[96][100] The shipwrecked crew were brought before Alfred at Winchester and hanged. [35] The Danes arrived in his homeland at the end of 870, and nine engagements were fought in the following year, with mixed results; the places and dates of two of these battles have not been recorded. He is the best-known Anglo-Saxon king in British history thanks to his biographer Asser (died c. 909 CE) and that work's impact on later writers. [41][42] Preoccupied with the problems of his kingdom, Alfred accidentally let the cakes burn and was roundly scolded by the woman upon her return. READ MORE Vikings cast: Why did Jasper Paakkonen leave Vikings? With all the other kingdoms having fallen to the Vikings, Wessex alone was resisting. He corresponded with Elias III, the patriarch of Jerusalem,[68] and embassies to Rome conveying the English alms to the pope were fairly frequent. At Wedmore, Alfred and Guthrum negotiated what some historians have called the Treaty of Wedmore, but it was to be some years after the cessation of hostilities that a formal treaty was signed. Two of the ships were destroyed, and the others surrendered. There had been a system of fortifications in pre-Viking Mercia that may have been an influence. He is best known for playing Conor "Cosmo" Lawlor in his debut film Sing Street in 2016, and as King Alfred the Great in Vikings. [128] Numerous Anglo-Saxon manuscripts burnt along with the churches that housed them. [134], Apart from the lost Handboc or Encheiridio, which seems to have been a commonplace book kept by the king, the earliest work to be translated was the Dialogues of Gregory the Great, a book greatly popular in the Middle Ages. Express. [109], When one turns from the domboc's introduction to the laws themselves, it is difficult to uncover any logical arrangement. "Therefore, he seems to me a very foolish man, and truly wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world, and ever wish and long to reach that endless life where all shall be made clear. [50] In 825, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that the people of Essex, Sussex, Kent and Surrey had surrendered to Egbert, Alfred's grandfather. [56], In 883, Pope Marinus exempted the Saxon quarter in Rome from taxation, probably in return for Alfred's promise to send alms annually to Rome, which may be the origin of the medieval tax called Peter's Pence. [160] Four years after his death, the bodies of Alfred and his family were exhumed and moved to their new resting place in the New Minster and remained there for 211 years. [94][95], Alfred also tried his hand at naval design. Shortly after Alfred's birth in Born Again, he is taken by Ecbert's noblemen and Judith is brought before the court on trial for adultery. [32], Alfred is not mentioned during the short reigns of his older brothers Æthelbald and Æthelberht. That Alfred sent alms to Irish and Continental monasteries may be taken on Asser's authority. [31] That Latin learning had not been obliterated is evidenced by the presence in his court of learned Mercian and West Saxon clerics such as Plegmund, Wæferth, and Wulfsige. This threefold obligation has traditionally been called trinoda necessitas or trimoda necessitas. Those who had no connections in England returned to the continent.[68]. [71], The bases were prepared in advance, often by capturing an estate and augmenting its defences with ditches, ramparts and palisades. READ MORE Vikings: When was the Norman Invasion of England? In response to this incursion, Alfred led an Anglo-Saxon force against the Danes who, instead of engaging the army of Wessex, fled to their beached ships and sailed to another part of Britain. A successful skirmish at the Battle of Englefield in Berkshire on 31 December 870 was followed by a severe defeat at the siege and the Battle of Reading by Ivar's brother Halfdan Ragnarsson on 5 January 871. The unbinding of the chrisom[f] on the eighth day took place at a royal estate called Wedmore. [48], That treaty divided up the kingdom of Mercia. [164][165] In 1866, amateur antiquarian John Mellor claimed to have recovered a number of bones from the site which he said were those of Alfred. On this occasion a great number of stone coffins were dug up, with a variety of other curious articles, such as chalices, patens, rings, buckles, the leather of shoes and boots, velvet and gold lace belonging to chasubles and other vestments; as also the crook, rims, and joints of a beautiful crosier double gilt. The resulting power vacuum stirred other power-hungry warlords eager to take his place in the following years. Alfred was a son of Æthelwulf, king of Wessex, and his wife Osburh. The first half is based mainly on the Soliloquies of St Augustine of Hippo, the remainder is drawn from various sources. Ferdia Walsh-Peelo was born on October 12, 1999 in Ashford, County Wicklow, Ireland. [179], A bronze statue of Alfred the Great stands at the eastern end of The Broadway, close to the site of Winchester's medieval East Gate. A number of educational establishments are named in Alfred's honour: The Royal Navy named one ship and two shore establishments HMS King Alfred, and one of the early ships of the U.S. Navy was named USS Alfred