2. Æthelred – Alfred Compared
Alfred Æthelred
Paying Payment to buy time to Payments at increasing
Vikings build up defenses rate (gafol, Danegeld)
Efficacy Peace over 15 years Temporary respites
Defenses Burhs as garrisoned Existing burhs now
forts commercial centers
Stone walls added
New burhs at South
Cadbury, Old Sarum, and
Cissbury
Fyrds Rotating standing army Ad hoc army
3. Æthelred – Alfred Compared
Alfred Æthelred
Army Shortage of armor Large stock of coats of
mail
Navy Start navy but it is Start navy but betrayed
ineffective by Wulfnoth
Dealing Forced to contribute Forced to contribute
with the hostages as well as geld supplies as well as geld
enemy
Support Support of nobles Lack of support by many
nobles
4. Æthelred – Alfred Compared
Alfred Æthelred
Enemy force 2,000-3,000 5,000-10,000 organized
troops
Area defended Wessex England
Governmental Not yet organized Organized
structure
Chroniclers Contemporary texts Retrospective texts after
in A-S Chronicle defeat in A-S Chronicle
Context Millenialism
5. Æthelred – Alfred Compared
Alfred Æthelred
Personality Intellectual approach Subject to rage
to kingship
counselors English and Untrustworthy military
Continental clergy leaders
Law New law code based Several law codes
on precedents dealing with regional
variations
Culture Fostered education Period of continuing
and church building excellence in fine arts,
education and
scholarship
6. References
Simon Keynes (1986). ―A Tale of Two Kings: Alfred the Great
and Æthelred the Unready‖. Transactions of the Royal
Historical Society, 36, pp 195-217 [Not as bad as later writers
painted him]
Leonard Neidorf ―II Æthelred and the Politics of The Battle of
Maldon” Journal of English and Germanic Philology—
October 2012, pp 451-473
Richard Abels English Logistics and military administration,
871-1066: The Impact of the Viking Wars
http://asnoc.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/english-logistics-and-military-administration-871-
1066-the-impact-of-the-viking-wars/
10. 1014 Attack on London?
‖Fact or Folklore: The Viking Attack on London
Bridge,‖ London Archaeologist, Spring 2004, 328-333
11. King Cnut (England and Denmark)
• 1019 His brother, Harold, dies: Cnut now King of
Denmark
• Commissions Wulfstan to produce new law code
• c. 1025 Thorkell dies, Ulf, Cnut’s brother-in-law
made regent for Harthacnut in Denmark
• 1035 Harthacnut, King of Denmark
12. Succession Crisis
• Cnut dies 12 November 1035
• Harold Harefoot
– Earl Leofric Mercia
– Earl Siward
Northumbria
– northern thanes
– London fleet
• Harthacanute
– Earl Godwine of Mercia
13. Godwine
• His father may have been Wulfnoth, an
Anglo-Saxon turned viking and nephew of
Streona
• 1018 Appears as ealdorman on charters
• 1022? travels with Cnut to Denmark
• Married to sister-in-law of Cnut
14. Reign of Harold I
• Emma given Winchester
• Later driven to Bruges in 1037 1037 Harold tortures Alfred
Godwine embraces Alfred
15. Reign of Harthacanute
• 1040 Harold dies,
buried at
Westminster
• 1041 Edward returns
to England
• 1042 Harthacanute
dies at a wedding
feast
16. Succession
• Danish Claimants
– Harold of Denmark, died 1043
– Swein of Denmark –preoccupied with own kingdom
• Norwegian Claimant
– Magnus –purportedly in pact with Harthacnute
• Edward
– Welcomed by Harthacanute
– Championed by Godwine, Leofric and Siward
18. Edward the King
• Opted out of Norway-Denmark
conflict
• 1050 Dismisses Navy
• 1051 Abolishes heregeld
• 1051 Robert of Jumieges, Archbishop of
Canterbury
• Administrative apparatus entrusted to others
21. Godwine
• Appointment of
Stigand to
Winchester in
1047; Canterbury
in 1052
• 1051 The Dover
fracas
• 1051 ‘Get thee to a
nunnery’
• Dies 1053
22. Godwinesons
• Harold, Earl of Wessex
• 1055 Tostig, Earl of North
• 1057 Gyrth, Earl of East Anglia
• 1057 Leofwine, Earl of E. Midlands
• 1058 Leofric dies
• Aelfgar banished; returns
• 1062 Aelfgar dies
23. Earl Harold
• 1058 Leofric dies
• m. Ealdgyth, daughter
of Aelfgar
Harold, son of Godwine
kneels before King Edward
If the unification of England seemed to make particular progress during thereigns of Athelstan and Edgar, this may be in part attributable to the fact that bothkings, though members of the West Saxon dynasty, had begun their reigns as kingsof the Mercians; jEthelred did not enjoy such an advantage.
that is truly original;his originality lay rather in the extent to which he, more than anyother king, took the responsibilities of his office to heart, and in hisability to look beyond the end of his own nose. Even so, we shouldnot claim too much familiarity with Alfred: for it is always salutaryto reflect that had his 'Handbook' survived to this day, with itscollection of Alfred's favourite prayers, psalms and other texts, ourunderstanding of what made him tick would have been transformed
Trelleborg is a collective name for six Viking Age circular forts, located in Denmark and the southern part of modern Sweden. Five of them have been dated to the reign of the Harold Bluetooth of Denmark (died 986). The fort in Borgeby[1] has been dated to the vicinity of 1000 AD, so it is possible that it too, was built by the same king.
11th c battle axe found near London Bridge 208 mm bladeÓláfr was one of Æthelred’s armycommanders, who volunteered to lead his ships ina daring attack on London Bridge. Snorri statesthat this attack was only undertaken to helpÆthelred regain his throne, which places it after Swein’s death and before Æthelred’s own deathin 1016.20The attack on the bridge in 1014involved sailing westwards upstream to thedefended timber bridge, fixing ropes andgrappling irons to it, then sailing downstreamagain and pulling down or badly damaging thesuperstructure of the bridge and compelling itsdefenders to surrender London to Æthelred’sforces (Fig. 1).21 Next, Æthelred’s forces defeatedthe Scandinavians.