Ęthelwulf, also spelled Aethelwulf or Ethelwulf; Old English: Ęželwulf, means 'Noble Wolf' was born c. 795 was the elder son of King Egbert of Wessex. He conquered Kent on behalf of his father in 825. Thereafter he was styled King of Kent until he succeeded his father as King of Wessex in 839, whereupon he became King of Wessex, Kent, Cornwall, the West Saxons and the East Saxons. He was crowned at Kingston upon Thames.
The most notable and commonly used primary source is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The chronicle makes reference to a few influential battles, of which Ęthelwulf partook. In the year 840 AD, he fought at Carhampton against thirty-five ship companies of Danes, whose raids had increased considerably. His most notable victory came in 851 at "Acleah", probably Ockley or Oakley in Surrey. Here, Ęthelwulf and his son Ethelbald fought against the heathen, and according to the chronicle it was "the greatest slaughter of heathen host ever made." Around the year 853, Ęthelwulf, and his son-in-law, Burgred, King of Mercia defeated Cyngen ap Cadell of Wales and made the Welsh subject to him. The chronicle depicts more battles throughout the years, mostly against invading pirates and Danes. This was an era in European history where nations were being invaded from many different groups; there were Saracens in the south, Magyars in the east, Moors in the west, and Vikings in the north. Before Ęthelwulf's death, raiders had wintered over on the Isle of Sheppey, and pilaged at will in East Anglia. Over the course of the next twenty years the struggles of his sons were to be "ceaseless, heroic, and largely futile."
In 839, Ęthelwulf succeeded his father Egbert as King. Egbert had been a grizzled veteran who had fought for survival since his youth. Ęthelwulf had a worrying style of Kingship. He had come naturally to the throne of Wessex. He proved to be intensly religious, cursed with little political sense, and too many able and ambitious sons. [Humble, Richard. The Saxon Kings. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980. 41.] One of the first acts Ęthelwulf did as King, was to split the kingdom. He gave the eastern half, that of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex to his eldest son Athelstan (not to be confused with the later Athelstan the Glorious). Ęthelwulf kept the ancient, western side of Wessex (Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset and Devon) for himself. Ęthelwulf and his first wife, Osburga, had five sons and a daughter. After Athelstan came Ethelbald, Ethelbert, Ethelred, and Alfred. Each of his sons succeeded to the throne. Alfred, the youngest son, has been praised as one of the greatest kings to ever reign in Britain. Ęthelwulf's only daughter, Aethelswith, was married as a child to the king of Mercia.
Religion was always an important area in Ęthelwulf's life. As early as the first year of his reign he had planned a pilgrimage to Rome. Due to the ongoing and increasing raids he felt the need to appeal to the Christian God for help against an enemy "so agile, and numerous, and profane." [Humble, Richard. The Saxon Kings. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980. 41.]
In 853 Ęthelwulf, sent his son Alfred, a child of about four years, to Rome. In 855, about a year after his wife Osburh's death, Ęthelwulf followed Alfred to Rome. In Rome, he was generous with his wealth. He distributed gold to the clergy of St. Peter's, and offered the Blessed Peter chalices of the purest gold and silver-gilt candelabra of Saxon work. [Hodgkin, RH. A History of the Anglo-Saxons. London: Oxford UP, 1935. 512.] During the return journey in 856 he married Judith a Frankish princess and a great-granddaughter of Charlemagne. She was about twelve years old, the daughter of Charles the Bald, King of the West Franks.
Upon their return to England in 856 Ęthelwulf met with an acute crisis. His eldest son Ethelbald (Athelstan had since died) had devised a conspiracy with the Ealdorman of Somerset and the Bishop of Sherborne to oppose Ęthelwulf's resumption of the kingship once he returned. There was enough support of Ęthelwulf to either have a civil war, or to banish Ethelbald and his fellow conspirators. Instead Ęthelwulf yielded Wessex proper to his son, and accepted Surrey, Sussex and Essex for himself. he ruled there until his death on January 13, 858. The family quarrel, had it been allowed to continue, could have ruined the House of Egbert. Ęthelwulf and his advisors deserved the adoration bestowed upon them for their restraint and tolerance.
