The Reign of King Alfred

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Britain in the 800’s was much different then than it is now. The people of Denmark, called Danes or Vikings, attacked Britain and started a war between the two countries. Britain was helpless at the time because their lack of leadership from their king. When King Alfred came to power, Britain turned the war around and found a king worthy of the title. Because of King Alfred’s reign, Britain was shaped to be what it is today. Therefore, King Alfred created modern Britain and without him and his government, Britain would be much different than it is now.
King Alfred was born in Wantage, Berkshire in 848. Alfred was the son of the king of the West Saxons, Aethulwulf. When Alfred was a young child, his father made a mutual agreement with him and his four older brothers that if Aethulwulf were to die then the older brothers would take his place. This was because Aethulwulf did not want a young child to be the ruler of the West Saxons while Viking raids from Denmark threatened the country. Alfred grew up in a time when England was divided in to small individual states. Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia were states that were under the control of the Angles. The kingdom of the Jutes ruled Kent and the Saxons, Alfred's people, ruled Essex, Sussex, and Wessex ("Alfred, The Great", n.d.).
Alfred was thought to get many of his qualities that he used in his kingdom from his grandfather, King Egbert. King Egbert was aggressive and forced in to hiding just like King Alfred was. King Egbert came out of hiding and took back his throne, just like King Alfred. Without the influences of his grandfather’s reign, King Alfred would not have been the king that he was. Another experience King Alfred had that influenced his personality is his trip to v...

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(n.d.) "Alfred 'The Great'". The Official Website of The British Monarch website. Retrieved from https://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/AlfredtheGreat.aspx
Helm, P. J. (1963). Alfred The Great. London: Robert Hale Limited.
Merkle, B. (2009). The White Horse King. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Pollock, F. (1899). Alfred The Great. London: Adam & Charles Black.
The Life of Alfred The Great (B. Thorpe, Trans.). (1902). London: George Bell & Sons.

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