Æthelstan was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife Ecgwynn. He was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of England from 927 to 939 when he died. His legal reforms built on those of his grandfather, Alfred the Great. His household was the centre of English learning during his reign.
About Æthelstan in brief
Æthelstan was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife Ecgwynn. He was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of England from 927 to 939 when he died. In 927 he conquered the last remaining Viking kingdom, York. His legal reforms built on those of his grandfather, Alfred the Great. His household was the centre of English learning during his reign, and it laid the foundation for the Benedictine monastic reform later in the century. He never married and had no children. His half-brother, Edmund, was succeeded by his son, Edward. He is one of the most pious West Saxon kings, and was known for collecting relics and founding churches. He arranged the marriages of several of his sisters to continental rulers. He died in 939 and was buried at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. His son, Edmund was succeeded as king by his brother, Æthelflæd, who was married to his daughter Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians. His grandson, Edward, was the first king of the Northumbrian kingdom of Northumbria. He ruled from 939 to 954. He had no sons or daughters of his own, but had a son with his wife, Edmund, and a daughter with his son Ælfweard, who became king of Wessex in 925. He also had a daughter, Ælfnwyn, with whom he had one son, Alfred, who succeeded him as king of Mercia in 924.
His daughter, Æ thelfdæd died in 918 and was briefly succeeded by her daughter, her widow Ælafnwyn. In the same year, Edward deposed her and took direct control of all of England. The Viking leader Guthrum agreed on a division that gave Alfred western Mercia, while eastern Mercia was incorporated into Viking East Anglia. Alfred died in 899 and his son Edward succeeded him, but was killed at the Battle of the Holme in 902. Little is known of warfare between the English and the Danes over the next few years, but in 909, Edward sent a WestSaxon and Mercia army to ravage Northumbrias. The following year, the Northumans attacked Mercia but suffered a decisive defeat at the battle of Tettenhallhall. The West Saxons fought back under Alfred, and achieved a decisive victory at theBattle of Edington. By the end of the century, the many kingdoms of the early Anglo- Saxon period had been consolidated into four: Wessex, Mercia,. Northumberria and East Angia. In 878, the Vikings had overrun East Angles, and nearly conquered Wessex. By 890s, renewed Viking attacks were successfully fought off by Alfred, assisted by Edward and ÆThelflâd, assisted by his son Edward.
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