King Aethelred I (866 - 871)
Name: King Aethelred I
Born: c.837
Parents: Aethelwulf and Osburh
Relation to Charles III: 33rd great-granduncle
House of: Wessex
Became King: 866
Married: Wulfrida
Children: 2 sons
Died: April 23, 871 at Witchampton, Dorset
Buried at: Wimbourne
Succeeded by: his brother Alfred
Aethelred became king after his Aethelbert died in 866. Aethelred's reign was one long struggle against the Danes. Ivarr the Boneless and his brother Halfdan based in Dublin attacked and occupied York in 866 which became a Viking kingdom (Jorvik). The Danes marched south and occupied Nottingham. In 869 they sailed to East Anglia where they killed the local king Edmund. Wessex was then threatened and Aethered and his brother Alfred were engaged in a series of battles with the Danes Ivarr, Halfdan and Guthrun at Reading, Ashdown and Basing. During 870/871 the Danes sacked and plundered their way through the countryside. The next major engagement was at Meretun, in Hampshire, which was an indecisive battle. Aethelred was seriously injured in the battle and died of his wounds at Witchampton, near Wimbourne, where he was buried.
Timeline for King Aethelred I
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 866 | Aethelred becomes king on the death of his brother Aethelbert |
| 869 | Edmund King of East Anglia resists the Vikings and is killed |
| 870 | Aethelred defeated by the Danes (Vikings) at Reading |
| 871 | Aethelred and his brother Alfred defeat the Danes at Ashdown |
| 871 | Battle of Meretun, Hampshire. Aethelred is mortally wounded and dies. |