Aethelwold Aetheling (868-13 December 902) was the son of King Aethelred of Wessex and the nephew of King Alfred the Great. In 902, upset at being passed over for the throne by Alfred's son Edward the Elder, he launched a rebellion with the support of the Danes of Northymbre, but he was killed at the Battle of the Holme.
Biography[]
Aethelwold in 871
Aethelwold was the second son of King Aethelred of Wessex, and he was an immature youth; in 871, his father decided that he was an unfit heir, as he had been caught drunkenly asleep in the Winchester royal palace gardens twice in one week. After Aethelred's death, he falsely claimed that his father's last wishes were for him to be king; however, Aethelred had made it known that his brother Alfred was his new heir before his death. Aethelwold was arrested by Ealdorman Odda of Devon and the guard Leofric after he was caught spitting in Alfred's milk and stealing an apple from his tray, and the men criticized him as an "idiot child".
Aethelwold with Uhtred of Bebbanburg in Cornwall
Aethelwold was then sent to a monastery in Hampton to be educated, which would be a long process; he was essentially removed from contention for the throne. He frequently slipped out of the monastery, even accompanying Uhtred of Bebbanburg and Leofric on a raiding party into Cornwall in 878, seeking adventure and combat experience. In 884, Aethelwold caused controversy by crossing into Danelaw and seeing the "undead" prophet Bjorrn, who told him that he would one day be King; he also convinced Uhtred to hear the prophecy, and Uhtred was prophesied to become King of Mercia.
Great Danish Army[]
Aethelwold in 892
In 892, Aethelwold assembled a large Viking army led by Sigurd Bloodhair, Hastein, and Ragnar Ragnarsson with the aim of seizing power from the ailing Alfred, especially after Uhtred was outlawed by Alfred (a move which left Alfred without much of his strength). Ragnar was angered when Uhtred abandoned the army due to his concerns that its leaders would eventually fight each other, and Ragnar blamed the loss of his adoptive brother on Aethelwold, whom he severely beat. Ragnar's cousin and rival Cnut Longsword warned Aethelwold that Ragnar would kill him very soon, so Aethelwold - promised protection by Cnut - stabbed Ragnar and his concubine to death in his tent near Leeds and made it look like his concubine had murdered him. He later returned to Winchester, where Father Pyrlig had Aethelwold arrested, pending trial. At the Witenagemot meeting, Aethelwold claimed that he had gone to spy on the Danes and bring their secrets to Wessex, that he had only pretended to betray Alfred, that Uhtred was the real traitor to Wessex, that the Danes were heathens with unnatural tastes, and that he came to advise and stand beside Alfred. Ealdorman Aethelhelm of Wiltshire called for Aethelwold to be tried and executed, but Aethelwold warned Alfred that the Danes wished to exploit the chaos which would follow Alfred's death, and that he wished to swear allegiance to Aetheling Edward. Alfred sentenced Aethelwold to being blinded in one eye for turning one eye to the Danes while planning to defect to them. He later conspired with Sigebriht to spread a false story that Uhtred and the Danes wanted to take their revenge on Edward due to Alfred's death, hoping to instill fear and doubt to prevent Edward from having Uhtred on his side. While attending Aetheling Edward and Aefflaed's wedding, he told Edward's father-in-law Aethelhelm of Wiltshire that Edward had already been married and had two children, but Ealhswith had Aethelwold removed from the table. Aethelwold later secured a promise from Sigebriht to assist him; Sigebriht would raise the Kentish fyrd and betray Edward's army during the greate battle, slaughtering him from behind.
Battle of the Holme[]
Aethelwold's body
On Alfred's death in October 899, Aethelwold failed to convince the West Saxon ealdormen to assemble a Witenagemot rather than instantly name Edward as King, so Aethelwold fled Winchester by himself and rode to meet the invading Danes. Aethelwold rejoined Hastein and informed him of Sigebriht's planned betrayal, and he accompanied the Viking army into action in the Battle of the Holme in December 902. During the battle, Sigebriht instead remained loyal to Edward, turning the tide against the Vikings. Uhtred searched for Aethelwold, who, catching notice of Uhtred, fled on a horse until his head hit a low-hanging branch, causing him to fall and tumble off the road, breaking his arm. Uhtred then caught up to him, and Aethelwold pleaded for his life, offering to go as far away as Uhtred wished. Uhtred then threw Aethelwold a sack, telling him that it was silver for a ship fare, but he instead stabbed him through the pouch and into Aethelwold's chest. The pouch was filled with Ragnar's blood, and Uhtred's killing of Aethelwold with a sword dipped in Ragnar's blood was said to be able to transfer Ragnar's spirit from Niflheim to Valhalla.
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