Alfred the Great’s battles with the Vikings

Poor Alfred. The not-insignificant achievements of one of the most important Saxon kings have, largely thanks to primary school history lessons, never got much of a look-in when it comes to the nation’s collective knowledge of him. Instead, he’s often regarded as little more than a forgetful monarch, on account of his limited culinary expertise.

That he’s simply remembered as someone who, perhaps, allowed some cakes to burn is an injustice. For starters, it ignores the context of the