Alfred the Great - King of the West Saxons and later King of all the English not under Scandinavian rule - is the only English King to be given the title “the Great”.

So why did he become such a legend that to become a British citizen you now have to answer questions about him?

In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr. Cat Jarman talks to historian, TV producer and publisher Justin Pollard, whose book on Alfred the Great dubs him “the man who made England.”

The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.

For more Gone Medieval content, subscribe to our Medieval Mondays newsletter here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

To download, go to Android or Apple store.