#aethelstan aetheling

[canute-saga]

Twitter April/May Dump

I watched the Vinland Saga stage play five times.

In Twitter site, Thorfinn won as the best character from Vinland Saga, followed by Askeladd, Hild, Knut and Einar

Hild is the father

It was Red's birthday, so I felt like drawing Stan

It was also Myre's birthday

I saw a AO3 tag so ednute, I had to

I love my two kings

and my two queens

and my two princesses (Gunhild from Nutty, Snorri from Finny)

I adore the kids I hope they have their own saga...

...and grow up!

And then I decided to re-draw that girlverse doodle. See ya!

[dorranv]

[whencyclopedia]

Edward the Elder

Edward the Elder (r. 899-924) was the son of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899) and the King of the Anglo-Saxons in the early 10th century. He is known for his military victories over the Vikings of East Anglia and the East Midlands and for consolidating his dynasty's control over southern England.

In 865, about a decade before Edward was born, the Great Heathen Army invaded England, destroying the royal dynasties of several English kingdoms, including East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria and establishing Viking rule across these territories. It fell upon Edward's father, King Alfred of Wessex, to lead the English resistance. He defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878 and agreed to a peace treaty with their leader, Guthrum (d. 890), who retreated east to rule over much of the territory conquered by the great army, commonly referred to as 'The Danelaw'. Alfred would spend the next two decades fortifying Wessex, reforming the army and promoting learning and literacy amongst his subjects. He also brought Mercia under his overlordship, after which he took the title 'King of the Anglo-Saxons', denoting his rule over both the Mercians and the West Saxons.

Edward succeeded his father in 899. Most of what we know of his reign comes from a collection of land charters and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which presents him as a relentless and successful warrior-king. His epithet, 'the Elder', was not used during his life but was later used to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Edward the Martyr, King of England (r. 975-978). Though well-regarded as a ruler by medieval chroniclers and modern historians, Edward often remains in the shadow of his more illustrious father. However, there has been more interest in Edward recently due to the TV series The Last Kingdom, in which he is portrayed by Timothy Innes. Yet, the show depicts Edward as a king struggling to step out of his father's shadow, with many of his achievements being accredited to the show's protagonist, Uhtred of Bebbanburg.

Early Life

Edward was born c. 874-877. His parents, Alfred and Ealhswith (d. 902), a Mercian noblewoman, were married in 868. In addition to Edward, the couple had four more children: Aethelflaed (d. 918), who married the Ealdorman of Mercia and later ruled Mercia herself; Aethelgifu, who became the Abbess of Shaftesbury; Aelfthryth (d. 929) who married the Count of Flanders and another son, Aethelweard (d. 920). The earliest mention of Edward in contemporary sources comes from Bishop Asser – a Welsh priest and scholar at Alfred's court – in his work the Life of King Alfred. Asser recounts that Edward spent his youth at the king's court, studying religious and secular texts and was taught to show "humbleness, affability, and gentleness towards all." Edward was also trained in warfare, and while still in his teens, led the West Saxon army to victory over the Vikings at the Battle of Farnham in 893. Around the same time, he appears to have become a regular member of the king's council and married a woman named Ecgwynn, of whom we know little about, although the couple had a son, Aethelstan (d. 939), and a daughter, Edith.

Great Viking Army in England, 865-878 CE

Hel-hama (CC BY-SA)

In the final years of his father's reign, Edward was granted the title 'rex' (king), suggesting he had been appointed co-king alongside his father or, more likely, was given his own kingdom in Kent to provide him with experience ruling before he succeeded his father. Primogeniture (father-to-son succession) had not firmly been established in Wessex; succession was still elective to a certain degree, with the crown passing to the aetheling (prince), favoured by the nobility. Edward's main rival for the throne was his cousin Aethelwold (d. 902), the son of Alfred's brother, King Aethelred of Wessex (r. 865-871). As much of the West Saxon nobility owed their position to Alfred, they were naturally inclined to support Edward's succession, but his experience in warfare and royal administration went a long way to secure their support.

Continue reading...

