Æthelstan of Wessex

Æthelstan (c. 829 - 851-855) was either the eldest son or younger brother [1] of King Æthelwulf of Wessex.

When Æthelwulf became King of the West Saxons in 839 on the death of his father Egbert, he appointed Æthelstan to rule over Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex. He is styled king in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Æthelweard's chronicle calls him "King of the Dwellers in Kent, of the East Saxons, of the South Saxons and of Surrey". He attested a number of his father's charters as king in the 840s.

In 851, Æthelstan and Ealdorman Ealhhere defeated a Viking fleet and army at Sandwich, Kent. Ealhhere's death in battle against Vikings is recorded c. 853. Æthelstan is not mentioned after 851 and presumably died before Æthelwulf went to Rome in 855 as he was not included in arrangements for government of the kingdom during his father's absence.[2]

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Notes

  1. ^ Different versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle give differing information
  2. ^ Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge eds, Alfred the Great, Asser's Life of Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources, London, Penguin Classics, 1983, pp. 69, 231-2, 235.

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See also

  • Also monarch of Mercia
  • † Also monarch of East Anglia and Mercia
  • ‡ Also monarch of Wessex, Essex, Sussex and Mercia
  • ♥ Also monarch of Wessex.