King Aethelwulf of Wessex was the son of King Egbert and the father of Alfred the Great.
In 851, he won the battle of Oakley and defeated the Danish. Around the same time, his oldest son, Aethelstan, defeated a Viking fleet off the coast of Kent. Both victories were significant to English history.
While a powerful king, he held religion in high regard. In 855, he traveled to Rome with his son Alfred to visit the Pope.
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King Aethelwulf Facts: Early Life
- The first time that Aethelwulf appears in history is in 825, after his father defeated Mercia at the Battle of Ellandun. The victory stopped Mercian power over southern England.
- After the battle, King Egbert sent Aethelwulf on a mission to Kent with a large army to expel sub-king Baldred. Aethelwulf would take the throne and remain there until he inherited the throne of Wessex in 839.
- During his tenure as sub-king in Kent, Aethelwulf successfully cultivated a positive relationship with the ealdormen of Kent by ruling through them and promoting their interests. This also allowed him to purge Mercian supporters.
- In 838, knowing the end was coming, King Egbert held an assembly at Kingston in Surrey. Aethelwulf was consecrated as king by the Archbishop. He would be the first West Saxon king to succeed his father as king since 641.
- Egbert's conquests brought him wealth far greater than his predecessors had enjoyed and enabled him to purchase the support that secured the West Saxon throne for his descendants.
- The stability brought by the dynastic succession of Egbert and Aethelwulf led to an expansion of commercial and agrarian resources and to an expansion of royal income.
King Aethelwulf Facts: Ascension
- When Aethelwulf took the throne after his father's death, he placed his son, Aethelstan the kingdom of the people of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. However, he did not give his son the same amount of power as his father had given him.
- Aethelwulf exercised authority in the south-east and made regular visits there. He governed Wessex and Kent as separate spheres, and assemblies in each kingdom were only attended by the nobility of that country.
- In 843, Aethelwulf granted ten hides at Little Chart to Aethelmod, the brother of the leading Kentish ealdorman Ealhere, and Aethelmod succeeded in the post on his brother's death in 853.
- In 844, Aethelwulf granted land at Horton in Kent to Ealdorman Eadred, with permission to transfer parts of it to local landowners; in a culture of reciprocity, this created a network of mutual friendships and obligations between the beneficiaries and the king.
- King Aethelwulf was the first English monarch to throw his support behind the papacy. His reign was the first for which there is evidence of royal priests, and Malmesbury Abbey regarded him as an important benefactor.
- Like his father, King Aethelwulf maintained a good relationship with Mercia.
- King Wiglaf of Mercia died in 839, and his successor, Berhtwulf, revived the Mercian mint in London; the two kingdoms appear to have struck a joint issue in the mid-840s. This showed friendly relations between the two enemies.
- Aethelwulf betrothed his daughter to the King of Mercia to increase good relations. He also assisted with Mercia's attack on Wales, which restored Mercia's hegemony over Wales.
King Aethelwulf Facts: Vikings
- During the late 9th century, the Vikings were a significant threat within the English Channel. In 843, Aethelwulf was defeated by the Vikings at Carhampton.
- In 850, the sub-king Aethelstan won a naval victory over the vaunted Viking fleet off Sandwich in Kent. This would be the last time Aethelstan's name would see the history books, as he died soon after.
- A Viking fleet took London and Canterbury. Mercia fought back but was defeated. The Vikings moved forward to Surrey, where they were defeated by Aethelwulf and his son Aethelbald at the Battle of Aclea.
- In 850, a Viking army wintered on Thanet, and in 853, ealdormen Ealhhere of Kent and Huda of Surrey were killed in a battle against the Vikings, also on Thanet. In 855, Vikings stayed over the winter on Sheppey before carrying on their pillaging of eastern England. However, outside of this event, Viking attacks were rare during Aethelwulf's reign.
King Aethelwulf Facts: Coinage
- Aethelwulf's coinage came from the main mint in Canterbury and a secondary one at Rochester; both had been used by Egbert for his own coinage after he gained control of Kent.
- During Aethelwulf's reign, there were four main phases of the coinage distinguishable at both mints, though they are not exactly parallel, and it is uncertain when the transitions took place. The first issue at Canterbury carried a design known as Saxoniorum, which had been used by Egbert for one of his own issues.
- This was replaced by a portrait design in about 843, which can be subdivided further; the earliest coins have cruder designs than the later ones.
- At the Rochester mint, the sequence was reversed, with an initial portrait design replaced, also in about 843, by a non-portrait design carrying a cross-and-wedges pattern on the obverse.
King Aethelwulf Facts: Pilgrimage to Rome
- In the early 850s, Aethelwulf went on pilgrimage to Rome. His eldest surviving sons, Aethelbald and Aethelberht, were then adults, while Aethelred and Alfred were still young children.
- In 853, Aethelwulf sent his younger sons to Rome. Alfred and Aethelred, as well, were invested in the "belt of consulship."
- This paved the way for Aethelwulf's pilgrimage and the presence of Alfred, his youngest and, therefore, most expendable son, as a gesture of goodwill to the papacy.
- Confirmation by Pope Leo IV made Alfred his spiritual son and thus created a spiritual link between the two "fathers."
- Aethelwulf set out for Rome in the spring of 855, accompanied by Alfred and a large retinue. The King left Wessex in the care of his oldest surviving son, Aethelbald, and the sub-kingdom of Kent to the rule of Aethelberht, and thereby confirmed that they were to succeed to the two kingdoms.
- On the way, the group stayed with Charles the Bald in Francia, where there were the usual banquets and exchange of gifts.
- Aethelwulf stayed a year in Rome, and his gifts to the Diocese of Rome included a gold crown weighing 4 pounds, two gold goblets, a sword bound with gold, four silver-gilt bowls, two silk tunics, and two gold-interwoven veils.
- He also gave gold to the clergy and leading men and silver to the people of Rome.
- He helped to pay for the restoration of the Saxon quarter, which had recently been destroyed by fire, for English pilgrims.
King Aethelwulf Facts: Later Years
- Aethelwulf returned to Wessex to face a revolt by Aethelbald, who attempted to prevent his father from recovering his throne. His rebellion was supported by Ealhstan, Bishop of Sherborne, and Eanwulf, ealdorman of Somerset, even though they appear to have been two of the king's most trusted advisers.
- Aethelbald's rebellion was supported by Ealhstan, Bishop of Sherborne, and Eanwulf, ealdorman of Somerset, even though they appear to have been two of the king's most trusted advisers.
- The dispute would end in a stalemate, with King Aethelwulf placing his wife as second in command so that he could trust what was going on.
- King Aethelwulf died on 13 January 858. Aethelbald took the throne after his father. His reign would last two years.
Conclusion
King Aethelwulf's reign built on his father's unification of southern England.
He successfully formed a beneficial relationship with Mercia and allowed the people of his country to have a steady economy and enjoy relative peace.
He successfully repelled the threat of Vikings and laid the foundation for future kings to expand. Unfortunately, his reign ended with his son Aethelbald on the throne.