[natequarter]

the idea that the name john fell out of favour because of how terrible a ruler king john was doesn't really hold up to scrutiny: although john named none of his own sons john, and henry iii chose not to either, edward i named his first son john; edward ii named his second son john; and, most famously, edward iii named his third son john of FUCKING gaunt. john was not a traditional royal name before or after the norman conquest: it wasn't even particularly a family name - pre-1066 most aethelings would be called something along the lines of edward, edmund, aethelred, or aethelstan, immediately post-1066 william and henry were the most common royal names, and following that edward, henry and richard tended to be common royal names. other names, like humphrey, thomas, geoffrey, george, edmund, and occasionally even lionel and arthur for the nerds out there, filled in the gaps: i'd argue john was one of these. (charles and james also later came about, and george and william made a comeback.) so if you ask me, the name john didn't fall out of use because of stigma around the name itself: it fell out of use because it was never a particularly royal name to begin with - john himself chose richard and henry over john for his own sons. there are names which fell pretty solidly out of use - richard after 1485, henry after 1547 (lol), james after 1688, and, i suspect, edward after 1936 (there are royals called edward, but i think mr. nazi divorce has somewhat tanked its popularity...), but john faded out in the fifteenth century - not the thirteenth. tl;dr: make your nephew disappear under highly suspicious circumstances! nobody called arthur can ever be king anyway.

[aethelredism]

lodestar

When she wakes, it is to the last person on earth she expected to see sitting by her bedside.

for @aelflaeds <3

Aelswith x Uhtred post season 4

rated g

read it on ao3 if you wish

When she wakes, it is to the last person on earth she expected to see sitting by her bedside.

“Uhtred?” she whispers. 

The smile he gives her is unaccountably soft. “It’s me,” he says, and to her surprise, he strokes her hair. 

Aelswith wonders at this gentleness, and then she remembers. The clearing in the forest. The siege. The battle. Her children negotiating a peace with Sigtryggr, and then a blackness overtaking her.

“I fell,” she says, half a statement, half a question.

His smile fades. He nods, withdrawing his hand. “You did.”

Something about his demeanor tells her it was more than just a simple bout of weariness. “What is it?” Her heart sinks. “Am I dying?”

“No,” he says firmly. “But I believe someone tried to kill you.”

She shifts against her pillows, sitting up as much as she can without her head swimming. “Poison?”

He nods, his eyes flickering around the room as though there may be eavesdroppers. “The flowering plant in the courtyard. The one that brings death. Alfred told me of it once. One of the flowers was recently plucked.”

Aethelhelm. Who else could it be? She had told him and Aelflaed about the flowering plant, and fallen ill as soon as the siege had lifted. She and Aelflaed have never been friends, but she doubts Aelflaed is vicious enough to poison her.

Aethelhelm, on the other hand…

“You know who it was?” Uhtred asks, seeing the light of recognition in her eyes. 

She hesitates. “I suspect I know who. But it would be unwise to make an accusation so soon. Especially when that person…holds so much sway over my son.”

Uhtred’s jaw tightens. “If it is who I think it is, you are not safe here in Winchester, lady.”

“No…I do not think I am,” she is forced to agree. “But where else can I go?”

He surprises her again by taking her hand. “With me. Your son has given Aethelstan into my care. He wishes for me to raise him and protect him. Raise Aethelstan with me, lady, and I will protect you both.”

It gives her a warm feeling, the thought of raising another child of her and Alfred’s line. And she has to hand it to Uhtred, they would make a good pair, each tempering the other. Together, they would raise a worthy aetheling. Perhaps even a worthy king.

“It is a tempting offer,” she admits. “But I wonder at your concern, Uhtred. We have never been friends. Why do you invite me to live by your side now?” 

He is quiet for a long moment, the pads of his calloused fingers rough but comforting against hers. “Few things have been constant in my life,” he says at last. “I lost my home when I was a child. Every family I’ve ever known has died or turned from me over the years. But you…you have been there since I first came to Wessex. Your path has never changed; you have always wanted to make Alfred’s dream a reality.” He pauses. “We have not always been friends, it is true, but I have grown to care for you. I did not realize how much until Haesten and his men took you away.”

