King Alfred the Great
King Alfred the Great (871-899) was one of the best kings ever to rule. He defended his kingdom from Viking raids, enacted a code of laws, and helped to give rebirth to religious and scholarly activity. During Alfred's reign, he demonstrated military and strategic skills, sound authority and the capability to inspire men and plan for the future, great devotion to the support of religion, personal scholarship and the promotion of education. King Alfred was born in 849 AD at Wantage, Berkshire. Aethelwulf, the King of Wessex and Alfred's father, had four sons and one daughter. Alfred was the youngest of the four other children. At the age of four, Alfred had the desire to become a monk. As a result, his father sends him to accompany Pope Leo IV in Rome. Alfred would go to Rome again with his father in 855 on a pilgrimage. In 858, Aethelwulf dies, leaving Wessex to be governed by his three other brothers, Ethelbald, Ethelbert, and Elthred. (Alfred the Great) In 865 a "great heathen army" ("Alfred the Great") arrived in England seizing a dispute in Northumbria in order to control the divided kingdom. By 870, the army had built multiple roads into Mercia, subdued East Anglia, and killed its king Edmund. By 871
Now that Alfred is King of Wessex, he must protect his insecure kingdom from invasion. The Danes would attack the West-Saxons again in 875. But this time Alfred did not pay them for peace. Alfred defeated the invaders and forced then to take solemn pledges of peace. Alfred attains peace until 876 when Guthrum, the Danes new leader carries out an attack at Wareham. Guthrum would also seize Exeter, England. But his rally ended quickly when Alfred blockaded Guthrum, forcing him to retreat to Mercia. But this was not the last of Guthrum. In 878, Guthrum would attack Chippenham. Chippenham was, Alfred will then be forced to flee to the Somerset marshes taking refuge at Athelney. Once Alfred prepared his forces he moved out of Athelney and joined forces with the levies of Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire. Alfred and Guthrum met at Edinton and the result of the battle would be a key victory for Alfred. Instead of the Danes retreating, Alfred forced them to submit to Baptism. Thus, England would be divided into two different territories. The South-Eastern would be left to the Saxons and the North-Eastern half would be known as the Danelaw. This arrangement would be known as the Peace of Wedmore. (Wikipedia) Alfred was a very generous man. He encouraged a revival in learning and in religious faith. He established schools, translated books into English, and he made it so that his people had access to anything they wanted to know. Alfred created a plan to educate his people. To make this plan
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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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