in his honour. [131], Alfred's educational ambitions seem to have extended beyond the establishment of a court school. The invaders brought their wives and children with them indicating a meaningful attempt at conquest and colonisation. The latter manuscript was severely damaged in the 18th and 19th centuries. [163], Excavations conducted by the Winchester Museums Service of the Hyde Abbey site in 1999 located a second pit dug in front of where the high altar would have been located, which was identified as probably dating to Mellor's 1866 excavation. [34], In 868, Alfred was recorded as fighting beside Æthelred in a failed attempt to keep the Great Heathen Army led by Ivar the Boneless out of the adjoining Kingdom of Mercia. Alfred agreed to give the Vikings refuge in Wessex and guaranteed them lands in East Anglia, in exchange for protection against invading Vikings and King Harald (Peter Franzén). Scholars more often refer to translations as "Alfredian" indicating that they probably had something to do with his patronage but are unlikely to be his own work. [161] The stone graves housing Alfred and his family stayed underground, and the land returned to farming. [111], Alfred devoted considerable attention and thought to judicial matters. After King Æthelwulf died in 858, Wessex was ruled by three of Alfred's brothers in succession: Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred. This is unlikely because Bede tells us that they were all slaughtered by the Saxons under Cædwalla. These came into the possession of the vicar of nearby St Bartholomew's Church who reburied them in an unmarked grave in the church graveyard. [96], In the late 880s or early 890s, Alfred issued a long domboc or law code consisting of his own laws, followed by a code issued by his late seventh-century predecessor King Ine of Wessex. At a very young age, he was placed in a monastery at Lindesfarne. Finding their position in mainland Europe precarious, they crossed to England in 330 ships in two divisions. [132] Conscious of the decay of Latin literacy in his realm Alfred proposed that primary education be taught in English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin. After ascending the throne, Alfred spent several years fighting Viking invasions. [163] Further excavations were inconclusive in 1866 and 1897. The Danish attacks had been particularly damaging to the monasteries. Patrick Wormald's explanation is that Alfred's law code should be understood not as a legal manual but as an ideological manifesto of kingship "designed more for symbolic impact than for practical direction". For the Bohemian nobleman, see, A coin of Alfred, king of Wessex, London, 880 (based upon a Roman model), Tomas Kalmar argues that we do know when Alfred was born. No ancestor of Ecgberht had been a king of Wessex since Ceawlin in the late sixth century, but he was believed to be a paternal descendant of Cerdic, the founder of the West Saxon dynasty. [d] This made Ecgberht an ætheling – a prince eligible for the throne. [87], A document now known as the Burghal Hidage provides an insight into how the system worked. Large regions could be devastated before the fyrd could assemble and arrive. [106], Similarly Alfred divided his code into 120 chapters because 120 was the age at which Moses died and, in the number-symbolism of early medieval biblical exegetes, 120 stood for law. Ferdia Walsh Peelo and Moe Dunford in Vikings, Ferdia Walsh Peelo plays King Alfred of Wessex in Vikings, he secured an alliance with Vikings Ubbe (. With civil war looming, the magnates of the realm met in council to form a compromise. He believed, as did other kings in ninth-century England and Francia, that God had entrusted him with the spiritual as well as physical welfare of his people. [60], A year later, in 886, Alfred reoccupied the city of London and set out to make it habitable again. Before construction began, convicts that would later be imprisoned at the site were sent in to prepare the ground, to ready it for building. Walsh-Peelo made his debut as Alfred, King of Wessex and the Anglo-Saxons in season five of Vikings in episode one, titled The Departed Part One. The impression is of a hodgepodge of miscellaneous laws. In January 878, the Danes made a sudden attack on Chippenham, a royal stronghold in which Alfred had been staying over Christmas "and most of the people they killed, except the King Alfred, and he with a little band made his way by wood and swamp, and after Easter he made a fort at Athelney in the marshes of Somerset, and from that fort kept fighting against the foe". For the next five years, the Danes occupied other parts of England. [164] The 1999 archeological excavation uncovered the foundations of the abbey buildings and some bones, suggested at the time to be those of Alfred; they proved instead to belong to an elderly woman. [34] The Saxons were defeated at the Battle of Basing on 22 January. The story that, in his childhood, he was sent to Ireland to be healed by Saint Modwenna may show Alfred's interest in that island. He had learned to forget about himself and has devoted his life to Christianity. [40] From his fort at Athelney, an island in the marshes near