Alfred the Great

Reign: 871 – 899
Life: 849–899

Alfred the Great is the only native-born monarch in English history to be given the title "the Great". The ruler of Wessex, Alfred the Great was the youngest of five brothers, and eventually came to the throne in 871 after his brother Æthelred I died. To defend against the Viking threat, he established the burh system, a network of 33 fortified towns spaced a single day's march apart that protected citizens from Viking raids and laid the foundations for modern cities like Winchester.

During Alfred the Great's reign, Guy III of Spoleto ruled Holy Roman Empire, Basil I ruled Rome, and Emperor Xizong of Tang ruled China.

Want to learn more? Further reading

Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources by Simon Keynes & Michael Lapidge

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The World During Their Reign

The most notable rulers who held power elsewhere at the same time, from European courts to Ottoman, Mughal, and Chinese thrones.

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From the library

Go deeper on Alfred the Great

Hand-picked histories and biographies for readers who want more than the timeline: the same era, told in full.

Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources

Simon Keynes & Michael Lapidge

The essential primary-source collection for understanding Alfred, still the scholarly starting point.

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Alfred the Great: The Man Who Made England
Justin Pollard
A readable modern biography that places Alfred's military and cultural reforms in context.
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