Ethelbald (Aethelbald) av Wessex

Abt 0834 - 860  (26 years)

• Name	Ethelbald (Aethelbald) av Wessex
  Birth	Abt 0834  [1]
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	Abt 0856	Wessex, England   [1]
  	Konge av Wessex.
  	King Æthelbald of Wessex or Ethelbald (Old English: Æþelbald) was the second of the five sons of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and Osburh. He was king of Wessex from 858 to 860. He witnessed his father's charters as a kings' son in the 840s, and in 850 he received the rank of Ealdorman. In 855 he became regent of Wessex while his father, Æthelwulf, visited Rome, his elder brother Æthelstan having died in 851 or shortly after. His younger brother Æthelbert became king of Kent. Æthelwulf returned a year later, having taken as his second wife, the Carolingian King Charles the Bald's thirteen-year-old daughter Judith. According to Alfred the Great's biographer, Asser, during Æthelwulf's absence there may have been a plot hatched to prevent the king's return either by Æthelbald, or by Ealhstan, Bishop of Sherborne and Eanwulf, Ealdorman of Somerset, or by all three. It is probable that Æthelbald was involved in such a plot because of his father's marriage to Judith. The marriage to a Frankish princess who had her own royal lineage could have produced heirs more throne-worthy than Æthelbald. To avoid a civil war, Æthelwulf allowed Æthelbald to continue to rule Wessex itself (or the western part of Wessex) while he took Kent and the other eastern parts of the kingdom. Ann Williams dates the start of Æthelbald's reign to 855, regarding father and son as joint kings from Æthelwulf's return from Rome in 856 until his death in 858. The absence of any coins in Æthelbald's name during this period suggests the coinage continued to be in Æthelwulf's name until his death. Æthelbald then became the king of Wessex, while Æthelbert again became king of Kent. Judith's charisma as a Carolingian princess was so great that rather than lose the prestige of the connection Æthelbald then married her, in spite of strong clerical opposition, as marriage to a widowed stepmother was considered incestuous. Little is known of his reign and only one charter survives, witnessed by king Æthelbald, king Æthelbert and Judith, suggesting that he was on good terms with his brother. Æthelbald died at Sherborne in Dorset on 20 December 860. Asser, who was hostile to Æthelbald both because of his revolt against his father and because of his uncanonical marriage, described him as iniquitous and grasping, and his reign as two and a half lawless years. [1]
  Death	20 Dec 860	Sherborne, Dorset, England   [1]
  Burial	After 20 Dec 0860	Sherborne, Dorset, England   [1]
  Person ID	I4856	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	3 Apr 2016

  
  

  Father	Ethelwulf (Aethelwulf) av Wessex,   b. Abt 0800, Wessex, England d. 13 Jan 0858, England (Age 58 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Mother	Osburga av Isle of Wight,   b. Abt 0810, Isle of Wight, England d. Between 0853 and 0855, Kent, England (Age 43 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Marriage	Bef 0829
  	ca.856
  Family ID	F2517	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Judith av Flandern,   b. Between 0843 and 0844, Roches, Frankrike d. Abt 0870, Roches, Frankrike (Age 27 years)
  Marriage	Aft 13 Jan 0858	Wessex, England   [1]
  	King Æthelwulf, who died on 13 January 858, was succeeded by his son Æthelbald, who married his step-mother Judith, probably to enhance his status because she was the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage was condemned by Asser in his Life of Alfred the Great: Once King Æthelwulf was dead, Æthelbald, his son, against God's prohibition and Christian dignity, and also contrary to the practice of all pagans, took over his father's marriage-bed and married Judith, daughter of Charles, king of the Franks, incurring great disgrace from all who heard of it. Judith was still childless when Æthelbald died in 860 after a reign of 2,5 years. [1]
  Family ID	F2516	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	9 Feb 2016

  
  

• Sources

  [S754] Wikipedia (Reliability: 1).