The youngest son of à thelwulf, king of Wessex, Alfred, was born in the town of Wanating in the year 849. Known more for his intellect than his strength, Alfred improved his country's legal system and military during his reign, which lasted from 871-899. He rose to the throne after all of his older brothers died, and during the lowest point in the history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Wessex was the last of these kingdoms, the rest having fallen to the viking hordes. During the first years of his rule, Alfred was defeated by the invading Danes and was forced to make peace with them.
After five years, that peace was broken by the Danes, and, after a few small victories, Alfred's army was destroyed at Chippenham, near Christmas time. With only a small group remaining, Alfred escaped and built a fortress at Athelny, in the marshes of Somerset. In 878 Alfred rode from his fort, raising an army. This year brought a decisive end to the invasion when men of Wessex laid seige to the Danish stronghold of Chippenham.
The terms of surrender involved the Danes leaving Wessex, had their leader, Guthrum, convert to Christianity, and gave Alfred the city of London. A formal treaty was written in 879, which laid the river Thames as the boundry between the kingdoms of Alfred and Guthrum. There were no major conflicts for a good while, and in 886 Alfred began to improve the city of London. In 892, after the death of Guthrum, the Danes attacked once more, hoing to colonize the lands of Wessex. Alfred successfully repelled the invasion and defeated the Danes by 897.
These successess were due improved strategies, as the wars before 878 made Alfred realize his inherited battle strategies were weak agaist the Danish tactics. After his victories, his military and legal reforms, and after gaining the support of the northern British celts, Alfred died at the age of 50 in 899, the first man to be known as the King of England.

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