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Born

967

Born At

Died

23 Apr 1016

Buried At

Old St. Paul's Cathedral

Royal House

Wessex

Titles Include: King of England

ethelred (Ethelred) 'The Unready' was King of the English from 978 to 1016. The term 'Unready' was probably a misinterpretation of the word 'un-raed' which meant 'lack of council'. It appears that Aethelred was not able to make any decisions on his own and relied on the Witan council heavily. Atheltred's reign was dominated by the many Viking raids on England. Under the leadership of Olaf Trygvasson and Swein Fork-Beard Vikings attacked the south and east coasts of England. Unable to defeat the Vikings by force Aethelred instead came to an agreement with them paying them money and providing lodging as long as they stopped the attacks. These payments were known as Danegeld. Aethelred had first married Aelfgifu then in 1002 he married Emma the daughter of Richard I Duke of Normandy. Aethelred's hope that by marrying into Emma's family they could provide assistance against the Vikings. Aethelred also had many Danes living in England killed to prevent them assisting the invading Vikings. Finally, in 1013, the Vikings invaded England forcing the Aethelred and his family into exile in Normandy. From September of 1013 until his death in February 1014, Swein Fork-Beard of Denmark is acknowledged as King of all England. Swein's son Canute was elected King of England by the Danes but the Witan council elected Aethelred. Aethelred sent a delegation from Normandy, including his son Edward (the Confessor), to England to discuss his return. Canute returned to Denmark to enforce his control there and in March of 1014 Aethelred returned to England to resume his reign. Canute had not given up his fight for control of England and in April 1016 he returned to England to overthrow Aethelred but the Saxon King died in the same month. Edmund Ironside, Aethelred's eldest son, was chosen to be king by the Londoners but elsewhere others chose Canute.

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Preceded by
Swein (Fork-Beard)

Succeeded by
EDMUND (II Ironside, King of the English 1016)

Family Tree Details

Father:	EDGAR (I, King of the English 959-975) (b.944 - d.975)
Mother:	Elfthyrth (b.945 - d.1000)

AETHELRED (II The Unready, King of the English 978-1013, 1014-1016) (b.967 - d.1016)
         +Aelfgifu
         |        =Aethelstan (son of Aethelred)
         |        =Egbert
         |        =EDMUND (II Ironside, King of the English 1016) (b.981 - d.1016)
         |        |        +Ealdgyth (b.963 - d.1017)
         |        |                 =Edward (The Exile) (b.1016 - d.1057)
         |        |                          +Agatha (of Brunswick)
         |        |                                   =Edgar (The Aetheling) ( - d.1126)
         |        |                                   =Margaret (St. Margaret of Scotland) ( - d.1093)
         |        |                                            +Malcolm (III, Scottish King 1058-1093) ( - d.1093)
         |        |                                                     =Edgar (King of Scotland 1097-1107) ( - d.1107)
         |        |                                                     =Alexander (I, King of Scotland 1107-1124) (b.1077 - d.1124)
         |        |                                                     =David (I, King of Scotland 1124-1153) (b.1085 - d.1153)
         |        |                                                     =Matilda Edith (of Scotland)
         |        |                                                     =Mary (Daughter of Malcolm III)
         |        =Eadred
         |        =Eadwig
         |        =Edgar
         +Emma (of Normandy, Wife of Aethelred) (b.982 - d.1052)
                  =EDWARD (The Confessor, King of England 1042-1066) (b.1003 - d.1066)
                  |        +Edith (Daughter of Godwine)
                  =Alfred (Second son of Aethelred) ( - d.1036)
                  =Godgifu (Daughter of Aethelred)
                           +Eustace (II, Count of Boulogne) ( - d.1093)

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Mini Timeline (Ages are approximate)

