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Alfred Biography

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About 12 pages (3,468 words)
Alfred the Great Summary

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Name: Alfred
Variant Name: Alfred the Grea
Birth Date: 849
Death Date: 899
Place of Birth: England
Place of Death: England
Nationality: English
Gender: Male
Occupations: king

Dictionary of Literary Biography on Alfred

Alfred the Great was one of England's most important kings; governing at a time of extreme instability, he stopped Viking invaders and started a process of cultural renewal. He was known as "the Great" by the thirteenth century, and his reputation has never waned. The veneration that began to surround him in the sixteenth century grew to extreme proportions in the Victorian era; but even when that hyperbole is discounted, Alfred remains uniquely important as the king who began unifying England as a nation and simultaneously created the framework for national literature in the vernacular. Alfred is ranked as the preeminent English author of the ninth century; few writers of the Anglo-Saxon period influenced literary history more profoundly, and none equaled Alfred's political achievements.

Alfred ruled the kingdom of the West Saxons from 871 until his death in 899. He was born at Wantage, in Berkshire, in 849, the youngest son of King Æthelwulf.

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    Alfred
    The Anglo-Saxon Alfred (849-899), sometimes called Alfred the Great, was king of Wessex from 871 to... more

    Alfred
    (born 849—died 899) King of Wessex (871–99) in southwestern England. He joined his brot... more


     
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    Copyrights
    Allen J. Frantzen, Loyola University of Chicago. Alfred from Dictionary of Literary Biography. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.

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