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That the king should have consented to treat with his rebellious son, to refer the compromise to a meeting of Saxon nobles, to moderate the pugnacity of his own supporters, and to resign the rule over the more important half of his dominions- all this testifies to the fact that Ęthelwulfs Christian spirit did not exhaust itself in the giving of lavish charities to the Church, but availed to reconcile him to the sacrifice of prestige and power in the cause of national peace. [Hodgkin, RH. A History of the Anglo-Saxons. London: Oxford UP, 1935. 515.]
Ęthelwulf's restoration included a special concession on behalf of Saxon queens. The West Saxons previously did not allow the queen to sit next to the king. In fact they were not referred to as a queen, but merely the "wife of the king." This restriction was lifted for Queen Judith, probably because she was a high ranking European princess.
He was buried first at Steyning and then later transferred to the Old Minster in Winchester. His bones now reside in one of several mortuary chests in Winchester Cathedral.
The gold ring, depicted in the picture, is about an inch across, richly decorated with religious symbols, is inscribed Ęthelwulf Rex and was found at Laverstock, Wiltshire, in 1780; it was believed to have been a gift from Ęthelwulf to a loyal follower.
Ęthelwulf and Osburh, daughter of Osric had six children, four of whom became kings of Wessex
Ęthelstan was born c.839. He was the eldest son of King Ęthelwulf. He ruled as King of Kent. Ęthelweard's chronicle calls him "King of the Dwellers in Kent, of the East Saxons, of the South Saxons and of Surrey". When Ęthelwulf became King of the West Saxons in 839 on the death of his father Egbert of Wessex, he appointed Ęthelstan to rule in Kent and surrounding former kingdoms. A number of charters issued by Ęthelstan survive.. The last record of Ęthelstan is circa 851 when, along with Ealdorman Ealhhere, he defeated a Viking fleet and army at Sandwich. Ealhhere's death in battle against Vikings is recorded c. 853, Ęthelstan is not mentioned. It is presumed that he died some time after the battle in 851 and before his brother Ęthelberht of Wessex became ruler of Kent, c. 858. We could also assume that he died before 856 because if he were still alive when his father died, being the eldest son, he most likely would have inherited the throne of Wessex before his brother Ethelbald.. Ęthelstan was the only son of Ęthelwulf who did not rule Wessex.
Ęthelswith was the only daughter of King AEthelwulf of Wessex and his first wife Osburh, Ęthelswith of Wessex married Burgred of Mercia as part of an agreement between him and her father in Chippenham, Wiltshire sometime after 853. In 874 both she and her husband were forced into exile in Italy after he was deposed by the appointment of the Mercian Ealdorman, Ceolwulf by the Danes to replace him. Ęthelswith was buried in Pavia, Italy
King Ęthelbald or Ęželbald (Means roughly 'Noble Bold') was born in about 831 or 834. He became King of Wessex in 856 after forcing his father to abdicate. (His elder brother Ęthelstan had already died.) He was crowned at Kingston upon Thames and married his widowed stepmother, Judith. The marriage was annulled on the grounds of consanguinity. He died in 860 and was buried at Sherborne in Dorset.
King Ęthelbert or Ęželberht of Wessex (meaning "Magnificent Noble") was born around 835. He succeeded his brother, Ethelbald of Wessex, as King of Wessex in 860, but died without issue in 865.Like his father and brother he was also crowned at Kingston upon Thames. His reign saw a Danish plundering of Kent and raids in Northumbria, both led by Ragnar Lodbrok.They had also penetrated as far as Winchester in Ethelbert's early reign. He was buried at Sherborne Abbey in Dorset.
King Ęthelred I (Old English: Ęželręd) was born c 840. He was the fourth son of Ethelwulf. He succeeded his brother, Ethelbert, as King of Wessex and Kent in 865.. He married Wulfrida and had two sons, Aethelwold being the elder and Aethelhelm being the younger. Ethelred I was not able to control the increasing Danish raids which devastated England. On January 4, 871 at the Battle of Reading, Ethelred suffered a crushing defeat, although he did hand the Danes a Pyrrhic victory. Soon after, however, Ethelred was able to re-form his army in time to win a stunning victory at Ashdown. However, he suffered another defeat on 22nd January at the Battle of Basing and was killed at the Battle of Merton on 23rd April 871. Ethelred is buried at Wimborne in Dorset. Following his death, he was popularly regarded as a saint, but never canonised. He was succeeded by his brother, King Alfred the Great
Ęthelwulf and his second wife, Judith of Flanders, and had no issue
