Alfred the Great was born in 849 AD in the village of Wanating in Oxfordshire. He was the youngest son of king Æthelred. In 871 AD, he defeated the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown. The next year he took his brother's place at the throne as king. In 878 AD, Alfred the Great successfully defended his kingdom against an invasion by the Danes once again as he defeated them in the Battle of Edington. (www.bbc.co.uk). By managing to protect his kingdom, Alfred perhaps saved the existence of English. After the attacks, he built up his kingdom so that it would not be threatened by the danes again. He advocated order and established a new code of laws. He believed much in the importance of education, so he arranged that books be translated from Latin into Anglo-Saxon. Alfred died in 899 AD and was buried in Winchester. Alfred the Great became a legend to the English people. Because of his great reign as king and his victory over the Danes, he is the only English monarch to be accorded the epithet "the Great" (wikipedia.com).
Works Cited
"Alfred the Great." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012.
"Alfred the Great." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Sept. 2012. Web. 18 Sept.
