One of the first difficulties encountered when attempting to chronicle any period of history is where to start. Some may start a history of the monarchs of England with Alfred the Great, who drove back the Danes and secured his kingdom of Wessex. Others may choose to begin in 1066 with the Norman invasion of William I (the Conqueror), thus ignoring the Saxon and Danish periods altogether.

For this series I have decided to choose Æthelstan as my starting point. As the first king to combine the kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, enabling him to claim to be ‘king of the English’, his reign would seem to me to be a logical place to start. Following on from Æthelstan, I shall look at the lives of Edmund I, Eadred, Eadwig, Edgar, Edward the Martyr and Æthelred II (the Unready).

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Æthelstan (924-939)

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Æthelstan (or Athelstan) was the eldest son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife Ecgwynn. His grandfather, Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, sent the young Æthelstan to Mercia to be brought up by his aunt, Æthelflæd, and her husband, Æthelred.

During the reign of Edward the Elder, the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia had been combined. On Edward’s death, in 924, Æthelstan was elected king of Mercia but his half-brother, Ælfweard, became king of Wessex. Very soon after, on the death of Ælfweard, Æthelstan succeeded to the kingdom of Wessex, so inheriting the whole of his father’s combined kingdoms. There was some opposition to Æthelstan taking control of Wessex and his coronation did not place until 4 September 925.

In 926, Æthelstan met with the ruler of Northumbria, the Danish king Sihtric Cáech. They formed an alliance, sealed with a marriage treaty, and when Sihtric died in the following year Æthelstan succeeded to the kingdom of Northumbria.

This succession in 927 made Æthelstan the king of all England. This is not, however, an England we would recognise today. The borders with Scotland and Wales have moved many times since and Cornwall was still a separate province.

Despite a peace treaty in 927 relations with the Scots were troubled. Æthelstan led a campaign north of the border to subdue the Scots in 934. In 937, Constantine II of Scots, Owain of Strathclyde and Olaf Guthfrithson of Dublin (and claimant to Northumbria) invaded but were decisively beaten in a battle at Brunanburh. The precise location of Brunanburh remains a mystery.

Æthelstan died on 27 October 939 and was buried in Malmesbury Abbey. He was unmarried and so his kingdoms passed to his half-brother Edmund.

Edmund I (939-946)

Edmund I was the elder of two sons of Edward the Elder and his third wife Eadgifu. He married twice, firstly to Ælfgifu, who died in 944, and then to Æthelflæd. His two sons with Ælfgifu were later kings of England.

Edmund’s succession to the combined kingdoms of his half-brother Æthelstan was short-lived. Olaf Guthfrithson captured Northumbria in 939 and occupied large areas of the Midlands, as far south as Northampton, in 940. Olaf died in 941 allowing Edmund to regain the Midlands in 942. In 944, Northumbria was also recovered.

The capture of Strathclyde followed in 945, after which Edmund ordered the blinding of King Dunmail’s sons. Malcolm I of Scots was recognised as the overlord of Strathclyde in return for agreeing to a defensive alliance against the Vikings of Dublin.

Edmund’s life was cut short at the age of 25 when he was killed at his palace in Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire by an exiled robber called Leofa. He died on 26 May 946 and was buried at Glastonbury. As Edmund’s sons were too young to rule he was succeeded by his brother, Eadred.

Eadred (946-955)

Eadred (or Edred) was the younger son of Edward the Elder and his third wife Eadgifu. Although he was acknowledged as king by the Northumbrians on the death of Edmund I, Eadred’s reign was dominated by fighting in the north.

The dates listed in the various chronicles written about the events of Eadred’s reign are contradictory. But between 946 and 954 both Olaf Sihtricson, king of Dublin, and the Norwegian prince Erik Bloodaxe were proclaimed kings by the Northumbrians. By 954 Erik Bloodaxe was dead and Eadred’s kingdom was whole again.

Eadred died on 23 November 955 of a serious illness that left him unable to chew his food. He was buried at Winchester. Although the future was uncertain at the time of his death, Eadred’s reign is remembered for securing English rule of Northumbria. Eadred died unmarried and was succeeded by his nephew Eadwig.

Eadwig (955-959)

Eadwig (or Edwy) was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu. He is remembered for his reputation for debauchery and the division of his kingdom.

He married Ælfgifu, daughter of Æthelgifu, despite their close relationship (possibly third cousins). They were separated by Archbishop Oda in 957 or 958.

957 also saw the division of Eadwig’s kingdom along the line of the River Thames, although an exact reason for this is not known. Eadwig’s brother Edgar was given control of the north leaving Eadwig with the south. However, overall control did remain with Eadwig and all coins were issued in his name until his death.

The kingdom was reunited under Edgar on Eadwig’s death on 1 October 959. He was buried at Winchester.