North Petherton, Alfred was able to mount a resistance campaign, rallying the local militias from Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire. King Athelstan of Kent and Ealdorman Ealhhere had defeated a Viking fleet in 851 capturing nine ships and Alfred had conducted naval actions in 882. The real King Alfred died in 899 at the age of 50 due to an undiagnosed illness. The local Catholic priest, Dr. Milner recounts this event: Thus miscreants couch amidst the ashes of our Alfreds and Edwards; and where once religious silence and contemplation were only interrupted by the bell of regular observance, the chanting of devotion, now alone resound the clank of the captives chains and the oaths of the profligate! The inscription reads "ALFRED THE GREAT AD 879 on this Summit Erected his Standard Against Danish Invaders To him We owe The Origin of Juries The Establishment of a Militia The Creation of a Naval Force ALFRED The Light of a Benighted Age Was a Philosopher and a Christian The Father of his People The Founder of the English MONARCHY and LIBERTY". [27] Æthelwulf died in 858 and was succeeded by his oldest surviving son, Æthelbald, as king of Wessex and by his next oldest son, Æthelberht, as king of Kent. Given the Danish invasion and the youth of his nephews, Alfred's accession probably went uncontested. [39], Alfred blockaded the Viking ships in Devon, and with a relief fleet having been scattered by a storm, the Danes were forced to submit. The Danes were heavily outnumbered, but as the tide rose, they returned to their boats which, with shallower drafts, were freed first. She was described by Alfred's biographer Asser as "a most religious woman, noble by temperament and noble by birth". Other burhs were sited near fortified royal villas, allowing the king better control over his strongholds. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf, who died when Alfred was young. "It is clear", Brooks concludes, "that the metropolitan church [of Canterbury] must have been quite unable to provide any effective training in the scriptures or in Christian worship". Although the landowners were obliged to the king to supply these men when called, during the attacks in 878 many of them abandoned their king and collaborated with Guthrum. [55] Similar small skirmishes with independent Viking raiders would have occurred for much of the period as they had for decades. [52] The Viking army, which had stayed at Fulham during the winter of 878–879, sailed for Ghent and was active on the continent from 879 to 892. Four days later, the Anglo-Saxons won a victory at the Battle of Ashdown on the Berkshire Downs, possibly near Compton or Aldworth. In his introduction Alfred explains that he gathered together the laws he found in many "synod-books" and "ordered to be written many of the ones that our forefathers observed—those that pleased me; and many of the ones that did not please me, I rejected with the advice of my councillors, and commanded them to be observed in a different way". Clip from 1969 movie, "Alfred the Great." [37] Hoards dating to the Viking occupation of London in 871/872 have been excavated at Croydon, Gravesend and Waterloo Bridge. [91] The road network posed significant obstacles to Viking invaders, especially those laden with booty. Eventually, Athelstan found happiness, great freedom, and joy in serving the father of his church, Saint Cuthbert. [122], Alfred undertook no systematic reform of ecclesiastical institutions or religious practices in Wessex. [68] Remarkably, Alfred – undoubtedly with the advice and aid of his court scholars – translated four works himself: Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care, Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, St. Augustine's Soliloquies and the first fifty psalms of the Psalter. The last words of it may be quoted; they form a fitting epitaph for the noblest of English kings. [10], He was the youngest of six children. [80] There were thirty-three burhs, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) apart, enabling the military to confront attacks anywhere in the kingdom within a day. A chrisom was the face-cloth or piece of linen laid over a child's head when he or she was baptised or christened. [24] In 850, Æthelstan defeated a Danish fleet off Sandwich in the first recorded naval battle in English history. He won a decisive victory in the Battle of Edington in 878 and made an agreement with the Vikings, creating what was known as the Danelaw in the North of England. His Dream Role. Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge suggest this also for Bald's Leechbook and the anonymous Old English Martyrology. