Category: Non-fiction

Happy (US and Kindle) Release Day to The Royal Women Who Made England, my first non-fiction book #newrelease #nonfiction

It feels like I’ve been talking about this book forever, but the day is finally upon us. The Royal Women Who Made England is available in hardback in the UK and US from today, and also in Kind

If you’ve been hiding from me for the last few months, you might be wondering what this is all about. So here goes.

Throughout the tenth century, England, as it would be recognised today, formed. No longer many Saxon kingdoms, but rather, just England. Yet, this development masks much in the century in which the Viking raiders were seemingly driven from England’s shores by Alfred, his children and grandchildren, only to return during the reign of his great, great-grandson, the much-maligned Æthelred II.

Not one but two kings would be murdered, others would die at a young age, and a child would be named king on four occasions. Two kings would never marry, and a third would be forcefully divorced from his wife. Yet, the development towards ‘England’ did not stop. At no point did it truly fracture back into its constituent parts. Who then ensured this stability? To whom did the witan turn when kings died, and children were raised to the kingship?

The royal woman of the House of Wessex came into prominence during the century, perhaps the most well-known being Æthelflæd, daughter of King Alfred. Perhaps the most maligned being Ælfthryth (Elfrida), accused of murdering her stepson to clear the path to the kingdom for her son, Æthelred II, but there were many more women, rich and powerful in their own right, where their names and landholdings can be traced in the scant historical record.

Using contemporary source material, The Royal Women Who Made England can be plucked from the obscurity that has seen their names and deeds lost, even within a generation of their own lives.

https://amzn.to/3OlRydn

https://ww…ck/p/24395

So, who were these royal women? While some of us will know Æthelflæd, the Lady of Mercia, either because I think she is one of THE most famous Saxon women, or because of The Last Kingdom TV series and books, but she is merely one of many.

I’ve fictionalised Elfrida and her contemporaries, Eadgifu, the third wife of Edward the Elder and also some of his daughters, as well as Ælfwynn, the daughter of Æthelflæd. My first non-fiction title is me sharing my research that these stories are based upon.

I’ve also ‘found’ many other women of the period who have left some sort of physical reminder, mostly in charters or because their wills have survived.

In total, I discuss over twenty women directly involved with the royal family, either by birth or marriage, and also a further forty, who appear in the sources. I also take a good look at what these sources are and how they perhaps aren’t always as reliable as we might hope. I make an attempt to ‘place’ these women in the known historical events of the period. And draw some conclusions, which surprised even me.

You can find some of my blog posts about these women below.

Æthelflæd

Lady Eadgifu

Ælfwynn

The daughters of Edward the Elder.

The other daughters of Edward the Elder

A collection of research books I used while writing The Royal Women Who Made England

Listen to me talk about the Chronicon of Æthelweard (about 6 minutes).

Time for something a little different, I’m reviewing How To Start A Riot In A Brothel In Thailand By Ordering A Beer And Other Lesser Known Travel Tips #blogtour #bookreview #travelmemoir #competition

Here’s the blurb

Book 1 of a hilarious series of travel misadventures and dubious personal introspection by Australian author Simon Yeats, who from an early age learned that the best way to approach the misfortunes of this world is to laugh about it.

Simon shares his comedic insights into the unusual and uproarious elements of living life as an Aussie ex-pat and having a sense of Wanderlust as pervasive as the Spanish Flu in 1918.

From how to keep yourself entertained when unwittingly forced to watch 11 hours of live sumo wrestling in Japan, to surviving heartbreak in India at the hands of a French flight attendant, to 48 hours spent in Nepal that qualify as the funniest most gut wrenching travel experience since Captain Bligh was set adrift in the Pacific, to his unsuccessful attempts at avoiding going to a brothel in Thailand.

Simon Yeats has gone into the world and experienced all the out of the ordinary moments for you to sit back and enjoy the experience without the need to break a leg or rupture a pancreas.

Purchase Links 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLDBSXGX

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CLDBSXGX

My Review

How to Start a Riot in a Brothel in Thailand by Ordering a Beer and other lesser known travel tips is a mostly light-hearted and fun travel memoir.

