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Æthelred the Unready

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Æthelred the Unready

Æthelred II (c. 968 – 23 April 1016), known as Æthelred the Unready, was King of the English from March 978 to December 1013 and again from February 1014 until his death in April 1016. He was the son of King Edgar (reigned 959–975) and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred came to the throne after the assassination of his older half-brother, King Edward the Martyr (reigned 975–978), a crime which deeply shocked people. The epithet "Unready" is a pun on his name in Old English, Æthel (noble) and ræd (counsel). Shortly after Æthelred's accession Viking attacks resumed after a generation of peace. Minor raids in the 980s escalated to large scale attacks from the 990s. As the English were rarely victorious in battle, the king and his advisers resorted to giving the Vikings tribute to leave England, payments which are often (incorrectly) called Danegeld. In the 1000s increasingly destructive raids by Viking armies wore down English resistance, and in December 1013 King Swein Forkbeard of Denmark conquered England. Æthelred fled to Normandy, but when Swein died in February 1014 he was able to return to the throne and drive out Swein's son Cnut. In early 1015 civil war broke out when Æthelred's favourite Eadric Streona murdered close allies of Æthelred's oldest surviving son, Edmund Ironside. Cnut returned soon afterwards and Edmund and Æthelred tried to unite against him, but they were hampered by suspicion between them, Eadric's treachery, and Æthelred's poor health. Æthelred died in April 1016 and Edmund carried on the war until he died in December 1016 and Cnut became king of all England. Æthelred was only nine to twelve years old when he became king, and during his minority the country was governed by his father's leading advisers, including his mother. When he came of age in the mid-980s, he rejected these advisers and adopted new ones, who persuaded him to grant them property at the expense of the church. By the early 990s he had come to regret the course he had followed and to see the Viking raids as God's punishment for his persecution of the church. The 990s and early 1000s was the most successful period of his reign, when his advisers were of high calibre and there were major cultural achievements in Latin and Old English literature. Failure in war continued, and in 1002 he ordered the St Brice's Day massacre of Danes, which is seen by historians as a sign of his increasing paranoia, and this culminated in the rise of Eadric Streona in about 1009. Æthelred was seen as a bad king by historians after the Norman Conquest. This view was endorsed by historians until the late twentieth century, when a new generation reassessed his record and argued that although his reign ended catastrophically there were significant achievements in the 990s and early 1000s.

Infobox

Reign
1014 – 23 April 1016
Predecessor
Swein Forkbeard
Successor
Edmund II
Regent
Ælfthryth (978–984)
Born
c. 968England
Died
23 April 1016 (aged about 48)London, England
Burial
Old St Paul's Cathedral, destroyed in the Great Fire of London
Spouses
mw- Ælfgifu of York? Emma of Normandy
Issuemore...
Æthelstan Ætheling Edmund II Eadred Ætheling Eadwig Ætheling Edward the Confessor Alfred Ætheling Godgifu, Countess of the Vexin and Boulogne
House
Wessex
Father
Edgar
Mother
Ælfthryth
IssueDetail
Æthelstan Ecgberht Edmund Eadred Eadwig Edgar Eadgyth Ælfgifu Edward Alfred Godgifu
Reign 1
18 March 978 – December 1013
Reign 2
February 1014 – 23 April 1016

Tables

· External links
Preceded byEdward the Martyr
Preceded byEdward the Martyr
Regnal titles
Preceded byEdward the Martyr
Regnal titles
King of the English 978–1013
Regnal titles
Succeeded bySwein
Preceded bySwein
Preceded bySwein
Regnal titles
Preceded bySwein
Regnal titles
King of the English 1014–1016
Regnal titles
Succeeded byEdmund II
Regnal titles
Preceded byEdward the Martyr
King of the English 978–1013
Succeeded bySwein
Preceded bySwein
King of the English 1014–1016
Succeeded byEdmund II

References

  1. His name is also shown as Aethelred and Ethelred. Old English spellings include Ædelræd, Æðelred and Æþelred. Æthelred I
  2. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, often abbreviated as the Chronicle or ASC, is a term used by modern scholars to describe a se
  3. There were four prominent men called Ælfric in the period. In addition to the two ealdormen, there were also the leading
  4. The tributes (gafol) paid to Viking armies during Æthelred's reign were separate one-off amounts. Heregeld was an annual
  5. Calculating the modern value of Anglo-Saxon money is very difficult, particularly as the purchase power of the penny var
  6. The figure of 16,000 pounds is given in ASC C. The treaty has 22,000 pounds, but this probably includes earlier payments
  7. Æthelred's laws are translated by Agnes Robertson and summarised by Richard Huscroft.
  8. Williamson 2002, pp. 26, 171.
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