Æthelred the Unready (c968-1016)

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Æthelred II the Unready of England ‡
Birth:	968
Death:	23 April 1016 London
Father:	Edgar I the Peaceful (943-975)
Mother:	Ælfthryth (c945-c1000)
Titles:	King of England
Spouse / partner:	Ælfgifu of York (c963-1002)
Wedding:	985
Spouse / partner (2):	Emma of Normandy (c985-1052)
Wedding (2):	1002
Sex:
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• House of Wessex - English Royalty
• 978-1016: King of England

Biography

Æthelred II the Unready of England, King of England, was born circa 968 to Edgar I the Peaceful (943-975) and Ælfthryth (c945-c1000) and died 23 April 1016 London of unspecified causes. He married Ælfgifu of York (c963-1002) 985 ^JL . He married Emma of Normandy (c985-1052) 1002 ^JL .

Æthelred (Old English: Æþelræd, ang; c. 966 – 23 April 1016), known as the Unready, was King of the English from 978 to 1013 and again from 1014 until his death in 1016. His epithet does not derive from the modern word "unready", but rather from the Old English unræd meaning "poorly advised"; it is a pun on his name, which means "well advised".

Æthelred was the son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. He came to the throne at about the age of 12, following the assassination of his older half-brother, Edward the Martyr. His brother's murder was carried out by supporters of his own claim to the throne, although he was too young to have any personal involvement.

The chief problem of Æthelred's reign was conflict with the Danes. After several decades of relative peace, Danish raids on English territory began again in earnest in the 980s, becoming markedly more serious in the early 990s. Following the Battle of Maldon in 991, Æthelred paid tribute, or Danegeld, to the Danish king. In 1002, Æthelred ordered what became known as the St. Brice's Day massacre of Danish settlers. In 1013, King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark invaded England, as a result of which Æthelred fled to Normandy in 1013 and was replaced by Sweyn. However, he returned as king for two years after Sweyn's death in 1014. Æthelred's 37-year combined reign was the longest of any Anglo-Saxon king of England, and was only surpassed in the 13th century, by Henry III. Æthelred was briefly succeeded by his son, Edmund Ironside, but he died after a few months and was replaced by Sweyn's son, Cnut. Another of Æthelred's sons, Edward the Confessor, became king in 1042.

Name

Æthelred's first name, composed of the elements æðele, "noble", and ræd, "counsel, advice", is typical of the compound names of those who belonged to the royal House of Wessex, and it characteristically alliterates with the names of his ancestors, like Æthelwulf ("noble-wolf"), Ælfred ("elf-counsel"), Eadweard ("rich-protection"), and Eadgar ("rich-spear").

Æthelred's notorious nickname, Old English Unræd, is commonly translated into present-day English as "The Unready" (less often, though less inaccurately, as "The Redeless"). The Anglo-Saxon noun unræd means "evil counsel", "bad plan", or "folly". It was most often used in reference to decisions and deeds, but once in reference to the ill-advised disobedience of Adam and Eve. The element ræd in unræd is the same element in Æthelred's name that means "counsel" (compare the cognate in the German word ). Thus Æþelræd Unræd is an oxymoron: "Noble counsel, No counsel". The nickname has also been translated as "ill-advised", "ill-prepared", thus "Æthelred the ill-advised".

Because the nickname was first recorded in the 1180s, more than 150 years after Æthelred's death, it is doubtful that it carries any implications as to the reputation of the king in the eyes of his contemporaries or near contemporaries.

