Æthelred the Unready
Æthelred II (Old English: Æþelræd,[n 1] pronounced [ˈæðelræːd]; Old Norse: Aðalráðr; c. 966 – 23 April 1016), known as Æthelred the Unready, was King of the English from 978 to 1013 and again from 1014 until his death in 1016.[1] His epithet comes from the Old English word unræd meaning "poorly advised"; it is a pun on his name, which means "well advised".
"Æthelred II" redirects here. For other uses, see Æthelred II (disambiguation).Æthelred the Unready
18 March 978 – 1013
Ælfthryth (978–984)
1014 – 23 April 1016
Sweyn Forkbeard
Name[edit]
Æthelred's first name, composed of the elements æðele, "noble", and ræd, "counsel, advice",[2] 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").[3]
Æthelred's notorious nickname, Old English Unræd, is commonly translated into present-day English as "The Unready" (less commonly but more accurately "The Redeless").[n 2] The Anglo-Saxon noun unræd means "evil counsel", "bad plan", or "folly".[4] 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 Rat and Dutch raad). 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".[5]
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.[6][n 3]
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Appearance and character[edit]
The twelfth century English chronicler, John of Worcester, describes Æthelred as "elegant in his manners, handsome in visage, glorious in appearance".[47] No contemporary descriptions of Æthelred's appearance survive. The thirteenth-century Icelandic text, Gunnlaugs saga Ormstungu, preserves a positive assessment of Æthelred's character, in which he is described by a visiting Icelander as "a good prince", a "generous prince", and a "war-swift king".[48][49]
Æthelred married first Ælfgifu, daughter of Thored, earl of Northumbria, in about 985.[1][15] Their known children are:
In 1002, Æthelred married Emma of Normandy, sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.[1] Their children were:
All of Æthelred's sons were named after English kings.[53]
Death and burial[edit]
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.[30]
Æthelred was buried in Old St Paul's Cathedral, London. The tomb and his monument in the quire at Old St Paul's Cathedral[31] were destroyed along with the cathedral in the Great Fire of London in 1666.[32] A modern monument in the crypt lists his among the important graves lost.[33]
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