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Alfred was a son of Æthelwulf, king of Wessex, and his wife Osburh. [5] According to his biographer, Asser, writing in 893, "In the year of our Lord's Incarnation 849 Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons", was born at the royal estate called Wantage, in the district known as Berkshire [a] ("which is so called from Berroc Wood, where the box tree grows very abundantly").
The Christian theologian F. N. Lee extensively documented Alfred the Great's work of collecting the law codes from the three Christian Saxon kingdoms and compiling them into his Doom Book. [3] Lee details how Alfred incorporated the principles of the Mosaic law into his Code, and how this Code of Alfred became the foundation for the Common Law.
The initial page of the Peterborough Chronicle [1]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons.. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great (r. 871–899).
Other poetic forms exist in Old English including short verses, gnomes, and mnemonic poems for remembering long lists of names. [51] There are short verses found in the margins of manuscripts which offer practical advice, such as remedies against the loss of cattle or how to deal with a delayed birth, often grouped as charms.
Although both the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Asser emphasise Alfred's role in the victory, in the view of Richard Abels it was the attack by Æthelred when he joined the battle which was decisive and he might have intended all along to take the Vikings unawares. They suffered heavy losses, including King Bagsecg and five earls, Sidroc the Old ...
Alfred also resembles Arthur in his mission as the only man to save his kingdom (England for Alfred, southern Celtic Britain for Arthur) from an unstoppable threat. The main character, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, is an old man telling tales of events that took place decades earlier, starting from his childhood and going on, his story intertwining ...
By now, Alfred the Great is old and feeble, unwilling and unable to repel the Danish invaders. He relies on trusty pagan warlord Uhtred, but Uhtred's temper and an unexpected violent act force Uhtred to break his oath of loyalty to Alfred and flee north with his men, intending to reclaim his ancestral home.
Uhtred is summoned to Wintanceaster by a dying Alfred. Alfred gives Uhtred a rich estate in Mercia at Fagranforda, finally rewarding him for his many invaluable services, but presses Uhtred into swearing an oath of loyalty to his son and heir, Edward, before dying. Aethelflaed is kidnapped by Aethelwold, but Uhtred saves her.