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Alfred
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Alfred the Great Illustration of Alfred the Great of Wessex wearing a helmet and blue cloak, sitting on a saddled horse and looking over a river landscape. Engraving depicting King Alfred seated and holding a book while visiting a monastery school, surrounded by monks and children standing in rows. Statue of Alfred the Great in Wantage, England, showing the king standing with a sword and scroll, wearing a cloak and helmet against a partly cloudy sky.
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Alfred the Great
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Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles.
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King George V of Britain, c. 1910, shortly after his accession to the throne
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Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great, king of Wessex.

Alfred

king of Wessex
Also known as: Aelfred, Alfred the Great
Written by
Dorothy Whitelock
Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, University of Cambridge, 1957ā€“69. A leading authority on Anglo-Saxon England. Author of Beginnings of English Society; editor of English Historical...
Dorothy Whitelock
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Alfred (born 849ā€”died 899) was the king of Wessex (871ā€“899), a Saxon kingdom in southwestern England. He prevented England from falling to the Danes and promoted learning and literacy. Compilation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle began during his reign, circa 890. When he was born, it must have seemed unlikely that Alfred would become king, since he had four older brothers; he said that he never desired royal power. Perhaps a scholarā€™s life would have contented...

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