Through Alfred, England got something it hadn't had since the legions departed: An authentic vision of a realm governed by law and education, a realm which, since Alfred commissioned a translation of Bede into Anglo-Saxon, understood its past and its special destiny as the western bastion of a Christian Roman world. But first, he had to win those battles. He took the throne of Wessex at a time when, despite a recent victory, the collapse of his kingdom seemed all but imminent, and with it the entirety of Anglo-Saxon England. It was here amidst the reeds of Athelney Island that the heroic legend of Alfred, fugitive on the run, finally turning the tide against his enemies was born.


阿尔弗雷德的统治，让英格兰重新成为自罗马军团撤离后就已消逝的一个真正用法律与教育治理的王国。阿尔弗雷德命人将比德的著作翻译成古英语，让这个王国了解了自己的历史，和基督教罗马世界西方壁垒的特殊命运。但首先，他必须取胜疆场。他加冕登上韦塞克斯王位之时，非但没有疆场捷报为其立威，而且他的王国乃至于整个盎格鲁-撒克逊英格兰都命悬一线。就在这里，阿塞尔内小岛的芦苇丛中，阿尔弗雷德大王败北逃亡仅以身免，最终却扭转乾坤大败丹麦的传奇由此开始。