Early life

Gold mancus of Æthelred wearing armour, 1003–1006

Sir Frank Stenton remarked that "much that has brought condemnation of historians on King Æthelred may well be due in the last resort to the circumstances under which he became king." Æthelred's father, King Edgar, had died suddenly in July 975, leaving two young sons behind. The elder, Edward (later Edward the Martyr), was probably illegitimate, and was "still a youth on the verge of manhood" in 975. The younger son was Æthelred, whose mother, Ælfthryth, Edgar had married in 964. Ælfthryth was the daughter of Ordgar, ealdorman of Devon, and widow of Æthelwald, Ealdorman of East Anglia. At the time of his father's death, Æthelred could have been no more than 10 years old. As the elder of Edgar's sons, Edward – reportedly a young man given to frequent violent outbursts – probably would have naturally succeeded to the throne of England despite his young age, had not he "offended many important persons by his intolerable violence of speech and behaviour." In any case, a number of English nobles took to opposing Edward's succession and to defending Æthelred's claim to the throne; Æthelred was, after all, the son of Edgar's last, living wife, and no rumour of illegitimacy is known to have plagued Æthelred's birth, as it might have his elder brother's.

Both boys, Æthelred certainly, were too young to have played any significant part in the political manoeuvring which followed Edgar's death. It was the brothers' supporters, and not the brothers themselves, who were responsible for the turmoil which accompanied the choice of a successor to the throne. Æthelred's cause was led by his mother and included Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia and Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester, while Edward's claim was supported by Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Oswald, the Archbishop of York among other noblemen, notably Æthelwine, Ealdorman of East Anglia, and Byrhtnoth, ealdorman of Essex. In the end, Edward's supporters proved the more powerful and persuasive, and he was crowned king at Kingston upon Thames before the year was out.

Edward reigned for only three years before he was murdered by members of his brother's household. Though little is known about Edward's short reign, it is known that it was marked by political turmoil. Edgar had made extensive grants of land to monasteries which pursued the new monastic ideals of ecclesiastical reform, but these disrupted aristocratic families' traditional patronage. The end of his firm rule saw a reversal of this policy, with aristocrats recovering their lost properties or seizing new ones. This was opposed by Dunstan, but according to Cyril Hart, "The presence of supporters of church reform on both sides indicates that the conflict between them depended as much on issues of land ownership and local power as on ecclesiastical legitimacy. Adherents of both Edward and Æthelred can be seen appropriating, or recovering, monastic lands." Nevertheless, favour for Edward must have been strong among the monastic communities. When Edward was killed at Æthelred's estate at Corfe Castle in Dorset in March 978, the job of recording the event, as well as reactions to it, fell to monastic writers. Stenton offers a summary of the earliest account of Edward's murder, which comes from a work praising the life of St Oswald:

On the surface his [Edward's] relations with Æthelred his half-brother and Ælfthryth his stepmother were friendly, and he was visiting them informally when he was killed. [Æthelred's] retainers came out to meet him with ostentatious signs of respect, and then, before he had dismounted, surrounded him, seized his hands, and stabbed him ... So far as can be seen the murder was planned and carried out by Æthelred's household men in order that their young master might become king. There is nothing to support the allegation, which first appears in writing more than a century later, that Queen Ælfthryth had plotted her stepson's death. No one was punished for a part in the crime, and Æthelred, who was crowned a month after the murder, began to reign in an atmosphere of suspicion which destroyed the prestige of the crown. It was never fully restored in his lifetime.

Kingship

Nevertheless, at first, the outlook of the new king's officers and counsellors seems in no way to have been bleak. According to one chronicler, the coronation of Æthelred took place with much rejoicing by the councillors of the English people. Simon Keynes notes that "Byrhtferth of Ramsey states similarly that when Æthelred was consecrated king, by Archbishop Dunstan and Archbishop Oswald, 'there was great joy at his consecration', and describes the king in this connection as 'a young man in respect of years, elegant in his manners, with an attractive face and handsome appearance'."

Æthelred was between nine and twelve years old when he became king and affairs were initially managed by leading councillors such as Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester, Queen Ælfthryth and Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury. Æthelwold was especially influential and when he died, on 1 August 984, Æthelred abandoned his early councillors and launched on policies which involved encroachment on church privileges, to his later regret. In a charter of 993 he stated that Æthelwold's death had deprived the country of one "whose industry and pastoral care administered not only to my interest but also to that of all inhabitants of the country."

