The Reign of King Alfred

1980 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Alfred the Great

Britain in the 800’s was much different then than it is now. The people of Denmark, called Danes or Vikings, attacked Britain and started a war between the two countries. Britain was helpless at the time because their lack of leadership from their king. When King Alfred came to power, Britain turned the war around and found a king worthy of the title. Because of King Alfred’s reign, Britain was shaped to be what it is today. Therefore, King Alfred created modern Britain and without him and his government, Britain would be much different than it is now.
King Alfred was born in Wantage, Berkshire in 848. Alfred was the son of the king of the West Saxons, Aethulwulf. When Alfred was a young child, his father made a mutual agreement with him and his four older brothers that if Aethulwulf were to die then the older brothers would take his place. This was because Aethulwulf did not want a young child to be the ruler of the West Saxons while Viking raids from Denmark threatened the country. Alfred grew up in a time when England was divided in to small individual states. Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia were states that were under the control of the Angles. The kingdom of the Jutes ruled Kent and the Saxons, Alfred's people, ruled Essex, Sussex, and Wessex ("Alfred, The Great", n.d.).
Alfred was thought to get many of his qualities that he used in his kingdom from his grandfather, King Egbert. King Egbert was aggressive and forced in to hiding just like King Alfred was. King Egbert came out of hiding and took back his throne, just like King Alfred. Without the influences of his grandfather’s reign, King Alfred would not have been the king that he was. Another experience King Alfred had that influenced his personality is his trip to v...

... middle of paper ...

... Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&u=rox3391&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=SUIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE|EJ3048700050
(n.d.) "Alfred 'The Great'". The Official Website of The British Monarch website. Retrieved from https://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/AlfredtheGreat.aspx
Helm, P. J. (1963). Alfred The Great. London: Robert Hale Limited.
Merkle, B. (2009). The White Horse King. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Pollock, F. (1899). Alfred The Great. London: Adam & Charles Black.
The Life of Alfred The Great (B. Thorpe, Trans.). (1902). London: George Bell & Sons.

Show More
Related

  • Was Beowulf A Good King

    413 Words  | 1 Pages

    Beowulf was a great king in many ways based on the Anglo-Saxon values. One example is when Beowulf showed when he was courages. When Beowulf decided to get invoked with Grendel, a monstrous man, in a battle, it was a big deal because it was thought to be that Grendel had more courage; things turned out to be

    Read More

  • Charles I: The Death of a King and the Birth of a Superpower

    1831 Words  | 4 Pages

    To start, the death of Charles I led to scientific discoveries in England, which helped build the economy and establish the superpower status of England. During his reign, Charles I constantly oppressed ideas that went against the Church of England due to his religious ideals and belief that he could impose religious conformity across all of his lands. Between 1650 and 1659, after Charles’ beheading, both the supporters of Cromwell and the defeated monarchists turned to science and technology for its potential economic and social benefits. The commonwealth made it a priority to pay off their debts from the civil war in any way...

    Read More

  • Arthur Versus Beowulf: A Heroic Comparison

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the main topics discussed in lesson one is the fact that heroes over time and overseas all heroes have something in common; which is true in the case of King Arthur and Beowulf. It is obvious that they are similar in the fact that they are both heroes, but what makes them an idol of their time and in their culture are poles apart. There are many things that are different about Beowulf and King Arthur, but the ones that stand out the most are what kind of hero they are and what actions they did to make them heroic. Both heroes possess qualities that others do not have, but it is what they do with those abilities that prompts someone to write a story about them and idolize them in time.

    Read More

  • The battle over the English throne

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    (Learning). The battle, both directly and indirectly, ushered in changes in English law, language, culture, and laid the groundwork for the beginnings of the English feudal system (WebChron). The Battle of Hastings was the battle that changed history (WebChron).

    Read More

  • Essay On Reasons For English Colonization

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    A1. England was run by a Parliament and per history had very limited involvement of the monarchy or direct rule by the king. As well as the colonial legislatures; members were elected by property-holding men and governors were given authority to make decisions on behalf of the king. This system our leadership and how it controls its people the reason many

    Read More

  • King Henry

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    King Henry VIII of England and Ireland, third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on June 28, 1491. Henry VIII was born, like all other monarchs except Henry VII, at Greenwich Palace. His two brothers, Prince Arthur and Edmond, Duke of Somerst, and of his two sisters died before their father. Henry VIII was the only son. Margaret Tudor and Mary Tudor were the only daughters to survive. It is said the King Henry was destined for the church and that his powers were thrust upon him. He was the first monarch, English monarch, to be educated under the influence of the Renaissance. Henry was an accomplished scholar, musician, and athlete. With the death of his brother, Arthur, and the death of his father, Henry VIII toke the throne.

