| Notes |
- BIOGRAPHY
Aethelwulf was born about 795, the elder son of Egbert of Wessex, king of England. He conquered Kent on behalf of his father in 825. Thereafter he was styled king of Kent until he succeeded his father as king of Wessex in 839, whereupon he became king of Wessex, Kent, Cornwall, the West Saxons and the East Saxons. He was crowned at Kingston upon Thames.
The most notable and commonly used primary source about Aethewulf is the _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle._ The Chronicle makes reference to a few influential battles in which Aethelwulf took part. In 840 he fought at Carhampton against thirty-five ship companies of Danes, whose raids had increased considerably. His most notable victory came in 851 at 'Acleah', probably Ockley or Oakley in Surrey. Here Aethelwulf and his son Aethelbald fought against the heathens, and according to the Chronicle it was 'the greatest slaughter of heathen host ever made.' Around 853 Aethelwulf and his son-in-law Burgred, king of Mercia, defeated Cyngen ap Cadell of Wales and made the Welsh subject to him. The Chronicle depicts more battles throughout the years, mostly against invading pirates and Danes. This was an era in European history when nations were being invaded by many different groups; there were Saracens in the south, Magyars in the east, Moors in the west, and Vikings in the north. Before Aethelwulf's death, raiders had wintered on the Isle of Sheppey, and pillaged at will in East Anglia. Over the course of the next twenty years the struggles of his sons were to be 'ceaseless, heroic, and largely futile.'
In 839 Aethelwulf succeeded his father Egbert as king. Egbert had been a grizzled veteran who had fought for survival since his youth. Aelthelwulf had a worrying style of kingship. Having come naturally to the throne of Wessex, he proved to be intensely religious, cursed with little political sense and too many able and ambitious sons. One of the first acts of Aethelwulf as king was to split the kingdom. He gave the eastern half, covering Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex, to his eldest son Athelstan. Aethelwulf kept the ancient, western side of Wessex (Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset and Devon) for himself. Aethelwulf and his first wife Osburh, daughter of the earldorman Oslac, had five sons and a daughter. After Athelstan came Aethelbald, Aethelbert, Aethelred and Alfred. Each of his sons succeeded to the throne, but only Aethelred and Alfred would have progeny. Alfred, the youngest, has been praised as one of the greatest kings to ever reign in Britain. Aethelwulf's only daughter Aethelswith was married as a child to the king of Mercia.
Religion was always an important area in Aethelwulf's life. As early as the first year of his reign he had planned a pilgrimage to Rome. Due to the ongoing and increasing raids he felt the need to appeal to the Christian God for help.
In 853 Aelthelwulf sent his son Alfred, a child of about four years, to Rome. In 855, about a year after his wife Osburh's death, Aethelwulf followed Alfred to Rome. There he was generous with his wealth, distributing gold to the clergy of St. Peter's. During the return journey in 856 he married Judith, a Frankish princess and great-granddaughter of Charlemagne. She was about twelve years old, the daughter of Charles 'the Bald', king of the West Franks.
On their return to England in 856 Aethelwulf met with an acute crisis. His eldest surviving son Aethelbald (Athelstan had since died) had devised a conspiracy with the ealdorman of Somerset and the bishop of Sherborne to oppose Aethelwulf's resumption of the kingship. There was enough support for Aethelwulf to either have a civil war or to banish Aethelbald and his fellow conspirators. Instead Aethelwulf yielded Wessex proper to his son, and accepted Surrey, Sussex and Essex for himself. He ruled there until his death on 13 January 858. The family quarrel, had it been allowed to continue, could have ruined the House of Egbert.
That the king should have consented to treat with his rebellious son, to refer the compromise to a meeting of Saxon nobles, to moderate the pugnacity of his own supporters, and to resign the rule over the more important half of his dominions, is testimony to Aethelwulf's character and Christian spirit.
Aethelwulf's restoration included a special concession on behalf of Saxon queens. The West Saxons previously did not allow the queen to sit next to the king. In fact they were not referred to as a queen, but merely the 'wife of the king'. This restriction was lifted for Queen Judith, probably because she was a high ranking European princess.
Aethelwulf was first buried at Steyning, and then later transferred to the Old Minster in Winchester. His remains lie in one of several mortuary chests in Winchester Cathedral.
|
Abt 795 - 858 (~ 63 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
