| Æthelbald (Wessex) of Wessex is managed by the Medieval Project. Pre-1500 certified? Join: Medieval Project Discuss: Medieval |
Preceded by Æthelwulf |
King of the West Saxons 13 January 858 – 20 December 860 |
Succeeded by Æthelbert |
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]
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Categories: House of Wessex