King Alfred

KingAlfredtheGreat849-899KingAlfredofWessexistheonlyKingtobegiventhetitleofTheGreat.Thisstatueofhimstandsinhiscapital,Winchester.KingAlfredsuccessfullydefendedhisKingdom,whichwastobecomeEnglandafterhisdeath,againsttheDanishVikings,andchampionededucation,andtheruleofLawAlfredtheGreat(849–26October899)wasKingofWessexfrom871to899.AlfredsuccessfullydefendedhiskingdomagainsttheViking维京人attemptatconquest,andbyhisdeathhadbecomethedominantrulerinEngland.HeistheonlyEnglishmonarchtobeaccordedtheepithet[‘epiθet]绰号“theGreat”.AlfredwasthefirstKingoftheWestSaxonstostylehimself“KingoftheAnglo-Saxons”.Detailsofhislifearedescribedinaworkbythe10thcenturyWelshscholarandbishop[’biʃəp]主教Asser.Alfredwasalearnedandmercifulmanwhoencouragededucationandimprovedhiskingdom'slegalsystemandmilitarystructure.ChildhoodAlfredwasborninthevillageofWanating,nowWantage,Oxfordshire.In853,attheageoffour,AlfredissaidtohavebeensenttoRomewhere,accordingtotheAnglo-SaxonChronicle,hewasconfirmedbyPopeLeoIVwho“anointed选定、指定himasking”.Victorianwritersinterpretedthisasananticipatorycoronation加冕礼inpreparationforhisultimatesuccessiontothethroneofWessex.OntheirreturnfromRomein856,Æthelwulfwasdeposed罢黜byhissonÆthelbald.WhenKingÆthelwulfdiedin858,WessexwasruledbythreeofAlfred'sbrothersinsuccession,Æthelbald,ÆthelbertandÆthelred.FamilyIn868,AlfredmarriedEalhswith,daughterofaMercian麦西亚nobleman.Ealhswith'smother,Eadburh,wasamemberoftheMercianroyalfamily.Theyhadfiveorsixchildrentogether.AmapoftheroutetakenbytheGreatHeathenArmythatarrivedinEnglandin865.继承王位（继承了他第三个兄长的王位，为以后的叔侄关系埋下了隐患）兄终弟及的继承制度InApril871,KingÆthelreddied,andAlfredsucceededtothethroneofWessexandtheburdenofitsdefence,despitethefactthatÆthelredlefttwounder-agesons.GiventheongoingDanishinvasionandtheyouthofhisnephews,Alfred’ssuccessionprobablywentuncontested.TensionsbetweenAlfredandhisnephews,however,wouldariselaterinhisreign.KingatwarEarlystruggles,defeatandflightCounterattackandvictoryFurtherVikingattacksrepelledEarlystruggles,defeatandflight早期的斗争、失败和流亡AlfredtheGreatplotsthecaptureoftheDanishfleet.Whilehewasbusywiththeburialceremoniesforhisbrother,theDanes丹麦人defeatedtheEnglishinhisabsenceatanunnamedspot,andthenagaininhispresenceatWiltoninMay.ThedefeatatWiltonsmashedanyremaininghopethatAlfredcoulddrivetheinvadersfromhiskingdom.Hewasforced,instead,to‘makepeace’withthem.Thesourcesdonottellwhatthetermsofthepeacewere.Forthenextfiveyears,theDanesoccupiedotherpartsofEngland.In876undertheirnewleader,Guthrum,theDanesslippedpasttheEnglisharmyandattackedandoccupiedWarehaminDorset.AlfredblockadedthembutwasunabletotakeWarehambyassault.Accordingly,henegotiatedapeacewhichinvolvedanexchangeofhostagesandoaths,whichtheDanessworeonaholyringassociatedwiththeworshipofThor.TheDanes,however,broketheirwordand,afterkillingallthehostages,slippedawayundercoverofnighttoExeterinDevon.There,Alfredblockadedthem,andwitharelieffleethavingbeenscatteredbyastorm,theDaneswereforcedtosubmit.TheywithdrewtoMercia,but,inJanuary878,madeasuddenattackonChippenham,aroyalstrongholdinwhichAlfredhadbeenstayingoverChristmas,“andmostofthepeopletheykilled,excepttheKingAlfred,andhewithalittlebandmadehiswaybywoodandswamp,andafterEasterhemadeafort（涉水）atAthelneyinthemarshesofSomerset,andfromthatfortkeptfightingagainstthefoe”.Fromhisfort,Alfredwasabletomountaneffectiveresistancemovement,rallyingthelocalmilitias（民兵）fromSomerset,WiltshireandHampshire.870wasthelow-watermarkinthehistoryoftheAnglo-Saxonkingdoms.WithalltheotherkingdomshavingfallentotheVikings（斯堪的纳维亚）,Wessexalonewasstillresisting.870年是整个盎格鲁撒克逊社会的低谷期，几乎所有的英格兰王国均陷入丹麦人手，只有威塞克斯依然在坚持抵抗。Counterattackandvictory崛起878年春，他重整旗鼓，在艾丁顿（Edington)大败丹麦军队。这次胜利成为战争的转折点。丹麦人的领袖接受了基督教，从威塞克斯撤退，并同意维持永久和平。然而还是有其他丹麦人拒绝言和。在与他们战斗时，阿尔弗雷德将自己的权威扩展到了英格兰的北部和东部。886年，他占领了伦敦。伦敦在那时就是不列颠重要的一个城市。之后不久，他签订了新的和约，不列颠南部以及西南部的大部分地区从此收归他的统治。为了进一步扩张自己的影响，他将女儿埃塞尔弗列德（Ethelfled，约869～918年)嫁给北部的麦西亚国王，从此与麦西亚结盟。英格兰的其他地区——实行丹麦法律的地区——丹麦法区仍然在丹麦人的控制之下，除此之外，基本上都在一个国王的统治之下了。IntheseventhweekafterEaster[4–10May878],aroundWhitsuntide,Alfredrodeto‘Egbert'sStone’eastofSelwood,wherehewasmetbyallthepeopleofSomersetandofWiltshireandofthatpartofHampshirewhichisonthissideofthesea[thatis,westofSouthamptonWater],andtheyrejoicedtoseehim.Alfred’semergencefromhismarshlandstrongholdwaspartofacarefullyplannedoffensivethatentailedraisingthefyrdsofthreeshires.Thismeantnotonlythatthekinghadretainedtheloyaltyofealdormen,royalreevesandking’sthegns(whowerechargedwithlevyingandleadingtheseforces),butthattheyhadmaintainedtheirpositionsofauthorityintheselocalitieswellenoughtoanswerhissummonstowar.Alfred’sactionsalsosuggestafinelyhonedsystemofscoutsandmessengers.AlfredwonadecisivevictoryintheensuingBattleofEthandun艾丁顿战役.HethenpursuedtheDanestotheirstrongholdatChippenhamandstarvedthemintosubmission.KingAlfred'sTowerItisonthesupposedsiteofEgbert'sStone,themusteringplacebeforetheBattleofEthandun.FurtherVikingattacksrepelledAfteranotherlull,intheautumnof892or893,theDanesattackedagain.FindingtheirpositioninmainlandEuropeprecarious,theycrossedtoEnglandin330shipsintwodivisions.Adirectatt