Our Bale / Lamm / Prescott Roots

King Alfred The Great of Canute of England, Ruled the West Saxons, 871-899. He prevented the Danish conquest of England, defeating them
at Edington in 878.

Alias: 'The /Great'/

ALFRED THE GREAT (849-899), the most justly celebrated of all
Anglo-Saxon rulers, was King of Wessex from 871 until 899. Alfred was
born at Wantage in 849, the youngest son of King Ethelwulf of Wessex and
his first wife, Osburh. The short reigns and early deaths of his elder
brothers Ethelbald (858-850), Ethelbert (860-865) and Ethelred I
(865-871) brought Alfred to the throne of Wessex at the age of about
twenty-two in 871. Alfred's lifetime was overshadowed by the Danish
invasions of England. Between 865 and 870 the Danes had conquered the
kingdoms of East Anglia and Northumbria and had forced Mercia into
submission. In 870 they decided to move againstWessex and established
themselves in winter quarters at Reading. Five battles were fought in the
winter and early spring of 870-871, at Englefield, Reading, Ashdown,
Basing and the unidentified Meretun. Of these only Ashdown was aWest
Saxon victory. Shortly after the last battle the Danes were reinforced by
another Viking army. At the time of Alfred's accession in April 871 the
advantage lay firmly with the invaders. For the new king the outlook was
bleak, and it was to remain so for some time. In May Alfred was defeated
again, at Wilton, after which he decided to capitulate as the Mercians
had done. A contemporary put the best interpretation on it that he could:
'the Saxons made peace with the Vikings on condition that they would
leave them; and this theydid.' What this almost certainly means is that
Alfred paid them to go away; whatlater generations were to call paying
Danegeld. The Danes kept their word. Between 871 and 875 they busied
themselves with Mercia and Northumberland. A second invasion of Wessex
occurred in 876-77. Under their leader Guthrum, the Danes struck deeper
than ever before into Wessex, and established themselves first at Wareham
in Dorset and then at Exeter. Once more Alfred was forcedto buy peace
from them and they withdrew across the Mercian border in the summer of
877 to a new base at Gloucester. A third invasion followed soon. In
January 878 the Danes entered Wessex, settled at Chippenham and subjected
large areas of the kingdom to their authority. With only a small
following Alfred fled to the west and found refuge at Athelney in
Somerset, in the marshy country of the Parrett valley. (The episode of
Alfred and the cakes, first committed to writing about a century after
his death, was located during the retreat at Athelney.) Had the king died
at this point he would be remembered, ifat all, only as a failure. But
Alfred survived and prospered. During the spring of 878 he quietly
mustered troops and from the fortress which he had constructed at
Athelney he waged guerilla war upon the Danes. By May he was readyto
challenge them openly. He advanced eastwards, gathering support from the
county levies of Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire as he went. They
encountered Guthrum's army at Edington in Wiltshire and decisively
defeated it, pursuing the survivors as far as their stronghold at
Chippenham. After a fortnight the Danes surrendered. Their leader Guthrum
was baptized a Christian in June and they swore to leave Wessex in peace,
a promise which they carried out later in the year. Alfred had won the
struggle for survival. Towards the end of 884 part of a Viking army which
had been campaigning in Francia crossed theChannel to Kent and laid
siege to Rochester. Alfred relieved the town and eventually managed to
chase the intruders back to the Continent. Guthrum's followers, settled
in East Anglia since 880, had assisted the Vikings from the Continent,
and it was in an attempt to neutralise them that Alfred sent a naval
force against East Anglia in the summer of 885, which had mixed success,
and in 886 occupied London. Shortly afterwards he made a peace-treaty
with Guthrum. Apart from these events, during the fourteen

Birth*

849

Wanating, Berkshire, England

Marriage*

868

Principal=Princess Elswitha Of Gainsborough

Death*

Oct 28, 899

Winchester, England

Family	Princess Elswitha Of Gainsborough b. 850, d. 905
Children	1.	Elflethe (?)
	2.	Princess Elftrudis Of England b. 869, d. Jun 7, 929
	3.	King Edward (?) The Elder+ b. 869 or 870, d. Jul 17, 924
	4.	Princess Ethelgiva Of England b. 871
	5.	Elfthritha (?) b. 872, d. 939
	6.	Prince Ethelweard Of England b. 874

Recent Changes

Compiler:
Richard Prescott Bale

This page was created by John Cardinal's Second Site v1.9.13.
Site updated on Dec 11, 2007 at 8:00:24 PM from Prescott; 12,903 people