Ethelred the Unready
Ethelred the Unready
Æthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II (circa 968 – 23 April 1016), was king of England (978–1013 and 1014–1016). He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 (no more than 13) when his half-brother Edward was murdered. Æthelred was not personally suspected of participation, but as the murder was committed at Corfe Castle by the attendants of Ælfthryth, it made it more difficult for the new king to rally the nation against the military raids by Danes, especially as the legend of St Edward the Martyr grew.
From 991 onwards, Æthelred paid tribute, or Danegeld, to the Danish King. In 1002, Æthelred ordered a massacre of Danish settlers. In 1003, King Sweyn invaded England and in 1013, Æthelred fled to Normandy and was replaced by Sweyn, who was also king of Denmark. However, Æthelred returned as king after Sweyn died in 1014.
Additional Sources:
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
- Higham, Nick, The Death of Anglo-Saxon England
- Keynes, Simon, “A Tale of Two Kings: Alfred the Great and Æthelred the Unready“
- Keynes, Simon, “Æthelred II (c.966×8–1016)“, in C. Matthew, B. Harrison, & L. Goldman (eds.), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Williams, Ann, Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King
- William of Walmesbury, “Chronicle of the kings of England“
- Wood, Michael, “In Search of Ethelred the Unready” (video)
Filed under: Anglo-Saxons, People, Middle Ages History, Medieval History on January 30th, 2013
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