St. Alfred, the Great King of England

Alfred was the youngest of five children and not expected to become the King of England. Because of this, his education was not largely focused on. He was not expected to become a King. He even desired to become a monastic and sought after a monastic life from an early age because his succession to the throne seemed unlikely. Yet at the age of five, Alfred was sent to the Pope of Rome where he was received with royal dignity and given the vestment of the Roman consulate. Alfred, living after the time of Charlemagne, would have been considered a resident of the Western Roman Empire through England's alliance with the Franks. It was not until he was twelve that he taught himself to read. His mother presented a book of English poetry to her sons and promised to give it to the first person who could learn to read it. Alfred was attracted to the beauty of the book so much that he began studying its contents and, learning from his teacher, began to learn to read. When one considers how intellectually influential the King became in England, this detail of his life, that he was unable to read for so long a period, seems almost remarkable. Especially given his overall resume of works that he translated!

Alfred was born to King Aethelwulf and his wife Queen Judith. In the year 855 A.D., his older brother Aethelbald seized the throne of England as Absalom once did the throne of Israel from his father David. Though the people would have been more than happy to see Aethelwulf restored to the throne when he had finally returned from visiting Rome, it was not the wish of Aethelwulf to see his son punished so. Aethelwulf allowed the King Aethelbald to continue ruling though the people would never refer to Judith as the Queen for the scandalous nature in which Aethelbald had proclaimed his own mother as his wife. Instead, the people referred to her as the "King's wife". Aethelwulf would repose two years after his return from Rome and Aethelbald would repose in 860 A.D., in the twelfth year of Alfred's life. Aethelbehrt succeeded his brother and it was then that England would experience numerous raids from Viking armies. These raids would end up changing the course of the young Alfred's life forever.

Aethelbehrt would crush the Viking forces, causing them to flee. But after five years, Aethelbehrt would go the way of all flesh. Alfred's brother Aethelstan had reposed some time in between. Aethelred would assume the Kingdom and Alfred would find himself second in line for the throne as more Vikings would raid England. He would fight alongside his brother, Aethelred, pushing the Vikings back, sometimes losing battles. But Alfred's life was now fully occupied by military campaigns against the Vikings as they ravaged the various parts of England. It was in 871, after Easter, that Aethelred would repose and Alfred would assume full reign over the English government. Alfred pushed the Vikings back but the fighting with the Danish Pagans would resume in 875. In 878, the Danish King Gunthram amassed a large assault upon Wessex. Alfred and his men were cornered. It was at this time, before the Great Battle of Edington, that St. Neot would appear in a dream to St. Alfred promising him victory. So likewise, a strange figure showed up at the fortress of St. Alfred. A beggar, asking for rations, St. Alfred retained full generosity not knowing who the beggar was. He gave the last supply of rations to this beggar. The next day, the rations were restored. The beggar, being none other than St. Cuthbert himself. The Battle of Edington was a decisive victory for the Anglo-Saxons and Gunthram embraced Christianity, being baptized with St. Alfred as his godfather.

From this point on, the Danish occupation of England was broken and Danish military forces would begin to be slowly driven out from England. St. Alfred would unify all of England through their common Christian creed and he would begin to set up institutions of education throughout all of England. Alfred, having regretted his lack of education growing up, sought to build up the university system in England and founded the University of Oxford. He also compiled different translations of the Psalms, he translated Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, different parts of Pope Gregory I's Book of Pastoral Care and Dialogues, and St. Augustine's Solioquies. In a compilation of religious and classical works that the saint made known as Blooms, he wrote:

"Therefore he seems to me a very foolish man, and very wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world, and ever wish and long to reach that endless life, where all shall be made clear."

He commissioned the writing of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and The Anglo-Saxon Martyrology. He also wrote many numerous laws for his country, much like St. Justinian was a lawgiver for the Romans, St. Alfred was a lawgiver for the English.

St. Alfred was a pious, righteous, and devout King. One area of his life that he struggled with was his burning sexual passion. In order to fight these carnal desires, he would get up early from his sleep and visit the sites of churches, relics, and would venerate the holy icons of numerous saints and martyrs, until these desires finally would cease. Though on his wedding day, he would be inflicted with yet another illness of the flesh. St. Alfred would continue to be inflicted with illnesses throughout his life, but he bore all with humility and penitence. He built England up from ruin, uniting all under one ruler, drove out the Vikings, converted Pagans, and established learning in England. St. Alfred is the only English King to have been given the epithet, "the Great", and he truly was a great King.

His concluding prayer of his translation of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, is the appropriate place to end.

"Lord God Almighty, maker and ruler of all creatures, I beseech You on behalf of Your mighty mercy, and through the sign of the Holy Cross, and through St. Mary's maidenhood, and through St. Michael's obedience, and through the love and merits of all Your saints, that You guide me better than I have done towards You; and direct me according to Your will and my soul's need better than I myself am able; and strengthen my mind to Your will and to my soul's need, and confirm me against the devil's temptations; and keep far from me foul lust and all iniquity; and protect me from my enemies visible and invisible; and teach me to perform Your will, that I may inwardly love You before all things with pure thought and clean body, for You are my Creator and Redeemer, my sustenance, my consolation, my trust and my hope. Praise and Glory be to You now and forever, world without end. Amen."

Alfred reposed October 26, 899, entering into eternal glory.

See also:

James Thornton, Pious Kings and Right-Believing Queens

Asser, Life of King Alfred