Taking us through a range of memoirs from a visit as a 12-year-old to New Zealand to a 39-year-old retracing those steps with his wife, we are regaled with tales mostly taking place in Oceania throughout the author’s adult life. Some of them are amusing, some of them a little horrifying, and all told with some introspection to place the stories into context. That said, the funniest story (the bath one) is about Yeats travelling home to visit family and the joys of nieces and nephews.

As someone who doesn’t like to travel (at all), this might seem like a strange memoir to read, and indeed, it assures me that I’m probably quite happy staying at home if these stories are based on real experiences, but I’m always keen to read something sprinkled with light humour. How to Start a Riot fits the bill nicely.

I would caution that there are some elements of these memoirs that are not totally PC, and that we are treated to a bit of a tirade to begin with, but once beyond that point, the tales are engaging and connect together well.

This travel memoir will appeal to those who share the same Wanderlust, offering a snapshot from the 1980s onwards. And perhaps those looking for some reassurance that they are, indeed, quite right to stay at home where they need not concern themselves with learning the art of haggling.

Meet the author

Simon Yeats has lived nine lives, and by all estimations, is fast running out of the number he has left. His life of globetrotting the globe was not the one he expected to lead. He grew up a quiet, shy boy teased by other kids on the playgrounds for his red hair. But he developed a keen wit and sense of humor to always see the funnier side of life.

With an overwhelming love of travel, a propensity to find trouble where there was none, and being a passionate advocate of mental health, Simon’s stories will leave a reader either rolling on the floor in tears of laughter, or breathing deeply that the adventures he has led were survived.

No author has laughed longer or cried with less restraint at the travails of life.

Connect with the author

TIK TOK – https://www.tiktok.com/@authoryeats

INSTAGRAM – https://www.instagram.com/authoryeats/?hl=en

Giveaway to Win 1 set of all Three Books in Simon Yeats Lesser Known travel tips series in paperback and 1 set in epub (Open to UK / US / Canada).


Prize includes copies of:

How to Start a Riot in a Brothel in Thailand by Ordering a Beer and Other Lesser Known Travel Tips

How to Avoid Getting Mugged in Rio de Janeiro by Singing Songs by The Police and Other Lesser Known Travel Tips

How to Survive Making Yourself Look Silly While Dancing with the German Mafia at a Bavarian Nightclub and Other Lesser Known Travel Tips

2 winners – first winner will win the paperbacks, second winner will win the epubs .

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494585/?

*Terms and Conditions –UK / US / Canada entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

It’s International Women’s Day 2024. Here’s to the women of the tenth century in Saxon England.

I’ve made it somewhat of a passion to study the royal women of the tenth century. What drew me to them was a realisation that while much focus has rested on the eleventh century women, most notably Queen Emma and Queen Edith, their position rests very much on growing developments throughout the tenth century. It also helps that there is a surprising concurrence of women in the tenth century, the early years of Queen Elfrida, England’s first acknowledged crowned queen, find the ‘old guard’ from previous reigns, mixing with the ‘new guard’ – a delightful mix – it must be thought – of those experienced women trying to teach the younger, less experienced women, how to make their way at the royal court, perhaps with some unease from all involved.

Lady Elfrida, or Ælfthryth (I find it easier to name her as Elfrida) was the first of these women to catch my eye. Her story, which can be interpreted as a love story if you consult the ‘right’ sources, fascinated me. The wife of a king, mother of another king, and in time, grandmother, posthumously, to two more. But, it was her possible interactions with her husband’s paternal grandmother, the aging but long-lived Lady Eadgifu, and maternal grandmother, Lady Wynflæd, as well as probable unease with her second husband’s cast-off second wife, that really sparked my imagination. I could well imagine the conversations they might share, and the dismay they might feel around one another. Lady Elfrida replaced a wife who was not crowned as queen, and also replaced a grandmother who had never been crowned as queen but had long held a position of influence for over forty years at the Wessex court.

Equally, Elfrida’s husband had been surrounded by women from his earliest days. His mother had died, perhaps birthing him, but he had two grandmothers, a step-mother, a foster-mother and his (slightly) older brother’s wife, who would have been instrumental in his life, not to mention his first two wives. As such, it was the personal interactions of the women that called to me, and the tragedy and triumphs of their lives, and, I confess, an image of Dame Maggie Smith holding sway in Downton Abbey that drew me to the women of this period.

