Æthelbald: Wessex Continues to Rule
Æthelbald, birth 834/crowned King of Wessex, 855 at age 21/death 860 at age 26/spouse, Judith of Flanders, married in 858
House: Wessex/Father, Æthelwulf, King of Wessex/Mother, Osburh
Children: none recorded
Reign: 855-860
Source: Historic UK: King Aethelbald
Æthelbald’s main claim to fame is that he married his mother. To be fair, she WAS his stepmother and, because she married Æthelwulf when he was fifty and she was 14, she WAS closer in age to Æthelbald. [see Æthelwulf: Fighter Against the Vikings] We might not know how his marriage was received at the time but chroniclers said lots in later years! In the 890s, Bishop Asser, the biographer of Æthelbald’s younger brother Alfred, described Æthelbald as sinful and grasping and his reign as “lawless years.” William of Malmesbury, a foremost historian of the twelfth century wrote that “Æthelbald, who was worthless and disloyal to his father, defiled his father’s marriage-bed, for after his father’s death he sank so low as to marry his stepmother, Judith.” According to John of Worcester, also a prominent twelfth century historian, Æthelbald, in defiance of God’s prohibition and Christian dignity, and even against all pagan customs, climbed into his father’s marriage-bed, married Judith, daughter of Charles, king of the Franks.” [Aethelbald: King of Wessex]
Æthelbald had probably reasoned that being married to a Frankish princess would ensure continuing peace with Frankia and any children he produced with Judith would have a better right to rule than any of his younger brothers. Unfortunately, early in 860 at age 26, before any children had been produced, Æthelbald died of unknown causes at Sherbourne in Dorset. The nobles of the kingdom turned to his older brother Æthelberht to rule. At that time, Æthelberht was already ruling as king of Kent, Sussex, and Essex. Now, these kingdoms were once more reunited with Wessex.
Æthelbald in the early 14th-century Genealogical Roll of the Kings of England
At the time of Æthelbald’s burial there, Sherborne Abbey was reportedly the most important ecclesiastical location in an area covering Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. One of Anglo-Saxon history’s most important characters, Asser, King Alfred’s companion and “biographer” became bishop there sometime in the 890s, while King Alfred was still alive, and he continued in this role until his death in 909. The Abbey is now the spiritual home of a large and vibrant Christian community and, above all, a place of prayer and worship.
 | Memorial to Æthelbald (Ethelbald) and Aethelberht (Ethelbert)S in Sherborne Abbey Source: The King Alfred Blog Æthelbald’s tomb and that of his brother, Æthelberht of Wessex, are situated in the North Choir Aisle of the abbey. |
 Source: Sherborne Abbey |  Source: Dorset |
