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The King who smashed the Vikings!
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Alfred was the youngest son of King Ethelwulf of Wessex. Wessex was an
area covering most of Southern England.
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He was born at the Royal
Palace in Wantage in
North Berkshire in AD 849.
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When he was a boy, his mother offered a book with beautiful pictures
to the first of her sons who could learn to read it. Although Alfred
was the youngest, he won the prize!
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Alfred's brothers all became Kings of Wessex one after the other. In
AD 871, Alfred became King too.
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The Vikings invaded England shortly before he came to the throne.
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Alfred spent many years fighting them in many bloody
battles. At one
point it looked like he might loose his country.
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King Alfred always said that the "pen is mightier than the
sword". So, when he finally defeated the Vikings in battle, he
signed a peace treaty with them.
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They divided England in two. Alfred was able to keep the southern
portion. He was then called 'King of the English'.
- He set up lots of forts or 'burghs' in England
to help stop the Vikings from invading again. There was one at Wallingford and another
at Cookham, near Maidenhead.
- The Welsh Kings asked Alfred to protect them too and he signed more peace treaties.
- King Alfred was a very wise and religious ruler.
He died at Winchester in AD 899.
There are famous statues of King Alfred at Winchester and Wantage.
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