Her heart begins to beat faster. “What are you saying, Uhtred?”

He blows out a breath. “I am saying, lady, that I want you to live by my side because I could not stop thinking about you the whole time you were behind these walls. I want you to live by my side so I can protect you from men like Haesten, and Aethelhelm, and anyone else who wishes you harm. I want you to live by my side so I can keep you safe, and happy, and so we can raise Aethelstan to be the king that will rule a united England as Alfred always dreamed.”

A knot has formed in her throat at his words. She swallows, lifting her chin as haughtily as she is able. “Well. If you insist.”

His face splits into a grin. “You are as stubborn as ever.”

“I think you like it.”

“No,” he says, bringing her fingers to his lips with surprising tenderness. “I love it.”

[potencjalnieinteresujacedziela]

Moją nadrzędną zasadą oglądania seriali jest nie tykanie seriali, które nie są ukończone. Albo takich, które nie mają ukończonego chociaż pierwszego sezonu. A jeśli to tasiemiec, który cyklicznie wypuszcza nowe odcinki np. co tydzień, to nie ruszę go dopóki nie będzie miał już większej ilości odcinków.

Czemu tak? Chociażby z tego powodu, że nie jestem zbyt cierpliwy i perspektywa czekania kolejnego tygodnia na nowy odcinek jest dla mnie czymś wielce upierdliwym, zwłaszcza jeśli serial mi się spodoba. Nie wspominając o tym, że pamięć mi trochę szwankuje i po kilku odcinkach oglądania z tygodniowymi przerwami mogę nie pamiętać o jakimś istotnym szczególe albo imienia jakiejś postaci. Spróbuj oglądać Upadek królestwa tydzień po tygodniu. Będziesz pamiętać które postacie to Aethelstan, Aetheling, Aethelwold, Aethelflaed, Aethelhelm, Aethelchujumuju? Ja oglądając ciągiem miałem z tym problem. Więc nawet jeśli serial wydaje mi się potencjalnie interesujący, nie ma mowy, żebym go ruszył za wcześnie. Więc gdy inni oglądają głośny serial na bieżąco i potem jeszcze zdają na swoich blogach relację z każdego odcinka, ja w najlepszym razie zacznę oglądać coś, co oni właśnie skończyli.

Takie podejście ma jeszcze jedną zaletę. Gdy hype opadnie i wszyscy się rozejdą, czas spędzony na nieogladaniu serialu pozwala zweryfikować czy w ogóle chciałem go obejrzeć. Już nie liczę seriali, które dodawałem sobie do watchlisty, gdy były dostępne może 3 odcinki, a po ukończeniu sezonu nadal je ignorowałem albo wręcz unikałem. W zalewie tylu rzeczy do obejrzenia, czy ogrania, zwyczajnie łatwo zostać zepchniętym do strefy dzieł niższego priorytetu.

A mówię o tym, bo kilka dni temu popełniłem ten błąd, że zacząłem oglądać serial, o którym myślałem, że już wyszło, co miało wyjść, a po skończeniu ostatniego odcinka okazało się, że emisja nadal trwa. A serial jest bardzo fajny i teraz będę musiał wyczekiwać kolejnych odcinków. Serial nazywa się Yozakura Family i na pewno kiedyś poświęcę mu osobny wpis.

[kinslayersadvocate]

Aethelstan remanined with Uthred? My dreams were realized but this open space to so many questions. When did he become the aetheling? Why was the dispute between Aethelstan and Aelfweard if everything pointed to Edward choosing Edmund as heir? It was probably because of Edmund's age at the time of his death but how did this all happen? That's why we needed one more season!

I mean, I understand that the story is based on both history and soap operas but why did they put these indications that they were going to go one way and then abruptly change course in the film?

