| Ethelred II, the Unready | |
|---|---|
| King of England | |
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| Reign | March 18, 978 – April 23, 1016 |
| Born | 968 |
| Wessex | |
| Died | April 23 1016 |
| London | |
| Buried | Old Saint Paul's Cathedral |
| Predecessor | Edward the Martyr (978) Sweyn (1014) |
| Successor | Sweyn (1013) Edmund Ironside (1016) |
| Consort | Ælfgifu Emma |
| Issue | Aethelstan Aetheling Edmund Ironside Ecgberht Ætheling Eadred Aethling Eadgyth Ælfgifu Eadwig Aetheling Eadgar Aetheling the Elder Edward the Confessor Ælfred_Ætheling Goda |
| Father | Edgar |
| Mother | Ælfthryth |
Ethelred II (c. 968 – April 23, 1016), also known as Ethelred the Unready or Aethelred the Unready (Old English Æþelræd Unræd), was King of England (978–1013, and 1014–1016). He was the son of Edgar, King of all England (959–975) and Ælfthryth. The majority of his reign (991–1016) was marked by a defensive war against Viking invaders.
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Æþelræd Unræd
It is not true that contemporaries considered him ill-prepared. Rather, his nickname "the unready" derives from the Anglo-Saxon Unræd, which means "without counsel", "ill-advised" or "indecisive". This can be seen as a pun on his name, Æþelræd, which may be understood to mean "noble counsel" in Old English. So he was 'Noble counsel, No counsel'. There are 2 spellings of his name, the one here being 'Ethelred', and the second being 'Aethelred', which is closer to the original Anglo-Saxon spelling 'Æþelræd'. Books about him will use one of the two spellings, but they both refer to the same person.
Early life
According to William of Malmesbury, Ethelred defecated in the baptismal font as a child, which led St. Dunstan to prophesy that the English monarchy would be overthrown during his reign. This story is, however, almost certainly a complete fabrication (a similar story is told of Byzantine Emperor Constantine Copronymus, another medieval monarch who was unpopular among certain of his subjects). Following the death of his father King Edgar and subsequent murder of his half-brother Edward the Martyr by servants of Ethelred's mother, Ethelred succeeded to the throne at about age ten.
Conflict with the Danes
England had experienced a period of peace after the reconquest of the Danelaw in the mid-10th century. However, a new wave of raids began in 980 and a sizable Danish force began a sustained campaign in 991. During the next quarter of a century England was devastated by a succession of large Danish armies, either under the leadership of King Sweyn I of Denmark or of other commanders such as Olaf Tryggvason and Thorkell the Tall, which Ethelred's government failed to combat effectively. He was only able to halt the depredations of these armies by the payment of large sums of money known as Danegeld. Each payment led to the withdrawal of the Danes, but on each occasion a fresh onslaught began after a year or two, and each Danegeld payment was much larger than the last. Ethelred's most desperate response was the massacre of the Danes living in England on St Brice's Day (November 13) 1002. Finally in 1013 English resistance collapsed and Sweyn conquered the country, forcing Ethelred into exile, but after his victory Sweyn lived for only another five weeks. In 1014, Canute the Great was proclaimed King of England by the Danish army in England but was forced out of England that year. Canute launched a new invasion in 1015 and Ethelred's control of England was collapsing once again when he died at London on 23 April 1016. He was buried in St Paul's and was succeeded by his son, Edmund Ironside.
Marriages and issue
Ethelred married first Ælfgifu, daughter of Thored, the ealdorman of York, by whom he had six sons: Æthelstan Ætheling (died 1011), Edmund Ironside, Ecgberht Ætheling, Eadred Ætheling, Eadwig Ætheling (killed 1017) and Eadgar Ætheling the Elder. They also had as many as four daughters: Edith, who married Eadric Streona, ealdorman of Mercia, and Ælfgifu, who married Uchtred the Bold, ealdorman of Bamburgh. Less certainly there may also have been a daughter named Wulfhild married to Ulfcytel Snillingr, and perhaps a fourth daughter, whose name is not recorded, who was abbess of Wherwell.
His second marriage, in 1002, was to Emma of Normandy, whose grandnephew, William I of England, would later use this relationship as the basis of his claim on the throne. They had two sons, Eadweard (later King of England and known now as Edward the Confessor) and Ælfred Ætheling. By this marriage, he also had Goda of England, who married Drogo of Mantes, Count of Vexin.
Legacy
Despite the total failure of his government in the face of the Danish threat, Ethelred's reign was not without some achievements. The quality of the coinage, a good indicator of the prevailing economic conditions, significantly improved during his reign due to his numerous coinage reform laws. His formation of an investigative body charged with the duty of accusing no innocent person and sheltering no guilty one is credited as being the historical root of the grand jury.[1]
Cultural references
Ethelred was the subject of a stageplay by Ronald Ribman titled The Ceremony of Innocence. It was first performed in 1968, and depicted interactions between Ethelred and his court, family and advisors, and also with the Danish king. In the game Civilization IV, Ethelred the Unready is one of the leadership rankings you can achieve (though, true to his nickname, it denotes a very low achievement). Eddie Izzard comments about Ethelred the Unready in one of his comedy stand-up routines: "Ethelred the Unready? What did he do to be called that? 'My Lord the armies of...' 'Just give me a moment'".
See also
References
- ^ Grand Jury handbook of the Florida Supreme Court.
- Ann Williams: Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King. London: Hambledon Press, 2003. ISBN 1-85285-382-4
- Clemoes, Peter. The Anglo-Saxons: Studies Presented to Bruce Dickins, 1959
In Literature
- Helen Hollick. The Hollow Crown. (August 2004) William Heinemann, Random House. ISBN 0-434-00491-X; Arrow paperback ISBN 0-09-927234-2. This is a historical novel about Queen Emma of Normandy, including her first marriage to Ethelred.
External links
- Æthelred 32 (Male) the Unready; king of the English, 978-1016. Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- Miller, Sean. Æthelred the Unready. Anglo-Saxons.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- Documentary - The Making of England: Aethelred the Unready
| Preceded by Edward the Martyr |
King of England 978–1013 |
Succeeded by Sweyn |
| Preceded by Sweyn |
King of England 1014–1016 |
Succeeded by Edmund II |
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Monarchs of England (pre-Conquest)
Alfred the Great • Edward the Elder • Elfward • Athelstan • Edmund the Magnificent • Edred • Edwy the Fair • Edgar the Peaceable • Edward the Martyr • Ethelred the Unready • Sweyn Forkbeard • Edmund Ironside • Canute • Harold Harefoot • Harthacanute • Edward the Confessor • Harold Godwinson • Edgar the Atheling Monarchs of England (post-Conquest) William I the Conqueror • William II Rufus • Henry I • Stephen • Matilda • Henry II • Richard I the Lionheart • John Lackland • Henry III • Edward I Longshanks • Edward II • Edward III • Richard II • Henry IV Bolingbroke • Henry V • Henry VI • Edward IV • Edward V • Richard III Crouchback • Henry VII • Henry VIII • Edward VI • Jane • Mary I • Elizabeth I • James I • Charles I • Republic • Charles II • James II • William III & Mary II • William III • Anne |
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