Aethelhelm of Wiltshire (died 918) was the ealdorman of Wiltshire under Kings Alfred the Great and Edward the Elder of Wessex. He was the richest man in the kingdom of Wessex during the reign of King Edward, and he became as influential as he was wealthy after his daughter Aelfflaed married King Edward. During the later years of Edward's reign, Aethelhelm attempted to ensure that his grandson Aelfweard would succeed Edward rather than Edward's firstborn Æthelstan. However, his devious attempts to provoke a war between the Anglo-Saxons and Danes failed, and he was captured by Uhtred of Bebbanburg during a failed attempt to aid Wihtgar of Bebbanburg fight off Uhtred and the Scots. He died of fever while in Uhtred's captivity.
Biography[]
Aethelhelm was born in Wiltshire, Wessex to a family of Anglo-Saxon nobles. He became Wessex's richest noble during the late 9th century, and King Alfred decided to have his son Edward the Elder marry Aethelhelm's daughter Aelfflaed. During the reign of King Edward from 899 AD, Aethelhelm became one of the most powerful nobles at court, and, in 910 AD, Edward ordered him to fortify all of Wessex's borders against an approaching Viking threat. Queen Mother Ealhswith opposed Aethelhelm due to his intrigues and his influence, as well as Aethelhelm's suggestion that the children from Edward's first marriage should be murdered to secure the line of succession, but Father Beocca reminded her that she had been the one to force Edward to annul his first marriage and marry Aethelhelm's daughter in the first place. He later advised Edward to ignore Lord Aethelred of Mercia's invasion of East Anglia, and he angered Ealhswith by trying to dominate the young prince Aethelstan. He later accompanied Edward to the Battle of Tettenhall, after which he took Edward's side in exiling his sister Aethelflaed from Winchester for showing insubordination to Edward by dragging him into a battle not of his choosing. Aethelhelm then advised her that she would be unwelcome in Winchester, as the widows of the lost soldiers would hate her. Edward gradually grew annoyed with Aethelhelm's insubordination during their stay at Aylesbury, especially when he discovered that Aethelhelm had ordered Aethelflaed to be confined to a grieving room, had ordered his mother Ealhswith to be placed under house arrest, and ordered a captured Uhtred of Bebbanburg to be savagely tortured. After a conversation with Uhtred, Edward woke up to Aethelhelm's scheming and decided to free Uhtred and ask Aethelhelm to leave Aylesbury for Winchester.
From there, Aethelhelm plotted to have his grandson Aelfweard named Edward's heir, as well as to leave him with a stronger kingdom. In 918, Aethelhelm and his West Saxon troops attempted to ambush and massacre Brunulf Thorkelsson's West Saxon troops at Hornecastre in a false flag attack, but Uhtred thwarted the ambush and found out from Father Herefrith, one of the masterminds of the plot, of Aethelhelm's plan. King Edward decided to spare Aethelhelm to keep the peace with the Danes, but Wihtgar of Bebbanburg sought Aethelhelm's aid in fighting off the Scots who were besieging Bebbanburg, as well as preventing Uhtred from reclaiming his home. Aethelhelm planned for his daughter Aelhswith to marry Wihtgar so that Aethelhelm would become the lord of the north and be able to help Edward launch a two-pronged invasion of Northumbria. This plot was also foiled when Einar Egilsson's Viking fleet, under the employ of the Scots, attacked and destroyed most of Aethelhelm's fleet at the Battle of Dunwich, and Uhtred and his fleet would launch a surprise attack on Bebbanburg while pretending to be Aethelhelm's fleet. Uhtred's men ambushed Aethelhelm's 60 remaining men when they landed at Bebbanburg, and Aethelhelm took refuge in the church until Prince Æthelstan convinced Uhtred to spare Aethelhelm, who agreed to support King Edward while Uhtred held Aelhswith hostage. Uhtred intended to hold Aethelhelm for ransom, but Aethelhlem died of fever before the first ransom payment could arrive. Aethelhelm's son, Aethelhelm the Younger, wrongly believed that Uhtred had killed his father, leading to Aethelhelm seeking vengeance.