Alfred the Great:

Alfred loved reading very much. When he was young, he earned a beautiful book from his mother because he learned to read before any of his six siblings. He sought out a teacher and learned Latin since most of the books of his time were written in Latin. During his spare time, he read and studied. He learned more that his siblings since he read more that them.

Alfred became king of the Saxons when he was twenty-three. All of his subjects loved him very much. His main enemy was Gunthrum, leader of the Danes. Gunthrum’s father had been killed by Saxons, and Gunthrum had sworn revenge. The Danes made most of their raids in the summer, and so the people were less on guard during the winter. But on January first in 878, Gunthrum, leader of the Danes summoned his army together. The Danes marched toward Gloucester, where Alfred was staying.

While Alfred was reading in his country house, his servant warned him about the approaching army. Alfred immediately fled into the woods near his villa. He had only a few followers with him and he had not gathered any supplies. He decided that his followers would be safer at the moment if they all separated. They left each other and Alfred stayed in the woods.

When Gunthrum came to Gloucester, he found that Alfred had escaped from him. He was annoyed that he could not take his revenge there, but he began to rule Alfred’s people. His men still made frequent raids on the countryside. The people did not like Gunthrum and they continued to be loyal to Alfred.

In the woods Alfred disguised himself as a peasant. He stayed with a poor peasant and his wife who did not know that he was their king. One day she even scolded him for letting the cakes burn that she had asked him to watch. He lived in the woods for a while where the Danes could not find him.

Then his faithful people secretly began to join him in the woods. He moved to an island in a swamp and built a bridge and a fort. More and more of the Saxons came to him and they were forced to raid a few farms to keep up their supplies. After some time, he had a large army around him and he felt that they could take on the Danes.

Disguised as a travelling minstrel, Alfred found the Danish camp. Gunthrum eagerly invited him to play his harp, which Alfred did very well. While he played, Alfred surveyed the situation of the army and decided the best way to attack. By the time that he left the enemy camp, he had thought up his attack plan.

Alfred rejoined his eager army and they set out to conquer their old enemies. They marched against the Danes and eventually forced them to surrender. The Danes were given some land, but they could not rule Alfred’s kingdom. Alfred loved his people and he kept up their trust in him.

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