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After defeating Guthrum's Vikings at Edington, King Alfred initiated a great programme of building to defend southern England against Viking attack. This book is a comprehensive analysis of the Burghal Hidage, the early 10th century vernacular document which gives details of this extraordinary web of fortifications, many of which developed into familiar English towns. This book offers a new edition and translation of the Burghal Hidage, which is one of our most important windows onto the organization of Anglo-Saxon government and urban development. It tests its subject matter against the evidence of surviving archaeological remains, and sets the document in its historical and paleographical contexts. A gazetteer gives details and site plans of all the fortifications.