Æthelheard (meaning roughly "Noble Stern"), also spelled Ethelheard, Edelard or Æþelheard, was

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

from 726 to 740. There is an unreliable record of Æthelheard having been the brother-in-law of his predecessor,

Ine INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Instituto Nacional de Estadística (disambiguation) * Instituto Nacional de Estatística (disambiguation) * Instituto Nacional Elec ...

, but his ancestry is unknown, perhaps making him the first King of Wessex not to be descended from

Cynric Cynric () was King of Wessex from 534 to 560. Everything known about him comes from the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. There, he is stated to have been the son of Cerdic, who is considered the founder of the kingdom of Wessex. However, the 'Genealogic ...

by blood. Some sources identify him as the brother of Queen

Æthelburg of Wessex Æthelburg (also Æthelburh or Ethelburga) (ca. 673–740) was Queen of Wessex by marriage to King Ine of Wessex. Perhaps most famed for her act in 722, when she destroyed the stronghold of Taunton (which had been built by Ine) in an attempt to f ...

, the wife of his predecessor, King

. His own successor

Cuthred Cuthred is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Cuthred of Kent, ninth-century monarch *Cuthred of Wessex, eighth-century monarch *Cuthred son of Cwichelm of Wessex Cwichelm (died 636) was an Anglo-Saxon king of the Gewisse, a pe ...

is identified in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as 'his relative'. When Ine

abdicated Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

and went to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 726, he left behind no obvious heir, and according to

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

simply left his kingdom "to younger men". In the wake of his departure, the West Saxon throne was disputed between Æthelheard and a rival claimant, Oswald. Oswald may have had the better claim, as the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

'' calls him a descendant of the early king

Ceawlin Ceawlin (also spelled Ceaulin and Caelin, died ''ca.'' 593) was a King of Wessex. He may have been the son of Cynric of Wessex and the grandson of Cerdic of Wessex, whom the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' represents as the leader of the first grou ...

, but it was Æthelheard who prevailed. It is possible that his success was due to the support of

Æthelbald of Mercia Æthelbald (also spelled Ethelbald or Aethelbald; died 757) was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands from 716 until he was killed in 757. Æthelbald was the son of Alweo and thus a grandson of King Eowa. Æthelbald came to t ...

, since he seems to have been subject to Æthelbald afterward. However, Æthelheard's lack of independence does not seem to have prevented Æthelbald from taking considerable territory from Wessex in 733, including the royal manor of

Somerton Somerton may refer to: Places Australia * Somerton, New South Wales * Somerton Park, South Australia, a seaside Adelaide suburb ** Somerton Man, unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead in 1948 on the Somerton Park beach * Somerton, Victoria ...

. Æthelheard married Frithugyth in 729 or beforeQueen Frithugyth is identified in a charter of Æthelheard, king of Wessex, dated 729 indicating that they were at that time married, Charter S25

/ref> and she is recorded in the ''Chronicle'' as making a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

in 737. Æthelheard was succeeded by

, possibly a brother or other relative.

References

External links

* * (but corresponding charter
S249
an

are considered rather dubious) West Saxon monarchs 740 deaths 8th-century English monarchs Year of birth unknown House of Wessex {{UK-royal-stub

See also

References

External links