Alfred The Great

Alfred the Great (849-899) was the king of Wessex between 871–899. He defeated the Danes who were threatening to overrun England, founded the first English navy and established his kingdom of Wessex in the south of England as a bastion of Anglo-Saxon civilization.
A devout Christian confirmed by the Pope in Rome, Alfred attended the New Minister Church in Winchester, which later became the medieval Hyde Abbey. He came to the throne during a period where the Christian culture of his kingdom was under threat from the Vikings. The new king believed that God was sending those northern heathens as a punishment for his subjects’ neglect of the study of the Bible. His understanding of kingship was based on the conviction that the role of the king is to be Christ’s deputy on Earth and that he is always under the judgement of God.After King Alfred defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington, he required their king, Guthrum, to be baptized and he himself stood as a godfather.
Alfred showed the benefits of forgiveness when the Viking leader Haestan broke an agreed peace and made a fortified camp at Benfleet. Arthur’s sons Edward and Ethelred stormed their camp and took Haestan’s wife and sons as captives. Arthur sent them back to him. Haestan never fought Alfred again.
Throughout his reign Alfred attempted to encourage his people to live by the Word of God. To help with this he had many Churches and Monasteries, which had been destroyed by the Vikings, rebuilt and the Gospels and many Psalms translated from Latin into English. He once said “there is only one foundation on which to build any kingdom and that is the sure foundation of Jesus Christ. It is on that foundation I will build my kingdom.”