Ælfthryth enjoyed renewed status in the 990s, when she brought up his heirs and her brother Ordulf became one of Æthelred's leading advisers. She died between 1000 and 1002.

Despite conflicts with the Danes throughout his reign, Æthelred's reign of England saw expansion in England's population, trade and wealth.

Conflict with the Danes

England had experienced a period of peace after the reconquest of the Danelaw in the mid-10th century by King Edgar, Æthelred's father. However, beginning in 980, when Æthelred could not have been more than 14 years old, small companies of Danish adventurers carried out a series of coastline raids against England. Hampshire, Thanet and Cheshire were attacked in 980, Devon and Cornwall in 981, and Dorset in 982. A period of six years then passed before, in 988, another coastal attack is recorded as having taken place to the south-west, though here a famous battle was fought between the invaders and the thegns of Devon. Stenton notes that, though this series of isolated raids had no lasting effect on England itself, "their chief historical importance is that they brought England for the first time into diplomatic contact with Normandy."

Danish attacks started becoming more serious in the early 990s, with highly devastating assaults in 1006–1007 and 1009–1012. Tribute payments by Æthelred did not successfully temper the Danish attacks. Æthelred's forces were primarily composed of infantry, with substantial numbers of foreign mercenaries. He did not have substantial numbers of trained cavalry forces.

During this period, the Normans offered shelter to Danes returning from raids on England. This led to tension between the English and Norman courts, and word of their enmity eventually reached Pope John XV. The pope was disposed to dissolve their hostility towards each other, and took steps to engineer a peace between England and Normandy, which was ratified in Rouen in 991.

Battle of Maldon

In August 991, a sizeable Danish fleet began a sustained campaign in the south-east of England. It arrived off Folkestone, in Kent, and made its way around the south-east coast and up the River Blackwater, coming eventually to its estuary and occupying Northey Island. About 2 kilometres (1 mile) west of Northey lies the coastal town of Maldon, where Byrhtnoth, ealdorman of Essex, was stationed with a company of thegns. The battle that followed between English and Danes is immortalised by the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon, which describes the doomed but heroic attempt of Byrhtnoth to defend the coast of Essex against overwhelming odds. This was the first of a series of crushing defeats felt by the English: beaten first by Danish raiders, and later by organised Danish armies. Stenton summarises the events of the poem:

For access to the mainland they (the Danes) depended on a causeway, flooded at high tide, which led from Northey to the flats along the southern margin of the estuary. Before they (the Danes) had left their camp on the island[,] Byrhtnoth, with his retainers and a force of local militia, had taken possession of the landward end of the causeway. Refusing a demand for tribute, shouted across the water while the tide was high, Byrhtnoth drew up his men along the bank, and waited for the ebb. As the water fell the raiders began to stream out along the causeway. But three of Byrhtnoth's retainers held it against them, and at last they asked to be allowed to cross unhindered and fight on equal terms on the mainland. With what even those who admired him most called 'over-courage', Byrhtnoth agreed to this; the pirates rushed through the falling tide, and battle was joined. Its issue was decided by Byrhtnoth's fall. Many even of his own men immediately took to flight and the English ranks were broken. What gives enduring interest to the battle is the superb courage with which a group of Byrhtnoth's thegns, knowing that the fight was lost, deliberately gave themselves to death in order that they might avenge their lord."

England begins tributes

Silver penny of Æthelred II

In the aftermath of Maldon, it was decided that the English should grant the tribute to the Danes that they desired, and so a gafol of £10,000 was paid them for their peace. Yet it was presumably the Danish fleet that had beaten Byrhtnoth at Maldon that continued to ravage the English coast from 991 to 993. In 994, the Danish fleet, which had swollen in ranks since 991, turned up the Thames estuary and headed toward London. The battle fought there was inconclusive.

