Alfred the Great :
London's forgotten
king
8
September 1999 to 9 January 2000
King Alfred died in 899, the only English monarch to be known as
'the Great'. This year, 1100 years on, the Museum of London is staging
an exhibition to celebrate Alfred's legacy to citizens of modern
London.
To many people Alfred is 'the king who burned the cakes'. Alfred
the Great: London's forgotten king gives the wider picture. It shows
how Alfred earned this title, how he successfully resisted the Viking
invasions, heralded a revival of learning and the rule of law, and
how his policies led to the political and cultural unification of
England.
At the time of Alfred's birth in 849 most of England south of the
Humber consisted of two large Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Wessex and Mercia.
The power of the kingdom of Wessex extended from Cornwall to Essex.
Alfred's father Ethelwulf was the king of Wessex, and a descendant
of Cerdic, the legendary 6th-century founder of the West Saxon royal
house. While Alfred was growing up, relations between the West Saxons
of Wessex and the Mercians improved dramatically in the face of
common enemies, the Welsh and the Vikings.
As the youngest of five brothers Alfred did not expect to become
king, but in 871, after the deaths of his father and older brothers,
Alfred found himself king of Wessex at the age of 22. He faced Viking
raids and invasions from Denmark. Alfred fled into hiding in Athelney,
an island in the Somerset marshes from where he carried on guerrilla
warfare against the invaders. He summoned the loyal West Saxon forces
together and led them to victory at Edington, near Chippenham. Alfred
made peace with the Danes and they finally left Wessex.
Alfred the Great: London's forgotten king charts Alfred's extraordinary
life through fine Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, weapons, coins, metalwork
and jewellery. The Saxon
town of Lundenwic, in today's Strand-Covent Garden area had been
abandoned after Viking raids. In 886 Alfred founded a new town inside
the old Roman city walls. This is the first opportunity for the
public to see many of the finds from recent archaeological excavations
in Saxon London which have dramatically changed our understanding
of Alfred's crucial role in the history of London.
And did he really burn the cakes?
Come
and see Alfred the Great : London's forgotten king and find out.
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