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Æþelræd I of Wessex

Male Abt 837 - 871  (34 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors and 4 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Æþelræd I of Wessex 
    Birth Abt 837 
    Gender Male 
    Geschiedenis King Æthelred I (Old English: Æþelræd, sometimes rendered as Ethelred, "noble counsel") (c. 83 – 871) was King of Wessex from 865 to 871. He was the fourth son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex. He succeeded his brother, Æthelberht (Ethelbert), as King of Wessex and Kent in 865



    Early life



    In 853 his younger brother Alfred went to Rome, and according to contemporary references in the Liber Vitae of San Salvatore, Brescia, Æthelred accompanied him. He first witnessed his father's charters as an Ætheling in 854, and kept this title until he succeeded to the throne in 871. He may have acted as an underking as early as 862, and in 862 and 863 he issued charters as King of the West Saxons. This must have been as deputy or in the absence of his elder brother, King Æthelberht, as there is no record of conflict between them and he continued to witness his brother's charters as a king's son in 864



    Reign



    In the same year as Æthelred's succession as king, a great Viking army arrived in England, and within five years they had destroyed two of the principal English kingdoms, Northumbria and East Anglia. In 868 Æthelred's brother-in-law, Burgred king of Mercia, appealed to him for help against the Vikings. Æthelred and his brother, the future Alfred the Great, led a West Saxon army to Nottingham, but there was no decisive battle, and Burgred bought off the Vikings. In 874 the Vikings defeated Burgred and drove him into exile.



    In 870 the Vikings turned their attention to Wessex, and on 4 January 871 at the Battle of Reading, Æthelred suffered a heavy defeat. Although he was able to re-form his army in time to win a victory at the Battle of Ashdown, he suffered further defeats on 22 January at Basing,0 and 22 March at Meretun.



    In about 867, Æthelred effectively established a common currency between Wessex and Mercia by adopting the Mercian type of lunette penny, and coins minted exclusively at London and Canterbury then circulated in the two kingdoms.



    Æthelred died shortly after Easter (15 April) 871, and is buried at Wimborne Minster in Dorset. He was succeeded by his younger brother 
    Death Apr 871 
    Burial Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Siblings 5 Siblings 
    Person ID I432829  Nederlandse voorouders
    Last Modified Mon 13 May 2013 

    Father Koning van Engeland
    King Of England Æthelwulf of Wessex
    ,   b. Abt 800   d. Sun 13 Jan 858, London, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 58 years) 
    Mother Osburga Arigh,   b. Yes, date unknown   d. 876 
    Marriage 828 
    Family ID F119336  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Wulfthryth,   b. Yes, date unknown   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Children 
    +1. Tyra Danebot,   b. Abt 870, Wessex, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 935, Jelling, Danmark Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 65 years)
    Family ID F168740  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map Click to hide
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Link to Google Earth
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