Death of Æthelred The Unready
Æthelred was the son of King Edgar the Peaceful and Queen Ælfthryth.
Æthelred’s father King Edgar, had died suddenly in July 975, leaving his two young sons behind.
The elder, Edward was still a young man, and Æthelred would have been no more than 10 years old.
Both boys were too young to have played any significant part in the political upheaval which followed their father’s death.
It was the brothers’ supporters, and not the brothers themselves, who were responsible for the turmoil which accompanied the choice of a successor to the throne.
In the end, Edward’s supporters proved the more powerful – and he was crowned king before the year was out.
Edward reigned for only three years before he was murdered by members of Æthelred’s household, most likely ordered by Æthelred’s mother, Queen Ælfthryth.
Sadly for Edward, his reign proved to be not only short but ominous – affected by famine, political turmoil and a comet which was viewed by many as a bad omen.
Edward was killed whilst visiting an Anglo-Saxon royal hall, that once stood on the site of the current Corfe Castle in Dorset in March 978.
Æthelred was between nine and twelve years old when he became king.
The coronation of Æthelred took place with much rejoicing by the English people.
His affairs were initially managed by leading councillors, and his mother Queen Ælfthryth.
England had experienced a period of peace under King Edgar, Æthelred’s father.
However, beginning in 980, when Æthelred could not have been more than 14 years old, small companies of Danish adventurers carried out a series of coastline raids against England.
Around the mid 880’s Æthelred married Ælfgifu of York.
The marriage produced six sons, and an unknown number of daughters.
The sons were Æthelstan, Ecgberht, Eadred and Edmund Ironside, Eadwig and Edgar.
Little is known of Ælfgifu’s life, so the precise date and circumstances of her death are not known.
Ælfgifu appears to have died by 1002, possibly in childbirth.
Danish attacks started becoming more serious in the early 990s.
Tribute payments by Æthelred did not successfully temper the Danish attacks.
In August 991, a sizeable Danish fleet began a sustained campaign in the south-east of England.
The battle of Maldon was the first of a series of crushing defeats, felt by the English.
In the aftermath of Maldon, it was decided that the English should grant tribute to the Danes that they desired.
£10,000 was paid to them to guarantee peace.
This proved ultimately to be unsuccessful as Danish attacks on the English coastline would increase over the coming years.
In 1001, a Danish fleet returned and ravaged west Sussex.
Æthelred must have felt at a loss, as in the Spring of 1002, the English bought another truce for £24,000.
Æthelred’s frequent payments of immense Danegelds are often regarded as an example of the incompetency of his government, and Æthelred’s own short-sightedness.
In an attempt to ally Normandy with England, and to unite against the Viking threat, Æthelred married Emma of Normandy in 1002.
Æthelred and Emma had two sons, together Edward the Confessor, and Alfred Ætheling, and a daughter, Goda of England.
On 13th November 1002, St Brice’s Day, Æthelred ordered the massacre of all Danish men in England.
Gunhilde, sister of Sweyn Forkbeard the King of Denmark, was said to have been among the victims.
A wish to avenge her was a principal motive for Sweyn’s invasion of western England, the following year.
Sweyn launched an invasion in 1013 intending to crown himself king of England.
By the end of 1013, English resistance had collapsed, and Sweyn had conquered the country, forcing Æthelred into exile in Normandy.
When Sweyn died on 3rd February 1014, English noblemen sent a deputation to Æthelred.
They wanted to negotiate the removal of Sweyn’s son Cnut the Great, and restore Æthelred to the throne.
Æthelred then launched an expedition against Cnut and his allies.
He sought revenge on those who had betrayed him, including anyone that had acquiesced to the Vikings.
Æthelred set out to recapture London, with the help of Norwegian, Olaf Haraldsson.
Over the next few months Cnut conquered most of England.
On 23rd April 1016, amidst continuing battles for control, Æthelred passed away, leaving the fate of his land in the hands of his son.
The subsequent war between Æthelred’s son Edmund Ironside and Cnut, ended in a decisive victory for Cnut at the Battle of Assandun – on 18th October 1016.
Edmund’s reputation as a warrior was such that Cnut nevertheless agreed to divide England.
Edmund took Wessex, and Cnut the whole of the country beyond the Thames.
However, Edmund died on 30th November, and Cnut became king of the whole country.
Æthelred was buried in Old St Pauls Cathedral, London.
The tomb and his monument were destroyed, along with the cathedral in the Great Fire Of London in 1666.
A modern monument in the crypt, lists his among the important graves lost.
🖤 Darren Cahill plays Æthelred in ‘Vikings’ with Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Bishop Heahmund.
