How Did King Alfred Helped Shape England's Culture

This article was written about how King Alfred helped shape England’s culture to be what it is today. He was chosen to become king from other members in his family because he was the manliest. He learned something after the previous king’s mistake. The previous king left his men to perish in a battle they would lose. Alfred promised to not let his land and people become that vulnerable again in battle. In his reign, he made many military feats to ensure England had strong defenses. Of these included naval patrols where half the military forces were on duty while the other half were off duty. Forts were also constructed around the country for defense. One of his battles, Chippenham, even became a popular folk tale. He loved literature at a young

age due to his mother introducing him to Saxon poetry. Alfred built a school that looked similar to Charlemagne’s palace because he loved his literary work. King Alfred did not make the hugest achievements in England’s history, but he kept invaders out and started the work of future generations. As a whole, he seemed to make a large impact on England’s history, though it seemed to have become forgotten.

The author ended this text stating Alfred’s work became almost meaningless due to the achievements of further generations.

One important part in this article were the battles in King Alfred’s life. England in this time period had many invasions and battles. Alfred was brilliant by making defensive plans for England. The achievements of Alfred were also significant in this article. He created a school built almost to scale of Charlemagne’s palace, which is a great achievement. He also created his famous educational program during his reign. It was enjoyable to read about England’s culture because America’s founders originated from England. Though, there were some puzzling details found in this article. This article seemed to have a very specific audience. People who were not from England would not be able to fully understand this article. The events, people, and wording were used as an assumption the audience already knew about these. Many people are not familiar with England’s history or culture, which made this article a difficult read. There were some questions that were not answered in this article as well. How did the Mercian’s gain power over the

English people? The article briefly depicted the timeline of the Mercian control, but not how they took it. Who were the invaders of England during King Alfred’s rule? The article stated England was invaded and went through several battles, but no specifics were given. How exactly did Alfred change England’s culture? The article did not seem to give a clear picture of how he exactly changed England’s culture. Was it due to his military strategies, or his passion of literature? It would be intriguing to read more about England’s history in depth. The evidence in this article seemed to jump back and forth because of the information being contradicted. The author wrote about the facts they had about King Alfred’s achievements. The writer then wrote about what achievements certain individuals said may not be accurate. The author seemed to have strong, solid evidence to their case. The author’s tone seemed rather unclear. The author gave the information, the pros and cons, and counterexamples. They did not seem to give a clear opinion over the topic. The author seemed to be unbiased about this subject. Alfred seemed to have many great achievements as a king. This was a good thing considering the chaos that seemed to be in England throughout the various battles and invasions. Overall, this article was a fascinating read, but needed to be more specific with King Alfred’s impact on England’s culture.