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Encyclopedia Britannica

ETHELRED II

This article appears in Volume V01, Page 291 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: EMS-EUD

ETHELRED II . (or ETHELRED) (c. 968I016), king of the English (surnamed THE UNREADY, i.e. without rede or counsel), son of King Edgar by his second wife'Elfthryth, was born in 968 or 969 and succeeded to the throne on the murder of his step-brother Edward (the

Martyr

MARTYR (Gr. pimp or ľaprvs)

) in 979. His reign was disastrous from the beginning. The year after his accession the Danish invasions, long unintermitted under Edgar the Peaceful, recommenced; though as yet their object was plunder only, not conquest, and the attacks were repeated in 981, 982 and 988. In 991 the Danes burned Ipswich, and defeated and slew the

East

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

Saxon ealdorman Brihtnoth at Maldon. After this, peace was purchased by a payment of IO,000a disastrous expedient. The Danes were .to desist from their ravages, but were allowed to stay in England. Next year 'Ethelred himself broke the peace by an attack on the Danish ships. Despite the treachery of !Elfric, the English were victorious; and the Danes sailed off to ravage Lindsey and Northumbria. In 994 Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway, and Sweyn, king of Denmark, united in a

great

GREAT

invasion and attacked London. Foiled by the valour of the citizens, they sailed away and harried the coast from Essex to

Hampshire

HAMPSHIRE (or COUNTY OF SOUTHAMPTON, abbreviated HANTS)

. "Ethelred now resorted to the old experiment and bought them off for 16,000 and a promise of supplies. Olaf also visited "Ethelred at the latter's request and, receiving a most honourable welcome, was induced to promise that he would never again come to England with hostile

intent

INTENT (from Lat. intend ere, to stretch out, extend, particularly in the phrase intendere animum, to turn one's mind to, purpose)

, an engagement which he faithfully kept. The Danish attacks were repeated in 997, 998, 999, and in r000 "Ethelred availed himself of the temporary absence of the Danes in Normandy to invade Cumberland, at that time a Viking stronghold. Next year, however, the Northmen returned and inflicted worse evil than ever. The national defence seemed to have broken down altogether. In despair "Ethelred again offered them money, which they again accepted, the sum paid on this occasion being 24,000. But soon afterwards the king, suspecting treachery, resolved to get rid of his enemies once and for all. Orders were issued commanding the slaughter on St Brice's day (December 2) of " all the Danish men who were in England." Such a decree could obviously not be carried out literally; but we cannot doubt that the slaughter was

great

GREAT

. This violence, however, only made matters worse. Next year Sweyn returned, his hostility fanned by the desire for revenge. For two years he ravaged and slew; in 1003 Exeter was destroyed; Norwich and Thetford in 1004. No effectual resistance was offered, despite a gallant effort here and there; the disorganization of the country was complete. In io05 the Danes were absent in Denmark, but came back next year, and emboldened by the utter lack of resistance, they ranged far inland. In 1007 "Ethelred bought them off for a larger sum than ever (36,000), and for two years the land enjoyed peace. In 1009, however, in accordance with a resolution made by the witan in the preceding year, "Ethelred collected such a

fleet

FLEET

" as never before had been in England in any king's day "; but owing to a miserable court quarrel the effort came to nothing. The king then summoned a general levy of the nation, with no better result. Just as he was about to attack, the traitor Edric prevented him from doing so, and the opportunity waS lost. In roro the Danes returned, to find the kingdom more utterly disorganized than ever. " There was not a

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

man in the kingdom who could gather a force, but each fled as he best might; nor even at last would any there resist another." Incapable of offering resistance, the king again offered money, this time no less than 48,000. While it was being
collected, the Danes sacked Canterbury and barbarously slew the archbishop Alphege. The tribute was paid soon afterwards; and about the same time the Danish leader Thurkill entered the English service. From 1013 an important

change

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. Ťa urmu', to bend)

is discernible in the character of the Danish attacks, which now became definitely political in their aim. In this year Sweyn sailed up the Trent and received the submission of northern England, and then marching south, he attacked London. Failing to take it, he hastened west and at Bath received the submission of Wessex. Then he returned northwards, and after that " all the nation considered him as full king." London soon acknowledged him, and ?Ethelred, after taking

refuge

REFUGE

for a while with Thurkill's

fleet

FLEET

, escaped to Normandy. Sweyn died in February 1014, and 'Ethelred was recalled by the witan, on giving a promise to reign better in future. At once he hastened north against Canute, Sweyn's son, who claimed to succeed his father, but Canute sailed away, only to return next year, when the traitor Edric joined him and Wessex submitted. Together Canute and Edric harried Mercia, and were preparing to reduce London, when /Ethelred died there on the 23rd of April 1or6. Weak, self-indulgent, improvident, he had pursued a policy of opportunism to a fatal conclusion.
/Ethelred's wife was Emma, or lElfgifu, daughter of Richard I. the Fearless, duke of the Normans, whom he married in 1002. After the king's death Emma became the wife of Canute the Great, and after his death in 1035 she struggled hard to secure England for her son, Hardicanute. In 1037, however, when Harold Harefoot became sole king, she was banished; she went to Flanders, returning to England with Hardicanute in 1040. In 1043, after Edward the Confessor had become king he seized the greater part of Emma's great wealth, and the queen lived in retirement at Winchester until her death on the 6th of March 1052. By 'Ethelred Emma had two sons, Edward the Confessor and the wtheling /Elfred (d. 1036), and by Canute she was the mother of Hardicanute. Emma's

marriage

MARRIAGE

with /Ethelred was an important step in the history of the relations between England and Normandy, and J. R. Green says " it suddenly opened for its rulers a distinct policy, a distinct course of action, which led to the Norman conquest of England. From the moment of Emma's

marriage

MARRIAGE

Normandy became a

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

factor in English politics."

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