Æthelred: The Unready

Description

An imaginative reassessment of Æthelred "the Unready," one of medieval England’s most maligned kings and a major Anglo-Saxon figure The Anglo-Saxon king Æthelred "the Unready" (978–1016) has long been considered to be inscrutable, irrational, and poorly advised. Infamous for his domestic and international failures, Æthelred was unable to fend off successive Viking raids, leading to the notorious St. Brice’s Day Massacre in 1002, during which Danes in England were slaughtered on his orders. Though Æthelred’s posthumous standing is dominated by his unsuccessful military leadership, his seemingly blind trust in disloyal associates, and his harsh treatment of political opponents, Roach suggests that Æthelred has been wrongly maligned. Drawing on extensive research, Roach argues that Æthelred was driven by pious concerns about sin, society, and the anticipated apocalypse. His strategies, in this light, were to honor God and find redemption. Chronologically charting Æthelred’s life, Roach presents a more accessible character than previously available, illuminating his place in England and Europe at the turn of the first millennium. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS PLATES, MAPS AND FIGURES A NOTE ON NAME FORMS AND REFERENCES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABBREVIATIONS AND SHORT TITLES INTRODUCTION AN UNREADY AND ILL-COUNSELLEDKING? CHAPTER 1 BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD England between Alfred the Great and Edgar ‘the Peacemaker’ (871–957/9) The reign of King Edgar: administrative consolidation King Edgar and the church: monastic reform Family and faction: Æthelred at the court of King Edgar CHAPTER 2 ‘WOE TO THEE, OH LAND, WHEN THY KING IS A CHILD’ Crisis and consolidation, 975 The ‘anti-monastic reaction’ The life and death of a ‘holy innocent’: Edward II as king and martyr, 975–8 Regency rule: Ælfthryth and Æthelwold, 978–84 CHAPTER 3 THE PRODIGAL SON 984–93 Growing independence: ruling the roost and the realm From regency rule to ‘youthful indiscretion’ The wages of sin Maldon: the poem and the battle CHAPTER 4 REPENTANCE AND REFORM 993–1002 The politics of penance Repentance and reform The cult of King Edward Defending the realm CHAPTER 5 APOCALYPSE AND INVASION 1002–9 The Massacre of St Brice’s Day The ‘Palace Revolution’, 1005–6 Sin and society, 1006–9 Crime and punishment Apocalypse and atonement CHAPTER 6 A KINGDOM LOST AND WON 1009–16 From crisis to collapse: Thorkell’s ‘immense raiding army’, 1009–12 Calamity and response, 1009–12 Faction, friction and conquest, 1013–16 CONCLUSION AN AGE OF ILL COUNSEL? BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX