It is for his defence of his kingdom against a stronger enemy, for

securing peace with the Vikings and for his farsighted reforms in the
reconstruction of Wessex and beyond, that Alfred - alone of all the
English kings and queens - is known as 'the Great'.
How did Alfred improve the army?
To help protect his kingdom from Viking attacks, Alfred built forts
and walled towns known as 'burhs'. He also built warships to guard
the coast from raiders and organised his army into two parts. While
half the men were at home on their farms, the rest were ready to
fight Vikings.
 In the 9th Century, the Vikings tried to take over England. They
invaded Wessex and Mercia. There was a bloody war but, eventually,
the Saxon King Alfred won. The Vikings went home.
 Alfred wanted his people to be safe from Viking attacks. So he set up
'Burghs' all over Wessex.
 The word 'Burgh' is the same as 'Bury' or 'Borough'. It means a
defended place. It still exists in placenames like Edinburgh.
 Alfred's Burghs were forts with strong defences. People from the
countryside could run to safety inside them when the Vikings attacked.
o Some were built inside old hillforts, like Chisbury (in Wiltshire).
o Some were built in old Romano-British towns, like Winchester (in
Hampshire).
o Some were built around villages, like Wareham (in Dorset). They
were often at river-crossings.
o Some were built on islands, like Sashes Island at Cookham (in
Berkshire).
 The King's men built big banks and dug deep ditches all around the
burghs. They put strong wooden walls on top of the banks.
 The Burghs had a permanent garrison (a group of soldiers who
defended a single place).
 Some burghs had grids of streets laid out and they became busy
towns. There would have been lots of industry (making things) going
on, like dyeing cloth and grinding corn (to make bread).
 Some burghs were quite empty inside. This meant there was plenty of
room for people when they had to run and hide there.
 The King used them as centres of local government. Royal officials
lived there. They would collect taxes there and mint coins (make
 money). Often, the burghs were used as big market-places. There was
often a church at one of the gateways.
 Alfred's son, King Edward the Elder, built lots more burghs in Wessex.
His sister, Princess Aethelflaed, built them in Mercia too. The picture is
of the gateway at Tamworth (in Staffordshire).
 The Vikings didn't attack much anymore though. Most of the burghs
weren't used in the way that had been planned. Lots of people moved
in and they soon became big towns.
The Norman Conquest was an important event in English history. It happened in 1066, when
the ruler of Normandy—an area in northern France—conquered England. This ruler is now
known as William the Conqueror. No enemy since his time has invaded England successfully.

At the Battle of Hastings, William, duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold II to win the English
throne. The battle took place on October 14, 1066. It marked the beginning of the Norman
Conquest of England.

Rivals for the Crown

When King Edward the Confessor died on January 5, 1066, three men claimed the right to be
the next king of England. They were Harald Hardrada (the king of Norway), William (the duke of
Normandy, a region of France), and Harold (the earl of Wessex in England).
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres (230 feet) long and 50 centimetres
(20 inches) tall that depicts the events leading up to the

The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of the events surrounding the conquest of England in 1066
by the Duke of Normandy.

The Bayeux Tapestry is an important historical 11th Century embroidered cloth that gives information
about one of the most famous battles in English history that occured in 1066 - The Battle of Hastings.
Measuring twenty inches high and almost 230 feet in length, the Bayeux Tapestry commemorates a
struggle for the throne of England between William, the Duke of Normandy, and Harold, the Earl of
Wessex The tapestry itself contains about 50 different scenes. One researcher studying the tapestry
counted 626 human figures, 202 horses, 55 dogs, and 505 other animals. Some of these animals are
creatures that came from mythological sources. In addition to these creatures, the tapestry also includes
37 fortresses or buildings, 41 ships, and 49 trees. It also shows numerous weapons, clothes, and farming
equipment.

In the years between Alfred The Great's death and 1066 there was still much tension and fighting
between the Saxons and the Vikings. Some of the key battles that took place during this period are

Battle of Brunanburh: The Battle of Brunanburh was a West Saxon victory in 937 by the army of king
Athelstan(Alfred's grandson) and his brother Edmund over the combined armies of Olaf III Guthfrithson,
Viking king of Dublin, Constantine, king of Scotland and King Owain of Strathclyde. King Athelstan would
eventually go on to conquer the last Viking strongholds at York, making him the first True Anglo Saxon
king of all of England.

Battle of Maldon: The Battle of Maldon (991AD) took place on the shores of the River Blackwater in
Essex. There was a heroic stand by the Anglo-Saxons against the Viking invasion which ended in utter
defeat for Brithnoth and his men.

The Three Kings

In 1066 the King of England, Edward the Confessor, died. Unfortunately, Edward did not have any
children and there wasn't a logical choice for the next king of England. Three men all claimed to be the
rightful heir to the crown for different reasons.

King Harald Hardrada of Norway - Before King Edward, England had been ruled by the Scandinavian King
Cnut the Great. When Cnut died, he left England to Edward. Since Edward didn't have any children, King
Hardrada thought that England should once again belong to Norway and that he should be the rightful
King of England.

Earl Harold Godwinson of England - Earl Harold was King Edward's brother-in-law. He was also one of
the most powerful men in England. He felt that he should be crowned king.
Duke William of Normandy - William of Normandy had a family relationship to King Edward. He also
claimed that Edward had promised him the throne.

The first of the three men to act was Earl Harold Godwinson. He was the obvious choice for the English
nobles and they crowned him King Harold II immediately after the death of King Edward. However,
neither King Hardrada nor William of Normandy were going to let Harold have the crown without a
fight.

Battle of Stamford Bridge: King Hardrada of Norway gathered his forces and invaded England from the
north in September of 1066. The English marshaled their own army and King Harold II met the
Norwegians at Stamford Bridge on September 25, 1066. The fighting was fierce with both sides losing
over 5,000 soldiers. However, King Harold II came out victorious. He defeated the Norwegians and King
Hardrada was killed in the battle.

Battle of Hastings: Harold and the English had little time to celebrate their victory as William of
Normandy led his army across the English Channel only a few days after the Battle of Stamford. He set
up his army at the city of Hastings, where he built a wooden castle. King Harold marched his army south
to meet the Normans. The two forces met at the top of Senlac Hill on October 14, 1066. The two sides
fought all day. Both sides had about the same number of soldiers, but William had the advantage of
having more archers and cavalry. Eventually William's army won the battle when King Harold was killed
by an arrow.

William continued to march towards London. The English were still resisting his rule. They even elected
another man, Edgar, as king. William would not be denied, however. He fought and won a few more
battles along the way and reached London in late December. The English leaders finally admitted defeat
and crowned William King of England on December 25, 1066.