King Alfred Research Paper

840 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Alfred the great and his contributions to England

Your ancestors might've been speaking Danish instead if it wasn't for King Alfred. King Alfred is an Anglo-Saxon King from the kingdom of Wessex. Born in 849 AD he is by far one of the oldest people here. He was born youngest of 4 brothers. Many people doubted he would he King, but his brothers eventually after partaking in many gruesome battles with the Vikings, they were killed. In 868 AD Alfred married a woman called Ealhswith, Ealhswith of Mercia. Everything was going perfect for their marriage feast when suddenly Alfred was 'was struck without warning in the presence of the entire gathering by a sudden severe pain that was quite unknown to physicians. Many historians claim that he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. This is a hereditary …show more content…

This was the last battle between good and evil before the Day of Judgement. They believed that the Vikings were an army of people whose purpose was to wipe Christianity from the face of the Earth. So in 871 AD King Aethelred and young Alfred lead an uphill attack with such a fierceness that bewildered the Viking Army. In this battle his older brother King Aethelred died but the Danes made peace with the new King Alfred and retreated back to their kingdom. BUT NOT FOR LONG!! Because in 878 AD, 7 years after the peace treaty, the Danish King Guthrum, came back and lead a surprise attack on Alfred's royal manor and almost finished it off in one blow. But King Alfred fled into Somerset where he plotted a counter attack.

Now a legend says that as King Alfred after his escape from the Danes he took refuge in a old peasant women's house.The women did not recognise that he was a King.The peasant woman was baking cakes but she had to go outside to look after the animals for awhile. She asked Alfred to watch over the cakes. However, Alfred's mind was thinking about the war so he forgot to watch over the cakes and they burned. The woman returned to check the cakes she found them burned and scolded Alfred for not watching …show more content…

This place where the Danish forces were placed is now called Danelaw, meaning that the Danish custom and the law applied there. He also forced King Guthrum and his army to convert into Christianity and be baptised. King Alfred also knew that his battle would have no meaning if he didn't take the measures to strengthen the area he controlled. So as a solution he built fortified towns along the border of his stronghold to make sure his country wouldn't be threatened by the Vikings again. Since there was so much fighting and battles the education system in England had almost disappeared. He founded schools and rebuilt the monasteries that the Danes had destroyed and looted. He even translated pieces of work from Latin into Old English, which were mainly Christian books on how to lead a good Christian life and gain wisdom. King Alfred reinforced an English, Christian identity from a Scandinavian, pagan one. He also brought talented scholars and craftsmen across the channel into England and subsequently also brought Frisian sailors to come and help him create more effective designs for battle

Show More
Related

  • Internal Conflicts In Beowulf

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the epic Beowulf, the reader can clearly find the very distinct conflicts, although some go unnoticed. This poem came to be around the birth of Christianity and the dying out of paganism. In Beowulf, the battles between the monsters and the warriors are interpreted as a battle between the old way of faith and the coming of Christianity. Beowulf himself comes across many conflicts of his own. A literary critic, Alfred Bammesberger, analyzed the person who gives Beowulf the idea to go to Herot and fight Grendel, “.... Beowulf wanting to fight single-handed and challenge Grendel based on the information he had given to his uncle, the Great King Hygelac” (Bammesberger). The Danish king asks not for help however, Beowulf goes anyways. While he has many physical battles with enemies, he also has internal conflicts that seem to hold heavy in his mind. These conflicts include but are not limited to, “Battle of Grendel”, “The Battle with Grendel’s Mother” and “The Last Battle.”

    Read More

  • Analyzing Asser's 'Life Of King Alfred'

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Heathen Army was the name of a coalition of Norse armies from the Scandinavian region; Denmark, Norway, and possibly also Sweden in approximately 865CE, and ending in approximately 875CE with the defeat of the Viking army by King Alfred ‘The Great’ of Wessex. There were multiple possible motivations for this invasion, including (but not limited to): revenge for the death of legendary Ragnarr Lodbok, the expansion of Norse control into the British Isles, and the need for fresher lands for agriculture. There are two main sources that tell us about the Great Heathen Invasion; The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle by various authors and Life of King Alfred by Asser, which will be evaluated to determine their reliability as primary sources for the

    Read More

  • Newton Knight Research Paper

    1801 Words  | 4 Pages

    Newton knight was a farmer in mississippi who fought for freedom and secession of Jones county. Knight and the people of jones county put their lives so they could be free from the grip from the confederacy. The confederacy took many of non-slave farmers and put their lives on the front line to fight for what they didn’t even believe in. Knight opposed the state seceding from the United States, saying that white farmers like himself did not support slavery. He was a man of individual rights and equality, which was what the united states did not have at the time.

