Æthelred II (the Unready), King of the English

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Æthelred II (the Unready), King of the English; Credit – Wikipedia

Æthelred II (the Unready), King of the English was from the Anglo-Saxon House of Wessex. He was a great-great-grandson of King Alfred the Great and the father of two kings, Edmund Ironside and Edward the Confessor. His nickname in Old English was unræd which means “no counsel” and describes the poor quality of advice that Æthelred received throughout his reign. Æthelred is number eight on the top ten list of longest-reigning British monarchs. He reigned for two separate periods (March 18, 978 – December 25, 1013 and February 3, 1014 – April 23, 1016) for a total of 37 years, 362 days.

Æthelred was born circa 966 – 968 to King Edgar the Peaceful and Ælfthryth, daughter of Ordgar, Ealdorman of Devon.

He had three elder siblings:

In 975, King Edgar died and left two sons, Edward around 13 years of age and Æthelred around 8 years old. Various nobles and clergy formed factions that supported each of the brothers’ succession to the crown. Both boys were too young to have played any significant role in political maneuvering, and so it was the brothers’ supporters who were responsible for the turmoil that accompanied the choice of a successor to the throne. In the end, Edward’s supporters proved more powerful and persuasive, and he was crowned king before the year was out.

Edward’s reign was short-lived. On March 18, 978 while visiting Æthelred and his mother, Edward was stabbed to death. Although Æthelred was not suspected of participation, it appears that his supporters committed the murder, and the specter of his half-brother’s murder hung over him for the rest of his life. Edward is recognized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Church, and is known as Saint Edward the Martyr.

Æthelred was crowned on April 14, 979 at Kingston Upon Thames, now in southwest London, then an ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned. In an Icelandic saga, by Gunnlaugr Ormstunga (Gunnlaugr “Serpent-Tongue” or “Wormtongue”), Æthelred is described as, “[A] tall, handsome man, elegant in manners, beautiful in countenance, and interesting in his deportment.” Gunnlaugr’s travels took him to England and he met Æthelred.

Around 985, Æthelred married Ælfgifu of York, daughter of Thored, Ealdorman of York.  Ælfgifu appears to have died by 1002, possibly in childbirth. Æthelred and Ælfgifu’s known children are:

(Note: Ætheling was used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty eligible for the kingship.)

In 1002, Æthelred married Emma of Normandy, the daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy.  Emma’s brother, Richard II, Duke of Normandy, attempted to improve relations with England through his sister’s marriage to King Æthelred. This marriage was also important because it gave Richard II’s grandson, William the Conqueror, the basis of his claim to the throne of England. Æthelred and Emma had three children:

After Æthelred’s death, Emma married Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway and their son Harthacnut was King of England and Denmark.

Emma and her sons Edward and Alfred being received by her brother Richard II, Duke of Normandy

In England, the beginning of the Viking Age is dated to June 8, 793, when Vikings destroyed Lindisfarne Abbey, a center of learning on an island off the northeast coast of England in Northumberland. The Scandinavians’ desire for goods led to the exploration and development of extensive partnerships in new territories. In addition, it has been suggested that the Scandinavian population was too large for their home peninsula and there was not enough good farmland for everyone. This led to a hunt for more land. This hunt for trade and farming land was often violent and there were many conflicts and battles between the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons. In 886, the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum was formalized, defining the boundaries of the English kingdom and Danish or Norse kingdoms (called Danelaw), with provisions for peaceful relations between the English and the Vikings.

England had experienced a period of peace after the reconquest of the Danelaw in the mid-10th century by King Edgar, Æthelred’s father. King Edgar allowed for limited autonomy in the Danelaw. However, in 980 a series of Viking coastal raids began. During this time, the Normans (comes from the French Normans/Normanz meaning Norseman) who were descended from Viking conquerors, allowed the Viking raiders to take refuge in their ports. This led to tension between the English and Norman courts, and Pope John XV had to negotiate peace between England and Normandy, ratified in Rouen, Normandy in 991.

In August of 991, a large Danish fleet invaded southeast England and headed up the Thames estuary toward London. The Battle of Maldon ensued which ended in the defeat of the Anglo-Saxons. Æthelred and his council bought the Danes off with 22,000 pounds of gold and silver, thereby instituting the policy of regular protection money called Danegeld to the Danes. These raids and the subsequent payment of Danegeld continued for several years.

According to The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in 1002 King Æthelred was told that the Danish men in England “would faithlessly take his life, and then all his councilors, and possess his kingdom afterward.” In response, Æthelred “ordered slain all the Danish men in England.” St. Brice’s Day Massacre occurred on November 13, 1002, the feast day of St. Brice, fifth-century Bishop of Tours. There was a significant loss of life including Gunhilde, the sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and Norway. In retaliation, Sweyn attacked England in 1003 – 1004, burning Norwich, but famine in 1005 caused him to retreat.

The Danish invaders returned and within a few years, all of England came under Danish rule. In 1013, Sweyn was acknowledged as King of England. Æthelred fled to the Isle of Wight and then to Normandy. Sweyn died on February 3, 1014, and the Danes in England swore their allegiance to Sweyn’s son Cnut the Great, but leading English noblemen sent a deputation to Æthelred to negotiate his restoration to the throne. Æthelred launched an attack against Cnut and his allies, but Cnut’s army had not completed its preparations and, in April 1014, he decided to withdraw from England without a fight. Æthelred returned to England and reigned until he died in London on April 23, 1016. He was buried in Old St Paul’s Cathedral in London, but his tomb was destroyed along with the cathedral in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Æthelred’s son Edmund Ironside was now King but had to fight Cnut to keep the Kingdom of England. The war between Edmund and Cnut ended in a decisive victory for Cnut at the Battle of Assandun on October 18, 1016. Because Edmund’s reputation as a warrior was great, Cnut agreed to divide England, Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the rest of the country beyond the River Thames. However, Edmund died on November 30, 1016, and Cnut the Great became King of England. Cnut later became King of Denmark and King of Norway and married Æthelred’s widow Emma of Normandy.

Edmund Ironside (left) and Cnut the Great (right); Credit – Wikipedia

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