Cultural depictions of the English 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 ...

have generally been less than flattering. Many of these portrayals are based on legendary material about the king written by later scribes such as

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...

Cultural references

Æthelred was the subject of a stageplay by Ronald Ribman titled ''The Ceremony of Innocence'' which was made into a film by the same name. It was first performed in 1968, and depicted interactions between Æthelred and his court, family and advisors, and also with the Danish king, Sweyn Forkbeard. Æthelred was portrayed by

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...

in both play and film. Æthelred is also the subject of Richard Edward Wilson's ''Æthelred the Unready'', a comical one-act opera composed in 1992. He is also referenced in the ''

Sid Meier's Civilization ''Sid Meier's Civilization'' is a 1991 turn-based strategy 4X video game developed and published by MicroProse. The game was originally developed for MS-DOS running on a PC, and has undergone numerous revisions for various platforms. The pl ...

'' franchise of computer games, occupying the second lowest rank that a player may earn upon the game's completion, just above

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle served as a U.S. ...

. Æthelred is also featured in the historical novel ''A Hollow Crown: The Story of Emma, Queen of Saxon England'' (2004, also published as ''The Forever Queen'') by Helen Hollick. The protagonist is his 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 the ...

. The novel opens with the wedding of 13-year-old Emma to Æthelred, a 34-year-old man with a grown son of his own. The early years of their marriage are barren, and Æthelred considers ending said marriage. He is then depicted in a "drunken fury", first killing Emma's dog, then engaging in a night of domestic violence and marital rape. Edward the Confessor is depicted as the result of that night, unloved by his own mother.''A Hollow Crown''
Æthelred is a recurring character in ''Vikings: Valhalla'', portrayed by

Bosco Hogan John Bosco Hogan (born March 1949) is an Irish stage, film, and television actor. He is well known as the character Dr. Michael Ryan on the television programme ''Ballykissangel''. He appeared in a minor role as convicted felon George Saden in J ...

References

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