King Alfred the Great

  Lesson 40 Essay

       Alfred the Great was one of the most notable kings of England's history. He ruled England from the 871-899. He was the the only English monarch to be called “the Great”.

        Alfred, at the age of four, was anointed to be king by the Pope in Rome. This was a strange act, seeing as Alfred had three older brother who were eligible for the crown. But, over time, each of his brothers were crowned as king and died shortly after. After this, Alfred became king.

        The reign of Alfred took off on a shaky start as the Danes were invading Wessex at the time. Even though the Danes were very strong, King Alfred eventually beat them. The Danish king, Gurthrum, was converted to Christianity at the peace treaty that Alfred proposed. This conversion to strengthened the ties between the two territories. In 866, Alfred the Great marched into London and reclaimed it from the Danish control. This reclaiming of London further unified Southern England.

        When Alfred wasn't fighting, he was busy reorganizing the military and setting up a fleet of longships, similar to the ships the Vikings used. Alfred also spent a lot of his life working on better education for his people. His greatest achievement as king was reviving education as a crucial part of English culture. He sought to have every young man in the country educated, regardless of their station.

        Throughout his life, Alfred dealt with much sickness, and he died in the year 899. His son, Edward, succeeded him on the throne.