King of the Anglo-Saxons Alfred of Wessex

849 - 899  (50 years)

• Name	Alfred of Wessex  [1]
  Title	King of the Anglo-Saxons
  Birth	9 May 849	Wantage, Berkshire, England   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Education	As a child Alfred won a prize of a volume of poetry in English  [2]
  Military - Old World	Alfred successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by his death had become the dominant ruler in England  [2]
  Religion	The Anglican Communion venerates him. For Alfred, the key to the kingdom's spiritual revival was to appoint pious, learned, and trustworthy bishops and abbots. He saw himself as responsible for both the temporal and spiritual welfare of his subjects  [2]
  Death	26 Oct 899	Winchester, Hampshire, England   [1]
  Burial	Winchester, Hampshire, England   [1]
  	(Winchester Cathedral)
  Person ID	I10770	A Tree Called Smith
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

  Father	King of England Æthelwulf of Wessex,   b. 806, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany d. 13 Jan 857, Essex, England (Age 51 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Lady Osburgha Mercia of Wessex,   b. 810, Isle of Wight, England d. 13 Jan 876, England (Age 66 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F7462	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Queen of England Wessex Ealhswyth of Mercia, I,   b. 842, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England d. 5 Dec 905, Winchester, Hampshire, England (Age 63 years)
  Marriage	868  [2]
  Children	1. Countess of Flanders Elfrida of England,   b. 877, England d. 6 Jul 929, Belgium (Age 52 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. King of the Anglo-Saxons Edward of Wessex, the Elder,   b. 874, England d. 17 Jul 924, Faringdon, Berkshire, England (Age 50 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F3885	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 9 May 849 - Wantage, Berkshire, England Death - 26 Oct 899 - Winchester, Hampshire, England Burial - - Winchester, Hampshire, England  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Old World

  _Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred; 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfred was young. Three of Alfred's brothers, Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred, reigned…

  
  

  Places		Statue of Alfred the Great King Alfred the Great
  		Statue of King Alfred in Wantage Market Square King Alfred

  
  

• Sources

  [S54] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT : Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;), Database online. [S1058] Wikipedia: Alfred the Great, (Name: Wikipedia;), Alfred the Great. Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred; 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfred was young. Three of Alfred's brothers, Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred, reigned in turn before him. Under Alfred's rule, considerable administrative and military reforms were introduced, prompting lasting change in England.[2] After ascending the throne, Alfred spent several years fighting Viking invasions. He won a decisive victory in the Battle of Edington in 878 and made an agreement with the Vikings, dividing England between Anglo-Saxon territory and the Viking-ruled Danelaw, composed of Scandinavian York, the north-east Midlands and East Anglia. Alfred also oversaw the conversion of Viking leader Guthrum to Christianity. He defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, becoming the dominant ruler in England.[3] Alfred began styling himself as "King of the Anglo-Saxons" after reoccupying London from the Vikings. Details of his life are described in a work by 9th-century Welsh scholar and bishop Asser. Alfred had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature who encouraged education, proposing that primary education be conducted in English, rather than Latin, and improving the legal system and military structure and his people's quality of life. He was given the epithet "the Great" in the 16th century and is only one of two English monarchs, alongside Cnut the Great, to be labelled as such. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_the_Great