Important information about the first king of England

 Important information about the first king of England

Important information about the first king of England

As early as the 9th century four kingdoms formed the face of what would become a modern-day england before its unification after the anglo-saxon period the region was split between the kingdoms of wessex murcia northumbria and east anglia whilst power struggles were abound between these four regions it is generally agreed that the wessex king egbert had dominance over the others in the early 9th century but this dominance would become challenged not by the rival kingdoms of the land but by the increasing attack of viking raids by the end of the 9th century after the great heathen army had decimated the land the vikings had overrun east anglia northumbria murcia and were on the verge of taking wessex ii but under the leadership of alfred the great the west saxons were able to defeat the vikings at the battle of eddington which saw alfred 

And the viking leader guthrum settle on the division which allowed for alfred to keep the western side of mercier and for the vikings to keep the eastern side and incorporate it into the now viking dominated east anglia peace would not be a long lasting thing however because before long the vikings would commit to attacks against alfred once again alfred was able to keep the viking offense at bay however and prevented them from regaining ground in murcia thereafter at least until his death in the year 899 there alfred the great was succeeded by his son edward the elder where the conflict between the english and the danes were thought to continue but little is known about the exact skirmishes during these dark times at least until the year 909 where edward sent a saxon army to ravage a viking-infested northumbria the skirmishes like these were most certainly afoot during this turbulent time with edward leading charges alongside ethelred the ruler of the mercian kingdom against the vikings in northumbria 

When athored died in the year 911 his wife ethelfled and also edward’s sister succeeded him and over the next decade her combined mercian forces along with edward’s wessex forces were able to conquer the vikings in east anglia and stamp out the viking presence that was left over in mercia at last there was some saxon order in the four kingdoms tensions would continue to rise internally when ethel fled died in the year 918 prompting her daughter elfwin to assume control of mercia but in the same year she was quickly deposed by an ambitious edward who took control of mercier essentially ruling two of the kingdoms during this time edward the elder had been married to ekwin who bore him two children a daughter and a son one who would become the future king aethelstan and who most would call the very first king of a unified kingdom 

Important information about the first king of England

But there would be much controversy over the succession of ethelstone after the death of edward the elder in the year 924 this would come about because at some point in the year 911 edward had married another woman named affilfled not to be confused with his sister a marriage that would certainly weaken ethulston’s position because ethelfled would give birth to two more sons from edward in elfweed and edwin as you might imagine when edward the elder died in the year 924 succession was a tricky business the eldest son of edward and ethelfled had ranked above athelston in an attesting charter in the year 901 and that edward the elder had intended for alfward to be his successor whether this be in the form of inheriting wessex or the entire kingdom some suggest that the case would have been the former however in that edward had been preparing one of his sons to rule essex and the other to rule mercier this would give a reason as to why he had deposed alfwin in mercia 

Perhaps to make way for athelstan to become the king of this region but these plans appear to have been as ambiguous as they are now for when edward died each kingdom became confused over exactly who their king or kings were when edward died it is believed that athelstan was with him in mercia whilst elfweird was in wessex due to this mercia acknowledged athelstan as their king by default however in wessex it is believed that the people came to view elf weird as their ruler given not only his presence in the region but because he was deemed the more favorable of the sons unfortunately for alfward in a somewhat suspicious turn of events he too would die just a mere 16 days after his father making it far less complicated as to who was inheriting what atholston stood to be the undisputed ruler of both mercia and wessex with his stepbrothers passing 

But interestingly wessex appeared to reject the notion of ethelstone being their king particularly in the land of winchester where elfweird was buried at first athelston appeared to settle in mercier as a mercian king and it would appear that his authority was not recognized outside of mercy and borders but the hostility he faced did not deter him from his attempts to gain the people’s trust and faith it is believed that athelstan would abstain from marriage and fathering heirs in an effort to gain the acceptance of the neighboring kingdom perhaps a sign of his dedication to the throne or something of an olive branch to wessex by leaving the seat of queen vacant for one of their nobles another idea however suggests that ethelstone refused to take a wife at all because he was a highly religious man and was determined to commit to chastity as a way of life ethelstone’s coronation took place in the year 925 in the town kingston upon thames likely due to it being on the border between wessex 