    Read More

  • William the Conqueror, Always Getting the Job Done

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though William the Conqueror descended from a line of Vikings who had lived in France for over 200 years, William had more of an impact on the English language than the majority of influential English people of the time. The “French-speaking Normans brought a whole new vocabulary to England, whose language was closely related to German”(Barlow 8). Although he is most well known for the Norman invasion of 1066 that overthrew the Anglo Saxon reign, which had lasted for over six centuries, William was a very religious man. He was moral and righteous by the standards of the time, and devoted much of his time to the Norman church.

    Read More

  • 8th Century Western Trade Analysis

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reasons attributing to the Viking’s success included their inability to be stopped by Western Europe and the fear that was installed into the residents of Western Europe. The viciousness of the attacks is clearly described in the Three Sources on the Ravages of the Northmen in Frankland, c. 843 – 912. The collection of these three texts describe various Viking attacks throughout Frankland, giving the reader a clear idea of the horror that the people of Frankland endured when attempting to resist the

    Read More

  • Herois Tradition throughout British Literature

    1877 Words  | 4 Pages

    The character Beowulf, “a man of great strength and bravery” (Magill 388), is a hero in the way he defends his neighboring country, Denmark. When the word that a hostile creature, known as Grendel, was killing tons in Denmark, Beowulf set sail to help defend the people and rid them of the hideous monster.

    Read More

  • Warfare in Beowulf

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf begins with Grendel attacking the Danes out of vengeance and hatred. Grendel is the relative of Cain which means that he is outcast to eternal darkness as punishment for the crime of Cain killing his brother Abel. Therefore, when Grendel hears laughter in the hall named Heorot, he is angry and a little envious, so he goes on a killing spree in order to put an end to the warriors’ happiness. Because of Grendel’s attack upon the Danes, Beowulf arrives in order to put an end to the killing spree: “And now alone I shall settle affairs with Grendel the monster, the demon” (Donaldson, p.8). The author offers no other solution to solving this issue with Grendel but battle, and after the battle is fought and Beowulf wins, Grendel’s hand is preserved as a trophy. Beowulf is rewarded with gifts for his courage, and now the Danes are at peace.

    Read More

  • Ulcerative Colitis Essay

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dr. Burrill B. Crohn first described the condition known as Crohn’s Disease in 1932. Crohn discovered the disease with the help of fellow scientists Dr. Leon Ginzburg and Dr. Gordon D. Oppenheimer. It was for Dr. Burrill B. Crohn that the disease was so named.

    Read More

  • Vikings

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Vikings were a ruthless people. A historian by the name of Sherma tells the story of the ruthlessness of the Vikings, “The mother of all churches, . . . was taken and plundered by the Moors . . . moreover, [the Vikings] slaughtered all the Christians whom they found” (87). The Vikings were a fearsome people who made plundering and killing a way of life. The Norse were also heavily feared by the Christians. “The heathen from the North wrought havoc in Christendom as usual and grew greater in strength” (Sherma 87).

