Æthelwulf of Berkshire (before 825 – 4 January, 871) was a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

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 ...

. In 860 he and other men of Berkshire fought off a band of pirates near Winchester, Hampshire. Later he mustered a force of 1400 men against an army of

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

, won the 31 December 870 Battle of Englefield on behalf of the then kingdom 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 ...

. He received a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

in 843/44 from Brihtwulf, king of

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , y ...

; and lost his life at the Battle of Reading. Æthelweard, in his account of the battle, reveals a curious fact about Æthelwulf, master of the art of the

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind moun ...

: he was a Mercian and not a West Saxon. Not only this, Æthelweard says: "In fact, the body of the '' dux'' (leader) mentioned above was carried away secretly and taken into Mercia to the place called Northworthig, but

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

in the Danish tongue."Paul Hill (2009). ''The Viking Wars of Alfred the Great'', p. 41. .

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelwulf Of Berkshire 871 deaths Anglo-Saxon people Anglo-Saxon warriors 9th-century English people Year of birth uncertain