Alfred the Great

Very few kings of England are remembered for the battles in which they themselves led the troops (and many never did). Fewer still are remembered for their contributions to the intellectual life of their kingdom. In the case of Alfred the Great, however, both accomplishments remain an important chapter in English history--and in the history of English.

Alfred, who reigned from 871 to 899, had to struggle with the Danes to keep his kingdom in the southwest of England known as Wessex. After a decisive victory at the Battle of Eddington, Alfred not only triumphed over the Vikings militarily but also prevailed upon the enemy king to convert to Christianity. If Alfred had lost at Eddington, England might have become a Danish-speaking country.

Reflecting on the harm that the Vikings had done to England, Alfred wrote about his ambitions to promote the teaching of written English, and he himself translated at least one text from Latin. Moreover, he sponsored the historical project that has come down to us as The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, one of the earliest narratives written in a European language other than Latin or Greek.