Edgar (959-975)

Edgar was the younger son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu. Among his children were two sons who would follow him as kings. Edward was the son of Edgar’s first wife, Æthelflæd, and Æthelred was the son of Ælfthryth. He may also have married Wulfthryth, with whom he had a daughter, Edith.

Edgar’s reign was peaceful compared to those of his predecessors, earning him the epithet Pacificus from later chroniclers. This peace allowed Edgar to legislate, especially in the areas of theft and non-payment of tithes. His 16 years as king are also marked by a period of monastic reform and also reform of the coinage.

Edgar was no older than 32 when he died on 8 July 975. He was buried at Glastonbury Abbey.

Edward the Martyr (975-978)

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Edward the Martyr (St Edward) was the son of Edgar and Æthelflæd. The possible illegitimacy of his birth and the uncertainty over Edgar’s wishes following his unexpected death led to questions about the succession. This situation was complicated by opposition to Edgar’s monastic reforms.

Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, supported Edward’s claim and crowned him. Another faction, of which Edgar’s widow Ælfthryth was a prominent member, favoured Æthelred. For the second time in 20 years a king of England had little influence north of the Thames, although this time the country was on the brink of civil war.

Despite the situation in the country, Edward seems to have been on friendly terms with his half-brother. On 18 March 978 Edward visited Æthelred at Corfe. He arrived in the early evening and was met by Ælfthryth’s retainers. Instead of the friendly welcome he expected he was dragged from his horse and murdered. His body was buried nearby. As Æthelred was no more than 12 at the time it is unlikely that he had any involvement in the murder.

It was over a year before Æthelred was confirmed as Edward’s successor, on 4 May 979. By then Edward’s body had been moved to a nunnery in Shaftesbury. Stories of miracles associated with Edward’s remains grew and he was made a saint, his cult being promoted by Æthelred. Saint Edward the Martyr’s feast day was observed on 18 March from the early 11th century.

Æthelred II (979-1013, 1014-1016)

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Æthelred II (Ethelred the Unready) was the son of King Edgar and Ælfthryth. His reign has been portrayed as a disaster and his reputation is of being one of the worst of all English kings. The name Æthelred means “noble counsel”. The perception of chroniclers was that the problems of his reign stemmed from the harmful influence of those around him, and so his name was associated with unræd, meaning “no counsel” or “ill-advised”.

Æthelred married twice. His first marriage was in c985 to Ælfgifu. Together they had at least six sons, Æthelstan, Ecgberht, Edmund, Eadred, Eadwig and Edgar, and three daughters, Edith, Ælfgifu and Wulfhild.

His second wife, Emma, was the sister of Duke Richard II of Normandy. They married in 1002 and had two sons, Edward and Alfred, and a daughter, Gode.

The first decade of Æthelred’s reign was marked by the resumption of Viking raids after almost a hundred quiet years. Although these early raids were concentrated on coastal areas, the inability of the English to repel them led to increased activity, and incursions further inland, in later years.

After the battle of Maldon, in 991, a tribute (or gafol) of 10000 pounds was paid to the Vikings. The payment of gafol was a policy that had been adopted successfully by others before Æthelred, including Alfred the Great. It was paid in increasing amounts as the raiding continued: 16000 pounds in 994, 24000 pounds in 1002, 36000 pounds in 1007 and 48000 pounds in 1012. From the 990s the Vikings may have based themselves in parts of England instead of returning home after each raiding trip.

There were periods of peace during Æthelred’s reign. After the gafol payment of 994, one of the Viking leaders, Olaf Tryggvason, converted to Christianity and returned to Norway. Some of his followers stayed in England and agreed to become mercenaries for Æthelred to defend against Danish raids. The peace held for three years, but in 997 the mercenaries turned on Æthelred and resumed their raiding.

Æthelred did strike back occasionally. On 13 November 1002, he ordered the killing of all the Danes in England resulting in the massacre of St Brice’s Day.

But despite the occasional show of resistance the English were no match for the Vikings. The army of Thorkell the Tall swept through southern England between 1009 and 1012. By the time Æthelred sued for peace, and made the final gafol payment, his army was broken. Thorkell’s forces agreed to become mercenaries for Æthelred and an annual tax, or danegeld, was levied to pay for them.

Swein Forkbeard, king of Denmark, invaded England in 1013 with his son, Cnut. Æthelred was forced to flee to Normandy with his wife and children. But, upon Swein’s death the following year, Æthelred was welcomed back by the English. Cnut was driven out of England but invaded again in 1015 and was approaching London when Æthelred died on 23 April 1016.

Æthelred was buried in St Paul’s and was succeeded by the eldest surviving son from his first marriage, Edmund II.

Further Reading

Kings and Queens of England: Danes and Saxons (1013-1042)

Kings and Queens of England: Article Index