He reorganised his army and built a series of well-defended settlements across southern England. Alfred therefore gained control of areas of West Mercia and Kent which had been beyond the boundaries of Wessex.Īlfred built up the defences of his kingdom to ensure that it was not threatened by the Danes again. England was divided, with the north and the east (between the Rivers Thames and Tees) declared to be Danish territory - later known as the 'Danelaw'. In 886 AD, Alfred negotiated a treaty with the Danes. They made peace and Guthrum, their king, was baptised with Alfred as his sponsor. In 878 AD, he again defeated the Danes in the Battle of Edington. Despite his success at Ashdown, the Danes continued to devastate Wessex and Alfred was forced to withdraw to the Somerset marshes, where he continued guerrilla warfare against his enemies. The following year, he succeeded his brother as king. In 871 AD, Alfred defeated the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown in Berkshire. In 870 AD the Danes attacked the only remaining independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Wessex, whose forces were commanded by Alfred's older brother, King Aethelred, and Alfred himself. At a time when the country was under threat from Danish raids, this was aimed at preventing a child inheriting the throne with the related weaknesses in leadership. Following the wishes of their father, the sons succeeded to the kingship in turn. He is the only English monarch known as 'the Great'.Īlfred was born at Wantage in Oxfordshire in 849, fourth or fifth son of Aethelwulf, king of the West Saxons. © King of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex and one of the outstanding figures of English history, as much for his social and educational reforms as for his military successes against the Danes.
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