Æthelstan (; died c. 852) was the King of Kent from 839 to 851. He served under the authority and overlordship of his father, King Æthelwulf of Wessex, who appointed him. The late D, E and F versions of 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 ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'' describe Æthelstan as Æthelwulf's brother, but the A, B and C versions, and Æthelweard's ''Chronicon'', state that he was Æthelwulf's son.Stenton, p. 236, n. 1 Some historians have argued that it is more probable that he was a brother, including Eric John in 1966 and Ann Williams in 1978. However, in 1991 Ann Williams described him as Æthelwulf's son, and this is now generally accepted by historians, including Frank Stenton, Barbara Yorke, and D. P. Kirby. When Æthelwulf became

King of the West Saxons This is a list of monarchs of the Wessex, Kingdom of the West Saxons (Wessex) until 886 AD. While the details of the later monarchs are confirmed by a number of sources, the earlier ones are in many cases obscure. The names are given in modern E ...

in 839 on the death of his father, Ecgberht, he appointed Æthelstan to rule over Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex. He is styled king in the ''

'' and Æthelweard's chronicle calls him "King of the Dwellers in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, of the East Saxons, of the South Saxons and of

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

". He attested a number of his father's charters as king in the 840s. In 851, Æthelstan and

Ealdorman Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''Collins English Dictionary''. was an office in the Government ...

Ealhhere defeated a

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

fleet and army off

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

, Kent, described by Frank Stenton as "the first naval battle in recorded English history". Æthelstan is not mentioned after 851 and presumably died before Æthelwulf went to Rome in 855 as he was not included in arrangements for government of the kingdom during his father's absence. In 853, Ealhhere died in a disastrous defeat of the men of Kent and Surrey by the Vikings, and as Æthelstan is not mentioned as present at the battle he was probably dead by then. A mid-ninth century burial found during excavations in the

Old Minster, Winchester The Old Minster was the Anglo-Saxon cathedral for the English diocese of Wessex and then Winchester from 660 to 1093. It stood on a site immediately north of and partially beneath its successor, Winchester Cathedral. Some sources say that the m ...

contained the body of a young man of 25–35. His headdress and the prestigious location of the burial in the nave suggests royal status, and the "strongest putative candidate" is Æthelstan.Yorke, 2021, p. 65

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelstan Of Wessex Anglo-Saxon warriors West Saxon monarchs 850s deaths 9th-century English monarchs Year of birth uncertain House of Wessex Kentish monarchs