I’ve gone on to write fictionalised accounts of many of these women, and then, frustrated by the lack of a cohesive non-fiction account, I’ve also written a non-fiction guide detailing the scant information available for these women.

books2read.com/TheLadyMercia

https://books2read.com/TheRoyalWomenWhoMadeEngland

You can read more about the royal women on the blog.

The Tenth Century

Meet Lady Eadgifu

Lady Æthelflæd

Lady Ælfwynn

The daughters of Edward the Elder

The religious daughters of Edward the Elder

Did England’s first crowned queen murder her stepson?

The Ælfflæd ‘stole’ from St Cuthbert’s tomb – The Royal Women Who Made England

When I was writing The Royal Women Who Made England, I discovered that there is potentially one surviving item that could be associated with these royal women. While the identification is not certain, it seems highly likely that some religious items, discovered in the tomb of St Cuthbert in Durham, when it was opened in 1827, could have either been stitched by Ælfflæd herself, or commissioned at her request. The item has the following words stitched on it Ælfflæd Fiere Precepit (Ælfflæd had [this] made) – translation from E Coatsworth The Embroideries from the Tomb of St Cuthbert.

Ælfflæd was the second wife of Edward the Elder (899-924). It’s believed they probably married AFTER he became king of Wessex on the death of his father in 899. She was the mother to at least six daughters, and two sons, one of whom became king after his father’s death, for a brief 16 days. Her stepson, Athelstan, then became king of Wessex. Two of her daughters married into the ruling families of East and West Frankia. Another two daughters married into influential families in Europe. Two others spent their adult lives in a nunnery, one as a lay sister, and one as a nun.

The embroideries consist of a stole, a maniple and a possible girdle, and are believed to have been made for Bishop Frithestan – indeed, the other end of the embroidery reads Pio Episcopo Fri∂estano (for the pious bishop Frithestan). So, together it reads Ælfflæd had this made for the pious bishop Frithestan. Frithestan was the bishop of Winchester in the early tenth century. It’s likely he never received them, for why else would they have found their way to Durham and the tomb of St Cuthberht?

There are two possible reasons for this. Firstly, Ælfflæd may have either died, or no longer been married to the king when they were completed. Edward the Elder remarried Eadgifu, his third wife sometime between 917-919. We don’t know if this was because his second wife had died, or merely because he wished to take a new wife. Secondly, Bishop Frithestan fell out with the House of Wessex at about this time. Indeed, he played no part in King Athelstan’s coronation. The expensive commissions, with gold thread, therefore never came into the hands of Bishop Frithestan. Where they might have been for the intervening period, would be interesting to know.

When King Athelstan (924-939) made his famous trip to Chester Le Street in c.934, it’s written that he gifted the community of St Cuthbert with a stole, a maniple and a girdle. It’s believed that it’s these items, made by, or commissioned by his stepmother, that he gave. (The religious house from Chester Le Street moved to Durham in 1104). St Cuthbert was a north-east saint, who lived on Lindisfarne/Holy Island in the 600s, and while it’s believed the religious house fled from Lindisfarne in the wake of the Viking raider invasions and were essentially ‘on the move’ for over a hundred years, this interpretation is now being questioned by Dr David Petts and the excavations taking place on Lindisfarne. Whatever happened to the community in that period, they were extremely influential in the north of England, and did eventually settle at Chester Le Street.

The survival of these items is astounding. There are only, according to E Coatsworth, three such ‘large’ items from the Saxon era, the Bayeaux tapestry, the Durham embroideries and those of St Catherine in Maaseik, Belgium. If these items were truly made by Ælfflæd, then they are unique. I can think of no other item that survives from the era and which the royal women may themselves have touched. When I saw this image, I was astonished by the vibrancy of the gold thread. I imagine I’m not alone in that.

Reproduced by kind permission of the chapter of Durham Cathedral.

