West Saxon dominated the second half of the Old English period

Wessex emerged as the dominant and eventually unifying force in English politics

The bulk of the surviving documents from the Anglo-Saxon period are written in the dialect of Wessex

Its elevation was prompted by the need to standardise the language of government to reduce the difficulty of administering the more remote areas of the kingdom

King Alfred was passionate about the spread of the vernacular

He brought many scribes to his region from Mercia in order that previously unwritten texts be recorded

Alfred initiated an ambitious programme to translate religious materials into English

Alfred himself seems to have translated books out of Latin and into English, notably Pope Gregory I's treatise on administration, "Pastoral Care"