Al ‧ fred the Great /ˌælfrəd ðə ˈɡreɪt, ˌælfrɪd ðə ˈɡreɪt/ BrE AmE
(849–899) king of Wessex (871–899), the southwestern part of England. At this time, the rest of England was mostly controlled by Danes (=people from Denmark), and Alfred fought against them to win back English land. He is usually considered to be the first king of England.