Alfred the Great (848 - 899) was a king in West Saxon and then the first king of the Anglo-Saxons, king of Britain. He spent his early career fighting Viking invasions, until in 878 he won a decisive victory against them, and then personally oversaw the conversion of the Viking leader to Christianity. He left a legacy for being gracious, rational, peaceable, and generally working to improve the overall quality of people''s lives. This biography was composed by Asser (d. 909), a Welsh monk and later bishop.-Print ed.