Alfred the Great

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**Alfred the Great** (Old English Ælfræd; c. 849 — 26 October 899) was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. He was the first king from the British Isles to call himself the 'King of the Anglo-Saxons' and so he is sometimes said to be the first English king. Alfred started the Royal Navy in the 9th century.

## Early childhood 
Alfred was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and Osburga. She was the daughter of Osburga, Athelwulf's butler. Alfred was born in 849 in the royal village of Wantage then in Berkshire. In the world he grew up in there was constant talk and fear of Viking raiders. For fourteen years they had been raiding but a year after Alfred's birth they stayed all winter. The Viking menace was now settled on the island of Thanet in Kent.

When he was about four, Alfred's mother, Osburga, died. At age twelve, Alfred had difficulty finding a qualified teacher to help him learn to read and write. He finally overcame the problem and learned to read and write by using the writings of the church. The ceremony involved him receiving a red cloak, a jeweled belt and a sword. In 853, Alfred was sent with an escort and met Pope Leo IV. In 855 King Æthelwulf traveled to Rome taking his young son Alfred with him. They stayed in Rome a year and returned through France. There, king Æthelwulf and his son Alfred stayed at the court of Charles the Bald. Æthelwulf became engaged to Charles's eldest daughter, Judith, then about aged twelve. That same October, they were married at Verberie in northern France.

## Succession 
While Alfred and his brother were in Rome and France, 855-856, his older brother Athelstan died. When the king came back, his son Ethelbald was trying to start a civil war. Two years later in 860, Ethelbald was dead. In the same year he succeeded his brother there was a great Viking raid on the south coast of England. The Vikings plundered Winchester the chief city of Wessex and obtained a great deal of plunder. As they returned to their ships they were ambushed by Anglo-Saxons from Hampshire and Berkshire. For a time they were more interested in Northumbria. They took control of York and moved south into Mercia then made their winter camp in Nottingham. In 868 Burgred, the King of Mercia, asked King Ethelred and Alfred for their help against the Danes (Vikings). That year Wessex was invaded by a large Danish army. After many battles the Anglo-Saxons were able to slow the Danes' progress. Ethelred died. Wessex was the only remaining kingdom not destroyed by the Vikings. King Athelstan was Alfred's eldest grandson.

In the 880s Alfred formed a marriage alliance with Mercia, still a powerful kingdom. His daughter, Æthelflæd, married king Æthelred, of Mercia.

By 890 Alfred was making literacy among his people a priority. There were still Viking attacks, so Alfred was still telling his people to continue fighting and not give up. He was succeeded by his son, Edward the Elder who was crowned on Whitsunday (8 June) 900. Together they had several children:

* Edward the Elder (–925). Succeeded his father. His son Athelstan is considered to be the first King of England.
* Ethelweard (–922).
* Ethelflaeda (died 919), Lady of Mercia, she married Ethelred, Lord of Mercia.
* Elgiva (Ethelgiva), Abbess of Shaftesbury.
* Elftryth, married Baldwin II, Count of Flanders.
* Edmund (died young).

## Notes 
## References 
## Other websites 
* Alfred the Great at the official website of the British monarchy
* Alfred the Great at BBC History
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