Æthelstan

Also known as King Æthelstan, King Athelstan, Athelstan, Aethelstan, Ethelstan, King Aethelstan, King Ethelstan, Æthelstan of Wessex

Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ; ; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern historians regard him as the first King of England and one of the "greatest Anglo-Saxon kings". He never married and had no children; he was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund I.

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Æthelstan was a 10th-century Anglo-Saxon king who ruled from 924 to 939 and is considered by modern historians to be the first true King of England. His reign marked an important consolidation of English power, and he is remembered as one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon rulers, though he died without an heir and was succeeded by his half-brother.

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Key facts

Royalty.caption: Æthelstan presenting a book to St Cuthbert, an illustration in a manuscript of Bede's Life of Saint Cuthbert, probably presented to the saint's shrine in Chester-le-Street in County Durham by Æthelstan when he visited the shrine on his journey to Scotland in 934. He wore a crown of a similar design on his crowned bust coins. It is the oldest surviving portrait of an English king, and the manuscript is the oldest surviving made for an English king.
Royalty.alt: refer to caption
Royalty.succession: King of the Anglo-Saxons
Royalty.reign: 924–927
Royalty.coronation: 4 September 925Kingston upon Thames
Royalty.predecessor: Edward the Elder
Royalty.successor: None
Royalty.succession1: King of the English
Royalty.reign1: 927 – 27 October 939
Royalty.predecessor1: None
Royalty.successor1: Edmund I
Royalty.birth_place: Wessex
Royalty.death_date: 27 October 939 (aged about 45)
Royalty.death_place: Gloucester, England
Royalty.burial_place: Malmesbury Abbey
Royalty.house: Wessex
Royalty.father: Edward the Elder
Royalty.mother: Ecgwynn

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Wikidata facts

Image: Athelstan (cropped).jpg

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Commons category: Æthelstan of England
date of death: 0939-10-26
date of birth: 0895-00-00

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Article

24 sections

Contents

Background
Early life
Reign
The struggle for power
King of the English
Invasion of Scotland in 934
Battle of Brunanburh
Kingship
Administration
Law
Coinage
Church
Learning
British monarch
European relations
Death
Aftermath
Primary sources
Legacy
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

When Edward died in July 924, Æthelstan was accepted by the Mercians as king. His half-brother Ælfweard may have been recognised as king in Wessex, but died within three weeks of their father's death. Æthelstan encountered resistance in Wessex for several months, and was not crowned until September 925. In 927, he conquered the last remaining Viking kingdom, York, making him the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of the whole of England. In 934, he invaded Scotland and forced Constantine II to submit to him. Æthelstan's rule was resented by the Scots and Vikings, and in 937 they invaded England. Æthelstan defeated them at the Battle of Brunanburh, a victory that gave him great prestige both in the British Isles and on the Continent. After his death in 939, the Vikings seized back control of York, and it was not finally reconquered until 954.