Family tree Bas » Aethelred II van Mercia (865-910)

Personal data Aethelred II van Mercia 

• He was born in the year 865.
• (Levens event) .Source 1

  Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians (or Ealdorman Æthelred of Mercia) (died 911) became ruler of Mercia shortly after the death of its last king, Ceolred II in 879, probably in 882.[1] His descent is unknown, and he does not appear to have been closely related to his immediate predecessors.[2] He is first recorded in 883, when he made a grant to Berkeley Abbey with the approval of King Alfred of Wessex, showing that he acknowledged Alfred's lordship.[3] Æthelred married Alfred's eldest daughter Æthelflæd between 882 and 887, and they had one child, a daughter called Ælfwynn.[2]
  Contents
  Background
  
  In 874 the Vikings drove out Burgred, king of Mercia and he retired to Rome. He was succeeded by Ceolwulf, who was presented by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as "a foolish king's thegn" who was a puppet of the Vikings. However, historians regard this view as partial and distorted. He was accepted as a true king by the Mercians and by King Alfred. In 877 the Vikings divided Mercia, taking the eastern part for themselves and leaving Ceolwulf with the west. Nothing is known of him after 879, but by 883 Æthelred had become ruler of the part of Mercia still under English control.[4][3]
  Æthelred's status
  
  Æthelred's status is unclear, and this is reflected in the varying titles given to him by different historians. He is sometimes called 'ealdorman',[5] but also 'Lord of the Mercians',[6][7] 'subking'[8] and in the Handbook of British Chronology he is given the designation (described by Simon Keynes's as "delightfully provocative") 'K. [King] Æthelred II'.[9][a] After Ceolwulf's disappearance in 879, coinage issued in English Mercia named the West Saxon king,[10] yet Æthelred issued charters in his own name, implying royal authority.[6] West Saxon sources refer to him as an ealdorman, emphasising Mercian subordination to the West Saxon monarchy, whereas Mercian ones describe him as Lord of the Mercians, and Celtic ones sometimes as king of Mercia. The chronicler Æthelweard, writing in the late tenth century, called him 'King of the Mercians'.[1][11]
  
  Pauline Stafford commented that "Alfred's dominance in the 890s over Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, was as debatable at the time as it still is."[12] Simon Keynes takes the West Saxon view, arguing that Alfred created the 'kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons', inherited by his son Edward the Elder in 899, and Æthelred ruled Mercia under the king.[13] Most historians disagree. Ann Williams stated that "though he accepted West Saxon overlordship, Æthelred behaved rather as a king of Mercia than an ealdorman".[6] Nick Higham goes even further, arguing that: "Celtic visions of Æthelred and Æthelflæd as king and queen certainly offer a different, and equally valid, contemporary take on the complex politics of this transition to a new English state."[14]
  
  In the last years of the ninth century three sub-ealdormen ruled Mercia under Æthelred and Æthelflæd. Her uncle, Æthelwulf, covered western and possibly central Mercia, Æthelfrith, the father of Æthelstan Half-King, the south and east, while Alhhelm was responsible for the lands bordering the northern Danelaw. Æthelwulf and Alhhelm are not recorded after the turn of the century, and Æthelfrith may have been Æthelflæd's chief lieutenant when Æthelred's health collapsed soon afterwards.[15]
  Military campaigns
  
  In the early 880s, Æthelred's "might and tyrannical behaviour" (in the words of Asser) towards the south Welsh kingdoms of Glywysing and Gwent forced them to seek the protection of King Alfred's lordship.[16] In 886, he was given control of London by Alfred. As Alfred conquered the southern Danelaw, it was useful to place the ruler of the divided Kingdom of Mercia in control of its former eastern region. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that Æthelred spent much of the 890s leading military campaigns in eastern England.[1]
  Later life
  
  At some time in the decade after Alfred's death in 899, Æthelred's health collapsed and Æthelflæd became the effective ruler of Mercia.[3] Most historians are cautious in dating his decline, but Cyril Hart and Maggie Bailey believe that it occurred by 902. She cites Mercian Register entries from 902 showing Æthelflæd acting alone or in conjunction with Edward in military operation.[15][1] Irish annals called the Three Fragments also suggest that he was unable to take an active part in government from about 902.[17] However, he did attend a meeting in 903 with King Edward and his wife and daughter.[18] Æthelred died in 911 and Æthelflæd succeeded him as 'Lady of the Mercians', but she did not inherit the Mercian territories of London and Oxford, which were taken by Edward. Æthelflæd died in 918, and their daughter Ælfwynn briefly ruled Mercia until deposed by Edward the Elder, who took the territory under his direct control.[19]
  St Oswald's Priory
  
  Æthelred and Æthelflæd founded a new minster at Gloucester in the late ninth century, and in 909 the bones of St Oswald were translated to the foundation which was renamed St Oswald's Priory in his honour. Both Æthelred and Æthelflæd were buried there.

• He died in the year 910, he was 45 years old.
• A child of Hugh van Mercia
• This information was last updated on January 25, 2013.

Household of Aethelred II van Mercia

He is married to Aethelflaed van Wessex.

They got married in the year 889, he was 24 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Aelfwynn van Mercia  888-938 

Do you have supplementary information, corrections or questions with regards to Aethelred II van Mercia?
The author of this publication would love to hear from you!

Timeline Aethelred II van Mercia

Click on the names for more info. Symbols used:  grandparents    parents    brothers/sisters    children