Alfred
The Great
King, Saint, and all around
good guy
The Life of a “Great”
 Born
around 848-849.
 Born in what is now Wantage,
Oxfordshire.
 He was anointed by Pope Leo IV as
king at only age 5.
 Mother was Queen Osburga.
 He had three older brothers.
 He loved to learn.
The Life Continued
 It
is believed that Alfred had Crohn’s
Disease.
 Though his statues depict him as a great
warrior, it is believed that he was more
intellectual than physically strong.
His Reign as King
 Alfred
the Great to the throne in 871, after the
death of his brother Ethelred.
 As soon as he assumed the throne he suffered
military defeat at the hands of the Danes.
 After a treacherous betrayal of treaty, the Danes
nearly killed King Alfred in the winter of 878. This is
when he was forced to retreat into the swamp.
His Military



Alfred was great king. He is known for making
military and political restorations
He learned from his defeats that the existing
strategies were not effective against the
Danes, driving him to make changes.
At the center of his restructuring was his
system of fortresses, or burhs. These were
strategically placed throughout the kingdom.
His Politics
 In
order for his military strategy to work he
needed support. In order to accomplish
this he took restructured existing
regulations that required landowners to
do “fortress work.”
 This was nothing new, just a reinstatement
of past procedure.
Naval Aspirations
 In
896 Alfred tried his hand at naval
design.
 Though this is not classified as the birth of
the English fleet, it was a great help in
fighting the Danes.
Legal Reform
 In
the late 880’s, early 890’s, Alfred issued
a law code of his own laws and those of a
seventh century king.
 Though it was an honorable attempt, his
law code was a hodgepodge and
sometimes contradicted existing law that
he left in place.
His Death
 Alfred
died on October 26th, 901
according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
 There is some debate over the exact year,
doubts exist about the recorded date of
his death.
 His remains have been lost over the
centuries and we have no concrete idea
where he was laid to rest.
A Prayer about the Great
O
Sovereign Lord, who didst bring thy servant
Alfred to a Troubled throne that he might establish
peace in a ravaged land and revive learning and the
arts among the people: Awake in us also, we
beseech thee, a keen desire to increase our
understanding while we are in this world, and an
eager longing to reach that endless life where all will
be made clear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Family connections
 http://www.britroyals.com/royaltree.htm