1-632-833 - Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images

Edward the Confessor and Alfred the Great, English kings, 19th century. Alfred became King of Wessex in 871. Much of his 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. Edward the Confessor was King of England from 1042-1066. A dispute over his succession between Harold Godwinson and William of Normandy led to the Norman Conquest of England. Plate 7 from The History of the Nations.