You can read The Royal Women Who Made England: The Tenth Century in Saxon England now if you’re in the UK, or from March if you’re in the US. It can also be purchased in epub version direct from Pen and Sword.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Royal-Women-Who-Made-England-The-Tenth-Century-in-Saxon-England-Hardback/p/24395

https://books2read.com/TheRoyalWomenWhoMadeEngland

x

Competition time, and an update on the ebook version of The Royal Women Who Made England

My fabulous publishers are working together and offering a hardback edition of King of Kings and The Royal Women Who Made England (UK only). To enter you will need to access one of the original posts from Boldwood on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. I will add links here. (Closing date 6th Feb 2024. T &Cs apply).

I can’t work out how to do the Facebook one:(

https://www.facebook.com/theboldbookclub You might have to hunt for it. Let me know if it’s a pain, or if you know how to do it!

I can also let you know that the ebook/kindle version is now available to preorder, and the US hardback release date is 30th March 2024.

https://books2read.com/TheRoyalWomenWhoMadeEngland

Or purchase directly from the publisher, Pen and Sword

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Royal-Women-Who-Made-England-Hardback/p/24395

Check out the Brunanburh Series page on my blog for my information about my fiction.

And, because I never tire of making a slight fool of myself, here’s me talking about some more of the research I undertook for the book and trying to explain the family tree of Otto I, King of the East Franks. Who knows how successful I’ve been.

Happy (UK) Release Day to The Royal Women Who Made England, my first non-fiction book #newrelease #nonfiction

It feels like I’ve been talking about this book forever, but the day is finally upon us. The Royal Women Who Made England is available in hardback in the UK from today. It will be released in the US in March.

If you’ve been hiding from me for the last few months, you might be wondering what this is all about. So here goes.

Throughout the tenth century, England, as it would be recognised today, formed. No longer many Saxon kingdoms, but rather, just England. Yet, this development masks much in the century in which the Viking raiders were seemingly driven from England’s shores by Alfred, his children and grandchildren, only to return during the reign of his great, great-grandson, the much-maligned Æthelred II.

Not one but two kings would be murdered, others would die at a young age, and a child would be named king on four occasions. Two kings would never marry, and a third would be forcefully divorced from his wife. Yet, the development towards ‘England’ did not stop. At no point did it truly fracture back into its constituent parts. Who then ensured this stability? To whom did the witan turn when kings died, and children were raised to the kingship?

The royal woman of the House of Wessex came into prominence during the century, perhaps the most well-known being Æthelflæd, daughter of King Alfred. Perhaps the most maligned being Ælfthryth (Elfrida), accused of murdering her stepson to clear the path to the kingdom for her son, Æthelred II, but there were many more women, rich and powerful in their own right, where their names and landholdings can be traced in the scant historical record.

Using contemporary source material, The Royal Women Who Made England can be plucked from the obscurity that has seen their names and deeds lost, even within a generation of their own lives.

https://amzn.to/3OlRydn

https://ww…ck/p/24395

So, who were these royal women? While some of us will know Æthelflæd, the Lady of Mercia, either because I think she is one of THE most famous Saxon women, or because of The Last Kingdom TV series and books, but she is merely one of many.

I’ve fictionalised Elfrida and her contemporaries, Eadgifu, the third wife of Edward the Elder and also some of his daughters, as well as Ælfwynn, the daughter of Æthelflæd. My first non-fiction title is me sharing my research that these stories are based upon.

I’ve also ‘found’ many other women of the period who have left some sort of physical reminder, mostly in charters or because their wills have survived.

In total, I discuss over twenty women directly involved with the royal family, either by birth or marriage, and also a further forty, who appear in the sources. I also take a good look at what these sources are and how they perhaps aren’t always as reliable as we might hope. I make an attempt to ‘place’ these women in the known historical events of the period. And draw some conclusions, which surprised even me.

You can find some of my blog posts about these women below.

Æthelflæd

Lady Eadgifu

Ælfwynn

The daughters of Edward the Elder.

The other daughters of Edward the Elder

A collection of research books I used while writing The Royal Women Who Made England

Listen to me talk about the Chronicon of Æthelweard (about 6 minutes).

Meet the characters from Clash of Kings, Idwal of Gwynedd.

