Alfred, alone of all English rulers, has been called “the Great,” because of his courage and Christian virtues. Born in 849 at Wantage, the youngest of five sons of King Aethelwulf, Alfred spent his life in a time of “battle, murder, and sudden death” during the Viking invasions and settlement in Britain. He was deeply impressed when, on a visit to Rome at the age of four, he was blessed by Pope Leo IV, and two years later, when he witnessed the marriage of Aethelwulf to a young princess of the Frankish court. Following his father’s death and the short reigns of his brothers, Alfred became King in 871.
In heroic battles and by stratagems against the Danes, Alfred halted the tide of their invasion and secured control of the southern, and part of the midland, regions of England. After a decisive victory in 878 at Edington over the Danish leader Guthrum, he persuaded his foe to accept baptism.
A man of deep piety, Alfred’s leadership in battle and administration was grounded by his faith. His biographer Asser wrote of his commitment to a life of prayer influenced by monasticism. “He learned the daily course, that is, the celebrations of the Hours, and after that certain psalms and many prayers, gathered together in one book for the sake of prayer, which he carried around with him everywhere on his person by day and night, just as we have seen, inseparable from himself, in all of the doings of this present life.”
In his later years, Alfred sought to repair the damage that the Viking invasions had inflicted upon culture and learning, especially among the parish clergy. With the help of scholars from Wales and the European continent, he supervised translations into English of important classics of theology and history, including works by Gregory the Great, Augustine of Hippo, and Bede. In one of them he commented: “He seems to me a very foolish man, and very 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.”
Alfred died on October 26th, 899, and was buried in Winchester.