Defeat. He ordered his men to form an impregnable shield wall, as the Vikings crashed down onto them they were slaughtered on the shields and swords of the Anglo-Saxons. Alfred then led a charge into their camp at Chippenham and made 'great slaughter among them' until they retreated into their fortress and were 'brought to the extreme depths of despair.' Starving and trapped, Guthrum was forced to surrender.
Guthrum and the rest of his Viking army retreated from Wessex for good but this did not mean that they were out of England as a whole. In East Anglia and parts of Northumbria the Vikings had established settlements and were becoming neighbours rather than raiders. Alfred saw this and in an act which showed his keen intellect he forced Guthrum to convert to Christianity and became his godfather. By doing this he insured an oath of allegiance which would guarantee the stability of his kingdom. The Viking threat did not disappear after their defeat at Edington and as a warrior, Alfred knew that an attack on Wessex could happen at any time.
He built up his defences and established a system of forts to help protect the countryside; he also instigated new laws based on the Bible which consolidated his grip on power.
His most decisive act during the years after his victories was the consolidation of the rest of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms under his leadership. Reasoning that one kingdom united was stronger and more able to resist foreign invasion than a divided land with divided interests, Alfred targeted London, the most important trading town in the whole of England. London was controlled by a Mercian King Ceolwulf who had died at some point after 880 and it is unclear if this was the result of Alfred laying siege to the city. Certainly this would have stained his reputation as England's 'darling' since London at the time was an Anglo-Saxon settlement. Whether London was captured or acquired, the city was brought under Alfred's control in 886.
The symbolism of this act along with as his eldest daughter marrying Aethelred the lord of the Mercians united all of Anglo-Saxon England in a tenuous peace under Wessex.
By 890, old age had begun to creep up on Alfred. He suffered from crippling pain in his stomach and it was sapping his strength, along with the complexities of trying to rule a disparate group of settlements in his own kingdom and remain the most influential man in Mercia. Despite this he was determined to continue building his realm by enlightening his subjects. He translated a number of volumes from Latin to English including The Ecclesiastical History Of The Engiish People and Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care which instructed bishops on their duties. Alfred's contribution to the development of the English church earned him such recognition that his most committed followers sought to get him canonised.
In 899, Alfred died aged 50, passing on a secure and powerful dynasty to his son Edward. The Anglo-Saxons would remain in a dominant position in England for the next 167 years until another great invasion in 1066 led to the investiture of a Norman King named William. Alfred had secured this legacy through his bravery, skill as a warrior and learned negotiating skills. Anglo-Saxons remembered him as 'England's shepherd, England's darling', history honoured him with a far grander title - Alfred the Great.
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