And murcia perhaps again a sign of ethelstone’s effort to unify the two kingdoms as his father had the archbishop of canterbury a film crowned him under the new religious tradition in which a king donned a crown instead of a helmet yet despite his coronation and his continued efforts to be recognized as a king by wessex opposition against him continued some accounts indicate that an unknown nobleman known simply as alfred plotted against athelstan on the account that he was thought to be illegitimate given that he was born to a marriage that had long since perished before the arrival of elfweird in a more recognized marriage the conspiring alfred may have had two motivations either he was trying to position himself as king or he was acting on behalf of edwin the younger brother of elfweed and perhaps a more legitimate ruler in the eyes of the people of in the plot against athelston by alfred it is believed he intended to blind the king rendering him unfit for rule with such a disability 

Important information about the first king of England

But also allowing the usurper to sidestep the crime of regicide but the opposition against athelstan particularly those in winchester came about swiftly in the year 933 when edwin was involved in a shipwreck in the north sea according to falchion the abbey of st burton’s analyst where edwin would also be buried we are told that edwin had been driven out to sea by some disturbance within the kingdoms leading some to believe that there may have been something dubious at foot and possibly a conspiracy to end edwin so as to drain the last bit of momentum that the people of wessex had against athelstan historians generally agree that the death of edwin at sea was merely a coincidence one that worked at least in a political sense very favorably for ethelstone but there are suspicions that athelstan may have ordered edwin to have been murdered causing the would-be king to flee from the kingdom in haste where he was later drowned in the shipwreck 

Another idea is that edwin had fled to wessex after an unsuccessful rebellion against his brother’s rule and that the shipwreck which resulted in his death was simply an act of god in any case his death would see to some acquiescence of the other kingdoms those that would come to recognize ethelstone as the one true king there are a few notes on ethelstone’s life before his ascension to king in the year 924 it is argued that he was 30 by the time he became king suggesting he would have been born sometime in the year 894 whilst most of the attention is saved for athelston’s father in edward the elder little is known about his mother equine some have described her as an unworthy consort or a character of ignoble birth whilst other chroniclers described her as quite the opposite today her status is disagreed upon by many historians with some speculating that her improper social status was the reason why athelstan had been so fiercely opposed by wessex 

There are also some arguments that propose equine had never actually been edward the elder’s wife and merely a concubine making ethelstone illegitimate in the first place when compared to elf weird and edwin upon his birth it is believed that athelstan was blessed and honored by his grandfather in alfred the great who bestowed upon the young boy a scarlet cloak a belt with gems a sword and a gilded scabbard with this ceremony it was believed by some chroniclers that this was alfred’s way of recognizing the future king and marking him out to be the one who would succeed after edward’s rule an acrostic poem phrasing a prince adeleston and prophesizing a great figure has been interpreted as being referred to a young athelstan where the meaning of his name is thought to mean noble stone the poem is thought to be something of a commemoration of the ceremony provided by athelstan by alfred 

Where it is suggested that aphelston was deemed as a king from the very beginning or at least a king in waiting there’s also a belief to support this that athelstan may have been the very first king of england to have been groomed for the role as a child it is likely that he was educated at the mercy in court of his aunt and uncle in ethel fled and ethelred and likely gained military training by observing the mercian campaigns against the danes during that time due to his time spent in murcia growing up it is likely that he would come to represent his father’s interests there once edward had taken control of the kingdom after his sister’s death as a recognized figurehead of the mercian people it is no wonder they were quick to recognize him as king when edward passed away by the time ethelstone was on the throne viking presence still congregated in what had become the viking stronghold in new york occupied by the danish king citric 

Important information about the first king of England

And formerly a northumbrian territory in the year 926 ethelstone had arranged for a peace between the two sides by offering up one of his sisters to marry citric under this marriage the two kings would agree not to invade each other’s territories and also to support each other’s armies should a threat of rise to either kingdom but the following year citric died and no longer under any oath to uphold the peace atholston seized the opportunity and invaded york a cousin of citric named guthrith led a fleet from dublin in an effort to take the vacant throne for himself but athelston was able to crush his forces or that guffrith had seen atherston’s forces and decided not to try his luck at all in either case ethelstone was able to pluck york from the hands of the vikings and ensure the submission of their people but the danes were not the only ones who would feel the loss to ethelstone 

