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Alfred the great

King Charles I at Carisbrooke Castle, as painted by Eugène Lami in 1829 (Public Domain)

The Recognition Of Monarchy Through History

The well-known story of the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s rebuke at the hands of the petitioner whom he had rebuffed is significant. “ Then, don’t be king! ” was her taunt, illustrating the general...
A statue of Alfred the Great in Winchester. Descended from a long line of kings of the Kingdom of Wessex, Alfred the Great was the son of King Aethelwulf of Wessex. Source: Tony Baggett / Adobe Stock

The Kingdom of Wessex and the Birth of England

The early history of England was characterized by instability, disorder and uncertainty. The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex was the first formation of the modern idea of England, and in its early...
Mighty Anglo-Saxon Warrior Grave May Throw Light On the Dark Ages

Mighty Anglo-Saxon Warrior Grave May Throw Light On the Dark Ages

The discovery of a 1400-year-old warrior buried in a British field is being hailed as a major discovery and is providing new insights into the so-called Dark Ages and early English history...
Alfred the Great, the Anglo-Saxon King of Wessex, has long been credited as the founder of the Royal Navy. Legend has it that he battled against the Vikings in the 880s and 890s, and even built his own longships to ensure victory against the Danes. In this engraving by Edmund Evans, he can be seen plotting the capture of the Danish fleet. Source: Public domain.

Origin of British Navy Upturned By Study

The British Royal Navy is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. If you’d looked at its website this morning, you would have read the widely-accepted origin story which claims that naval warships...
Medieval knight. Credit: rudall30 / Adobe Stock

The Reign of Aethelwulf, King of Wessex: Between Realm and Religion

The early history of England includes all kinds of different cultures and remarkable figures. And one of the crucial parts of the history of this country belongs to the Anglo-Saxon era. Filled with...
Left - Alfred the Great, painting in the Bodleian Gallery. Right - Alfred the Great at the Battle of Ashdown.

Why was Alfred the Great One of Only Two Kings Named ‘Great’ in English History?

Alfred the Great was the first king of the Anglo-Saxons and one of only two English rulers to have been given the epithet ‘the Great’. He may have earned this title in part by defending his kingdom...
Alfred the Great

Have archaeologists finally found King Alfred the Great?

In August last year we reported on plans to search for the remains of Alfred the Great , a Saxon king who ruled from 871 to 899 AD. The task was not easy as archaeologists first needed to secure...