3Æthelstan

The tomb of King Æthelstan in Malmesbury Abbey
King of the English
Reign: 924 or 925 – 27 October 939
Predecessor Edward the Elder
Successor Edmund

House
House of Wessex
Father
Edward, King of Wessex
Mother
Ecgwynn
Born
c. 893/895
Wessex, England
Died
27 October 939
Burial
Malmesbury Abbey
Æthelstan or Athelstan (Old English: Æþelstan, Æðelstān; c. 893/895 – 27 October 939) was the King of England from 924 or 925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Æthelstan's success in securing the submission of Constantine II, King of Scots, at the Treaty of Eamont Bridge in 927 allowed him to claim the title of 'king of the English', and even "by wishful extension" 'king of Britain'.[1] Victory over Scottish and Viking forces at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937 confirmed his prestige. His reign has been overlooked, overshadowed by the achievements of his grandfather, Alfred the Great, but he is now regarded as one of the greatest kings of the West Saxon dynasty.[2] Æthelstan was the first king of a unified England from 927, and his reign was of fundamental importance to political developments in the 10th century.

Penny of Æthelstan
The materials for a life of Æthelstan are very limited, and the first biography, by Sarah Foot, was only published in 2011.[3] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in this period is principally devoted to military events, and as Æthelstan's achievements were mainly in the reconstruction of the church and government, it is largely silent during his reign apart from recounting his military triumphs.[4] The main source for his life is the twelfth century chronicle of William of Malmesbury, but historians are cautious about accepting his testimony, much of which cannot be verified from other sources. David Dumville goes so far as to dismiss William's account entirely, regarding him as a "treacherous witness" whose account is unfortunately influential.[5] However, Sarah Foot is inclined to accept Michael Wood's argument that William's chronicle draws on a lost life of Æthelstan, while cautioning that we have no means of discovering how far William 'improved' on the original.[6]
There are also a variety of other sources on Æthelstan's reign, and in Dumville's view the lack of information is more apparent than real.[7] Charters, law codes and coins throw considerable light on Æthelstan's government,[8] and a scribe known as Æthelstan A', who was responsible for drafting all charters between 928 and 935, provides very detailed information, including location, which allows the historian to trace Æthelstan's progress around the county.[9] Historians are paying increasing attention to less conventional sources, such as poetry in his praise and manuscripts associated with his name.[10]
Æthelstan was a generous donor of manuscripts and relics to the church, and these provide a further source of information. Indeed, his reputation was so great that some monastic scribes later falsely claimed that their institutions had been beneficiaries of his largesse. He was especially devoted to the cult of St Cuthbert in Chester-le-Street, and his gifts to the community included Bede's Lives of Cuthbert, which has a portrait of Æhelstan presenting the book to Cuthbert[11] (illustration, below)[12]
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Early life
There is very little information about Athelstan's mother, Ecgwynn, and she is not even named in any pre-Conquest source. She was later rumoured to have been Edward the Elder's concubine, but Barbara Yorke and Sarah Foot argue that the rumours were a product of the dispute over the succession in 924, and that there is no reason to doubt that she was Edward's legitimate wife. One twelfth century chronicler described her as of noble birth, and she may have been related to St Dunstan.[13] According to William of Malmesbury, Alfred the Great honoured his young grandson, giving him a scarlet cloak, a belt set with gems and a sword with a gilded scabbard. Edward re-married at about the time of his father's death, probably because Ecgwynn had died, although she may have been put aside. The new marriage weakened Æthelstan's position, as his step-mother naturally favoured her own sons' interests.[14] Æthelstan was educated at the Mercian court of his aunt, Æthelflæd, and her husband, Æthelred, Ealdorman of Mercia, and probably gained his military training in the Mercian campaigns to conquer the Danelaw. After Æthelflæd's death in 918, Edward took direct control of Mercia, and Æthelstan may have represented his father's interests there.[2][15]

Accession

AÐELSTAN DCCCCXXV on the modern plinth of the Saxon Coronation Stone, Kingston upon Thames
On 17 July 924 Edward died, and confusion surrounds Athelstan's accession. He immediately became King of Mercia, but in Wessex his half-brother Ælfweard was accepted as king. Ælfweard only outlived his father by sixteen days, but even after this there seems to have been opposition to Athelstan in Wessex, particularly in Winchester, where Ælfweard was buried. According to William of Malmesbury, a certain Alfred plotted to blind Athelstan on account of his supposed illegitimacy, and Ælfweard's full brother Edwin was allegedly involved in the plot. Athelstan does not appear to have established his authority in Wessex until mid 925, and he was not crowned until 4 September 925.[15]

