Good and Wise Rule

In the 9th century, England was by and large a series of medieval fiefdoms. Most rulers were kings of relatively small areas and fought skirmishes with one another, occasionally uniting to repel a greater foe. Many were petty tyrants or vicious landlords, often oppressing their subjects. King Alfred the Great aspired to be different. He was raised with the ideal of kings of old that had ruled well and wisely and wanted his reign to be modeled after theirs.

For Alfred, his two tasks were to defend his realm and promote the common good of his kingdom. Towards completing his tasks, Alfred fortified Wessex and surrounding areas by building a series of burhs, towns that functions as forts and defensive bases for English forces as well as centers for launching offensives against local Viking holdings. He also made an attempt to build something of a...