Who is Englands greatest Anglos Saxon Monarch pre 1066?

Question

So many of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs are overlooked especially in Schools, I just though Id ask you crazy cats who you think was the best of the Anglo Saxon monarch's to reign before that fateful day when the Battle of Hastings took place!

Please Note: King Arthur is a mythical figure and is not a Anglo Saxon or English monarch as historians believe that KA was based on a Roman-British cheftien who was probably likely to fending off Britain from Germanic invaders such as the Saxons after the Romans withdrew their troops from following the Colapse of the empire. Sorry dont mean to be a spoil sport but just need to clarify these things to those who do not know much about English history!

Answer 1

The separate kingdoms which made up Anglo-Saxon England were:

Kent
Northumbria
Wessex
Essex
Sussex
Mercia
East Anglia

Arguably the achievement of the unification of the 7 kingdoms into a new country called Angleland (England) made Ecgbert, King of Wessex the significant Anglo-Saxon monarch.

This was achieved at Dore near Sheffield in 829 AD. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states:

“And Ecgbert led an army to Dore against the Northumbrians and they offered him obedience and concord and thereupon they separated” and thus King Ecgbert became “Our Lord of the whole English speaking race, from the Channel to the Firth of Forth”.

The importance of Dore was its position on the boundary of the Anglo Saxon kingdoms of Mercia, recently conquered by King Ecgbert of Wessex, and Northumbria, the second most powerful kingdom. At the time, Northumbria was under pressure from viking raids and unable to fight on two fronts, leading to the acceptance of Ecgbert as overlord and effectively the first king of all England.

He is considered the first king of England, though it is not how he referred to himself. He was called Bretwalda ("British Ruler"). His grandson Alfred was the first to use the title "King of England."

Answer 2

Unfortunately our knowledge of that era is quite limited, and even what we know is a fabric where facts and legends are interwoven.
The majority opinion among historians names King Alfred (the Great) as the most important Anglo-Saxon ruler, and I agree. But it is well worth to study and investigate the others furher and in more detail as well, since we have only scratched the surface of knowledge when it comes to the first millennium of modern time.

Answer 3

Canute the Great (1016-1035) but he was a Dane, so I'd like to say Edmund II but probably Alfred the Great whose defeat of the Danes in 878 paved the way for the creation of the Kingdom of England

Answer 4

I agree! It was probably Alfred the Great.
Alfred is famous for his defense of the kingdom against the Danes (Vikings), becoming as a result the only English monarch to be awarded the epithet "the Great" by his people. He was educated and he encouraged education and improved the kingdom's law system.
Hope i ve helped!

Answer 5

Alfred the Great/ Edward the Confessor

Answer 6

Probably Alfred the Great, but a case could be made for Edward the Confessor.

Answer 7

Alfred the Great without doubt. Founder of the nation. Basileus Westsaxonum.

From an Engliscan gesith - and proud of it.

Answer 8

If the shield wall hadn't broken, I think Harold would have had a pretty good claim. Stamford Bridge was a remarkable victory. Short of him, gotta be Alfred, surely.

Answer 9

Ethelred

Answer 10

Well, I think that Alfred the Great would fit there