Æthelstan (; died c. 852) was the

King of Kent This is a list of the kings of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent. The regnal dates for the earlier kings are known only from Bede. Some kings are known mainly from charters, of which several are forgeries, while others have been subjected to tampe ...

from 839 to 851. He served under the authority and

overlordship An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or serjea ...

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 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of A ...

'' 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 Sir Frank Merry Stenton, FBA (17 May 1880 – 15 September 1967) was an English historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society (1937–1945). The son of Henry Stenton of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, he was edu ...

Barbara Yorke Barbara Yorke FRHistS FSA (born 1951, Barbara Anne Elizabeth Troubridge) is a historian of Anglo-Saxon England, specialising in many subtopics, including 19th-century Anglo-Saxonism. She is currently emeritus professor of early Medieval histor ...

, and D. P. Kirby. When Æthelwulf became King of the West Saxons in 839 on the death of his father,

Egbert Egbert is a name that derives from old Germanic words meaning "bright edge", such as that of a blade. Anglo-Saxon variant spellings include Ecgberht () and Ecgbert. German variant spellings include Ekbert and Ecbert. People with the first name Mid ...

, 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 county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, of the East Saxons, of the

South Saxons la, Regnum Sussaxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the South Saxons , capital = , era = Heptarchy , status = Vassal of Wessex (686–726, 827–860)Vassal of Mercia (771–796) , governm ...

and of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

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

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 ...

Ealhhere defeated a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to 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 se ...

fleet and army off Sandwich, 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 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 ...

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