Barbara Yorke

Why is Alfred "the Great?" A simple answer is that he has been seen as a man who saved England, invented English identity and pioneered English as a written language. He is the first Englishman for whom a biography survives, so we know more about Alfred and his ideals than we do for most people who lived over 1,000 years ago. A slightly longer answer would say that things are a bit more complicated, and that one reason Alfred seems to be so "great"...