Alfred (871-901), king of the West Saxons (Wessex), was born at Wantage, in Berkshire, in 849. His father was Ethelwolf, son of Egbert, king of the West Saxons; and though the youngest of five sons, he succeeded to the crown, in 871, on the death of his brother Ethelred, at the age of 22. By that time the Danes had overrun most of England north of the Thames. The victory of Ashdown, won chiefly by the bravery of Alfred, before his accession to the throne, had given only a temporary check to their incursions into Wessex. In the year of his accession, the West Saxons fought nine battles against the Danes, with varying success. After that there was respite for several years, till, early in 878, Guthrum, king of the Danes of East Anglia, suddenly burst into Wessex with his savage host. Alfred could make no effectual resistance, and had to seek refuge in the marshes of Somersetshire. There he raised a fort at Athelney, and with a band of faithful followers maintained himself for several months. To this period belongs the well-known story of the burnt cakes. The West Saxons, however, were not subdued. In the same year (878), Alfred gathered his friends around him, and defeated the Danes at Edington, in Wiltshire. By the Peace of Wedmore, Guthrum was obliged to receive baptism, and to acknowledge the supremacy of Alfred, who retained for himself the country south of the Thames, and the greater part of Mercia, while ceding to the Danes East Anglia and the rest of Mercia. The wisdom of the arrangement is seen in the fact that Guthrum, on the whole, continued quiet and faithful to the treaty till his death.
Early in his reign, Alfred saw the necessity of meeting the Danes on their own element, the sea, and his success led him to establish an English navy. In 886 he recovered London, in 893 Northumbria made submission to him; and thus he became nominally king of all England. On the whole, Alfred enjoyed a much-needed period of peace, from the Peace of Wedmore (878) till 893, when a fresh swarm of Danes, under the leadership of Hasting, infested the country. They were supported by their fellow-countrymen in East Anglia and Northumbria, and gave much trouble. At last, in the course of their marching and ravaging, they sailed with their fleet up the Lea, where Alfred brought them to terms by diverting the river, and leaving their ships dry. After five years of struggle, peace was re-established.
As a leader, Alfred's great work thus consisted in repelling the invasion of the Danes, who at his accession threatened to subdue the whole country, and in helping towards the consolidation of England into a united monarchy. His work as a legislator is also important, though it is absolutely unhistorical to regard him as establishing trial by jury, as having divided England into counties and hundreds, or as the founder of the university of Oxford. As legislator, he simply compiled or collected the best among the enactments of earlier kings. The aim of all his work was practical, to promote the good of his people; and the writings for which he is celebrated bear the same character of sagacious usefulness.
Alfred died on the 27th of October 901, aged 52, leaving his country in the enjoyment of comparative peace and prosperity, the fruit of that wise and energetic rule which has made his memory dear to all generations of Englishmen, as that of their best and greatest king. We cannot perhaps realise the resolute patience of Alfred in his political and military capacity, for we have but a very imperfect knowledge of the obstacles which stood in his way; but it must excite both our highest wonder and reverence to behold a man pursuing solitarily, in the midst of ferocity, barbarism, and ignorance, and in spite of the perpetual pains with which his body was racked, so many various and noble schemes for the civilisation and true glory of his country. The principal writings of Alfred are his translations of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, of the Histories of Bede and Orosius, and of the Pastoral Care of Gregory the Great (the last edited by Sweet, 1871). The best sources of information on Alfred's history are the Life by Asser and the chronicles of the day. See Life by R. Pauli (1851, trans. 1852); Hughes, Alfred the Great (1878); Alfred the Great, edited by Alfred Bowker (1899); and Alfred in the Chronicles, by C. Conybeare (1900).