Æthelstan Ætheling (Old English: ''Æþelstan Æþeling''), early or mid 980s to 25 June 1014, was the eldest son of King

Æthelred the Unready Æthelred II ( ang, Æþelræd, ;Different spellings of this king’s name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern diale ...

by his first wife

Ælfgifu Ælfgifu (also ''Ælfgyfu''; ''Elfgifa, Elfgiva, Elgiva'') is an Anglo-Saxon feminine personal name, from ''ælf'' " elf" and ''gifu'' "gift". When Emma of Normandy, the later mother of Edward the Confessor, became queen of England in 1002, she ...

and the heir apparent to the kingdom until his death. He made his first appearance as a witness to a charter of his father in 993. He probably spent part of his childhood at Æthelingadene, Dean in west Sussex, and his paternal grandmother Ælfthryth may have played an important part in his upbringing. Almost nothing is known of his life, although he seems to have formed a friendship with Sigeforth and Morcar, two of the leading thegns of the

Five Boroughs 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

of the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, L ...

. In 1013 King Æthelred was forced into temporary exile in Normandy, and while it is not known what became of Æthelstan and his surviving full brothers, Edmund Ironside and

Eadwig Eadwig (also Edwy or Eadwig All-Fair, 1 October 959) was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were young ...

, during the reign of King Sweyn, they probably remained somewhere in England. Æthelstan's last appearance is in a charter dated 1013. Æthelstan was a "warrior prince" and by his death he had accumulated a large collection of swords, prized war horses and combat equipment. In his will, copies of which still survive, and which was made on the day of his death, he left Edmund Ironside his most prized possession, a sword which had once belonged to

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 ...

, together with some of his estates and other pieces of his war gear. To his other full brother, Eadwig, he gave another piece from his large weapon collection, a silver-hilted sword. Much of his remaining land and wealth was divided between churches, friends and servants. He also made bequests to his sword-polisher and his stag huntsman. While he mentions his father, grandmother and foster-mother in his will, his own mother and her soul are completely omitted. He also makes no mention of his stepmother or half-brothers, suggesting a division within the royal family at the time. He was buried at the

Old Minster, Winchester The Old Minster was the Anglo-Saxon cathedral for the 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 minster w ...

, the first burial there of someone who was not king since

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin ...

's brother, Æthelweard, in 922.Stafford, ''Queen Emma & Queen Edith'', p. 222

References

;Footnotes ;Sources *Anglo-Saxon will
S 1503 (AD 1014)Barlow, Frank. ''Edward the Confessor''. Berkeley (CA), 1970Simon Keynes, Æthelstan Ætheling, 2004, Oxford Online DNB
*

Pauline Stafford Pauline Stafford is Professor Emerita of Early Medieval History at Liverpool University, and visiting professor at Leeds University in England. Dr Stafford is a former vice-president of the Royal Historical Society. Scholarship Her work focuses ...

, ''Queen Emma & Queen Edith'', Blackwell, 2001

External links

* * Translation of the will of Æthelstan Ætheling {{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelstan Aetheling 980s births 1014 deaths Year of birth uncertain 10th-century English people 11th-century English people Anglo-Saxon royalty House of Wessex Sons of kings

See also

References

External links