Æthelbald (Wessex) of Wessex
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Æthelbald (Wessex) of Wessex (abt. 835 - 860)

Æthelbald "King of Wessex" of Wessex formerly Wessex
Born about in Wessex, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married after 13 Jan 0858 in Wessexmap
[children unknown]
Died at about age 25 in Rochford, Essex, Englandmap
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Profile last modified | Created 11 Sep 2011
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Preceded by
Æthelwulf
King of the West Saxons
13 January 858 – 20 December 860
Succeeded by
Æthelbert

Biography

Æthelbald was the second son of Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh.[1][2] His birth date is uncertain, but he was old enough in 855 to be entrusted with Wessex while his father was abroad,[1] so he was likely to have been born no later than second half of the 830s.

Æthelbald's name appears on charters from the 840s.[1][3] He was given the rank of Ealdorman in 850.[1] His older brother Athelstan probably died soon after winning a naval battle against Vikings that year,[4][5] leaving Æthelbald heir apparent to Wessex.

In 850 Æthelbald and his father won a victory against a Viking force at Aclea: the location is not known.[6]

In 855 his father went to Rome, staying away from England for over a year, and returning after having married Judith, daughter of Charles II, king of the Franks. Æthelbald was left in charge of Wessex, and his brother Æthelberht became sub-king of Kent. Asser, in his Life of King Alfred, states that there was a plot, in which Æthelbald was involved, to try and prevent Æthelwulf from resuming kingship of Wessex:[7] this may have been because Æthelbald feared his rights to the throne of Wessex might be threatened by a child of his father's second marriage.[1] There is, though, no mention of any such rebellion in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, and Asser's account of Æthelbald is clearly written from a very hostile viewpoint. Whatever the facts, Æthelwulf divided his realm between himself and Æthelbald, with Æthelbald becoming king of western Wessex, while Æthelwulf kept control of eastern Wessex.[1] According to Asser, the division was made to avoid civil war.[7]

On Æthelwuf's death in 858, Æthelbald became king of all Wessex, while his younger brother Æthelberht continued as king of Kent.[1][6] Æthelbald married his stepmother Judith,[1] something which Asser condemns in strong terms,[8] although there is no sign that the marriage was regarded as scandalous at the time.[9] According to Roger of Wendover, writing in the 13th century, Æthelbald subsequently repented of this marriage and repudiated Judith,[10] but this may well be inaccurate, and no contemporary source refers to any such repudiation.

Æthelbald died in 860 and was buried in Sherborne Abbey, Dorset.[1][2][8][6] His widow Judith is said to have returned to her father before eloping with Baldwin of Flanders.[2]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Sean Miller for 'Æthelbald (d. 860)', print and online 2004
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Charles. ÆTHELBALD (835/40-20 Dec 860, entry in "Medieval Lands" database (accessed 23 June 2021)
  3. A J Robertson (editor and translator). Anglo-Saxon Charters, 2nd edition, 1956, reissued by Cambridge University Press in 2009, pp. 14-15
  4. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Janet L Nelson for 'Æthelwulf (d. 858)', print and online 2004
  5. Charles Cawley. ÆTHELSTAN (820/26-851/53), entry in "Medieval Lands" database (accessed 9 June 2021) - child 1 under Æthelwulf
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Michael Swanton (editor and translator). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, new edition, Phoenix Press, 2000, pp. 64-67
  7. 7.0 7.1 Asser. Life of King Alfred, translated by Albert S Cook, Ginn and Company, 1906, pp. 6-7, Internet Archive
  8. 8.0 8.1 Asser, Life of King Alfred, pp. 11-12, Internet Archive
  9. Frank Stenton. Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 1971, p. 245
  10. J A Giles (translator). Roger of Wendover's Flowers of History, Vol. I, Henry G Bohn, 1849, p. 187, Internet Archive




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Comments: 5

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I plan soon to dome work on this profile on behalf of the Medieval Project
posted by Michael Cayley
I have now finished the main work I currently intend on this profile. If anyone spots any typos etc, please either correct them or message me. Thanks.
posted by Michael Cayley
Sean Miller, ‘Æthelbald (d. 860)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 30 Sept 2017
posted by C. Mackinnon
Hi! Here's another one to open, please. Thanks!
posted by Roger Travis Jr.

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