Egbert III KING OF WESSEX

Notes:

Egbert, is regarded as the first King of England. He reigned from 802 to 829 (839?). He was born about 775 and fled from his cousin Brethrick, taking refuse in the court of Charlemagne, where he stayed for about twelve years, serving as one of his captains. On the death of Brethrick, who was poisoned by his wife, Egbert returned to England. In 802 at Winchester he was crowned King of the West Saxons. He subdued West Wales, or Cornwall, defeated the King of Mercia at Ellandune, annexed Kent and in 829 he became overlord of all the English kings and gave the name of England to the whole realm. There are still in existence some coins struck by Egbert, though these are now extremely rare. In 835 Egbert defeated a formidable army of Danes at Hingston Down in Cornwall, when they attempted to invade England. He died in 839, and was buried at Westminster. He married Lady Readberga (Redburga). He was succeeded by his son, Ethelwulf.

Egbert married Redburga OF WESSEX. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Ethelwulf(Aethelwulf), "Noble Wolf," son of Egbert, reigned from 839 to 857 in Wessex, England. During his reign the Danes miserably spoiled England, daring to winter there for the first time. In 851 Ethelwulf routed them at Okely in Surrey. By the advise of St. Swithin, Bishop of Winchester, he granted to the church the tithe of all his dominions. He died January 13, 858. He married (1) Lady Osburga (Osburh) (Osberga), daughter of Earl Oslac, the royal cup-bearer. From this first marriage they had a son.

Ethelwulf married Osburga Oslad OF WESSEX. Osburga (daughter of Oslac 'the Thane' OF ISLE OF WIGHT) was born about 810 in Wessex, England; died after 876. [Group Sheet]

Ethelwulf married Princess Judith Martel OF FRANCE on 1 Oct 856 in Verberie sur Oise, France. Judith (daughter of Charles II "the Bald" OF FRANCE and Countess Ermentrude OF ORLEANS) was born about Oct 844; died after 870. [Group Sheet]

Ethelbald married Princess Judith Martel OF FRANCE after Feb 858. Judith (daughter of Charles II "the Bald" OF FRANCE and Countess Ermentrude OF ORLEANS) was born about Oct 844; died after 870. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Alfred the Great, son of Ethelwulf, succeeded his brother, Ethelred I., reigning from 871 to 900. Alfred began as second-in-command to his eldest brother, King Ethelred I. There were no jealousies between them, but a marked difference of temperament. Ethelred inclined toward a religious viewpoint that faith and prayer were the prime agencies by which the heathen would be overcome. Alfred, though also devout, laid the emphasis upon policy and arms. He was born in 849 and died in 900. At twenty-four he became King. He married Lady Alswitha (Ealhswith), daughter of Ethelan, the Earl of Mercia, lineally descended from Crioda, 1st Earl of Mercia, who died in 594. She died in 904. Alfred was regarded as one of the noblest monarchs in British history. No name in English history is so justly popular as his. That he taught his people to defend themselves and defeat their enemies, is the least of the many claims to our grateful admiration; he did much more than this; he launched his people upon a great advance in civilization, and showed a horde of untaught countrymen that there were other and worthier pursuits than war or the pleasure of the table. "He was indeed one of those highly gifted men that would seem to be especially raised up by Providence to protect and advance his people." (Wurts, Vol I, p. 171). Alfred was born at Wantage, in Berkshire, in the year 849, ascended the throne in 871 at the age of 23, and reigned for thirty years. Young Alfred, according to the historian Asser, Bishop of Sherborne, was a comely person and of a sweeter disposition than his older brothers and consequently became the favorite of both his parents and was sent by them to Rome, while still a child in order that he might be anointed king by the Pope. But though Ethelwulf showed this especial instance of regard for his son, he altogether neglected his education, and the young prince in his twelfth year had not learned to read or write. But if he could not read for himself, he nevertheless loved to listen to the rude but inspiring strains of Saxon poetry when recited by others, and had he not been a king and statesman, he might easily have been a poet. In 871, Alfred succeeded as king, at a period when the whole country was suffering under the ravages of the Danes, and the general misery was yet further increased by a raging pestilence, along with the general dissentions of the people. Alfred now for the first time took the field against these ruthless invaders with such skill and courage, that he was able to maintain the struggles till a truce was concluded between the combatants. Neither was this the worst of the evils that beset the Saxon prince. Any compact he might make with one party, had no influence whatever upon others of their countrymen, who had different leaders and different interests. No sooner had he made terms with one horde of pirates than England was invaded by a new force of them under Rollo; and when he had compelled these to abandon Wessex, he was attacked by fresh bands of Danes settled in other parts of England. So long, however, as they ventured to meet him on the open field, his skill secured him the victory; till, taught by repeated defeats, they had recourse to other tactics. That is, suddenly to land and ravage a apart of the country, and when a force opposed them, they retired to their ships, and passed to some other part, which in a like manner they ravaged, and then retired as before, until the country, completely harassed, pillaged and wasted by their incursions, was no longer able to resist them. Then they ventured safely to enter and to establish themselves. Therefore, Alfred, finding a navy necessary, built England's first fleet. After much fighting over the years he at last routed the Danes at Ethendune (Edington) in 878 with so much slaughter that they were glad to obtain peace on such terms as he chose to dictate. As merciful as he was good and brave, he then, instead of killing them, proposed peace on condition that they should altogether depart from the western part of England and that Guthrun, their leader, should become a Christian, in remembrance of the religion which taught Alfred, the conqueror, to forgive the enemy who had so injured him. Thereupon Guthrun embraced Christianity and became to adopted son of god-child of Alfred. Encouraging the arts and sciences, he founded Oxford University. He made London the capital of England, fortified it in 886, and carried on a defensive war with the Danes from 894 until they withdrew in 897. He organized judicial and educational reforms, compiled a code of laws, rebuilt the schools and invited learned monks from the continent and from Wales to his court to teach the young men there. He was himself a man of much learning; he translated from Latin into Anglo-Saxon parts of the ecclesiastical writings of Bede and others. He was the author of the famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the first history written in any modern language. He died October 28, 901, aged 52.

