EFL - Enciclopedia delle Famiglie Lombarde

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to:navigation, search Thi s article needs additional citations for verification. Please help imp rove this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material ma y be challenged and removed. (June 2009) This article reads more lik e a story than an encyclopedia entry. To meet Wikipedia's quality stan dards and conform with our Neutral Point of View policy, please help t o introduce a more formal style and remove any personally invested ton e. (June 2009) Æthelbald King of Wessex Reign 856 - 20 December 86 0 Born 834[1] Birthplace Wessex, England Died December 20, 860 Place o f death Wessex Buried Sherborne Abbey Predecessor Æthelwulf Successo r Æthelbert Consort Judith Father Æthelwulf Mother Osburga King Æth elbald of Wessex or Ethelbald (Old English Æþelbald) (means roughl y 'Noble Bold') was King of Wessex from 856 to 860. He was the secon d of the five sons of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and Osburga.[1]. In 8 50, he received the rank of Ealdorman[citation needed]. In 855 he beca me regent of Wessex while his father, Æthelwulf, visited Rome, his el der brother Æthelstan having died in around 851. His brother Æthelbe rt was left in charge of Kent. Æthelwulf returned a year later, havi ng taken as his second wife, the Carolingian King Charles the Bald's t hirteen-year-old daughter Judith.[2] According to Asser, during Æthel wulf's absence there may have been a plot hatched to prevent the king' s return either by Æthelbald, or by Ealhstan, Bishop of Sherborne an d Eanwulf, Ealdorman of Somerset, or by all three. It is probable tha t Æthelbald was involved in such a plot due to hearing about his fath er's marriage to Judith.[citation needed] The marriage to a Frankish p rincess who had her own royal lineage could have produced heirs more t hrone-worthy than Æthelbald's. To avoid a civil war, Æthelwulf allo wed Æthelbald to continue to rule Wessex itself while he retained Ken t and the other eastern parts of the kingdom.[2] The absence of any co ins in Æthelbald's name during this period suggests the coinage conti nued to be in Æthelwulf's name until his death. After Æthelwulf's de ath, Æthelbald became sole king of the West Saxons, with his younge r brother becoming king of Kent. He was crowned at Kingston upon Tham es and later made himself unpopular with the church by marrying Judith , his father's young widow. The relationship was deemed incestuous an d in direct contravention of church law. Her outraged father, Charle s the Bald, intervened and forced his daughter into a nunnery[citatio n needed]. She later eloped with Baldwin, Count of Flanders, making he r the ancestress of another Queen of England, Matilda of Flanders, th e consort of England's first Norman King, William the Conqueror. Desp ite all this, Æthelbald was a popular king[citation needed]. He die d 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, altho ugh Bishop Asser describes him as being 'headstrong and arbitrary'. Ho wever, Asser's opinion demonstrates bias because of the Æthelbald's u ncanonical marriage.[citation needed]. [edit] See also House of Wesse x family tree Asser [edit] References ^ a b c Weir, Alison (1999), Bri tain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy, London, U.K., p. 6 ^ a b St enton, Frank (1971), Anglo-Saxon England (3rd ed.), Oxford: Clarendon , p. 245