[cibolasburn]

@smol-nemesis yeah that’s their mom! it’s weird! vikings does this thing where the women literally do not age Like At All (only one gets grey hair and it’s because of trauma and the wig is SO BAD). And Judith (that lady) is interesting cause she was introduced as a young girl (if I’m remembering correctly there are so many brown haired women) and then became a murdering milf but like. Those Boys Look So Old Too even though their actors are like 19 there (but that actress was 29! It’s so close!!!) and it’s like. I know period dramas that span decades are hard but can we PLEASE let the women have gray hair and wrinkles. PLEASE I promise I’ll still think they’re hot

And historically it’s...... a lot worse. In the show she is biologically those boy’s, Alfred and Aethelred, mom. In real life she was their step mom, and was like. 4 years older than Alfred. She was like 13. It’s weird. So the age gap between the actress and actor who play mother Judith and son Alfred is 10 years, and is double the age gap between historical stepmother Judith and stepson alfred. And I uuuuh. Hate that

[wandchosen]

me : wow who were some english royals around the hogwarts times so i can fix the ‘baron’ situation wikipedia : heres this ,  me : ok then holy shit 

[aadmelioraa]

sldkfjdsk i'm the one who sent in that ask last night and yes i am just sitting here wondering how the fuck you keep track of all of them………are there like six aethels?? and three other aelfs or whatever. i am so lost

HAHAHAHA

Ok so Aethelflaed and Aethelred have a daughter named Aelfwynn, naturally. Then Aethelhelm (not to be confused with Aldhelm) has a daughter named Aelflaed (not to be confused with Aethelflaed, see above), and Aelflaed and her husband Edward (Aethelflaed's brother) have a son named Aelfweard, whose half brother is Aethelstan (son of Edward and Ecgwynn)—both boys are cousins to Aelfwynn. Aelfwynn, Aelfweard and Aethelstan's grandmother, mother to Aethelflaed and Edward, wife to Alfred, is named Aelswith. There is also an Aelfric (rip to the one true DILF on the show) and there was an Ealhswith in the books (not to be confused with Aelswith, which is just a different spelling of the same name) but they did a sensible thing and changed Ealhswith's name to Sidgeflaed for the show (wildly different, I know). There's also another Aethelred, brother to Alfred, whose son is Aethelwold.

Did I miss anyone?

[windermeresimblr]

Aetheling Aethelstan of Fencastra, 888-present.

The eldest child and heir apparent to the Fencastrian throne, young Aethelstan is the apple of his mother’s eye. To Wulfstan’s eternal chagrin, Aethelstan is taking very well to his lessons, already better at reading than his father. 

[opsims]

The first three years of the family were very hard... Aethelwolf had to work in two jobs and Venus had to take care of the shop and the babies. But then Venus mom died and she received some money that helped them to buy a new house and organize their life. 

The kids grew up and they started to work too to help their parents. Aelle is the rebel one, Aethel is a nerdy just like his dad and Aethelstan is a very sweet girl. When they turned 22, Aelle got engaged to his first girlfriend (and high school best friend), Gillie, and soon moved out of the house. One year later she got pregnant and had a baby girl called Daniel. Aethel and Aethelstan stayed in their parents home until they were 25, same time that Venus got pregnant once again and had a boy named Bjorn. 

[aethelredism]

let’s stop running from us

inspired by @volvaaslaug’s tags but i think it would be hilarious if the introduction scene for aethelstan is him hiding somewhere making out with young sihtricwhile uhtred is searching for him

Rated T

written for @tlkfanficfest bingo

read it on ao3 if you wish

“Athelstan!”

The teenager in question opens his eyes with a regretful sigh. He was having such a nice time.

“I should go…”

“You should stay.” Young Sihtric kisses a trail down Athelstan’s neck, his teeth scraping against his collarbone.

Athelstan closes his eyes, his jaw going slack. “What…what if it’s important?”

“What if it is?”

He smiles, threading his fingers through the other boy’s hair. Young Sihtric is more Saxon than Dane, but he wears his hair like a Dane, long and flowing. Athelstan, whose princely hair must be cut short, used to think he was jealous of the other boy’s good looks. Until Sihtric kissed him and he realized it wasn’t jealousy at all.

Sihtric lifts his head, kissing him again. Athelstan moans, the world around him muffled, until,

“Athelstan!”

“He’s not going to stop,” Athelstan groans.

“So? You’re the aetheling. Let him come to you.”

