ALFRED THE GREAT 



183 



ALGAE 



assassination, the first attack taking place on 

 his wedding day. Alfonso is a patron of sports 



ALFONSO, KING OF SPAIN 



of all kinds, and often has to be dissuaded 

 from participating in dangerous pastimes. 



ALFRED THE GREAT (849-901), one of 

 the greatest popular heroes the world has ever 

 produced, of whom it has been said that of all 

 the monarchs to whom the title Great has been 

 given, no other deserves it in point of char- 

 acter as does Alfred. Much legend has gath- 

 ered about his name, but the outlines of his 

 real history are well known. He was the 

 youngest son of Ethelwulf, who reigned over 

 the West Saxons from 836 to 858. Alfred came 

 to the throne in S71. and found the country 

 in a desperate state, owing to the inroads of 



ines. He made a truer with them and 



1 thmi to turn their attention to the 

 other provinces of Britain, but it was not long 

 before they renewed hostilities, and so suc- 

 cessful were then attacks that Alfred fled to 

 the hills and woods for safety. One familiar 

 legend tells how, during this period of hiding. 

 he took refuge in a peasant's hut. No one 

 recognized the king in this ragged and I 

 traveler, and the peasant's wife asked him 

 to tend the cakes which were baking before 

 the fire. Wrapped in thoughts of his kingdom, 



forgot the cakes, which were burned to 

 a crisp; and the peasant's wife, returning. 

 scolded the king severely and struck him over 

 the head. 



'v, having been joined by a band of 

 trusty followers, Alfred prepared, in May, 878, 

 to attack the Danish army under Guthrum at 

 Kdmgdon. It is said that two or three days 



the battle he entered the Danish camp 



disguised as a harper and gained all the infor- 

 mation desired respecting the strength and 

 position of the enemy, but this legend is gener- 

 ally discredited. In the battle that followed, 

 the Danes were utterly defeated; Guthrum and 

 his followers accepted Christianity and were 

 assigned territory north of Wessex. Alfred 

 afterward ceded to them the eastern portion 

 or Mercia, which became known as the Dane- 

 lagh. Alfred was now the ruler of nearly all 

 England, though never recognized by title as 

 such. 



Years of Peace. During the period of peace 

 which followed, he rebuilt cities and fortresses 

 and improved his fleet. Ships were stationed 

 at intervals along the coast to guard against 

 invasion, and were often useful in repelling tin 

 renewed attacks of the Danes. Alfred also 

 established a regular militia, which was able 

 to protect the several parts of the kingdom 

 without leaving any district defenseless. He 

 made a code of laws which served as the basis 

 of later codes, and promoted trade and com- 

 merce. His last years were passed in peace. 

 He was succeeded by his son, Edward the 

 Elder. 



The selfish ambition and cruelty which have 

 stained the characters of other great rulers are 

 not recorded in the life of Alfred the Great. 

 In the making and administration of laws, in 

 his careful oversight of the courts of justice, 

 in his promotion of the arts of peace, he had 

 the welfare of his subjects ever in view. Of 

 his military genius, the record of obstacles 

 overcome is sufficient witness He was in be- 

 lief and in practice a devout Christian. Alfred 

 is conspicuous for the patronage he gave to 

 letters, and his own learning and industrious 

 scholarship are most remarkable. To bring 

 knowledge within reach of his subjects 

 translated Bede's Ecclesiastical History of Eng- 

 land, Gregory's Pastoral Rule and Boethius's 

 Consolations of Philosophy, from Latin into 

 Anglo-Saxon, adding much of his own com- 

 position. Alfred represents all that is greatest 

 and best in the early Christian civilization of 

 the West, and was the herald of centuries far 

 removed from him in point of time. A.MCC. 



I ..! map <f the dominions >f Alfred the Great, 

 ee ENGLAND. For a more extended account of 

 him, see Snell's Age of Alf.i 



ALGAE, aV jc, a Latin word which means 



seaweed, and which has been adopted without 



change as the name for such water-dwellers 



among plants as do not derive any nourish - 



it through their roots. Some of ih'-m live 



