Glimpses #124: Alfred the Great--Legend and Leader
Product Code: GLM124
Format: 4-page bulletin insert
Our Price: $2.00 per pack (each pack contains 25 copies). Back issues are available only in packs of 25 copies.
Product Description: One man who did more than any other to fight against the spiritual decay within the English church as well as against the Vikings was Alfred, later known as Alfred the Great. Would Heathen Anarchy Prevail? In the earliest years of the attacks, the Vikings had been content to raid and plunder the coastal areas. By Alfred's time, some Danish Vikings wanted to settle on conquered lands. The Danes conquered the commercial town of London and began to settle in Northumbria and East Anglia. In 870 the Danes began a strong military push to extend their conquest to Wessex. It seemed that all of England would fall into heathen anarchy, and Christianity would disappear from the island. In January 871 Alfred led the Saxons against the Danes on Berkshire Downs and put the Danes to flight. It was Alfred's first battle, and with the Danes decisively beaten on the battlefield, hope was restored to the Saxon people. Soon after, King Ethelred died, and Alfred became King at the age of 24.
Some later saw it as providential that Alfred ascended to the throne of Wessex just as the Danish attacks were becoming strongest. As the warfare intensified, the invaders would make peace and then break their oaths and launch surprise attacks. On Twelfth Night in 878, when the Saxons were celebrating, the Danes swept down, and the whole Saxon army was thrown into confusion. Many were killed while others slipped away to their homes. Only a handful remained with Alfred, who hid out in the marshes and swamps on the Isle of Athelney. This was Alfred's darkest hour.