It was about this time that Æthelred met with the leaders of the Danish fleet and arranged an uneasy accord. A treaty was signed that provided for seemingly civilised arrangements between the then-settled Danish companies and the English government, such as regulation of settlement disputes and trade. But the treaty also stipulated that the ravaging and slaughter of the previous year would be forgotten, and ended abruptly by stating that £22,000 of gold and silver had been paid to the raiders as the price of peace. In 994, Olaf Tryggvason, a Norwegian prince and already a baptised Christian, was confirmed as Christian in a ceremony at Andover; King Æthelred stood as his sponsor. After receiving gifts, Olaf promised "that he would never come back to England in hostility." Olaf then left England for Norway and never returned, though "other component parts of the Viking force appear to have decided to stay in England, for it is apparent from the treaty that some had chosen to enter into King Æthelred's service as mercenaries, based presumably on the Isle of Wight."

Renewed Danish raids

In 997, Danish raids began again. According to Keynes, "there is no suggestion that this was a new fleet or army, and presumably the mercenary force created in 994 from the residue of the raiding army of 991 had turned on those whom it had been hired to protect." It harried Cornwall, Devon, western Somerset and south Wales in 997, Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex in 998. In 999, it raided Kent, and, in 1000, it left England for Normandy, perhaps because the English had refused in this latest wave of attacks to acquiesce to the Danish demands for gafol or tribute, which would come to be known as Danegeld, 'Dane-payment'. This sudden relief from attack Æthelred used to gather his thoughts, resources, and armies: the fleet's departure in 1000 "allowed Æthelred to carry out a devastation of Strathclyde, the motive for which is part of the lost history of the north."

In 1001, a Danish fleet – perhaps the same fleet from 1000 – returned and ravaged west Sussex. During its movements, the fleet regularly returned to its base in the Isle of Wight. There was later an attempted attack in the south of Devon, though the English mounted a successful defence at Exeter. Nevertheless, Æthelred must have felt at a loss, and, in the Spring of 1002, the English bought a truce for £24,000. Æthelred's frequent payments of immense Danegelds are often held up as exemplary of the incompetency of his government and his own short-sightedness. However, Keynes points out that such payments had been practice for at least a century, and had been adopted by Alfred the Great, Charles the Bald and many others. Indeed, in some cases it "may have seemed the best available way of protecting the people against loss of life, shelter, livestock and crops. Though undeniably burdensome, it constituted a measure for which the king could rely on widespread support."

St. Brice's Day massacre of 1002

Main article: St. Brice's Day massacre

Æthelred ordered the massacre of all Danish men in England to take place on 13 November 1002, St Brice's Day. No order of this kind could be carried out in more than a third of England, where the Danes were too strong, but Gunhilde, sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, was said to have been among the victims. It is likely that a wish to avenge her was a principal motive for Sweyn's invasion of western England the following year. By 1004 Sweyn was in East Anglia, where he sacked Norwich. In this year, a nobleman of East Anglia, Ulfcytel Snillingr met Sweyn in force, and made an impression on the until-then rampant Danish expedition. Though Ulfcytel was eventually defeated, outside Thetford, he caused the Danes heavy losses and was nearly able to destroy their ships. The Danish army left England for Denmark in 1005, perhaps because of the losses they sustained in East Anglia, perhaps from the very severe famine which afflicted the continent and the British Isles in that year.

An expedition the following year was bought off in early 1007 by tribute money of £36,000, and for the next two years England was free from attack. In 1008, the government created a new fleet of warships, organised on a national scale, but this was weakened when one of its commanders took to piracy, and the king and his council decided not to risk it in a general action. In Stenton's view: "The history of England in the next generation was really determined between 1009 and 1012...the ignominious collapse of the English defence caused a loss of morale which was irreparable." The Danish army of 1009, led by Thorkell the Tall and his brother Hemming, was the most formidable force to invade England since Æthelred became king. It harried England until it was bought off by £48,000 in April 1012.

