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Ethelbald (Aethelbald) av Wessex

Male Abt 0834 - 860  (26 years)


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  • Name Ethelbald (Aethelbald) av Wessex 
    Birth Abt 0834  [1
    Gender Male 
    Occupation Abt 0856  Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [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 Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Burial After 20 Dec 0860  Sherborne, Dorset, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I4856  My Genealogy
    Last Modified 3 Apr 2016 

    Father Ethelwulf (Aethelwulf) av Wessex,   b. Abt 0800, Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 13 Jan 0858, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 58 years) 
    Relationship Birth 
    Mother Osburga av Isle of Wight,   b. Abt 0810, Isle of Wight, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Between 0853 and 0855, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location (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 Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Abt 0870, Roches, Frankrike Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 27 years) 
    Marriage Aft 13 Jan 0858  Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [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 
    1. [S754] Wikipedia (Reliability: 1).


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