Æthelred: Fighter of the Storm from the North
Æthelred, also spelled Aethelred, Ethelred, birth c.845AD/crowned King of Wessex, 865 at age c.20/death 871 at age c.26/spouse, Wulfthryth, date of marriage unknown
House: Wessex/Father, Æthelwulf, King of Wessex/Mother, Osburh
Children: Two sons, Æthelhelm, Æthelwold
Reign: 865 to 871
No sooner had Æthelred ascended the throne in 865 than an assembly of Vikings arrived in East Anglia and settled down for the winter. A tenth-century Latin translation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronical asserts that the army was led by a warrior known as ‘Ivar the Boneless,’ son of Ragnar Lothbrok (sometimes called Ragnar Lodbrok or Lothbrock). Unlike other raiding parties, this was an army of conquest, planning to remain in Britain and take over entire kingdoms.
According to the Gesta Danorum (c. 1185) written by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, Ragnar was a ninth-century Danish warlord, chieftain, and king whose campaigns included a battle with the Holy Roman emperor Charlemagne. Although his exploits became the stuff of legends as the years when by, he is thought to be a real-life Scandinavian warlord named Ragnall. According to Saxo’s legendary history, Ragnar was eventually captured by the Anglo-Saxon king Aella of Northumbria and thrown into a snake pit to die. This story is also recounted in later Icelandic works.
Vikings had raided England and Scotland since the late 700’s. Ragnar and Ivar were by no means the first to raid England. Ivar may have been the first to leave settlements and attempt to control areas of land, rather than simply plunder and leave. After a year in East Anglia gathering strength and supplies, he and his army moved towards Northumbria in 866, with the capture of York as their target. King Osbert and King Ælle, previously fighting over Northumbria, joined forces to try to rout out the Vikings. According to historians, both kings were killed in battle at York. Later sagas written in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries described King Ælle’s death as a ‘blood eagle’ ritual killing. Victims subjected to the ‘blood eagle’ had their ribcage broken and their lungs removed and draped around their neck to resemble an eagle’s folded wings. Other than in sagas, there is no evidence of this practice.
Hearing of successful Viking raids and settlement in East Anglia and Northumbria, Æthelred joined forces with his brother-in-law Burghred, king of Mercia to protect lands from the Scandinavians. In 870, King Æthelred’s first attempt to crush the Vikings in the hills west of Reading proved futile but a second attempt resulted in a Viking retreat. Two more battles within Wessex took place with the Vikings the victors. Then, as if events could not get worse for Æthelred, a new fleet of Vikings from overseas sailed up the Thames River to join the forces camped at Reading. This was the end for King Æthelred. Literally. Shortly after the arrival of the new fleet, he died of battle wounds. His body was carried to Dorset, to be buried in the minster at Wimborne.
