Alfred the Great

He was born in Wantage, Berkshire, in 849, and was one of five sons. He became the king of Wessex at 21, and he is mostly known for driving out the Viking attacks in the late 870s and early 880s. In early 878, King Guthrum led the Danes as they seized Chippenham in Wiltshire, where the base was used to attack the people of Wessex. Alfred adjusted his tactics to counteract the Dane’s, as he built a fortified base at Athelney in the Somerset. Eventually, by May of 878, Alfred the Great’s small army defeated the Danes at the battle of Edington. Because Alfred could not completely drive the Danes out of England, he produced a peace treaty with them, and King Guthrum was converted to Christianity, and many Danes “returned to East Anglia where they settled as farmers.” Alfred also set up an area in northeastern England, where the land would be under the jurisdiction of the Danes, a place called Danelaw. Alfred also married a Danish woman, a daughter of the king to maintain alliances with the Vikings. Alfred still needed to keep a military defense system, so he created a network of fortresses called burhs, at special locations throughout his kingdom. These forts allowed the military to face attacks at anywhere in the kingdom “in a single day.” Alfred also established a court school for his own children’s education and he was a proponent of teaching Christian wisdom to be taught to all Englishmen. He wanted all primary education to be taught in English; however, most of the educational books at the time were written in Latin. Alfred took matters largely into his own hands as he translated four works into English: “Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care, Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, St. Augustine's Soliloquies, and the first fifty psalms of the Psalter.” Alfred was a man who desired to increase the education of his people and keep the English language alive. He died on October 26, 899 after a 28 year reign.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_the_Great

http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/AlfredtheGreat.aspx