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the Great Heathen Army of Danes landing in East Anglia with the intent of conquering the four kingdoms which constituted Anglo-Saxon England in 865. [34] The defeat at Wilton smashed any remaining hope that Alfred could drive the invaders from his kingdom. Despite this relative peace, the king was forced to deal with a number of Danish raids and incursions. [21] The Vikings ravaged the Isle of Sheppey in 835, and the following year they defeated Ecgberht at Carhampton in Somerset,[22] but in 838 he was victorious over an alliance of Cornishmen and Vikings at the Battle of Hingston Down, reducing Cornwall to the status of a client kingdom. The real Ivar the Boneless and King Alfred did cross paths in 868 when Alfred fought alongside Ethelred against the Great Heathen Army. Alfred first appeared in season three of Vikings as a young boy and by the end of season five, Alfred was the King of Wessex and Mercia. It reflected Alfred's own belief in a doctrine of divine rewards and punishments rooted in a vision of a hierarchical Christian world order in which God is the Lord to whom kings owe obedience and through whom they derive their authority over their followers. The quiet years of Alfred's life were coming to a close. This was one of four sea battles recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, three of which involved Alfred. For him, the key to the kingdom's spiritual revival was to appoint pious, learned, and trustworthy bishops and abbots. His contemporary biographer Asser wrote that many nobles balked at the demands placed upon them even though they were for "the common needs of the kingdom". (Some identify this with Buttington Tump at the mouth of the River Wye, others with Buttington near Welshpool.) Later in his life the young King Alfred had to hide from the Vikings on a marshy island called Athelney, in Somerset. [114], The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, commissioned at the time of Alfred, was probably written to promote unification of England,[115] whereas Asser's The Life of King Alfred promoted Alfred's achievements and personal qualities. Alfred besieges Exeter and is able to expel the Danes from his realm. Awesome Alfred the Great Special Historical sketch show. It was a well known tradition among other Germanic peoples - such as the Swedes and Franks to whom the Anglo-Saxons were closely related - to crown a successor as royal prince and military commander. [34] Æthelred died shortly afterwards in April. [170] Though Henry VI of England attempted unsuccessfully to have him canonized by Pope Eugene IV in 1441, he was venerated sometimes in the Catholic Church; however the current "Roman Martyrology" does not mention him. [46] Under the terms of the so-called Treaty of Wedmore, the converted Guthrum was required to leave Wessex and return to East Anglia. From then until the arrival of the Great Heathen Army, Essex had formed part of Wessex. Asser underscores his concern for judicial fairness. He is the illegitimate son of Judith ( Jennie Jacques) and Athelstan (George Blagden) and was protected by the late King Ecbert (Linus Roache) before he took his own life. [166][167] The bones were radiocarbon-dated but the results showed that they were from the 1300s and therefore not of Alfred. Unlike the translation of the Pastoral Care the Alfredian text deals very freely with the original and, though the late Dr. G. Schepss showed that many of the additions to the text are to be traced not to the translator himself[139] but to the glosses and commentaries which he used, still there is much in the work which is distinctive to the translation and has been taken to reflect philosophies of kingship in Alfred's milieu. [67], Alfred had been on his way to relieve his son at Thorney when he heard that the Northumbrian and East Anglian Danes were besieging Exeter and an unnamed stronghold on the North Devon shore. Alfred rallied his forces and blockaded the Viking fleet at Devon, forcing them to withdraw to Mercia but, by 877 CE, the Vikings were back at the borders and, in early 878 CE, they took Chippenham. The failure to comply with this royal order was to be punished by loss of office. Ecbert then stops the trial and pardons Judith, stating that Athelstan was a holy man and his son was c… [b] Berkshire had been historically disputed between Wessex and Mercia, and as late as 844, a charter showed that it was part of Mercia, but Alfred's birth in the county is evidence that, by the late 840s, control had passed to Wessex. [29] In 853, Alfred is reported by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to have been sent to Rome where he was confirmed by Pope Leo IV, who "anointed him as king". [135], One might add to this list the translation, in Alfred's law code, of excerpts from the Vulgate Book of Exodus. Grimbald and John the Saxon came from Francia; Plegmund (whom Alfred appointed archbishop of Canterbury in 890), Bishop Wærferth of Worcester, Æthelstan, and the royal chaplains Werwulf, from Mercia; and Asser, from St David's in southwestern Wales. Before pursuing a career in acting, Walsh-Peelo was a young soprano, coached by his mother soprano Toni Walsh. [58] The Anglo-Saxon fleet emerged victorious, and as Huntingdon accounts, "laden with spoils". [138], Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy was the most popular philosophical handbook of the Middle Ages. They were defeated again on 22 March at the Battle of Merton (perhaps Marden in Wiltshire or Martin in Dorset). The deceased's sons would receive only whatever property and riches their father had settled upon them and whatever additional lands their uncle had acquired. It was possible that the document was