Æthelheard of Wessex

Æthelheard (meaning roughly "Noble Stern"), also spelled Ethelheard, Edelard or Æþelheard, was King of Wessex from 726 to 740. There is an unreliable record of Æthelheard having been the brother-in-law of his predecessor, Ine,[1] but his ancestry is unknown, perhaps making him the first King of Wessex not to be descended from Cynric by blood. Some sources identify him as the brother of Queen Æthelburg of Wessex, the wife of his predecessor, King Ine.[2] His own successor Cuthred is identified in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as 'his relative'.[3]

Æthelheard
King of Wessex
Reign726–740
PredecessorIne
SuccessorCuthred
ConsortFrithugyth
HouseWessex

When Ine abdicated and went to Rome in 726, he left behind no obvious heir, and according to Bede simply left his kingdom "to younger men".[4] In the wake of his departure, the West Saxon throne was disputed between Æthelheard and a rival claimant, Oswald. Oswald may have had the better claim, as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle calls him a descendant of the early king Ceawlin,[5] but it was Æthelheard who prevailed. It is possible that his success was due to the support of Æthelbald of Mercia, since he seems to have been subject to Æthelbald afterward. However, Æthelheard's lack of independence does not seem to have prevented Æthelbald from taking considerable territory from Wessex in 733, including the royal manor of Somerton.

Æthelheard married Frithugyth in 729 or before[6] and she is recorded in the Chronicle as making a pilgrimage to Rome in 737.

Æthelheard was succeeded by Cuthred, possibly a brother or other relative.

See also

References
  1. The tradition is reflected in, and may stem from, a charter in Glastonbury, now considered spurious, in which he is identified as the queen's brother. However, even as a forgery, it has sometimes been valued as at least "some evidence, when not contradicted by anything better", to quote Edward A. Freeman (1872), "King Ine", Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society 18, pt 2, 1–59, fn p. 15
  2. "The wife of Ine bore the name of Æthelburh. She was herself of the royal house, and her brother Æthelheard, who succeeded Ine in the kingdom, is spoken of as a kinsman of his predecessor." Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society 18, pt 2, 15,
  3. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Part 1: A.D. 1 - 748 Online Medieval and Classical Library Release #17, "A.D. 740. This year died King Ethelhard; and Cuthred, his relative, succeeded to the West-Saxon kingdom"
  4. Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (1943, 1971, 1998 Oxford paperback), pages 72–73.
  5. ASC manuscript A, 728.
  6. Queen Frithugyth is identified in a charter of Æthelheard, king of Wessex, dated 729 indicating that they were at that time married, Charter S253
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