Æthelred (; c. 762 – 18 April 796), was the king of

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

from 774 to 779 and again from 790 until he was murdered in 796. He was the son of Æthelwald Moll and Æthelthryth and possibly became king while still a child after Alhred was deposed.

Family and early life

The origin of Æthelred's family isn't recorded, but his father Æthelwald, who was also called Moll, seems to have come from a noble background. Æthelwald first appears in the historical records in a letter written by

Pope Paul I Pope Paul I ( la, Paulus I; 70028 June 767) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the emerging Papal States from 29 May 757 to his death. He first served as a Roman deacon and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiation ...

to king Eadberht, ordering him to return lands taken from an Abbot Fothred, which were given to his brother Moll. After the abdication of king Eadberht in 758, his son Oswulf took his place but despite his father's long reign and his powerful uncle Ecgbert, he was murdered just a year later in 759 at Market Weighton by his own bodyguards. The murder was possibly ordered by Æthelwald as he became king soon after. In 761 Oswulf's brother Oswine met Æthelwald in battle but Oswine was killed in the fighting at Eildon Hill on 6 August. Silver styca of Aethelred I (YORYM 2000 2280) obverse

Silver styca of Aethelred I (YORYM 2000 2280) obverse

After his victory, Æthelwald married Æthelthryth at Catterick on 1 November 762. Æthelwald was deposed as king on 30 October 765, by a council of noblemen and prelates, and replaced by Alhred, the brother-in-law of Oswulf and Oswine.

First Term

After ruling for nearly ten years, the Northumbrians drove out King Alhred from

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in 774. They then chose Æthelred as their king and he was "crowned with such great honour". In the year after his accession Æthelred, who may have been influenced by his father Æthelwald, ordered the killing of an

Ealdorman Ealdorman (, ) was a term in Anglo-Saxon England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. It evolved in meaning and in the eighth century was sometimes applied ...

, Eadwulf.. Æthelred was deposed as king and the throne passed on to Ælfwald, a grandson of Eadberht Eating.

Restoration

Early medieval coin; styca of Aethelred I (FindID 280080)

Æthelred lived in exile during the reign of Ælfwald and his successor

Osred II Osred II was King of Northumbria from 789 to 790. He was the son of Alhred and Osgifu, daughter of Eadberht. He succeeded Ælfwald, son of his mother's brother Oswulf, who was murdered by the ''patricius'' (ealdorman) Sicga. Osred, even thou ...

. However, in 788 or 789, Osred was deposed, forcibly tonsured and exiled and Æthelred was restored to the throne. In 790, during Æthelred's second reign, the

ealdorman Ealdorman (, ) was a term in Anglo-Saxon England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. It evolved in meaning and in the eighth century was sometimes applied ...

Eardwulf was ordered to be killed by Æthelred but survived and later became king. Ælfwald's sons Ælf and Ælfwine were killed, probably on Æthelred's orders, in 791. The next year Osred attempted to regain the throne, but was defeated, captured and killed on 14 September 792. A year later,

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

was sacked by the Vikings with

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...

's letters to Æthelred blaming this event on the sins of Æthelred and his nobility. On 29 September 792 Æthelred married

Ælfflæd Ælfflæd is a name of Anglo-Saxon England meaning Ælf (Elf) and flæd (beauty). It may refer to: * Saint Ælfflæd of Whitby (654–714) * Ælfflæd of Mercia, daughter of Offa, wife of King Æthelred I of Northumbria * Ælfflæd, wife of Edward ...

the daughter of

Offa of Mercia Offa (died 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æth ...

at Catterick.

Death and succession

While Æthelred was in

Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Northumberland, Halton, Acomb, Northumberland, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe. Etymology Corbridge was kno ...

a group of conspiring nobles murdered him on 18 April 796. As a result, Osbald, an ealdorman and a friend of Alcuin, Æthelred's former adviser, became king, but within 27 days he abdicated.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelred 01 Of Northumbria 760s births 796 deaths Anglo-Saxon warriors Northumbrian monarchs 8th-century English monarchs 8th-century murdered monarchs