Reign
Political alliances seem to have been high on Athelstan's agenda. Only a year after his crowning he married one of his sisters to Sihtric Cáech, the Viking King of Northumbria at Tamworth,[16] who acknowledged Æthelstan as over-king, adopting Christianity. Within the year he may have abandoned his new faith and repudiated his wife, but before Æthelstan and he could fight, Sihtric died suddenly in 927. His kinsman, perhaps brother, Gofraid, who had remained as his deputy in Dublin, came from Ireland to take power in York, but failed. Æthelstan moved quickly, seizing much of Northumbria. This bold move brought the whole of England under one ruler for the first time, although this unity did not become permanent until 954. In less than a decade, the kingdom of the English had become by far the greatest power in the British Isles, perhaps stretching as far north as the Firth of Forth.[17]
Initially the other rulers in Great Britain seem to have submitted to Athelstan at Bamburgh: "first Hywel, King of the West Welsh, and Constantine II, King of Scots, and Owain, King of the people of Gwent, and Ealdred...of Bamburgh" records the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. William of Malmesbury adds that Owain of Strathclyde was also present.[18]
Similar events are recorded along the western marches of Athelstan's domain. According to William of Malmesbury, Athelstan had the kings of the North British (meaning the Welsh) submit to him at Hereford, where he exacted a heavy tribute from them. The reality of his influence in Wales is underlined by the Welsh poem Armes Prydein Fawr, and by the appearance of the Welsh kings as subreguli in the charters of 'Αthelstan A'. Similarly, he drove the West Welsh (meaning the Cornish) out of Exeter, and established the border of Cornwall along the River Tamar.
John of Worcester's chronicle suggests that Æthelstan faced opposition from Constantine, from Owain of Strathclyde, and from the Welsh kings. William of Malmesbury writes that Gofraid, together with Sihtric's young son Olaf Cuaran fled north and received refuge from Constantine, which led to war with Æthelstan. A meeting at Eamont Bridge on 12 July 927 was sealed by an agreement that Constantine, Eógan of Strathclyde, Hywel Dda, and Ealdred would "renounce all idolatry": that is, they would not ally with the Viking kings. William states that Æthelstan stood godfather to a son of Constantine, probably Indulf (Ildulb mac Constantín), during the conference.[19]
Æthelstan followed up his advances in the north by securing the recognition of the Welsh kings.[20] For the next seven years, the record of events in the north is blank. Æthelstan's court was attended by the Welsh kings, but not by Constantine or Eógan of Strathclyde. This absence of record means that Æthelstan's reasons for marching north against Constantine in 934 are unclear.[21]
Æthelstan's campaign is reported in brief by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and later chroniclers such as John of Worcester, William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and Symeon of Durham add detail to that bald account. Æthelstan's army began gathering at Winchester by 28 May 927, and reached Nottingham by 7 June. He was accompanied by many leaders, including the Welsh kings Hywel Dda, Idwal Foel, and Morgan ab Owain. From Mercia the army went north, stopping at Chester-le-Street, before resuming the march accompanied by a fleet of ships. Eógan of Strathclyde was defeated and Symeon states that the army went as far north as Dunnottar and Fortriu, while the fleet is said to have raided Caithness, by which a much larger area, including Sutherland, is probably intended. It is unlikely that Constantine's personal authority extended so far north, and while the attacks may have been directed at his allies, they may also have been simple looting expeditions.[22]
The Annals of Clonmacnoise state that "the Scottish men compelled [Æthelstan] to return without any great victory", while Henry of Huntingdon claims that the English faced no opposition. A negotiated settlement may have ended matters: according to John of Worcester, a son of Constantine was given as a hostage to Æthelstan and Constantín himself accompanied the English king on his return south.[16] He witnessed a charter with Æthelstan at Buckingham on 13 September 934 in which he is described as subregulus, that is a king acknowledging Æthelstan's overlordship. The following year, Constantine was again in England at Æthelstan's court, this time at Cirencester where he appears as a witness, appearing as the first of several subject kings, followed by Eógan of Strathclyde and Hywel Dda, who subscribed to the diploma. At Christmas of 935, Eógan of Strathclyde was once more at Æthelstan's court along with the Welsh kings, but Constantine was not. His return to England less than two years later would be in very different circumstances.