Æthelbald, King of Wessex
Æthelbald was the second son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex. He reigned from 855 to 865, and then again from 871 to 899. In 850 he defeated the Vikings in the first recorded sea battle in English history. He married his stepmother Judith, but the union was denounced as being against God’s prohibition and Christian dignity.