But also the northern people of northumbria who detested the idea of a southern king in ethelstone after all never before had a southern king ruled north especially after they’d resisted such control for the longest of times yet despite their outrage the kings of the north accepted the overlordship of ethelstone and in this athelstan would become the first english king to achieve lordship over northern britain there would also be a number of peaceful years in the north due to ethelstone being king meanwhile as far as the welsh went athelston inherited much of his authority from his father and aunt who were acknowledged by the welsh as allies according to the foremost historian of the 12th century william of malmsbury athelston had summoned the welsh king to hereford and in an effort to solidify their allegiance and establish himself as the overlord of the land he imposed a heavy annual tribute before going on to fix the border between the two countries in the hereford area at the river y welsh kings would continue to attend ethelstone’s core between the years 928 

And 935 where alliances were formed to produce peace throughout ethelstone’s reign still as you might imagine there was some animosity from the welsh who had come to present their own kings as merely under kings to athelstan the heavy burden of the annual tribute did not go down a treat either and may have done more bad than good in terms of mending relations it was an unprecedented time in england a time where britain in effect had its very first overlord in ethelston one king to rule them all if you will it was a time where welsh and scottish royals attended the assemblies of the english kings and witnessed their charters something that would continue to happen for the next 50 years but despite foreign submission in the welsh and the scots athelstan was still not so popular amongst the northumbrians trying to reconcile with the region by showering the nobility with gifts 

And promoting his own virtuous person through his devout christianity he was never quite accepted by the northerners he would still be considered an outsider regardless of his efforts and interestingly it would appear that the northerners prefer to ally themselves with the pagan norse of dublin trusting them far more than the english monarch whilst athelston would be recognized in his own southern region as pious moral and a goodly king his position in the north was much to be desired as if making enemies of the north wasn’t easy enough athelston decided to go even further north and invade scotland in the year 934 the reasons for this invasion aren’t exactly clear however one idea is simply ambition after taking control of northumbria and after the death of citric it might very well have been simply a good opportunity for athelstan to go about stamping english authority as far as he could reach another idea suggests that 

Important information about the first king of England

There was also an old dispute between athelston and the scottish king constantine ii over what else but territory the angelo saxon chronicle a collection of animals detailing anglo-saxon history makes note of this very invasion but it also does not provide a reason as to why it happened at all another possible explanation stated by a 12th century chronicler john of warchester stated that constantine ii had broken a treaty with aethelstan which led to athelstan making an example out of him it would seem that ethelstone wasn’t messing around either when it came to this invasion and committed to it wholeheartedly it is recorded that he set out with a company of four welsh kings and their entourages as well as launching a fleet by sea according to a 12th century chronicler known as simeon of durham athelston’s land units ravaged as far as dunatar on the northeast of scotland whilst the fleet attacked the coast of caithness on the far north side 

But no battles appear to have been recorded of the campaign and there does not seem to be a clear-cut winner of the confrontation but it would seem that athelston did get the better of constantine ii who would come to recognize athelstan as overlord in a charter in the year 935. some ideas suggest that constantine ii was simply intimidated by the speed and dedication that athelstan had when it came to invading scotland and it’s possible that athelstan’s intentions here were to show off his strength and to pressurize constantine into compliance but that compliance or at least the compliance of the scots would only last so long it was in the year 934 when olaf gupfertson succeeded his father guthrieth as the north king of dublin this would become a significant development not just for the people of dublin but also for the scots for constantine ii sent his daughter to marry olaf whereby an alliance between the two nations was established amongst these developments olaf would come to defeat his viking peers for control over ireland in the year 937 

And with this irish kingdom now ultimately unified under the norse king he launched an attack on york you might remember that olaf’s father guphrith had tried to take york after the death of his cousin citric but was stumped by ethelstone’s swift seizing of the kingdom now though olaf had the resources the numbers and the reassurance of the scots to exact his father’s intentions to take back york and maybe if they played their cards right march onto wessex it is understood that these sorts of campaigns would normally take place in the summer months but the invasion against athelstan took the king by surprise for it occurred in the autumn due to this seemingly spontaneous attack athelston was said to have been slow to respond to the resistance english territory was plundered and much of it had been left defenseless on the account of such an unpredictable and bold move on behalf of the scots 

