Æthelwulf: Fighter Against the Vikings
Æthelwulf, birth c. 795/crowned King of Wessex, 839 at age c. 44/death 858 at age c. 63 /spouse, Osburh married in 830 and Judith of Flanders married in 856
House: Wessex/Father, Egbert, King of Wessex/Mother, Name Unknown
Children: Æthelstan, King of Kent (839); Æthelswith, Queen of Mercia; Æthelbald, King of Wessex (858-860); Æthelberht, King of Wessex (860-865); Æthelred I, King of Wessex (865-871); Alfred the Great (871-899)
Reign: 839-855
In the TV series Vikings, Æthelwulf gets a bad rap. His father loves him, but not half as much as he loves Ragnar Lothbrok, King of the Vikings; Ragnar’s first wife Lagertha, Earl and shield maiden; and Ragnar’s counselor Æthelstan. He is forced by his father to fight with and defend Ragnar’s warriors even though none of them like or trust him. When he’s away fighting, his wife Judith shares a medieval hot tub with Æthelstan, her father, and Lagertha, ultimately beginning an affair with the counselor. But wait, history tells us a different story.
Æthelwulf was a fierce warrior who fought with his father King Egbert against the increasing Viking raids both on the coast and inland. He arranged the marriage of his daughter Æthelswith to Mercian King Burgred in 853, which led to closer cooperation between the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia. Neither kingdom relinquished their independence but helped each other out militarily and economically. There is evidence that the two kingdoms started up what is known as a joint coinage system, the significance of which is discussed in Currency and Alliances: History and Coinage of Southern England in the Ninth Century.
Æthelwulf’s first wife was Osburh with whom he was blessed with many sons; all but one of them given names beginning with Æthel- (meaning ‘noble’), making it difficult for us to distinguish between them. Æthelwulf married a second time, negotiating an alliance with France by marrying Judith, the daughter of the Carolingian king of West Francia, known as Charles the Bald. It is not known if Osburh had died or was simply cast aside when Æthelwulf negotiated this more important marriage alliance. Æthelwulf and Judith were married on October 1, 856. A consecration ceremony gave Judith the title of queen, making her the first crowned queen of England. Apparently, Charles had won from Æthelwulf a promise that Judith would be crowned queen upon their marriage; earlier wives of Saxon kings were known quite simply as the “king’s wife” rather than carrying a royal title of their own. Two generations later, the queen’s consecration was made standard liturgy in the Church of England.
In 851, Æthelwulf and his son Æthelbald (with Osburh) were a power couple that inflicted a number of defeats against the Vikings. After success at the battle of Aclea, there was a lull in Viking raids. During that time, Æthelwulf went on pilgrimage to Rome and appointed Æthelbald King of Wessex and Æthelberht, his next oldest son, King of Kent, which had been conquered by Wessex thirty years earlier. When Aethelwulf returned, his son Æthelbald refused to give up the crown. To avoid a civil war, most historians believe that Æthelbald continued to be King of Wessex while Æthelberht gave up Kent to his father. When Æthelwulf died in 858, Æthelbald continued as King of Wessex while his brother regained his kingship of Kent.
