Æthelweard (Wessex)

Æthelweard (also Ethelweard or Aethelweard ; * 904 ; † August 1, 924 in Oxford ) was a son of Edward the Elder and Elfleda.

Domination

According to the B manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ( Worcester Chronicle ), he survived his father by 16 days, although no information is given that Æthelweard had been crowned king and no reign is assigned to him. Only in sources from the 11th and 12th centuries is his name mentioned as a king and it is reported that he ruled for four weeks.

These contradicting statements about the possible rule of Æthelweard are interpreted differently. On the one hand it is assumed that Æthelweard, because he was preferred to his older half-brother Æthelstan , succeeded his father, on the other hand it is claimed that Æthelstan was the sole and sole heir of his father. As an alternative, a divided rule is proposed, since in the so-called Mercian Register of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle it is stated that Æthelstan was elected king of Mercia , and William of Malmesbury mentions in the 12th century that Æthelstan was brought up at the court of his aunt Ethelfleda . As a result, elthelweard would have followed his father in Wessex as ruler, and Æthelstan in Mercia, where Æthelstan would have acquired Wessex after the death of his brother.

Æthelweard was buried in New Minster , Winchester.

See also

• Family table of English kings

swell

• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: MS C v. 5 , Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe (Ed.), Brewer, Cambridge 2000, ISBN 0-8599-1491-7 .
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: MS D v. 6 , GP Cubbin (Ed.), Brewer, Cambridge 1996, ISBN 0-85991-467-4 .

literature

• James Campbell (Ed.): The Anglo-Saxons , Phaidon, London 1982, ISBN 0-7148-2149-7 .
• Frank M. Stenton: Anglo-Saxon England . 3. Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1971, ISBN 0-1928-0139-2 .
• Ian Walker: Mercia and the Making of England . Sutton, Stroud 2000, ISBN 0-7509-2131-5 .
• Ann Williams: Some Notes and Considerations on Problems Connected with the English Royal Succession, 860-1066. In: R. Allen Brown (ed.): Proceedings of the Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman studies, 1, 1978 , Boydell & Brewer , Ipswich 1979, pp. 144-167.
• Barbara Yorke : Bishop Æthelwold. His Career and Influence , Boydell, Woodbridge 1988, ISBN 0-8511-5484-0 .

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b} ASC D , s. a. 924
2. ^ B. Yorke, Bishop Æthelwold , p. 71
3. ^ A. Williams, "Some Notes", pp. 140f.
4. ↑ ASC C , s. a. 924
5. ^ I. Walker, Mercia and Making of England , p. 127

predecessor	Office	successor
Edward the Elder	King of England 924	Æthelstan