Ælfred Æþeling (English: ''Alfred the Noble'') ( 1012–1036), was one of the eight sons of the English king
Æthelred the Unready. He and his brother
Edward the Confessor were sons of Æthelred's second wife
Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy (referred to as Ælfgifu in royal documents; c. 984 – 6 March 1052) was a Norman-born noblewoman who became the English, Danish, and Norwegian queen through her marriages to the Anglo-Saxon king Æthelred the Unready and th ...
. King
Canute became their stepfather when he married Emma. Alfred and his brother were caught up in the power struggles at the start and end of Canute's reign.
Siege of London
In 1013, during the siege of London by the Danes, Æthelred and his family took refuge in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. Æthelred regained the throne in 1014 and died in 1016. England was conquered by Canute of Denmark later that year, and Alfred and Edward returned to the court of their uncle, Duke
Richard II of Normandy. There is some evidence of a plan on the part of Duke Richard to invade England on his nephews' behalf.
Return to England
In 1035, Canute died, and during the uncertainty that followed, the heirs of the former Anglo-Saxon rulers attempted to restore the
House of Wessex to the throne of England. Alfred Ætheling landed on the coast of Sussex with a Norman mercenary body guard and attempted to make his way to London. However he was betrayed, captured by
Earl Godwin of
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 ...
, and blinded; he died soon afterwards.
When
Harthacnut succeeded his half-brother Harold, he prosecuted Earl Godwin and
Lyfing, Bishop of Worcester and Crediton, for the crime against his half-brother; the Bishop lost his see for a while and Godwin gave the king a warship carrying eighty fighting men as appeasement and swore that he had not wanted the prince blinded and that whatever he had done was in obedience to King Harold. Tradition holds that like Harthacnut, Edward the Confessor considered Godwin guilty.
The House of Wessex was restored through the accession of Alfred's brother
Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
in 1042. Alfred's death was one of the main reasons for the mistrust and resentment shown by many members of Anglo-Saxon society, and particularly from Edward himself, towards Earl Godwin and
his sons.
Modern era
In 1929 the remains of 223 soldiers, whom excavators identified as Normans based on their stature, prominent skulls and slender leg bones, were found on the prominent hillside immediately west of Guildford's centre. They were bound and had been executed. The grave has been dated to 1040. Some bore skulls placed between their legs and one skeleton in particular had a neck vertebra sliced by a sword. A coin of
Edward the Confessor, Alfred's brother, dating to 1043 – seven years after the mass slaying – was found at the site.
"Anglo Saxon burial site in Guildford likely to include gruesome skeletons of Prince Alfred's massacred troops"
22 October 2015 Surrey Advertiser group of newspapers[Guildford: Guildown Anglo-Saxon Cemetery]
Exploring Surrey's Past. An uncultivated sacred site, a small section of the burial ground dated back to the 6th century with more than 20 pagan burials including many women and children, with knives, spears, urns and striking amber beads placed alongside various bodies. In charge of the excavations were Colonel O. H. North and archaeologist A. W. G. Lowther.[ The later Chronicle suggests that they were the vanguard of Prince Alfred, of whom nine out of ten were killed.
]
See also
* House of Wessex family tree
* House of Denmark
References
External links
*
Lawson, M. K., "Alfred Ætheling (d. 1036/7)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004
*{{Find a Grave, 9201882
1000s births
1036 deaths
11th-century English people
Anglo-Saxon royalty
Burials at Ely Cathedral
House of Wessex
Blind people from England
Blind royalty and nobility
Sons of kings