Invasion of 1013

Sweyn then launched an invasion in 1013 intending to crown himself king of England, during which he proved himself to be a general greater than any other Viking leader of his generation. By the end of 1013 English resistance had collapsed and Sweyn had conquered the country, forcing Æthelred into exile in Normandy. But the situation changed suddenly when Sweyn died on 3 February 1014. The crews of the Danish ships in the Trent that had supported Sweyn immediately swore their allegiance to Sweyn's son Cnut the Great, but leading English noblemen sent a deputation to Æthelred to negotiate his restoration to the throne. He was required to declare his loyalty to them, to bring in reforms regarding everything that they disliked and to forgive all that had been said and done against him in his previous reign. The terms of this agreement are of great constitutional interest in early English History as they are the first recorded pact between a King and his subjects and are also widely regarded as showing that many English noblemen had submitted to Sweyn simply because of their distrust of Æthelred. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:

they [the counsellors] said that no lord was dearer to them than their natural (gecynde) lord, if he would govern them more justly than he did before. Then the king sent his son Edward hither with his messengers and bade them greet all his people and said that he would be a gracious (hold) lord to them, and reform all the things which they hated; and all the things which had been said and done against him should be forgiven on condition that they all unanimously turned to him (to him gecyrdon) without treachery. And complete friendship was then established with oath and pledge (mid worde and mid wædde) on both sides, and they pronounced every Danish king an exile from England forever.

Æthelred then launched an expedition against Cnut and his allies. It was only the people of the Kingdom of Lindsey (modern North Lincolnshire) who supported Cnut. Æthelred first set out to recapture London apparently with the help of the Norwegian Olaf Haraldsson. According to the Icelandic historian, Snorri Sturluson, Ólaf led a successful attack on London bridge with a fleet of ships. He then went on to help Æthelred retake London and other parts of the country. Cnut and his army decided to withdraw from England, in April 1014, leaving his Lindsey allies to suffer Æthelred's revenge. In about 1016 it is thought that Ólaf left to concentrate on raiding western Europe. In the same year, Cnut returned to find a complex and volatile situation unfolding in England. Æthelred's son, Edmund Ironside, had revolted against his father and established himself in the Danelaw, which was angry at Cnut and Æthelred for the ravaging of Lindsey and was prepared to support Edmund in any uprising against both of them.

Death and burial

Over the next few months Cnut conquered most of England, while Edmund rejoined Æthelred to defend London when Æthelred died on 23 April 1016. The subsequent war between Edmund and Cnut ended in a decisive victory for Cnut at the Battle of Assandun on 18 October 1016. Edmund's reputation as a warrior was such that Cnut nevertheless agreed to divide England, Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the whole of the country beyond the Thames. However, Edmund died on 30 November and Cnut became king of the whole country.

Æthelred was buried in Old St Paul's Cathedral, London. The tomb and his monument in the quire at Old St Paul's Cathedral were destroyed along with the cathedral in the Great Fire of London in 1666. A modern monument in the crypt lists his among the important graves lost.

Marriages and issue

Æthelred married first Ælfgifu, daughter of Thored, earl of Northumbria, in about 985. Their known children are:

• Æthelstan of England (bef993-1014) -
• Ecgberht of England (bef993-1005) -
• Edmund II Ironside of England (bef993-1016) (King of England, died 1016)
• Eadred Æþeling of England (-c1012) -
• Eadwig England (bef997-1017) - (executed by Cnut 1017)
• Edgar of England (bef1001-c1012) -
• Eadgyth of England (bef993) or Edith (married Eadric Streona)
• Ælfgifu of England (c987) (married Uhtred the Bold, ealdorman of Northumbria)
• Wulfhild? (married Ulfcytel Snillingr)
• Abbess of Wherwell Abbey?

In 1002 Æthelred married Emma of Normandy, sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. Their children were:

• Edward the Confessor of England (bef1005-1066) - his defeat by Harold Godwinson prepared the way for William the Conqueror and the Norman Conquest.
• Ælfred Æþeling of England (-c1036)
• Goda of England (1004-1055) (married firstly Drogo of Mantes, Count of Mantes, Valois and the Vexin and secondly Eustace II, Count of Boulogne)

All of Æthelred's sons were named after predecessors of Æthelred on the throne.

