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Birth:           849  Wantage, Berkshire, England
Death:          26 Oct  899 Winchester, Hampshire, England

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_the_Great
Alfred the Great (Old English: Ælfred[a], Ælfr?d[b], "elf counsel" or "wise elf"; 849 – 26 
October 899) was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.

Alfred successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and 
by the time of his death had become the dominant ruler in England.[1] He is one of 
only two English monarchs to be given the epithet "the Great", the other being the 
Scandinavian Cnut the Great. He was also the first King of the West Saxons to style 
himself "King of the Anglo-Saxons". Details of Alfred's life are described in a work by 
the 10th-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 taught in 
English, and improved his kingdom's legal system, military structure and his people's 
quality of life. In 2002, Alfred was ranked number 14 in the BBC's poll of the 100 
Greatest Britons.
Childhood[edit]

Further information: House of Wessex family tree

Alfred was born in the village of Wanating, now Wantage, historically in Berkshire but 
now in Oxfordshire. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex by his first 
wife, Osburh.[c]

In 853, at the age of four, Alfred is reported by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to have 
been sent to Rome, where he was confirmed by Pope Leo IV, who "anointed him as 
king".[3] Victorian writers later interpreted this as an anticipatory coronation in 
preparation for his eventual succession to the throne of Wessex. This is unlikely; his 
succession could not have been foreseen at the time, as Alfred had three living elder 
brothers. A letter of Leo IV shows that Alfred was made a "consul"; a misinterpretation 
of this investiture, deliberate or accidental, could explain later confusion.[4] It may 
also be based on Alfred's later having accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to 
Rome, where he spent some time at the court of Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, 
around 854–855.

On their return from Rome in 856, Æthelwulf was deposed by his son Æthelbald. With 
civil war looming, the magnates of the realm met in council to hammer out a 
compromise. Æthelbald would retain the western shires (i.e. historical Wessex), and 
Æthelwulf would rule in the east. When King Æthelwulf died in 858, Wessex was ruled 
by three of Alfred's brothers in succession: Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred.[5]

Bishop Asser tells the story of how as a child Alfred won as a prize a book of Saxon 
poems, offered by his mother to the first of her children able to memorize it.[6] Legend 
also has it that the young Alfred spent time in Ireland seeking healing. Alfred was 
troubled by health problems throughout his life. It is thought that he may have suffered 
from Crohn's disease.[7] Statues of Alfred in Winchester and Wantage portray him as a 
great warrior. Evidence suggests he was not physically strong, and though not lacking 
in courage, he was noted more for his intellect than as a warlike character.[8]
Family[edit]

In 868, Alfred married Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucil, 
Ealdorman of the Gaini. The Gaini were probably one of the tribal groups of the 
Mercians. Ealhswith's mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal family.
[126]

They had five or six children together, including Edward the Elder who succeeded his 
father as king, Æthelflæd who became Lady (ruler) of the Mercians in her own right, 
and Ælfthryth who married Baldwin II the Count of Flanders. His mother was Osburga 
daughter of Oslac of the Isle of Wight, Chief Butler of England. Asser, in his Vita 
Ælfredi asserts that this shows his lineage from the Jutes of the Isle of Wight. This is 
unlikely as Bede tells us that they were all slaughtered by the Saxons under 
Cædwalla. In 2008 the skeleton of Queen Eadgyth, granddaughter of Alfred the Great 
was found in Magdeburg Cathedral in Germany. It was confirmed in 2010 that these 
remains belong to her — one of the earliest members of the English royal family.[127]

Osferth was described as a relative in King Alfred's will and he attested charters in a 
high position until 934. A charter of King Edward's reign described him as the king's 
brother, "mistakenly" according to Keynes and Lapidge, but in the view of Janet 
Nelson, he probably was an illegitimate son of King Alfred.[128][129]


Name

Birth

Death

Notes

Æthelflæd  12 June 918 Married c 886, Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians d. 911; had 
children 
Edward c. 874 17 July 924 Married (1) Ecgwynn, (2) Ælfflæd, (3) 919 Eadgifu 
Æthelgifu   Abbess of Shaftesbury 
Æthelweard  16 October 922(?) Married and had children 
Ælfthryth  929 Married Baldwin II d. 918; had children 

Parents
____ Aethelwulf (ABT  806 - 13 Jan  859)
OF HAMPSHIRE Osburh (Osberga) (ABT  810 - AFT  876)

Siblings
____ Aethelred I (ABT  830 - 23 Apr  871)
____ Alfred "the Great" ( 849 - 26 Oct  899)

Marriage To OF MERCIA Ealhswith (ABT  852 - 5 Dec  902)
    m.  868 

Notes

Parents
MUCIL Aethelred (ABT  825 -  871)
OF MERCIA Eadburh (Eadburga) (ABT  825 - )

Children by OF MERCIA Ealhswith ABT  852 - 5 Dec  902
____ Ethelfleda (ABT  869 - 12 Jun  918)
____ Edward I "the Elder" ( 875 - Jul  924)
OF THE SAXONS (OF WESSEX) Alfthryth (Aelfthryth) (Elfleda) ( 877 - 7 Jun  929)

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