1-152-170 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

King Alfred burning the cakes, 878 (1864). Legend has it that Alfred (849-899), offered shelter from the Danes by a woman at Athelney in the Somerset marshes, allowed her cakes burn because he became distracted while stringing his bow. On her return to the cottage, the angry woman scolded the king for his carelessness. Much of Alfred's reign was taken up with the struggle against the Danish invaders. After Alfred defeated them at Edington, Wiltshire, in 878, England was divided in half, with the south-western part in the hands of the Saxons, and the north-eastern portion, the Danelaw, administered by the Danes. War broke out again in the 890s, but by 897 the Danes had been defeated.