Æthelbald of Wessex
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| Æthelbald | |
| King of Wessex | |
|---|---|
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| Reign | 856 - December 20, 860 |
| Born | 834[1] |
| Birthplace | Wessex, England |
| Died | December 20, 860 |
| Place of death | Wessex |
| Buried | Sherborne Abbey |
| Consort | Judith |
| Father | Æthelwulf |
| Mother | Osburga |
King Æthelbald of Wessex or Ethelbald (Old English Æþelbald) (Means roughly 'Noble Bold') was the second of the five sons of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and Osburga and was born in about 834[1].
In 850, he received the rank of Ealdorman[citation needed]. He got his first taste of kingship in 855 when he was left in charge of the West Saxons while his father, Æthelwulf, was in Rome. His brother Æthelbert was left in charge of Kent.
Æthelwulf eventually returned a year later having married the Carolingian King Charles' daughter Judith. According to 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 due to hearing about his father's marriage to Judith.[citation needed]
The marriage to a Frankish princess who had her own royal lineage could have produced heirs more throne-worthy than Æthelbald's. To avoid a civil war Æthelwulf allowed Æthelbald to rule western Wessex while he himself retained central and eastern Wessex.[citation needed] 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. After Æthelwulf's death, Æthelbald became sole king of the West Saxons, with his younger brother remaining king of Kent.
He was crowned at Kingston upon Thames and later made himself unpopular with the church by marrying Judith, his father's sixteen year[citation needed] old wife. The relationship was deemed incestuous and in direct contravention of church law. Her outraged father, Charles the Bald, intervened and forced his daughter into a nunnery[citation needed]. She later eloped with Baldwin, Count of Flanders, making her the ancestress of another Queen of England, Matilda of Flanders, the consort of England's first Norman King, William the Conqueror.
Despite all this Æthelbald made a popular king[citation needed]. He died at Sherbourne in Dorset on 20 December, 860, aged around 26 or 27[1], after a four year reign. He was greatly mourned by his people, although Bishop Asser describes him as being 'headstrong and arbitrary'. It should be noted, however, that he evoked the censure of the church through his uncanonical marriage, making Asser's opinion of the King a highly biased one[citation needed].
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Æthelwulf Kent also ruled by Æthelstan |
King of Wessex 856–860 |
Succeeded by Æthelbert |
| King of Kent 856–860 |
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