
Born | Born At | ||
Died | 871 | Buried At | |
Father | Aethelwulf (King of Wessex 839-858) | Mother | Osburga |
Titles include | King of Wessex from 866 to 871 |
Family Tree Details
Aethelred (King of Wessex 866-871) ( - d.871)
+Wulfthryth =Aethelwold ( - d.902)
Timeline
A large army of Danes landed in East Anglia led by King Ivar the 'Boneless' and King Halfdan. No attempts were made to get rid of the invaders.
Following the death of his elder brother, Ethelred became the King of Wessex. Alfred (the Great) became his deputy.
Ethelread held a Witenagemot (Witan) at the palace of Woodstock.
A large number of Vikings landed in East Anglia and gathered horses and supplies from the surrounding areas in preparation for their assault on Northumbria. Their leaders were Ivar the Boneless, son of Ragnar Lodbrok, and possibly Anlaf (Olaf) Cuaran, the King of Dublin.
The 'Great Army' moved north from their original landing site in East Anglia and into Northumbria where it split into two. One section took boats up the coast and sailed into the Humber while the other section went overland.
Armies from Northumbria attacked the Danes at York but were defeated. The Danes moved south attacking Nottingham and taking the city. The king of Mercia asked Ethelred and Alfred for assistance and an army from Wessex went to help.
Ethelred and Alfred married Mercian noble women whilst assisting the King of Mercia with the Danes on his land. A peaceful settlement was reached with the Danes and a Danegeld was paid for them to leave.
Aethelred and Alfred defeated the Danes at Ashdown.
After fighting the Danes all winter Aethelred died. He was only in his twenties. He was buried at Wimborne and was succeeded by his younger brother Alfred 'the Great'. Aethelred had two sons but they were too young to rule. The younger son Aethelwold would later rebel against against Alfred's son Edward the Elder for the English throne.
See Also
People
Other