Idwal of Gwynedd has long been a character in the Brunanburh series, but it appears I’ve been remiss in not writing a blog about him. So here goes.

I confess, I’ve had quite a lot of fun with Idwal, pitching him against Hywel. But, I’m not sure that’s actually very wide of the mark.

Idwal of Gwynedd and Hywel were cousins. Their fathers were both sons of perhaps the second most well-known king of Wales, Rhodri Mawr. Hywel being the first (at least in my mind). Rhodri Mawr had held much of Wales, and was accorded the title King of the Britons. On his death, at the hands of King Alfred of Wessex, the kingdoms fractured back into their constituent parts. Idwal’s father ruled in Gwynedd. Hywel’s in Seisyllwg. Hywel succeeded his father while very young and quickly grew his power base. Idwal became king of Gwynedd in 916.

We first met Idwal in King of Kings in 927. He was, unwillingly, signing the accord with Athelstan at Hereford after the one agreed with the northern kings at the treaty of Eamont. Idwal visited England on multiple occasions, according to the surviving charter evidence, where he’s shown attesting Athelstan’s charters in 928, 931, 934 and 935. (S400, S413, S416, S417, S425, S407, S1792 and S434 – see the Electronic Sawyer for more information about these charters).

In my interpretation of him, he’s a very unwilling participant, more likely to look to the Norse for an alliance than the English, or indeed, his cousin, Hywel.

When we return to him, in Clash of Kings, Idwal, is once more, a man aggrieved by the success of the English king. Read Clash of Kings to discover what fate has in store for Idwal.

He is perhaps one of the most fun characters in Brunanburh – a grouchy man who is happy to do all he can to disrupt the more staid approach of King Athelstan of the English, and who resents his cousin’s influence with the English.

books2read.com/King-of-Kings

books2read.com/kingsofwar

books2read.com/clashofkings

Read about all the characters in The Brunanburh Series.

Map design by Flintlock Covers

My new book, Clash of Kings, has a number of main characters. Meet Lady Eadgifu.

Clash of Kings has a number of characters, and some might be surprised to find Lady Eadgifu amongst them, but she was an incredibly important historical character, and I couldn’t leave her out of the narrative set at the English court.

Lady Eadgifu was the third wife of Edward the Elder (r.899-924), king of the Anglo-Saxons. Edward the Elder was the father of King Athelstan, and a whole host of daughters, as well as five sons. Lady Eadgifu would, it seems, have been young when she married the aging Edward the Elder, and that meant that she long outlived him, and also, that her three children (possibly four, but I’ve opted for three) were young when their father died. And two of these children were sons, Edmund (born c.921) and Eadred (born c.923). Her daughter, Eadburh, is thought to have been the oldest of the three children, born c.919.

While Lady Eadgifu, from what’s known (and it isn’t much, as there are few surviving charters from the end of Edward’s reign) perhaps had little role to play while her husband lived, other than wife and mother to the king’s children, following his death, she became increasingly significant. She was the daughter of an ealdorman, who perhaps died just before her birth, and her family are said to have had connections with Kent. Indeed, it’s often stated that she brought her husband Kent with their union. By that, what’s often meant, is the loyalty of the Kentish people. Remember, at this time, we’re still just before the creation of ‘England’ as we would now recognise it.

Sadly, very little is known about Lady Eadgifu (and she’s not alone in this – many of the royal women ‘disappear’ at points in the historical record, and on occasion, are entirely lost.) We know about a land dispute she was involved in, and also much more information for after Athelstan’s reign.

Indeed, it has been said that during Athelstan’s reign,

‘Nor is it surprising that Eadgifu, as the consort of the previous king, served little role in her stepson’s court.[i]

[i] Firth, M. and Schilling, C. ‘The Lonely Afterlives of Early English Queens’, in Nephilologus September 2022, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-022-09739-4, p.7

However, Barbara Yorke believes that,

‘the enhanced position [of Lady Eadgifu] may also have been developed specifically for the widowed Eadgifu as part of an alliance with her stepson Æthelstan [Athelstan] in which she supported his position and he recognised her sons as his heirs.’[i]

[i] Yorke, B. ‘The Women in Edgar’s Life,’ in Edgar, King of the English, 959-975 Scragg, D. ed (The Boydell Press, 2008), p.146

And it is this option that I’ve decided to explore in the Brunanburh series. Lady Eadgifu was wife to a king. She would have known her worth, even when faced with a stepson as the king of the English, and another stepson, and stepdaughters, who perhaps didn’t share any love for their, potentially, younger stepmother.

