Alfred was born in 849 at the royal palace in Wantage. He became king in 871 and died in 899. He had four older brothers who all ruled as king before he did. As a boy of four he accompanied his father Aethelwulf on a pilgrimage to Rome. By 870 Northumberland, East Anglia and Mercia has all fallen to the Vikings. Wessex was the only Anglo-Saxon kingdom to hold out against the Vikings. In 870 Alfred and his brother Aethelred fought nine battles against the Vikings. In 879 Alfred won a decisive victory against the Vikings at Edington. After defeating Guthrum the Dane, Alfred made him convert to Christianity and then adopted Guthrum as his foster son. In 886 he recaptured London and set about renovating the city. Alfred's fortified towns or burhs formed the basis of the English system of boroughs and shires. Alfred believed that all free born English boys should receive an education and he set up a school at his court to educate his sons, as well as those of the nobles and others of lesser birth.
