lifecanbeonlywhatyoumakeithonor - Tumblr blog

lifecanbeonlywhatyoumakeithonor · 1 month ago

Text

0 notes

lifecanbeonlywhatyoumakeithonor · 1 month ago

Text

0 notes

lifecanbeonlywhatyoumakeithonor · 1 month ago

Text

0 notes

lifecanbeonlywhatyoumakeithonor · 1 month ago

Text

0 notes

lifecanbeonlywhatyoumakeithonor · 1 month ago

Photo

Aethelstan

Aethelstan was the first King of England, ruling from 927 to 939. The son of Edward the Elder (reign 899-924) and grandson of Alfred the Great (reign 871-899), he inherited the southern-based Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons in 924 before capturing Viking York in 927 and establishing rule over northern England. He would do much to unite the various peoples of his kingdom, including the Mercians, West Saxons, Danes, and Northumbrians, under his rule by holding national councils, reforming laws, and encouraging unity through a common Christian faith.

His influence extended beyond England as he subdued the kings of Wales, Scotland, and Strathclyde and forged alliances with the rulers of France, Germany, and Norway. His greatest test came in 937 when an alliance of Scots, Celts, and Vikings attempted to conquer northern England. However, the defeat of the invaders at the Battle of Brunanburh marked a pivotal moment, the first great victory of the united English kingdom.

Much of what we know about Aethelstan comes from a contemporary set of annals, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which provides key but limited details, expanded upon by the 12th-century historian William of Malmesbury, who claimed to be working from a now lost ancient book on the king. As Aethelstan was a great patron of William’s Malmesbury Abbey, William understandably admired the king, who, he believed, was “extremely beloved by his subjects from admiration of his fortitude and humility, he was terrible to those who rebelled against him, through his invincible courage.” He also tells us the king was “of becoming stature, thin in person, his hair flaxen,” which – according to William’s own investigation into Aethelstan’s coffin – was “beautifully wreathed with golden threads” (Sharpe, 134).

Youth

Aethelstan was born in 894 to Edward and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Edward, still a young man, was the heir to the southern Kingdom of Wessex, ruled by his father, Alfred the Great, who stoutly led the resistance against the Viking invaders, defeating them at the Battle of Edington in 878 after they had conquered northern and eastern England.

Alfred was particularly fond of his grandson. When Aethelstan was about five years old, Alfred held a public ceremony for the young prince, gifting him a scarlet cloak, a diamond-studded belt, and a sword with a golden scabbard, displaying the boy as a ‘throne-worthy’ prince. Aethelstan was then sent to the West Midlands to be fostered under the care of Alfred’s daughter, Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians (reign 911-918), and her husband, Aethelred, Lord of the Mercians (reign 881-911), a loyal vassal of Wessex.

Later praised as the “best-educated ruler they had ever had,” Aethelstan was taught to read and write in both English and Latin (Foot, 29). He also likely studied classical works of theology and philosophy, including Augustine of Hippo’s Soliloquies and Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy. Equally importantly, he was trained in riding, hunting, hawking, and Anglo-Saxon warfare.

When Edward became King of Wessex upon his father’s death in 899, his first major decision was to set aside Aethelstan’s mother, Ecgwynn, who was of minor political standing, in favour of a more prestigious consort, Aelfflaed of Wiltshire. His new bride was the daughter of Ealdorman Aethelhelm of Wiltshire (d. 897), a powerful lord who had been one of Alfred’s leading military commanders. While the union enhanced Edward’s position, it undermined Aethelstan’s, as the son of Edward’s second marriage, Aelfweard, would now boast a superior maternal lineage to his older half-brother. Aelfweard also grew up in Wessex beside his father, forming ties with the kingdom’s power brokers, while Aethelstan was far away in Mercia.

Yet Aethelstan embarked on a perfect royal apprenticeship. Now led by Aethelflaed, following her husband’s death in 911, the Mercians waged war on the Vikings of the East Midlands. As one of his aunt’s chief lieutenants, Aethelstan led troops and built fortresses on her behalf, earning him renown and respect among the Mercians. When Aethelflaed died in 918, and Mercia passed to her brother, Edward, Aethelstan continued in this role and perhaps even acted as his father’s deputy in Mercia, gaining experience in both politics and warfare.