Alfred the Great ( 848 or 849 in Wantage Oxfordshire 26 October 899) from 871 King of the
West Saxons (Wessex) and about 886 from the Anglo-Saxons. He was the youngest of the five sons
of the late 858 West Saxon King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburga. His special importance
for the English history is that after a successful defense of the Vikings he created the basis
for a unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms under the hegemony of Wessex and promoted the Old
English language and literature.
