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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: ARN-AUD |
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ATHELSTAN (c. 894-940) , Saxon king, was the son (probably illegitimate) of Edward the elder. He had been the favourite of his grandfather Alfred, and was brought up in the household of his aunt'Ethelflaed, the " Lady of the Mercians." On the death of his father in 924, at some date after the 12th of November, /Ethelstan succeeded him and was crowned at Kingston shortly after. The succession did not, however, take place without opposition. One /Elfred, probably a descendant of /Ethelred I., formed a plot to seize the king at Winchester; the plot was discovered and Elfred was sent to Rome to defend himself, but died shortly after. The king's own legitimate brother Edwin made no attempt on the throne, but in 933 he was drowned at sea under somewhat mysterious circumstances; the later chroniclers ascribe his death to foul play on the part of the king, but this seems more than doubtful. One of rEthelstan's first public acts was to hold a conference at Tamworth with Sihtric, the Scandinavian king of Northumbria, and as a result Sihtric received /Ethelstan's sister in marriage
Guthfrith, destroyed the Danish fortress at York
Hereford
In 934 he invaded Scotland by land and sea, perhaps owing to an alliance between Constantine and Anlaf Sihtricsson. - The army advanced as far north as Dunottar, in Kincardineshire, while the navy sailed to Caithness. Simeon of Durham speaks of a submission of Scotland as a result; if it ever took place it was a mere form, for three years later we find a great confederacy formed in Scotland against /Ethelstan. This confederacy of 937 was joined by Constantine, king of Scotland, the Welsh of Strathclyde, and the Norwegian chieftains Anlaf Sihtricsson and Anlaf Godfredsson, who, though they came from Ireland, had powerful English connexions. A great battle was fought at Brunanburh (perhaps Brunswark or Birrenswark hill in S.E. Dumfriesshire), in which /Ethelstan and his brother Edmund were completely victorious. England had been freed from its greatest danger since the days of the struggle of Alfred against Guthrum. /Ethelstan was the first Saxon king who could claim in any real sense to be lord paramount of Britain. In his charters he is continually called "rex totius Britanniae," and he adopts for the first time the Greek title basileus. This was not merely an idle flourish, for some of his charters are signed by Welsh and Scottish kings as subreguli. Further, /Ethelstan was the first king to bring England into close touch with continental Europe. By the marriage
chief
lEthelstan died at Gloucester in 940, and was buried at Malmesbury, an abbey which he had munificently endowed during his lifetime. Apparently he was never married, and he certainly had no issue. A considerable body
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Hampshire , at Exeter, at Thunresfeld, and the Judicia civitatis Lundonie. In the last-named one personal touch is found when the king tells the archbishop how grievous it is to put to death persons of twelve winters for stealing. The king secured the raising of the age limit to fifteen.End of Article: ATHELSTAN (c. 894-940) If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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