Painting of Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great

Vikings quiz - week two. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A memorial tomb to King Æthelstan, in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire. (Photo by Geography Photos/UIG via Getty Images)

If King Alfred was great, was Æthelstan even greater?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sæberht of Essex, who oversaw the building of London’s original church of St Paul’s (Photo by The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo)

How to survive the Dark Ages in Britain: 6 crucial tips. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This statue of Alfred the Great stands in Winchester, the former 'capital' of his kingdom (Photo by TonyBaggett via Getty Images)

What if...Alfred the Great lost to the Vikings at the battle of Edington?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Alfred the Great “managed to ensure history’s enduring affection by making sure that he wrote it himself,” argues Max Adams. (Photo by Granger Historical Picture Archive/Alamy Stock Photo)

Alfred the Great: "He was an excellent king, but that's not the whole story". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The man who made King Alfred great. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Alfred the Great (849–899). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Who was King Alfred the Great?

Statue of King Alfred the Great in leafy Trinity Church Square, Southwark. It is thought to be the oldest statue in London.

Q&AWhat’s the oldest statue in London?

A rare jewelled late Medieval cluster brooch,

Unburied treasures. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hamo Thornycroft's 1901 statue of King Alfred the Great in Winchester. (Photo by RDImages/Epics/Getty Images)

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #12: secrets of the famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicles

Stained glass window of King Alfred the Great

Exclusive podcastThe Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Painting of Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great and Edington: how the King of Wessex became great

Timothy Innes as King Edward and Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred

Who were the key players in the struggle to succeed Alfred the Great?

'The Last Kingdom' season 4 episode 1

The Last Kingdom S4 E1 review: will Alfred’s legacy come tumbling down?

'The Last Kingdom' season 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E2 review: winds of change and dramatic father-son relations

A Viking sword with silver and gold hilt, from Dyback, Skane. (Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images)

How England rode the Viking storm. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

British author Bernard Cornwell, author of 'The Last Kingdom'

Bernard Cornwell on writing historical fiction and his blockbuster series The Last Kingdom: your questions answered. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Heck cows, the result of Nazi breeding experiments. Seven Heck cows had to be put down in January 2015 after they tried, on multiple occasions, to attack Devon farmer Derek Gow. (Photo by Jim Wileman/Alamy Stock Photo)

Nazi super-cows and defamed Gods: 7 strange and forgotten moments in history

Alfred the Great and science at Christmas. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The undignified fates of the bodies of Anglo-Saxon kings in the medieval period

Michael Wood on Alfred the Great. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hamo Thornycroft's 1901 statue of King Alfred the Great in Winchester. (Photo by RDImages/Epics/Getty Images)

Alfred the Great: do we overplay his 'greatness'?

View across the river Clyde to Dumbarton Rock and the medieval Dumbarton Castle. (Photo by Martin W Holt via Getty Images)

History explorer: Alfred and the Vikings. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Bernard Cornwell on his novels. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

ilver penny of King Alfred

The real Alfred the Great