- Ethelred of Wessex
Infobox Monarch
name=Ethelred I
title=King of Wessex
caption=A coin depicting Ethelred
rank=5th
reign=865-871
predecessor=Ethelbert of Wessex
successor=Alfred the Great
consort=Wulfrida
date of birth=c. 840
place of birth=Wessex, England
date of death=23 April 871 ,Wimborne .Dorset
place of death=
place of burial=Wimborne
father=Ethelwulf of Wessex
mother=Osburga King Ethelred of Wessex (Old English: "Æþelræd") (c. 840 –April 23 ,871 ) was the fourth son of KingEthelwulf of Wessex , and an older brother ofAlfred the Great . He is sometimes referred to as King Ethelred I of England, but it is open to question whether he should be regarded as a king of England, since in his time the English were still divided into a number of kingdoms, not all of which recognised him as overlord (e.g.Mercia ).He succeeded his brother, Ethelbert, as King of
Wessex andKent in 865 [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+338] [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+339] . He married Wulfrida and had two sons, Aethelwold being the elder andAethelhelm being the younger. Ethelred was not able to control the increasing Danish raids which devastated England. OnJanuary 4 ,871 at the Battle of Reading, Ethelred suffered a crushing defeat, although he did hand the Danes aPyrrhic victory . Soon after, however, Ethelred was able to re-form his army in time to win a stunning victory at theBattle of Ashdown . However, he suffered another defeat onJanuary 22 at the Battle of Basing and was killed at theBattle of Merton onApril 23 ,871 .Ethelred is buried at Wimborne in
Dorset . Following his death, he was popularly regarded as asaint , but nevercanonised . He was succeeded by his brother, KingAlfred the Great . (SeeHouse of Wessex family tree .)Ethelred is not to be confused with the later king
Ethelred the Unready .ee also
*
List of monarchs of Kent
*Chronology of Kentish Kings External links
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A292484 Ethelbald, Ethelbert and Ethelred I - Kings of England] at h2g2
succession box two to two
before=Ethelbert
title1=King of Wessex
years1=865–871
title2=King of Kent
years2=865–871
title3=Bretwalda
years3=
after=Alfred the Great s-anc
F=Ethelwulf of Wessex
FF=Egbert of Wessex
FFH=
FM=Redburga
FMH=
M=Osburga
MF=Oslac
MFH=
MM="unknown"
MMH=
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