Ruler · Early Middle Ages · England

Alfred the Great

c. 848–899

King of Wessex from 871 to 899, born about 848, the only English king called the Great. He stopped the Danish conquest of England at the Battle of Edington in 878 and built a system of fortified towns, the burhs, that held the line. He promoted learning, having Latin works translated into English.

Facts

Born: About 848, Wantage.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Alfred
Died: 899.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Alfred
Reign: 871 to 899.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Alfred
Realm: Wessex, the surviving English kingdom.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Alfred
Known for: Edington (878), the burhs, and the promotion of English learning.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Alfred

Images

The Alfred Jewel, made in the reign of Alfred the Great (Ashmolean Museum, photograph via Wikimedia Commons)

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