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Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians
9th and 10th-century ruler of Mercia in England / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Æthelred (died 911) became Lord of the Mercians in England shortly after the death or disappearance of Mercia's last king, Ceolwulf II, in 879. He is also sometimes called the Ealdorman of Mercia. Æthelred's rule was confined to the western half, as eastern Mercia was then part of the Viking-ruled Danelaw. His ancestry is unknown. He was probably the leader of an unsuccessful Mercian invasion of Wales in 881, and soon afterwards he acknowledged the lordship of King Alfred the Great of Wessex. This alliance was cemented by the marriage of Æthelred to Alfred's daughter Æthelflæd.
Æthelred | |
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![]() Ruins of St Oswald's Priory, Gloucester, where Æthelred and Æthelflæd were buried | |
Lord of the Mercians | |
Reign | c. 881–911 |
Predecessor | Ceolwulf II (as King of Mercia) |
Successor | Æthelflæd (as Lady of the Mercians) |
Died | 911 AD |
Burial | |
Spouse | Æthelflæd |
Issue | Ælfwynn |
In 886, Alfred took possession of London, which had suffered greatly from several Viking occupations. Alfred then handed London over to Æthelred, as it had traditionally been a Mercian town. In 892, the Vikings renewed their attacks, and the following year, Æthelred led an army of Mercians, West Saxons and Welsh to victory over a Viking army at the Battle of Buttington. He spent the next three years fighting them alongside Alfred's son, the future King Edward the Elder. At some time after 899 Æthelred's health may have declined, and Æthelflæd may have become the effective ruler of Mercia.
After Æthelred's death, Æthelflæd ruled as Lady of the Mercians until her own death in 918. The couple's only child, a daughter called Ælfwynn, then ruled briefly until deposed by her uncle, King Edward.