Died:
also given as died in 901

Alfred married Lady Ealhswith OF MERCIA about 869 in Winchester, Hampshire, England. Ealhswith (daughter of Ethelred Mucill EALDORMAN OF THE GAINAI and Eadburga FADBURN) was born about 852 in Mercia, England; died on 5 Dec 904 in St. Mary's Abbey, Winchester, Dorset, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Edward I., the Elder , "the Unconquerored King," was born about 870 and died about 924. He reigned 24 years from 900 to 924. He was not, like his father, a legislator or a scholar, although it is said that he founded the University of Cambridge, but he was great warrior. He gradually extended his sway over the whole island, in which project he was assisted by his sister the "Lady of Mercia" who headed her own troops and gained victories over both the Danes and Britons. Tradition assigns to Edward an even wider rule shortly before his death. In the middle of the ninth century the Picts and the Scots had been amalgamated under Kenneth MacAlpin, the King of the Scots, just as Mercia and Wessex were being welded together by the attacks of the Danes. It is said that in 925 the King of the Scots, together with other northern rulers, chose Edward "to father and lord." Probably this statement only covers some act of alliance formed by the English King with King of Scots and other lesser rulers. Nothing was more natural than that of the Scottish King, Constantine, should wish to obtain the support of Edward against his enemies; and it is natural that if Edward agreed to support him he would require some acknowledgment of the superiority of the English King. After a prosperous reign, King Edward died in Forndon, Northamptonshire in 925. He married (3) Lady Edgiva (Edgina), daughter of Earl Sigelline (Sigilline), Earl of Meapham. He succeeded his father about 901, and raised the supremacy of Wessex into something little short of an imperial authority, extending his sway over Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria.

Edward married Eadgifu OF ENGLAND in 919. Eadgifu (daughter of Sigeheim EALDORMAN OF KENT) was born about 890 in Kent, England; died on 25 Aug 968. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Ethelfleda married the regent of Mercia, Ethelred, (Ealdorman of the Mercians). This marriage set the final seal upon the cooperation of the South and Midlands. He died in 911, and his widow succeeded him as ruler of Mercia. She was known as "the Lady of the Mercians." She aided his brother Edward I., the Elder, in conquering the Danelaw and its Five Boroughs. In 918, the Danish resistance in East Anglia collapsed, and all the Danish leaders submitted to Edward as their protector and lord. They were granted in return their estates and the right to live according to their Danish customs. At the same time "the Lady of the Mercians" conquered Leicester, and received even from York offers of submission. In this hour of success Ethelfleda died, and Edward was invited by the nobles of Mercia to occupy the vacant throne.

Elfrida married Baldwin II OF FLANDERS. Baldwin (son of Count Baldwin I "Iron Arm" OF FLANDERS and Princess Judith Martel OF FRANCE) was born in 864; died on 10 Sep 918. [Group Sheet]