And the irish even as the terror spread of the great force making its way to york athelston was still slow in mustering up west saxon and mercy and resistance it should also be noted rather interestingly that the welsh did not join him in his marching to meet the enemy but chose to remain dormant and neutral in the conflict the two sides came to meet at what would be known as the battle of branenburg a battle that saw a unanimous victory for athelston accounts of the actual battle are hard to come by though some colorful mentions exist in various chronicles including those by a 13th century historian and poet snorri sturgeson who wrote of the mercenary and berserker edgar scala grimson in the egil saga who was thought to have served ethelstone as a trusted warrior and one who tipped the battle in favor of the english some of the main sources of information about the battle comes from the poem battle of branenburg in the anglo-saxon chronicle it’s understood that after traveling north through the kingdom of mercia ethelston his half-brother edmund 

And the combined forces of the saxon army consisting of wessex and mercia met with the invaders in a battle that lasted a single day the basis of the battle appears to have been quite straightforward with athelstan and his men cutting through the invaders breaking up their lines until they were disorientated and then sending them into retreat the poem tells us though of some relatively grisly fighting throughout the encounter where it is mentioned the saxons split the shield wall and hued battleshield with the remnants of hammers they lay many a warrior by spears destroyed northern men shot over shield likewise scottish as well weary warsated once the battle was leaning in athelstan’s favor and the invaders were forced to retreat the poem continues that athelston and his forces chased down the invaders and gave them no easy exit from the choice that they had made the poem continues they pursued the hostile people hearing the fugitive grievously from behind with swords sharp from the grinding 

Important information about the first king of England

But olaf and constantine ii were able to flee the battle unharmed though constantine did lose a son in the battle with the remnants of his army olaf was able to sail back to dublin with little to show for his ambitions the poem adds that upon their return to ireland the irish spirit was low and olaf and his men were ashamed and dejected the battle had certainly taken its toll on both sides and is quite vividly detailed in the annals of ulster as a great lamentable and horrible battle was cruelly fought between the saxons and the northmen in which several thousand of the northernmen who are unaccounted fell but their king olaf escaped with a few followers a large number of saxons fell on the other side but athelston king of the saxons enjoyed a great victory in fact athelston’s return to wessex was met with adulation and the utmost of respects it is believed that it is here that the king gained great prestige amongst his people 

And would thereafter be recognized as one of the bravest most honored rulers in recent memory he was known for his piety and demonstrated this through his eagerness to open many churches during his reign he was also most concerned with the continued education of his subjects whereby his very household was considered to be the center of english learning and study amongst these feats athelstan would also be remembered for the effective means in which he governed his kingdom a more unified kingdom than previous rulers would have been used to but having studied the foundations of his predecessors he was able to create what was deemed the most centralized government that the realm had ever seen furthermore the establishment of the royal council was also a significant development in ethelstone’s rule for before this there was no fixed meeting point for the royal courts before ethelston 

The council was more nomadic in nature with meetings being held at varying locations across the realms with ethelstone in charge who lived mainly in wessex members of the council were summoned to him and would come to consist of large volumes of people including bishops eldermen thanes magnates and independent rulers such as the welsh kings who had submitted to ethelstone during his reign it is believed by some that these specific meetings assembled by ethelstone would be a prelude to a unified england it saw the barriers of provincialism demolished amongst his glory in the battle of ronnenburg others associate athelstan more with his making of laws and the sophisticated state of government in which he was able to cultivate with diplomatic certainty he was able to work strategically with the council to ensure the acceptance of his authority and would begin to lay the foundations of laws and legal obligations that would allow his successors 

And the nation of england itself to thrive off whilst athelston’s reign was met with mixed feelings depending on which realm you were living in retrospectively he was considered to be one of the greatest kings of the west saxon dynasty he was after all considered to be one of the most educated fair and just kings that ruled during this period and certainly a tower and figure of the 10th century but all great reigns come to an end and athelstanz would be no exception in the year 939 ethelstone died it was thought that he was to be buried with his grandfather alfred his father edward and his half-brother elf weird in winchester but considering the animosity he had experienced from the people of winchester during his reign he chose not to honour them and instead opted to be buried in the malmsbury abbey along with his cousins who had perished during the battle of branenburg while some see ethelstone’s refusal to be buried at winchester as a slight to their people and to the people of northumbria who had rejected him as king others believed the basis of his choice was a religious one and a reflection of his devotion to the abbey in particular.