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Ethelstan: Or, the Battle of Brunanburgh, a Dramatic Chronicle

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or Athelstan ( / ˈ æ θ əl s t æ n/; Old English: Æðelstān [ˈæðelstɑːn]; Old Norse: Aðalsteinn; lit. 'noble stone'; [4] c. 894 – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. [a] He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern historians regard him as the first King of England and one of the "greatest Anglo-Saxon kings". [6] He never married and had no children; he was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund I. Campbell, Alistair (17 March 1970). "Skaldic Verse and Anglo-Saxon History" (PDF). Dorothea Coke Memorial Lecture. Viking Society for Northern Research . Retrieved 25 August 2009. Beneath the ealdormen, reeves—royal officials who were noble local landowners—were in charge of a town or royal estate. The authority of church and state was not separated in early medieval societies, and the lay officials worked closely with their diocesan bishop and local abbots, who also attended the king's royal councils. [72] On 27 October 939 Athelstan – the first and perhaps the greatest King of England– died in Gloucester at the age of 47. This man was remembered as a famous warrior who defeated the Danes and the Scots and forged the Kingdom we now call England. Athelstan is recorded as being a tall and handsome youth with light flaxen hair. As a youth, he had been ennobled by his grandfather, of whom he was said to be a great favourite. To mark the occasion King Alfred endowed his grandson with a mantle of royal purple, a girdle set with precious stones and a Saxon seax (sword) in a golden scabbard. Described in the Gesta Regum Anglorum of William of Malmesbury (c.1080-1143) as 'of handsome appearance and graceful manners... [N]ot beyond what is pleasing in stature and slender in body; his hair, as we ourselves have seen from his relics, flaxen, with gold threads.'

Fearing a challenge, Aethelstan banished another brother, Edwin, by setting him adrift in a small boat with no provisions. Legend tells that Edwin drowned himself rather than face starvation. Regretting the whole affair, Aethelstan later turned to charitable efforts, using a portion of the income from each of his estates to support the poor, and reforming the law to make it more fair and lenient on young offenders. He was looked on later as a learned and wise king. Athelstan succeeded to the throne of Mercia upon the death of his father in 924, with Wessex going to his brother Elfweard. But Elfweard died just three weeks after his father, leaving the kingship of Wessex vacant. Nevertheless, the people of Wessex did not seem keen on Athelstan, and it took him several months to have himself named king of Wessex as well. Wood, Michael (2013). "Searching for Brunanburh: The Yorkshire Context of the 'Great War' of 937". Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. 85 (1): 138–159. doi: 10.1179/0084427613Z.00000000021. ISSN 0084-4276. S2CID 129167209. a b Robert Mannyng of Brune. ”Chronicle". In The Battle of Brunanburh. A Casebook. Ed. Michael Livingston. University of Exeter Press. 2011. pp. 126–133

Robert of Gloucester. ”Metrical Chronicle". In The Battle of Brunanburh. A Casebook. Ed. Michael Livingston. University of Exeter Press. 2011. pp. 84–89 In January 926, Athelstan married off his only full sister Edith to Sihtric and the two kings agreed to a treaty. The following year, Sihtric died. Athelstan immediately invaded his lands and added York to his territories. Sihtric’s cousin Guthfrith led an invasion from Dublin to avenge Sihtric but was defeated. Athelstan also claimed Northumbria in 926. Thus, Athelstan became the first Saxon king to establish rulership over northern England. It is thought that the recurring element Brun- could be a personal name, a river name, or the Old English or Old Norse word for a spring or stream. [71] [13] Less mystery surrounds the suffixes –burh/–werc, -dun, -ford and –feld, which are the Old English words for a fortification, low hill, ford, and open land respectively. [71] Ancient artesian spring at Barton-upon-Humber Foot, Sarah, "Where English becomes British: Rethinking Contexts for Brunanburh", in Barrow, Julia; Andrew Wareham (2008). Myth, Rulership, Church and Charters: Essays in Honour of Nicholas Brooks. Aldershot: Ashgate. pp.127–144.

Anonymous. ”Brenhinedd y Saesson". In The Battle of Brunanburh. A Casebook. Ed. Michael Livingston. University of Exeter Press. 2011. pp. 90–91 The Annals of Clonmacnoise records 34,800 Viking and Scottish casualties, including Ceallagh the prince of Scotland (Constantine's son) and nine other named men. [2] Aftermath [ edit ] He is considered the first king of all England, something Ecbert aspires to be in the show, and one of its most important. He is actually known for successfully battling against the Vikings. King Athelstan died on 27 October 939. Unlike his grandfather, father, and half-brother, he was not buried in Winchester. By his own wish, he was buried at Malmesbury Abbey, where he had buried Aelfweard’s sons who had died at the Battle of Brunanburh. Athelstan was succeeded by his half-brother Edmund. Edmund was the son of King Edward’s third wife. We know that the missionary Willibrord was active in Denmark from 710, where he was treated respectfully but found few converts. Later in the 820s the monk Ansgar is attested in Denmark during the reign of Harald Klak. He also focused on converting nearby Swedish communities, again with generally little success. But he was able to create the first Christian chapel in Denmark, in Hebedy, in 860.The Chronica de Mailros (1173–4) repeats Symeon of Durham's information that Anlaf arrived with 615 ships, but adds that he entered the mouth of the river Humber. [40] Athelstan did not want his sisters to marry his own subjects, perhaps fearing a challenge to the throne. Thus, they either joined nunneries or married foreign kings. One of his half-sisters, Eadgifu, had already been married to Charles the Simple, King of the West Franks. When he died, Athelstan fostered her son Louis and helped him take his father’s throne.

But, aside from the name and general piety, and a connection between Athelstan and King Alfred, it is hard to see much of the Athelstan character that we see on Vikings in this English monarch.a b Cavill, Paul; Harding, Stephen; Jesch, Judith (October 2004). "Revisiting Dingesmere". Journal of the English Place Name Society. 36: 25–36. Awley [i.e. Anlaf], with all the Danes of Dublin and north part of Ireland, departed and went over seas. The Danes that departed from Dublin arrived in England, & by the help of the Danes of that kingdom, they gave battle to the Saxons on the plaines of othlyn, where there was a great slaughter of Normans and Danes. [2]

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