Read Clash of Kings to discover her role in the aftermath of the victory for the English at Brunanburh.

Map design by Shaun at Flintlock Covers

books2read.com/King-of-Kings

books2read.com/kingsofwar

books2read.com/clashofkings

Read about all the characters from the Brunanburh Series.

My new book, Clash of Kings, has a number of main characters. Meet Hywel, the king of the Welsh.

My new book, Clash of Kings, is a multi-viewpoint novel telling the story of events in Britain from 937-942. I thought it would be good to share details of the historical people my main characters are based on.

My portrayal of Hywel, better known as Hywel Dda (which autocorrect is determined should say Dad), and which means ‘good’ (a unique epithet in Wales), is of course, fictional, but who was the historical Hywel? Firstly, it should be noted that this epithet is a later invention, not assigned to Hywel until at least the twelfth century, and perhaps, as Dr. Kari Maund has commented in The Welsh Kings: Warriors, Warlords and Princes, a reflection of border events at that period rather than the earlier tenth century. (Dr Maund was one of my university lecturers, so she knows her stuff).

By Unknown author – This image is available from the National Library of WalesYou can view this image in its original context on the NLW Catalogue, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41427788

Hywel has no date of birth recorded, and indeed, like Constantin of the Scots, he seems to have ruled for a long time providing much-needed consistency. Hywel ap Cadell was the grandson of the famous Rhodri Mawr, who’d united the kingdoms of the Welsh during his rule. But, this unity fragmented on Rhodri’s death.

To begin with, Hywel ruled Dehuebarth, probably with his brother, Clydog, (who may have been the younger brother) after the death of their father in c.911. He, his brother, and his cousin, Idwal of Gwynedd, submitted to the English king, Edward the Elder in the late 910s.

‘and the kings of Wales: Hywel and Clydog and Idwal and all the race of the Welsh, sought him as their lord [Edward]’. ASC A 922 corrected to 918 (Swanton, M. trans and edit The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, (Orion Publishing Group, 2000)p.103-4)

Not long after, Clydog died, leaving Hywel as ruler of Dehuebarth. Hywel had also married Elen, the daughter of Llywarch and niece of Rhydderch, the last king of Dyfed, and he was able to use this alliance to eventually claim Dyfed as well.

Hywel’s believed to have been highly educated, and some historians suggest he was particularly fascinated with King Alfred, and all he’d achieved and was therefore keen to emulate many of his actions. This could also be why his name came to be associated with the codification of laws in later traditions. What fascinates me most about Hywel is his decision to ally closely with King Athelstan. Certainly, he’s a intriguing figure in early tenth-century Britain, and not just because we know he made a pilgrimage to Rome in 928, and still managed to return back to his kingdom and continue ruling it.

Hywel seems to have distanced himself from events which led to the battle of Brunanburh in 937, but in my portrayal of him, he still classifies himself as very much Athelstan’s ally. Events in Clash of Kings might well test that allegiance.

Map design by Shaun at Flintlock Covers

books2read.com/King-of-Kings

books2read.com/kingsofwar

books2read.com/clashofkings

Read about all the characters in the Brunanburh series.

Clash of Kings is released today. Meet Athelstan, the King of the English.

Today sees the release of Clash of Kings, the third book in the Brunanburh series. But who was Athelstan, king of the English?

