Alfred The Great
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Alfred of Wessex is the only king in English history to be given the title of “The Great.”
Alfred the Great is remembered by countless people as the man who burnt some cakes and also by fans of Bernard Cornwall’s “The Last Kingdom” as the ruthless (a pious) king to whom Uhtred of Bebbanburg has a love/hate relationship.
But what is the real story behind one of the greatest hero’s in English history?
Chapters
0:00 Anglo Saxon England
3:25 Great Heathen Army
9:00 The Last Kingdom
14:35 Guthrum
19:00 Battle of Edington
22:25 Alfred The Great
26:15 The History Chap
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#kingalfredthegreat #kingalfred #guthrum
Alfred the Great became king of Wessex (in Anglo-Saxon England) in 871 upon the death of his brother.
At this time, there was no country called England but a series of separate Anglo Saxon Kingdoms - Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex.
The first major viking raid on England had occurred back in 793 when the monastery at Lindisfarne had been sacked.
For the next 70 years, Viking attacks increased but in 865 the Anglo Saxons were faced with a viking enemy who nearly strangled the concept of England at birth - The Great Heathen Army.
The Great Heathen Army was a force of 3,000 warriors commanded by Ivar the Bonless - a son of the legendary Viking warrior, Ragnar Lothbrok.
By 866 they had captured the city of York in Northumbria and established the viking kingdom of Jorvik.
Ivar the Bonelss then turned his attention to the kingdom of Mercia, capturing Nottingham.
Having been paid a Danegeld (bribe) to leave, the Great Heathen Army moved on to East Anglia where they defeated King Edmund, the Martyr.
Now there was only one Anglo-Saxon kingdom left - Wessex was, quite literally, the “Last Kingdom.”
Part of the Great Heathern Army under Guthrum invaded Wessex and in January 871 they defeated the army of Wessex at the Battle of Reading before then being defeated by the king of Wessex at the battle of Ashdown.
Within a few months of this victory, the king of Wessex, Aethelred died, and the Witan elected his younger brother, Alfred, as king.
Alfred paid a Danegeld to Guthrum who withdrew into Mercia.
However, on the 6th January 878 Guthrum launched a surprise attack on Alfred’s royal residence at Chippenham.
Alfred managed to escape the carnage and fled to the relative safety of the Somerset marshes (now drained as the Somerset Levels).
Having spent 3 months in hiding, Alfred re-emerged and gathered an army which proceeded to win a stunning victory over Guthrum and his vikings at the Battle of Edington.
Guthrum sued for peace the two leaders agreed to split England into two spheres.
To the west was Alfred’s kingdom and half of the once might Mercia.
To the east, was viking territory - which would eventually be called the Danelaw.
Rather like Offa of Mercia a century before hand, Alfred now started styling himself “Rex Anglorum” king of the English.
However, when he died in 899, Alfred only ruled half of England.
There were as many English living under Danish (Viking) rule as under his.
Nevertheless, Alfred had saved the Anglo Saxons from being overrun and had built the launchpad for his children (Edward the Elder and Athelflaed, Lady of the Mercians) to push back the vikings and for his grandson, Aethelstan, to finally unify the disparate regions into a new kingdom - England.
Alfred The Great died in 899 having been king of Wessex for 28 years.
He is the only king of England to have been given the title “The Great”.
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Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.