    Read More

  • King Arthur

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abrams, M. H. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1993.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Beowulf, Sir Gawain and King Arthur as Heroes

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    The three heroes discussed here, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and King Arthur, are heroes for different reasons. Beowulf, our earliest hero, is brave but his motivation is different than then other two. To Sir Gawain personal honor and valor is what is important. King Arthur, Sir Gawain's uncle, is naturally the quintessential king of the medieval period. Though all men to a certain extent share the same qualities, some are more pronounced than in the others. It is important to see how these qualities are central to their respective stories and how it helps (or hinders) them in their journeys.

    Read More

  • The Life and Contribution to the Development of the British Empire of James Cook

    5143 Words  | 11 Pages

    Great Britain became a great world power in this period. Under the leadership of William Pitt the Elder, Britain’s Prime Minister and at the same time a man who believed that the strength of the nation's economy depended on overseas expansion, the country gained vast territories all over the world and the so called “the First British Empire” was founded.

    Read More

  • King Arthur

    549 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ardrey, Adam. Finding Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend of the Once and Future King.

    Read More

  • Kings and Queens: The Tudors

    1223 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tudors: The History of England from Henry VII to Elizabeth I. Ackroyd, Peter. Thomas Dunne Books, 2013.

    Read More

  • Bloodshed and Betrayal: The War of the Roses

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    After the death of Edward in 1483 his brother Richard usurped the throne becoming King as Richard III and the Lancastrians turned for leadership to Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who later became King Henry VII which is the founder of Tudor Dynasty. After the RIchard was killed his death brought an end to the rule of the Plantagenets who had governed England for 331

    Read More

  • Medieval England Change Over Time Essay

    411 Words  | 1 Pages

    The medieval period, also known as the middle ages, went from 1066 to 1500. During this, England went through many changes in rule. In 1042 Edward the Confessor, son of King Aethelred and Emma, became the King of England, after he learned the and the French culture, and people. After his Edward’s death in 1066, the Normans invaded England, which led to the defeat of the Anglo-Saxons elite. Under the rule of William the Conqueror federalism was introduced to govern England. Once Williams was crowned he started work on the Tower of London, and later Canterbury Cathedral, that lead to the Norman style of architecture. After William died his son Henry I took the throne; he then died without a male heir, so his daughter, Matilda, married Stephen of Blois, who was supported by the church, but his rule led to anarchy. Stephen reign lasted nineteen years.

    Read More

  • The Anglo-Saxon Period

    1754 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Angles were a Germanic tribe that occupied the region which is now Scleswig-Holstein, Germany. With their fellow ethnic groups, they formed the people who came to be known as the English. The Saxons were a Germanic people who first appeared in the beginning of the Christian era. The Saxons were said to have lived in the south Jutland Peninsula in the north of what is now Germany, but the fact has not been proven. They attacked and raided areas in the North Sea throughout the third and fourth centuries. By the end of the sixth century, the Saxons had taken all of the Roman territory within north-west Germany, as far as the Elbe River. The Angles joined the Saxons in the invasion of Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries. British resistance to the 'Anglo Saxon' invaders in the second half of the fifth century ended with the Anglo Saxon’s victory at the battle of Mount Badon. After the British were defeated, though, the Angles and the Saxons continued to fight over their religion for many years (Irvin, Vacca, Probst, Beers, p.46).

    Read More

  • King Arthur

    1522 Words  | 4 Pages

    The stories and legends surrounding the character of King Arthur are among the best known of all stories about kings and knights. The stories and legends surrounding the character of King Arthur are among the best known of all stories about kings and knights. He is the greatest of British literary heroes, although little is known about the real person. Folklore and literature provide examples of a recurrent myth about a leader or hero who has not really died, but is asleep somewhere or in some estate of suspended life who will return to save his people (Geocities 3). There is little real historical information left about him other than, texts, chronicles, verses, myths, and fragments of epic poems, inscriptions, symbols and graven images.

    Read More

More about The Reign of King Alfred

Open Document