Based on a historical person, my portrayal of him, is of course, fictitious, but there are many historical details known about him. However, we don’t know for sure who his mother was, it’s believed she might have been called Ecgwynn, and we don’t know, for certain, the name of his sister, but it’s believed she might have been named Edith. What is known is that his father was Edward, the son of King Alfred, and known to us today as Edward the Elder. Athelstan is also rare in that he is one of only two Saxon kings for who a contemporary image is available. (The other is Edgar, who would have been his nephew)

Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder – MS Royal 14 B VI.jpg
Miniature d’Édouard l’Ancien dans une généalogie royale du XIVe siècle. WikiCommons

It must be supposed that Athelstan was born sometime in the late 890s. And according to a later source, that written by William of Malmesbury in the 1100s (so over two hundred years later), Athelstan was raised at the court of his aunt, Æthelflæd of Mercia. The historian, David Dumville, has questioned the truth of this, but to many, this has simply become accepted as fact.

‘he [Alfred] arranged for the boy’s education at the court of his daughter, Æthelflæd and Æthelred his son in law, where he was brought up with great care by his aunt and the eminent ealdorman for the throne that seemed to await him.’[i]

[i] Mynors, R.A.B. ed and trans, completed by Thomson, R.M. and Winterbottom, M. Gesta Regvm Anglorvm, The History of the English Kings, William of Malmesbury, (Clarendon Press, 1998), p.211 Book II.133

Æthelflæd image
Æthelflæd as depicted in the cartulary of Abingdon Abbey (British Library Cotton MS Claudius B VI, f.14).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Æthelflæd_as_depicted_in_the_cartulary_of_Abingdon_Abbey.png
AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Why then might this have happened? Edward became king on the death of his father, Alfred, and either remarried at that time, or just before. Edward’s second wife (if indeed, he was actually married to Athelstan’s mother, which again, some doubt), Lady Ælfflæd is believed to have been the daughter of an ealdorman and produced a hefty number of children for Edward. Perhaps then, Athelstan and his unnamed sister, were an unwelcome reminder of the king’s first wife, or perhaps, as has been suggested, Alfred intended for Athelstan to succeed in Mercia after the death of Æthelflæd, and her husband, Æthelred, for that union produced one child, a daughter named Ælfwynn.

There is an acknowledged dearth of information surrounding King Edward the Elder’s rule of Wessex. He’s acknowledged as the king of the Anglo-Saxons. His father had been the king of Wessex. Historians normally use the surviving charters to unpick the political machinations of the Saxon kings, but for Edward, there’s a twenty year gap between the beginning and end of his reign, where almost no known genuine charters have survived. What isn’t known for sure, is how much control, if any, he had in Mercia. Was Mercia subservient to Wessex or was it ruled independently? It’s impossible to tell. And this makes it difficult to determine what Athelstan might have been doing, and also what his father’s intentions were towards him.

Frontispiece of Bede’s Life of St Cuthbert, showing King Æthelstan (924–39) presenting a copy of the book to the saint himself. 29.2 x 20cm (11 1/2 x 7 7/8″). Originally from MS 183, f.1v at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. (Wikimedia Commons)

What is known is that following the death of King Edward in 924, Athelstan was acknowledged as the king of Mercia; his half-brother, Ælfweard was proclaimed king in Wessex. As with all events at this time, it shouldn’t be assumed that just because this is what happened, this is what was always intended.

‘Here King Edward died at Farndon in Mercia; and very soon, 16 days after, his son Ælfweard died at Oxford; and their bodies lie at Winchester. And Athelstan was chosen as king by the Mercians and consecrated at Kingston.’[i]

[i] Swanton, M. trans and edit The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, (Orion Publishing Group, 2000), D text p.105

But, if Athelstan was raised in Mercia, it’s highly likely he was a warrior from a young age, helping the Mercians defeat the Viking raiders who still had control of the Danish Five Boroughs of Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester.

Throughout King of Kings and Kings of War, my character, Athelstan, has proven himself to be amendable to peace as well as prepared to fight for his kingdom. He’s had to contend with some very unruly family members (it’s no wonder he never married), and also some aggressive neighbours. It’s perhaps his relationship with his brother, Edmund, and Hywel, king of the Welsh, that has revealed Athelstan as the man he might like to be remembered, but it is his victory at Brunanburh, against the Norse and the Scots, which he now has to contend with. Has Athelstan finally freed the English from the Viking raider/Norse menace?

Read Clash of Kings to discover.

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Check out the Brunanburh Series page to read about all the characters in the series.

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https://www.boldwoodbooks.com/meet-edmund-i-king-of-the-english/

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