Alfred The Great King Of ENGLAND

Male 849 - 899  (50 years)


Personal Information    |    Sources    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Alfred The Great King Of ENGLAND  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    • Since Alfred had three older brothers, no one ever expected him to become king, and he was educated for a career in the church.

      Slowly, the likely succession to the throne began to change. Aethelbald, Alfred's oldest brother, became king when Aethelwulf abdicated in 855 but then died in 860. Aethelbert, the next brother, was crowned immediately but then died in the late 865 or early 866. Aethelred, Alfred's last older brother, ruled next but was badly wounded in the battle of Meredune and died on 23 April 871.

      In 868 Alfred had married St. Ealhswith of Mercia. They would eventually have five children and a very happy marriage, but it would first be necessary for him to save not only his family but also his country.

      Wessex seemed doomed when Alfred became king. By the spring of 871, Danish Vikings had already burned half of its towns to ashes. The other half were the las unconquered part of the last Anglo-Saxon kingdom still holding out against the Vikings. By fighting one battle a month from the spring until the end of the year, Alfred brought the Danish invasion to a standstill. As part of a negotiated truce, he then paid the Danes to leave Wessex alone for the next five years.

      In retreating, the Danes simply withdrew across the borders of Wessex into the neighboring British kingdoms that they had already conquered. The question was not whether they would return to Wessex but when. During the five-year truce, Alfred devoted himself to strengthening his defenses and building up his army.

      A Danish army returned to Wessex in the spring of 876, and for the next two years Alfred was in several battles. The war did not end until the battle of Ethandune in 878. Alfred's triumph there was so complete that it ended the war. Alfred and the men of Wessex had won.

      Apart from a brief skirmish with the Danes in 885, Wessex was at peace for the next fifteen years. During this time, Alfred showed that he was much more than a very capable war leader. He gathered scholars at his court and turned it into a center of learning. He personally translated several works from Latin into Old English, including the first 50 Psalms, the 'Consolation of Philosophy' by Boethius, the 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People' by Bede, 'Pastoral Care' by Gregory the Great, the 'Soliloquies' of St. Augustine, and the 'World History' of Orosius. Alfred was determined that all sons of freemen would learn to read and write. His scriptoria produced manuscripts for use in education, and public schools were started.

      Alfred was generous to the church and anxious to rule his people justly. He took the law codes of earlier rulers such as Offa of Mercia and Ine of Wessex and used them to create a new legal system for his kingdom. He founded two new monasteries at Athelny and Shaftesbury and also rebuilt other religious communities that had been destroyed during the wars with the Vikings. Alfred himself attended mass daily and was a deeply pious man.

      As he did all these things, Alfred never forgot about the Danes. During the long peace that began in 878, Wessex ceased to be a plunderland for Vikings and became a formidable military power thanks to the efforts of Alfred He built a network of twenty five fortified boroughs that covered the whole country. He refortified London. He started a system of troop rotations, where half of his army would be armed and ready at all times while the other half would be dispersed. For designing ships to half a seaborne invasion, Alfred has been called the father of the British navy.

      Seen at the end of his reign as the 'Leader of the Christians,' the 'Saviour of the Saxons,' and the model of a Christian ruler, Alfred died on 26 October 899 and was buried in Winchester, which was his capital.




      [1]
    Birth 849  Wantage, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3, 5
    Gender Male 
    Death 26 Oct 899  England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 3, 5
    Death 901  [2
    Notes 
    • Excerpt from"Families Directly Descended from all the Royal Families in Europe": Alfred was King of Wessex, and is famous for founding the British Navy and for bringing culture and civilization to England. He broke the power of the Danes, and kept them subdues during his reign.
    Person ID I21259  Main Tree
    Last Modified 26 Oct 2019 

    Father King of Wessex & Kent Aethelwulf King Of ENGLAND,   b. Abt 806, Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 13 Jan 858, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 52 years) 
    Relationship Birth 
    Mother Osburh,   b. Abt 810, Wessex Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Aft 876 (Age > 67 years) 
    Relationship Birth 
    Annulled 853  [3
    Family ID F14079  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Ealhswith Of MERCIA,   b. Abt 852, Mercia, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 904 (Age 52 years) 
    Marriage 868  [5
    Children 
     1. Princess of England Alfthryth Of WESSEX,   b. Abt 877, Wessex Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 07 Jun 929 (Age 52 years)  [Birth]
     2. Edward I "the Elder",   b. 871, Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 17 Jul 924 (Age 53 years)  [Birth]
    Family ID F14078  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 17 Jan 2016 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 26 Oct 899 - England Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Sources 
    1. [S5452] Alan J. Koman, A Who's Who of Your Ancestral Saints, (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. - Baltimore).

    2. [S02258] Mrs. (Oscar Herbert) Elizabeth M. Leach Rixford, Families Directly Descended from "All the Royal Families in Europe" (495-1932) and Mayflower Descendants, (Name: Name: Clearfield Company, Inc., Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.;;).

    3. [S03311] Roderick W. Stuart, Royalty For Commoners - Fourth Edition, (Name: Name: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc;;).

    4. [S5682] Reginald Wellington Walworth, "Walworth-Walsworth Genealogy" 1689-1962 Descendants Male & Female of William Walworth & Mary Abigail Seaton.

    5. [S5840] Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonist Who Came to America before 1700.