    Read More

  • Examples Of Loyalty In Beowulf

    348 Words  | 1 Pages

    Beowulf comes to the assistance of the Danes, upon loyalty to his family.During the conversation between the King and Beowulf they converse

    Read More

  • Is Beowulf An Epic Hero

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the story begins, Beowulf has gone to the land of the Danes to kill Grendel for the people, not for the glory. Beowulf brings his own hand picked, group of soldiers with him throughout his battles, and refuses to allow help from others. Beowulf also tells the readers he will not use weapons unless necessary. Before the battle against Grendel, a Denmark officer states, “A chosen warrior who bravely does battle with the creature haunting our people, who survives that horror unhurt, and goes home bearing our love” (ln. 210). Also, when Beowulf’s men abandon him in the battle against the dragon, he does not choose to run in fear, but to continue fighting. In this moment much like in his past, Beowulf shows how honorable he really

    Read More

  • Beowulf: The Epic Hero

    1145 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Anglo-Saxon culture ran on the outline of the heroic code. The warrior pledged allegiance to his lord in exchange for protection (“Beowulf” 38). Through acts of strength and bravery in battle, the warrior rose in levels of nobility and received rewards from his lord for his bravery (“Beowulf” 38). Hrothgar, king of the Danes and lord of the Scyldings, builds a mead hall, Heorot, to honor his warriors and give gifts to them (Beowulf 67-73). A savage demon named Grendel attacks the great hall and kills thirty of Hrothgar’s men (Beowulf 122). Beowulf, a young Geat warrior, leaves his homeland to aid King Hrothgar in purging the Danes of Grendel. Beowulf’s act of allegiance extends past the kingdom of his homeland by ‘rescuing’ the Danish people. His actions not only illustrate courage but the principle of allegiance to his family and himself. Upon arriving on the Danish shore, Beowulf states, “We belong by birth to the Geat people / and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac. / I come to proffer / my wholehearted help and counsel” (Beowulf 260-1, 277-8). Beowulf declares his allegiance to his lord and is willing to come to the Danes’ aid. Hrothgar knows that Beowulf is only in Denmark to “follow up a...

    Read More

  • The Finn Episode in Beowulf

    1387 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beowulf has just killed Grendel and hung that infamous claw in the hall of Heorot. Everyone under King Hrothgar’s rule is celebrating Beowulf’s triumph. In the midst of the celebration a court singer begins to sing about the glory of the former Danish people many years ago. The song chronicles a battle between the Danes and the Frisians. The leader of the Frisians, Finn, engages in battle and ends up with most of his army being defeated. However, Finn ends up killing Hnaef the leader of the Danes. Hengest, successor to Hnaef, makes peace with Finn and the rest of the Danes end up living with the Frisian people. An important part of this episode to note is that the wife of Finn, Hildeburh, is also the sister of Hnaef. Hnaef and Hildeburh’s son were both killed in battle and their burial is described in grotesque detail. A member of the Frisian tribe gives a sword to Hengest who has long debated this newly forged allegiance with the Frisians. Hengest decides to take revenge and wages war once again. It’s unclear who exactly kills Finn, but he is murdered by a member of the Danish people. Hildeburh is taken captive and is brought back to her homeland with the Danes (lines 1065-1161). Thus ends the story that scholars refer to as the “Finn episode”.

    Read More

  • King Alfred the Great

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...lands once owned by his brother, King Ethelred. Alfred resolves any problems that may arise by dividing his land fairly. The king divided out his lands and money among his family, his sons, his daughters, his nephews, and his wife. Gifts of money, also, were left to each of his ealdormen; to his archbishop and his bishops; to the officials and personal attendants who gave him their service at court. Further instructions bade that those who inherited the king's lands should leave these in legacy, in possible, to their male children. Finally, the king wrote, "I pray in the Name of God and His Saints that none of my kin or of my heirs vex any of those dependents for whom I have paid money. Let these choose whatever lord they will" (Duckett 200). Alfred the Great will always be remembered as a great king, and as one of the greatest leaders to ever rule mankind.

    Read More

  • Development of the English Language

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    Invasion in the 9th century by Scandinavians, who settled in the north of England and the establishment of Danelaw in 886 AD defining the area governed by the Danes in the north and east, had a marked effect on the language spoken there (Beal, J. 2012, p. 59). These periods are known as Early and Later Old English (Beal, J. 2012, p. 50). The Norman invasion of 1066 AD began a period of two centuries in which French was the official language of England, resulting in the introduction of many words with French or Latin roots, such as 'baron', 'justice' and 'government' (Beal, J. 2012, p. 64). English was first used in Parliament in 1362 AD and gradually displaced French (Appendix I, in Seargeant, J and Swann, J.... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

More about King Alfred Research Paper

Open Document