Children

Offspring of Æthelred II the Unready of England and Ælfgifu of York (c963-1002)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Æthelstan of England (bef993-1014)
Ecgberht of England (bef993-1005)
Edmund II Ironside of England (bef993-1016)	989	30 November 1016	Ealdgyth (c992-aft1016)
Eadred Æþeling of England (-c1012)
Eadwig England (bef997-1017)
Edgar of England (bef1001-c1012)
Eadgyth of England (bef993)
Ælfgifu of England (c987)	987		Uchtred, Earl of Northumberland (c955-1018)

Offspring of Æthelred II the Unready of England and Emma of Normandy (c985-1052)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Edward the Confessor of England (bef1005-1066)	1005	January 1066	Edith of Wessex (c1026-1075)
Goda of England (1004-1055)	1004 England	1049 England	Drogo of Mantes (996-1035) Eustache II de Boulogne (c1017-1087)
Ælfred Æþeling of England (-c1036)

Siblings

Offspring of Edgar I the Peaceful (943-975) and Æthelflæd
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Eadweard the Martyr (c962-978)

Offspring of Edgar I the Peaceful (943-975) and Wulthryth
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Eadgyth of Wilton (c961-984)

Offspring of Edgar I the Peaceful (943-975) and Ælfthryth (c945-c1000)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Edmund (966-c970)
Æthelred the Unready (c968-1016)	968	23 April 1016 London	Ælfgifu of York (c963-1002) Emma of Normandy (c985-1052)

Legacy

Later perspectives of Æthelred have been less than flattering. Numerous legends and anecdotes have sprung up to explain his shortcomings, often elaborating abusively on his character and failures. One such anecdote is given by William of Malmesbury (lived c. 1080 – c. 1143), who reports that Æthelred had defecated in the baptismal font as a child, which led St Dunstan to prophesy that the English monarchy would be overthrown during his reign. This story is, however, a fabrication, and a similar story is told of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Copronymus, another medieval monarch who was unpopular among certain of his subjects.

Origin of the jury

Æthelred has been credited with the formation of a local investigative body made up of twelve thegns who were charged with publishing the names of any notorious or wicked men in their respective districts. Because the members of these bodies were under solemn oath to act in accordance with the law and their own good consciences, they have been seen by some legal historians as the prototype for the English grand jury. Æthelred makes provision for such a body in a law code he enacted at Wantage in 997.

Legislation

A charter of Æthelred's in 1003 to his follower, Æthelred. British Library, London

Æthelred's government produced extensive legislation, which he "ruthlessly enforced". Records of at least six legal codes survive from his reign, covering a range of topics. Notably, one of the members of his council (known as the Witan) was Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York, a well-known homilist. The three latest codes from Æthelred's reign seemed to have been drafted by Wulfstan. These codes are extensively concerned with ecclesiastical affairs. They also exhibit the characteristics of Wulfstan's highly rhetorical style. Wulfstan went on to draft codes for King Cnut, and recycled there many of the laws which were used in Æthelred's codes.

Despite the failure of his government in the face of the Danish threat, Æthelred's reign was not without some important institutional achievements. The quality of the coinage, a good indicator of the prevailing economic conditions, significantly improved during his reign due to his numerous coinage reform laws.

See Also

Bibliography

• Barlow, Frank (1965). "Edward the Confessor's Early Life, Character and Attitudes". The English Historical Review 80 (315): 225–251. DOI:10.1093/ehr/LXXX.CCCXV.225. 
• Barlow, Frank (1997). Edward the Confessor. London: Yale University Press. 
• (2020) "The earliest arbitration treaty? A reassessment of the Anglo-Norman treaty of 991*". Historical Research 93 (260): 189–204. DOI:10.1093/hisres/htaa001. ISSN 0950-3471. 
• Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. N. (1882). An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Oxford: Clarenden. https://archive.org/details/anglosaxondictio00bosw/page/780/mode/2up. 
• Florence (of Worcester) (1854). The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester: With the Two Continuations; Comprising Annals of English History, from the Departure of the Romans to the Reign of Edward I.. London: Henry G. Bohn. https://archive.org/details/chronicleofflore00flor/page/106/mode/2up/search/graceful+manners. 
• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S. et al., eds (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd with corrections ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
• (2005) "Fact or folklore: the Viking attack on London Bridge". London Archaeologist 10. 
• Hart (24 May 2007). "Edward the Martyr". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8515.  (subscription or UK public library membership required)
• Higham, Nick J. (2000). The Death of Anglo-Saxon England. Sutton. ISBN 978-0-7509-2469-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=QxdGPgAACAAJ. 

