Ethelwulf

Family: West-Saxons · Role: king · First appears: A.D. 449–556

In 823, Ethelwulf drove Baldred northward over the Thames in Kent. In 836, he succeeded Egbert as king of the West Saxons and gave his son Athelstan the kingdoms of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex. He fought the Danes at Charmouth in 840, though they remained masters of the place; in 851, he and Ethelbald defeated a heathen army at Ockley.

In 853, Ethelwulf helped Burhred subdue North-Wales, making its inhabitants subject to him; that year, Burhred married Ethelwulf’s daughter. In 854, Ethelwulf registered a tenth of his land throughout his kingdom and married Judith, daughter of Charles. About two years after his residence among the Franks, he died; his body was laid at Winchester. His sons included Ethelbald, Ethelbert, Ethered and Alfred.