to the “Burghal Hidage,” a document that dates from
the reign of Alfred’s son Edward. These places grew
into towns, many of which took the word burh in their
name, later modernized to bury and borough. However,
in either late 892 or early 893 (historians disagree about
the exact date), another Danish invasion took place.
More than 330 ships landed, in one wave at Appledore
and another under Hæsten at Milton in Kent. While
Alfred began to negotiate with Hæsten to surrender,
the other force at Appledore moved north; at Farnham
they were attacked by Alfred’s son Edward, who defeated
them and forced them to flee. In 893, defeated again at
Benfleet or Bemfleet, they joined forces with Hæsten’s
troops and marched to the Thames Valley, where they
were met at Buttington and defeated by forces under the
earls of Mercia, Somersetshire, and Wiltshire. A series of
small skirmishes continued, but for the Danes the war
was effectively over. It ended in either 896 or 897 with
the Danes simply ending the fight.
Alfred turned to administrative and scholarly pur-
suits. Along with creating the “burhs” to defend his
kingdom, he also formed a naval force, the beginnings
of the English navy. He was also a noted scholar: From
892 until his death seven years later, Alfred translated
at least five Latin works into English, including Pope
Gregory the Great’s Cura Pastoralis (Pastoral Care), The
Universal History of Orosius, and Bede’s Historia Ecclesi-
astica (Ecclesiastical History), among others. He wrote
the preface for Dialogues of Gregory, which was translated
by his friend Werferth, bishop of Worcester.
Alfred died on or about 26 October 899, al-
though the year is uncertain. Much of his life would
remain a mystery were it not for the writers of Asser
(Asserius Menevensis, d. 910), his main biographer, and
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, many of which describe in
glowing terms his numerous military victories. One of
the most important of the English kings, he is the only
one to bear the title “the Great.” Historian John Peddie
writes in his life of Alfred: “Afflicted by poor health for
most of his life, Alfred nonetheless showed unflagging
energy as a warrior, administrator, scholar and educator.
He was remarkable for both his extraordinary range of
interests and his wisdom. In battle he was faced by the
Danish invaders and the real threat of Viking supremacy
in England. With the help of the first Royal Navy, which
he founded with minimal resources, the invaders were
eventually repelled. Anglo-Saxon hegemony was was
preserved—for a while—and Alfred survived to found
an English monarchy which, under his son and grand-
son, saw most of modern England united under one
crown.” His son Edward, known as Edward the Elder,
succeeded him to the throne.References: Peddie, John, Alfred: Warrior King (Glouces-
tershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1999); Keynes, Simon,
and Michael Lapidge, trans., Alfred the Great: Asser’s Life
of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources (London:
Penguin Books, 1983); “Extracts from King Alfred’s
Works,” in English Historical Documents, ca. 500–1042,
edited by Dorothy Whitelock (London: Eyre & Spottis-
woode, 1955), 844–46.Allenby, Edmund Henry Hynman, first
viscount Allenby of Megiddo (1861–1936)
British field marshal
Born on 23 April 1861 in the village of Felixstowe, En-
gland, at Brackenhurst, his grandfather’s estate, Edmund
Allenby was educated at Haileybury College, north of
London, and at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.
He was then sent to serve with the Inniskilling Dra-
goons, stationed in what are now modern-day Botswana
and South Africa, and saw action with British troops
during the Boer War (1899–1902). He subsequently
moved on to various cavalry commands before he was
named inspector of cavalry in 1910.
When the First World War broke out in 1914, Al-
lenby commanded a cavalry division of the British Ex-
peditionary Force (BEF) on the western front in France.
Following the first battle of Ypres (14 October–11 No-
vember 1915), he was promoted to commander of the
Third British Army, which, in April 1917, played a key
role in the battle of Arras (4–11 April 1917). That same
year, Allenby showed great military skill at the second
battle of Leper, as well as at the taking of Vimy Ridge,
and he was promoted to the rank of general.
In June 1917, the British, in an attempt to control
the Middle East, sent Allenby to what was then Palestine
(now modern Israel). A series of skirmishes against the
Turkish forces occupying the area had been unsuccess-
ful, and Allenby was sent to command British forces to
end the Turkish occupation. He arrived in Egypt, where,
he stated, he would “take Jerusalem by Christmas.” Re-
placing Sir Archibald Murray, Allenby found the British
forces in a state of disarray. He immediately set about
reorganizing the troops into an army composed of some Allenby, eDmunD henRy hynmAn, FiRSt viScount Allenby oF megiDDo