One of the pivotal figures of history and the proto-English King. Without Alfred, no England.

Not really an english monarch as there was no such country at the time of his reign. His kingdom only covered a portion of the country.

Alfred could certainly be considered king of the english, as he was one of the first kings to unite the remaining English kingdoms against the Viking invaders; though he couldn't be considered a British King, he was definately English- or Aenglish.

Remarkable king, and remarkable man, one of the truly interesting figures in world history. And on a note to sfalconer, why don't you try reading or understanding history before exposing the vast gulf of your ignorance by commenting on it.

The legend goes, Alfred once stopped by a cottage asking for a night's comfort. He was given lodging by the good lady, provided he watch her cakes from burning. Lost in his thoughts about how to turn back the Danish invaders, Alfred forgot the cakes. The good lady's husband came home to find his wife chastizing the King of England.

England was England before the Normans came. Alfred was of the old lineage and a truly remarkable person.

Truly the greatest monarch in English history. The danes drove his Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex into a tiny resistance in the swamps of of the south west. --- For those not versed in English folklore let me tell you the story of King Alfred and the burnt cakes. It was said that when Alfred was hiding in the swamps he came upon the hut of a peasant woman, the woman asked him to watch her cakes which were cooking while she was out. Alfred fell asleep and when the woman came back the cakes were burnt to cinders. The woman was furious and she scolded Alfred and beat him out of the house with her broom. When the Kings men arrived she realized who she was dealing with, she fell to her knees and begged forgiveness. Alfred didn't even forgive her, he said that it was ok and she had every right to be angry with him. (of course this is folklore) --- Even though the Danes had pushed him and his followers into hiding in the cornish swamps, he still managed to push the pillaging danes back and ultimately defeated them and signed a treaty where the danes and the anglo-saxons could live in peace (hence danelaw). He encouraged exploration, and his intrepid adventurers explored as far as Greenland. He made a major investment in teaching people to read and built many monasteries. He mapped the lands under his control well and established roads and signposts which hugely helped the battered post-Roman empire British infrastructure. Overall Alfred left a legacy of being tough but very fair minded, peaceful, intelligent and tolerant and showed the sort of class that leaders hundreds of years later would struggle to match.