British unification king: Who is Alfred the Great?

(849-899) King of Wessex. He was born in Berkshire. He is the son of King Aethelwulf of Wessex. Alfred was taken to Rome twice, in 853 and 855, to meet with the Pope. He could not find the opportunity to learn to read and write until the age of 38. However, under the influence of his mother, he recognized traditional Anglo-Saxon poetry.

Alfred the Great (848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfred was young. Three of Alfred's brothers, Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred, reigned in turn before him. Under Alfred's rule, considerable administrative and military reforms were introduced, prompting lasting change in England.

The Anglo-Saxons accepted Christianity in the 7th century. In the 860s, the Danes occupied a large area north of the River Thames, including East Anglia and Northumbria. In 868, Alfred and his then-king brother Ethelred assisted the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia north of Wessex against the Danes. That same year, Alfred married Ealhswith, a descendant of the kings of Mercia. In 871 the Danes attacked Wessex. When Ethelred died in one of the wars, Alfred took the throne. After several years of peace, in 878 Guthrum, the Danish king of East Anglia attacked Wessex. Retreating to a fort in the Somerset marshes, Alfred defeated the Danes at Edington a few months later. Recognizing Alfred's supremacy, Guthrum became a Christian. The defeated Danes withdrew from the south of the Thames and most of Mercia.

Alfred sent a fleet against the Danes of East Anglia in 884. In 885 he repelled a Danish army invading Kent. In 886 he captured London. During this period, the northern Kingdom of Northumbria also recognized his sovereignty. Thus, Alfred was preparing the establishment of British unity by taking back all the lands held by the Danes. The peace that lasted until 893 was broken by a Danish attack.

The reason why Alfred is considered the greatest of the Anglo-Saxon kings and his name has not been erased from the memories throughout the Middle Ages is that besides his successes as a soldier and statesman, he achieved a rebirth in knowledge and science in his country.

He translated many Latin books into English with the scholars around him in order to make people knowledgeable and virtuous.