptations of Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care, Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, and Bede’s Ecclesiastical History. Scholars such as Asser of St Davids and Grimbald of St-Bertin contributed to this intellectual revival.
Alfred created a court school for the education of noble and non-noble youths alike and fostered an environment where literacy was seen as essential for governance. His efforts contributed significantly to the preservation and development of written English.

Family and Dynastic Legacy

In 868 Alfred married Ealhswith, a noblewoman of Mercian descent. Their children included:

• Æthelflæd, future Lady of the Mercians
• Edward the Elder, Alfred’s successor
• Æthelgifu, later abbess of Shaftesbury
• Ælfthryth, who married Baldwin II of Flanders
• Æthelweard, noted for his learning

Alfred’s policies and familial alliances positioned his descendants to lead the eventual unification of England. Under Edward the Elder and Æthelflæd, Anglo-Saxon forces reconquered much of the Danelaw, continuing the trajectory set during Alfred’s reign.

Death and Reputation

Alfred died on 26 October 899 and was buried at Winchester. Medieval sources present him as a wise, pious, and just ruler—attributes reinforced by his own writings. By the thirteenth century he was known as “the Great,” a reputation that grew during the Renaissance and the nineteenth century, when his contributions to national identity, education, and law were widely celebrated.