designed this way so that it could be disseminated in Wales because Alfred had acquired overlordship of that country. [97] The year 897 marked an important development in the naval power of Wessex. [14] It may be based upon the fact that Alfred later accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Rome where he spent some time at the court of Charles the Bald, king of the Franks, around 854–855. It is probable that, under the classical tutelage of Asser, Alfred used the design of Greek and Roman warships, with high sides, designed for fighting rather than for navigation. The fate of the other place is not recorded. [72][73], With these lessons in mind Alfred capitalised on the relatively peaceful years following his victory at Edington with an ambitious restructuring of Saxon defences. Ferdia Walsh-Peelo plays Alfred the Great in Vikings season six. An attempt to break through the English lines failed. [68] His interest in foreign countries is shown by the insertions which he made in his translation of Orosius. [112] A charter from the reign of his son Edward the Elder depicts Alfred as hearing one such appeal in his chamber while washing his hands. Among these was a raid in Kent, an allied kingdom in South East England, during the year 885, which was possibly the largest raid since the battles with Guthrum. Vikings cast: Why did Jasper Paakkonen leave Vikings? [81][82], Alfred's burhs (of which 22 developed into boroughs) ranged from former Roman towns, such as Winchester, where the stone walls were repaired and ditches added, to massive earthen walls surrounded by wide ditches, probably reinforced with wooden revetments and palisades, such as at Burpham in West Sussex. Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. He is an actor, known for Sing Street (2016), Vikings (2013) and CODA (2021). [93] Alfred's burghal system was revolutionary in its strategic conception and potentially expensive in its execution. [107] The link between Mosaic law and Alfred's code is the Apostolic Letter which explained that Christ "had come not to shatter or annul the commandments but to fulfill them; and he taught mercy and meekness" (Intro, 49.1). [100], In the one recorded naval engagement in 896, Alfred's new fleet of nine ships intercepted six Viking ships at the mouth of an unidentified river in the south of England. Alfred determined their tactic was to launch small attacks from a secure base to which they could retreat should their raiders meet strong resistance. The author of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle related that Alfred's ships were larger, swifter, steadier and rode higher in the water than either Danish or Frisian ships. [171][172][j] The Anglican Communion venerates him as a Christian hero, with a Lesser Festival on 26 October[173], and he may often be found depicted in stained glass in Church of England parish churches. [120], Very little is known of the church under Alfred. He then pursued the Danes to their stronghold at Chippenham and starved them into submission. The law code, as it has been preserved, is singularly unsuitable for use in lawsuits. Æthelwulf returns home, but Æthelbald refuses to give up his position, forcing Æthelwulf to retire to Kent with Æthelberht. Alfred's next three brothers were successively kings of Wessex. [115], Asser speaks grandiosely of Alfred's relations with foreign powers but little definite information is available. [37], The Viking army withdrew from Reading in the autumn of 871 to take up winter quarters in Mercian London. [176], The centerpiece of Alfred University's quad is a bronze statue of the king, created in 1990 by then-professor William Underhill. They were overtaken by Alfred's eldest son, Edward and were defeated at the Battle of Farnham in Surrey. [36], While he was busy with the burial ceremonies for his brother, the Danes defeated the Saxon army in his absence at an unnamed spot and then again in his presence at Wilton in May. After the arm and axe were replaced, the statue was again vandalised on Christmas Eve 2008, losing its axe. Consequently, in 879 the Viking army left Chippenham and made its way to Cirencester. Traditionally, Alfred the Great is cast as the central player in the story of Viking Age Britain. Alfred had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature who encouraged education, proposing that primary education be conducted in Old English rather than Latin and improving the legal system and military structure and his people's quality of life. The sixth and final series of Vikings will premiere on Wednesday, December 4 on History US. [121] According to Asser, Alfred enticed foreign monks to England for his monastery at Athelney because there was little interest for the locals to take up the monastic life. The pope sent gifts to Alfred, including what was reputed to be a piece of the True Cross. Asser writes that Alfred "could not satisfy his craving for what he desired the most, namely the liberal arts; for, as he used to say, there were no good scholars in the entire kingdom of the West Saxons at that time". Alfred's actions also suggest a system of scouts and messengers. 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