Wessex summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Wessex.

Wessex, Ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, southern England. Its area approximated that of the counties of Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Berkshire, and Avon. Its capital was Winchester. The kingdom is traditionally thought to have been founded by Saxon invaders of Britain c. 494. Wessex conquered Kent and Sussex, and in the 9th century, under King Alfred the Great, it prevented the Danes from conquering England south of the Danelaw. By 927 Wessex had reconquered the Danelaw, and Alfred’s grandson, Athelstan, had become king of all England; thereafter all kings of Wessex were kings of England. The region figures prominently in legends of King Arthur (see Arthurian legend), and the designation “Wessex” was used by Thomas Hardy to represent the region of southwestern England in which he set his works of fiction.

England Summary

England, predominant constituent unit of the United Kingdom, occupying more than half of the island of Great Britain. Outside the British Isles, England is often erroneously considered synonymous with the island of Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and even with the entire United

United Kingdom Summary

United Kingdom, island country located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe. The United Kingdom comprises the whole of the island of Great Britain—which contains England, Wales, and Scotland—as well as the northern portion of the island of Ireland. The name Britain is sometimes used to

Alfred Summary

Alfred was the king of Wessex (871–899), a Saxon kingdom in southwestern England. He prevented England from falling to the Danes and promoted learning and literacy. Compilation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle began during his reign, circa 890. When he was born, it must have seemed unlikely that Alfred