External Links

• wikipedia:en:Æthelred the Unready
• Æthelred the Unready, King of England at thePeerage
• Æthelred the Unready, King of England - Geni.com
• Æthelred the Unready, King of England at Find A Grave
• Anglo-Saxon and Danish Kings of England - Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
• Edgar at the official website of the British monarchy
• The Laws of King Edgar, Medieval Sourcebook: The Anglo-Saxon Dooms, 560-975, Fordham University, New York
• Ethelred II at the official website of the British monarchy
• Æthelred 32 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
• Miller, Sean. "Æthelred the Unready". http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=get&type=person&id=EthelredtheUnready. 
• Documentary – The Making of England: Aethelred the Unready

Ancestry Trees

• Alfred the Great Family Ancestry
• List of English monarchs

Contemporary References Sources

Some of the best contemporary sources for his life include:

1. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - This is a collection of annals in Old English that were kept from the 9th to the 12th century.

The Chronicle contains several entries about Æthelred the Unready, including his accession to the throne, his various campaigns against the Vikings, and his eventual exile.

1. The Chronicle of Æthelweard: The Chronicle of Æthelweard is a historical work that covers the period from the Roman conquest of Britain to the 10th century. It was written by Æthelweard, a nobleman and historian who was a relative of Æthelred the Unready. The Chronicle provides valuable insights into the reign of Æthelred, including his early struggles with the Vikings and his efforts to maintain peace with them.
2. The Encomium Emmae Reginae: The Encomium Emmae Reginae is a Latin work written by an anonymous author in the early 11th century. It is a eulogy of Æthelred's wife, Emma of Normandy, and provides a valuable perspective on the events of Æthelred's reign from the perspective of his queen.
3. The Life of St. Oswald: The Life of St. Oswald is a hagiography written in the late 10th century that focuses on the life of St. Oswald, a 10th-century archbishop of York. The work contains several references to Æthelred the Unready, particularly his relationship with St. Oswald.
4. The Life of St. Edward the Confessor: The Life of St. Edward the Confessor is a hagiography written in the mid-11th century that focuses on the life of St. Edward, a 10th-century king of England. The work contains several references to Æthelred the Unready, particularly his relationship with St. Edward.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Citations

Here is a citation (Year 991 AD) from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a contemporary source, in Old English and its translation into modern English. This entry describes the arrival of a Viking army in England in 991 AD and the ensuing battle between them and King Æthelred the Unready's forces. The passage highlights the struggle for power and control between the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings during this time period.

"Her com micel here on Angelcynne, and se here wæs on fyrmeste geare gefultumod mid unrihtwisnysse ond mihte, swa hit oft gewearð, and Æþelred cing geunrohte þa land mid micelre feohtan, ond þær wæs micel wæl geslægen on gehwæþre healfe, and se here þær beláf unbeaten."

Translation: "In this year a great army came to England, and the army was first supplied with unrighteousness and might, as it often happened, and King Æthelred fought bravely with much fighting to defend the land, and there was a great slaughter on both sides, and the army remained unbeaten."

Royal Succession Charts

Regnal titles
Preceded by Edward the Martyr	King of the English 978–1013	Succeeded by Sweyn
Preceded by Sweyn	King of the English 1014–1016	Succeeded by Edmund II

Footnotes (including sources)

‡ General

wikipedia:en:Æthelred the Unready