10 Facts about Alfred the Great
1. Alfred the German?
Alfred’s father, King Æthelwulf, who ruled Wessex from 839 – 857, was probably born in Aachen in modern-day Germany, as his father, Ecgbert, was an exile at the court of Charlemagne at the time.
2. Alfred the Orphan
Alfred was orphaned as a child. His mother died when he was four and his father when he was eight. His several brothers also died when he was 3, 11, 16 and 22.
3. Alfred’s sister?
Alfred’s elder sister Æthelswith married Burgred, King of Mercia, in 852. Burgred abdicated in 874, under pressure from Viking attacks, the couple fled to Rome. Æthelswith died in Italy while on a pilgrimage to Pavia in 888.
4. The Scholarly King?
Despite his reputation as a scholarly King, Alfred did not learn to read until he was 12. We do not know if he could actually write, and he did not learn Latin until he was in his 30s.
5. Alfred’s role in ending Cornish independence?
Alfred may have been responsible for ending Cornish independence. Cornwall, by the mid-ninth century, was very much under West Saxon influence, but it still had its own King, even though he was merely a vassal to Wessex. Donyarth, remembered as the last King of Cornwall is recorded in Welsh sources as drowning in 875. However, the Irish sources recorded him as being drowned as punishment for collaborating with Viking invaders. So it would seem likely that if someone had ordered his execution, it was Alfred.
6. Alfred the Dynasty builder
Alfred was one of the great English dynasty builders. His grandchildren ruled or were married to the rulers of several of the leading states in West Europe.
- Æthelstan, King of England
- Ælfweard, King of Wessex
- Edmund I, King of England
- Eadred, King of England
- Ælfwynn, Lady of Mercia
- Edith, Queen of Northumbria
- Eadgifu, Queen of West Francia and Countess of Omois
- Eadhild, Duchess of Francia
- Eadgyth, Queen of East Francia
- Arnulf I, Count of Flanders
- Adelolf, Count of Boulogne
7. Alfred the Co-King?
In order to secure the succession of his son, Edward, Alfred appointed Edward as King during his own lifetime. We do not know if this meant that Edward was made Co-King of Alfred’s kingdom or if he was given the smaller subkingdom of Kent to rule over in preparation for inheriting his father’s kingdom. However, it importantly meant that Edward was already a King in some form before his ultimate succession. This was vital because his claim would be challenged by Æthelwold, who was the son of Alfred’s elder brother.
8. Alfred and India?
The contemporary Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 883 says:
‘The same year led Sighelm and Athelstan to Rome the alms which King Alfred ordered thither, and also in India to St. Thomas and to St. Bartholomew.’
Suggesting that Alfred had some form of relationship with the Christian community in India. While some have suggested India more likely referred to Judea, many see modern-day Southern India as a realistic destination.
King Alfred and India: an Anglo-Saxon embassy to southern India in the ninth century AD
9. Ancestor of Charles III
People are often confused when they hear that the current King, Charles III, is a descendant of Alfred the Great, demonstrating a continued lineage going back over 1000 years, as it is assumed that Alfred’s ‘line’ was broken with the death of Edward the Confessor. However, Henry II (r. 1154 – 1189) was descended from Alfred on both his grandfather’s and his grandmother’s side. His grandfather, Henry I, was the son of Matilda of Flanders, who was descended from Alfred’s daughter Ælfthryth, who married Baldwin II, Margrave of Flanders, in the 890s. Henry II’s grandmother, Matilda of Scotland, was Edmund Ironside’s great-granddaughter, King of England in 1016, and the great-great-grandson of Alfred. Every King or Queen of England after 1189 is descended from Henry II, thus descended from Alfred too.
10. ‘Crawling with Mercians’
In an essential work of scholarship regarding Alfred’s relationship with Mercia, by Simon Keynes, titled ‘Alfred and the Mercians,’ Keynes describes Alfred’s court as ‘Crawling with Mercians.’
Not only was Alfred’s wife Ealhswith Mercian, Alfred’s brother-in-law, father-in-law, and son-in-law were all prominent Ealdormen in Mercia, his mother-in-law was also a Mercian princess, his daughter was the Lady of Mercia and his nephews were sons of a former Mercian King, all of whom were likely regulars at Alfred’s court.
Furthermore, Alfred’s whole education/literary project was overseen by Mercians. Asser records Alfred in the 880s, summoning four Mercian priests to act as his translators, readers and tutors, including Plegmund (later Archbishop of Canterbury) Æthelstan, (later Bishop of Ramsbury), Wærfrith (Bishop of Worcester) and Werwulf.
