Æthelweard of East Anglia
Encyclopedia
Æthelweard was a 9th century king of East Anglia, the long-lived Anglo-Saxon
kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk
. Little is known of Æthelweard's reign and even his regnal dates are not known for certain. He was succeeded by St Edmund, who was said to have been crowned on 25 December 854.
was rich and powerful, with a distinctive ecclesticastical culture. Between this time and the early Norman
period, practically nothing is known of the history of East Anglia, except that the kingdom was rich, and powerful enough to remain independent. Its kings are in some cases known only from the coins issued during their reigns. According to the historian Barbara Yorke
, Viking attacks eventually destroyed all the East Anglian monasteries, where books and charters would have been kept.
. However, numismatic evidence in the form of surviving coinage suggests that he was the ruler of an independent kingdom and not subject to Mercia
or Wessex
. The date when Æthelweard became king is uncertain, but it is conventionally dated to the middle or late 840s. It appears that he died in 854. He was succeeded as king by his fourteen-year-old son Edmund, known as Saint Edmund, who was said to have been crowned on 25 December 854.
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
and Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. Little is known of Æthelweard's reign and even his regnal dates are not known for certain. He was succeeded by St Edmund, who was said to have been crowned on 25 December 854.
9th century East Anglia
Prior to the arrival of the Vikings, the 6th century Kingdom of the East AnglesKingdom of the East Angles
The Kingdom of East Anglia, also known as the Kingdom of the East Angles , was a small independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom that comprised what are now the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and perhaps the eastern part of the Fens...
was rich and powerful, with a distinctive ecclesticastical culture. Between this time and the early Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
period, practically nothing is known of the history of East Anglia, except that the kingdom was rich, and powerful enough to remain independent. Its kings are in some cases known only from the coins issued during their reigns. According to the historian Barbara Yorke
Barbara Yorke
Barbara Yorke is a historian of Anglo-Saxon England.She studied history and archaeology at Exeter University, where she completed both her undergraduate degree and her Ph.D. She is currently Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of Winchester, and is a Fellow of the Royal...
, Viking attacks eventually destroyed all the East Anglian monasteries, where books and charters would have been kept.
Life and reign of Æthelweard
As with Æthelstan,whom he succeeded, textual evidence for Æthelweard's reign is very limited. He is not mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon ChronicleAnglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
. However, numismatic evidence in the form of surviving coinage suggests that he was the ruler of an independent kingdom and not subject to Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
or Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
. The date when Æthelweard became king is uncertain, but it is conventionally dated to the middle or late 840s. It appears that he died in 854. He was succeeded as king by his fourteen-year-old son Edmund, known as Saint Edmund, who was said to have been crowned on 25 December 854.