Page 28 - All About History - Issue 11-14

Heroes & Villains

Alfred

Alfred’s
scholarly skill
the Great could speak and read
was unmatched in
the British Isles. He

Latin and established
the first school for
Warrior, scholar and king of the Anglo-Saxons, the nobility

Alfred led a great crusade to unite his kingdom

and rid it of Viking invaders
Written by Chris Fenton

n the dark and foreboding landscape of his real interests lay in the scholarly works his
9th-century England, the Anglo-Saxon father engrossed himself in. He particularly enjoyed
civilisation, which had called the British Isles poetry and one story involving this passion showed
home for 400 years, stood on the brink of an unrelenting determination that would follow
Icollapse. Fierce warriors descended on English him into adulthood. His mother had promised
shores from dragon-headed longships, looking one of her five sons an illuminated book of Anglo-
for plunder and bloodshed. Children huddled Saxon poetry for the first one of them who could
close to their families inside their thatched memorise the text off by heart. Alfred could not
long halls, fearing the panicked screams of read, so he found a teacher and made him repeat
terrified neighbours – the calling card of every line in the book until he had it completely
these merciless raiders. The Viking memorised. He won his prize and proved
invaders were not satisfied with to his family that when he wanted
just crops or gold, although for Alfred was something he would get it.
rural farmers like the Anglo- the first king on Boyhood games and poetry
Saxons this was bad enough. recitals came to an abrupt end
They wanted to enslave the British Isles who when a Viking army landed in
and brutalise the people established a universal the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East
themselves and destroy their set of written legal Angles in 865. Stories of these
original society. With the rights for the people iron-willed and bloodthirsty
other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms warriors had circulated in his
divided or conquered, Wessex of his lands father’s court and it was widely
(The Kingdom of the West Saxons) feared that they were undefeatable.
stood alone against this unstoppable Alfred disagreed, if his years learning
menace. It was in this bleak and embattled about his ancestors and hunting game had
world that King Aethelwulf’s wife Osburh gave taught him anything it was that no enemy was
birth to their fifth son in an unremarkable indestructible. The huge Viking war host, led by the
Berkshire village in 849 CE. They named him fearsome warriors Halfdan and Ivar the Boneless,
Alfred and he would change the fortunes of the invaded Northumbria, looted York and then turned
Anglo-Saxon cause forever. back to East Angles. The host captured the king
Alfred was forced to grow up quickly, learning of East Angles, Edward, and in a display of power
the ways of an Anglo-Saxon warrior. He was taught killed him in a ritual sacrifice to their pagan gods.
to ride, hawk, hunt and, most importantly, how to They renamed Edward’s realm East Anglia before
defend himself with a shield and kill with a sword. turning their attention to Wessex, quickly taking
The family he grew up in was a close-knit group the small town of Reading in 870.
and, in keeping with Anglo-Saxon families at the There was little doubt in Alfred’s mind that the
time, many generations of the same kin lived under terror and destruction the Vikings had wrought
one roof and passed down their knowledge to the across the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms would
young. While Alfred saw the practical lessons he be brought to Wessex. He and his older brother
was learning from his father’s warriors as a duty, Aethelred set out to meet them in open combat,
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