979	Mar	Aethelred becomes king	Age: 12
		Aethelred became king after the assassination of Edward the Martyr.
	Mar 18	Murder of Edward the Martyr
		Edward, the King of the English was assassinated under orders from his step-mother, who wanted her son Aethelred to become king.
980		First Viking attacks	Age: 13
		With Aethelred on the throne for a short time and possibly showing some weakness in his ability to rule the Vikings started their attacks. Concentrating on the south coast the raids were limited and the affect to the country as a whole was small.¹
991 - 993		Vikings attack the wealthy south-east	Age: 24
		Under the leadership of Olaf Trygvasson the Vikings attacked the wealthy south-east coast of England and took as much riches as they could carry.¹
		Vikings paid to leave
		Aethelred was advised by Archbishop Sigeric to talk to Olaf and arrange a truce rather than trying to defeat the Vikings in battle. The Vikings accepted a large payoff (Danegeld) and left.
994		Swein Fork-Beard invades Britain	Age: 27
		Swein Fork-Beard had overthrone this father King Harold Blue-Tooth Gormsson, King of Denmark in 988. With a huge fleet of 94 ships he arrived in the Thames estuary with Olaf Trygvasson by his side. London put up a good defence and drove the Vikings back so Fork-Beard moved his forces again to attack the south-east coast to plunder what he could find.¹
	Winter	Trygvasson converted to Christianity
		Through the Winter months Aethelred provided the Vikings with lodgings and £16,000 in cash to stop the raids on his land. Aethelred was also the sponsor at the baptism of Olaf Trygvasson. Olaf was given instruction from the Bishop of Winchester.¹
1000		Aethelred attacked Strathclyde and Isle of Man.	Age: 33
		Aethelred the Unready attacked Strathclyde and Isle of Man.²
1002		Another Danegeld paid	Age: 35
		Aethelred was forced to pay the Danes that were camped on the Isle of Wight another large amount of money for them to leave.
	Nov	Aethelred marries Emma
		Aethelred paid the Vikings a sum of £24,000 to try and stop further invasions. In an attempt to strengthen his position against the Vikings he married Emma, the daughter of Richard Duke of Normandy. Aethelred also ordered the murder of all Danes in England but some escaped to report back. Not surprisingly the Viking attacks started again.¹
	Nov 13	Massacre of St Brice's day
		Aethelred ordered the massacre of all Danes living in England because he was fearful of them plotting against him.
1003		Edward the Confessor is born	Age: 36
		Edward the Confessor is thought to have been born sometime between 1003 and 1005 at Islip in Oxfordshire. His father was Aethelred II, the Unready, and his mother was Emma of Normandy, daughter of Robert I, Earl of Normandy.³
1008		A large fleet is ordered	Age: 41
		Aethelred ordered England to build a massive fleet of ships. The people of England had to supply armour for the crew as well. It was a huge undertaking but was completed the following year.
1011		The Vikings murder Aelfheah	Age: 44
		The Vikings captured Canterbury and obtained a payment of £48,000. In a drunken rage the Vikings murdered Aelfheah, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Aelfheah was the man that had baptised Olaf Trygvasson in the Winter of 994. Outraged by the actions of his fellow men Thorkell the Tall defected to the side of Aethelred along with 45 Viking ships to help defend England from further Viking attacks.¹
1013		Swein Fork-Beard and Canute attack England	Age: 46
		Swein Fork-Beard and his son Canute sailed from Denmark to attack England. Again London defended itself and the Vikings moved elsewhere, taking Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria.
	Autumn	Emma and Edward leave England
		Forced to leave England by the invasion from Denmark, Emma Aethelred's wife, fled to Normandy assisted by the Bishop of Peterborough. Sons Edward (the Confessor) and Alfred followed later along with the Bishop of London. Ethelred was not far behind.
1014		Aethelred goes into exile	Age: 47
		Aethelred had to abandon his country to Swein and went to Normandy to join his wife Emma and his sons.
	Feb 3	Swein dies
		Swein Fork-Beard died. Canute left England not sure of his ability to hold the country but returned a year later. Aethelred sent ambassadors to England, including his own son Edward (later the Confessor) to negotiate a possible return.⁴
1016	Apr	Edmund II (Ironside) becomes King	Age: 49
		Edmund II became king at the death of his father Aethelred II in London. London chose prince Edmund as king but it was short lived as the Southampton Witan chose Canute, who then invaded England.
	Apr	Canute attempts to take the throne
		Canute advanced on London for a fight with Aethelred but Aethelred died in the same month. London accepted Edmund Ironside as their ruler. Canute would have to defeat Edmund if he was to become King of England.¹
1033		Robert Assists English and French Kings
		Robert I, Duke of Normandy was an ally of the French King Henry I and also assisted the two English brothers Edward (to become Edward the Confessor) and Alfred, sons of Aethelred King of the English who was over thrown by Canute in 1016. Robert may had tried to assist Edward and Albert in their attempts to retake the English throne back from Canute. It may have been for this assistance that Edward was to promise Robert's son William (the Conqueror) the future crown of England.⁵