Winchester, power base of the ancient kingdom of Wessex, the capital city of England before London, home to a giant 1,000 year-old cathedral and the seat of King Alfred The Great who was crowned King of Wessex in 871AD.

Back in the day, churches were dynamic community life centres providing education, medical care and emergency provision. One of them was called Crowland Abbey, it was destroyed by a brutal Viking raid in 866AD and everyone inside was mercilessly slaughtered. 

Within two years the Viking King Guthrum had overrun half of England and was threatening the Wessex borders. It was the moment King Alfred stepped into his destiny. During the first devastating raid on Wessex soil, Alfred was almost killed before withdrawing back here to Winchester.

Every day, as he recovered from his wounds, he prayed not only for the people of Wessex but also that the invading Vikings would encounter the God of the Bible. Many battles followed and then against all the odds, the Viking line was broken during the Battle of Eddington. 

Facing total annihilation, King Guthrum surrendered to King Alfred hoping for a quick end to his life rather than the slow torture he’d planned had the tables been turned. Now, the two kings are standing face to face and Guthrum prepares himself for Alfred’s sword through his guts.

But his utter astonishment and probably great relief, the Wessex king offers him not a slow or even a quick death but an invitation to live side by side in peace. Why would you do this for me said Guthrum, why would you offer me peace. Because, said Alfred, I serve Christ, the Prince of Peace. 

As the Battle of Eddington came to a most unexpected end, the Viking King is overwhelmed by the mercy that is shown to him prompting a further question of Alfred the Great. Is there any way that I too could become a follower of Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Guthrum was converted on the battlefield and baptised back here in Winchester. He and Alfred became allies and brothers bringing an end to the Viking raids in England. In the years that followed, Alfred wrote a moral code based on the Bible. It became a source document for English Common Law that was later embedded into the American Constitution.

King Alfred the Great’s remarkable reign over Wessex and then a united England, meant diverse peoples were brought together, borders were respected and former enemies lived side by side. His Christian values set the moral compass for generations after him.