Athelstan may be an aetheling, but Uhtred was given charge of him, and he knows that he is supposed to obey the lord in all things until he comes of age, or until his father says otherwise.

But it is nicer here, behind the unused church with Young Sihtric…

They both hear the trample of feet over undergrowth at the same time, and Sihtric loses his earlier nonchalance as he lurches for the wooden sparring swords they’d brought with them. He shoves one at Athelstan, and they take up something barely resembling a fighting stance just as Uhtred bursts through the foliage.

“Athelstan!” the older man bellows. “I’ve been calling your name!”

“Sorry, Lord,” Athelstan gasps. “I didn’t hear. We’ve been sparring.”

Uhtred’s eyes sweep over their flushed faces, the loose shirts, the breathless way they’re both regarding him.

“Why do you spar out here?”

“I’m…I don’t like when people watch,” Athelstan lies.

Uhtred jerks his head. “Well, come on. We have to ride to Ceaster. Young Sihtric, you will make the horses ready.”

“Yes, Lord,” Young Sihtric says, too relieved at not having been caught to chafe at the task. He tears off, leaving Athelstan to amble beside Uhtred.

“Why Ceaster?”

“Because your father wrote to say he wishes it. There is a dispute he will settle, and he wants you to hear his judgment.” Uhtred takes the wooden sword from his charge. “You are too old to practice with wooden swords.”

“I’m clumsy,” Athelstan lies.

“And this?” Uhtred raises the point of the wooden sword to Athelstan’s neck. “Is this a mark of your clumsiness?”

Athelstan can’t see the mark, but he has a feeling he knows what it is. He claps a hand over it, his face reddening.

Uhtred throws an arm around his shoulders, leaning in conspiratorially. “I have no objection to you sneaking off with Young Sihtric, but mind you cover that little battle wound before your father sees.”

Athelstan turns even redder. “Yes, Lord.”

Uhtred musses the aetheling’s hair before giving him a small shove forward, laughing.

[racefortheironthrone]

Could English kings actually just legitimize bastards, like in Westeros?

Yes, they could! Although it gets really really weird, in the best dynastic scholarship way.

So, let’s talk English inheritance law! In Saxon England, all sons of a King were titled as “aethelings” and were eligible to inherit regardless of their legitimacy. The Papacy was not a huge fan of this, being rather a big proponent of the idea that Christian marriages should be important to monarchs and future monarchs, and tried to outlaw the practice, not always successfully. King Aethelstan (924-939) was a bastard, as was William of Normandy. But gradually succession through legitimate union took hold, sort of…

For a while, you had something of a mixed case, where royal bastards were given the last name of Fitzroy (son of the king) and wore royal coat of arms marked with a bend or bar to distinguish them - as we see above. Especially in the reign of Henry I, there were about 21-25 Fitzroys running around who were very very powerful people with Earldoms and Dukedoms, and while they weren’t guaranteed a place in line, they could sometimes have one. Robert Fitzroy Earl of Gloucester was a potential claimant for the English throne during the Anarchy, although he ultimately ended up backing Empress Maude over King Stephen instead.

You then scoot down to one of the weirder bits of dynastic tomfoolery that took place during the Wars of the Roses, and how it is that the Tudors wound up with a claim on the English throne. John of Gaunt, richest and most hated of the sons of Edward III, had a bunch of children with his mistress Katherine Swynford and then married her. The ex-facto results of this union were declared legitimate repeatedly by Kings, Parliament, and Popes, as quid-pro-quo for supporting Richard II, although the condition of legitimacy was that they had to give up their claims to the succession.

When Henry IV usurped the throne from Richard II, and was feeling insecure on his throne, he recinded the titles that had been given to the Beauforts through their legitimation, as a symbolic underlining of the situation, and got  the succession re-ordered in Parliament - although to keep them sweet, the Beauforts were given the lands of Owen Glendower, which is where the first Welsh connection comes in. A bit later, Henry VI didn’t have much in the way of close relatives, he did something very odd: he legitimated the Welsh House of Tudors, who decended from his mother’s second marriage to Sir Owen Tudor, in 1452, and then in 1455 married Margaret Beaufort to Edmund Tudor, linking the two families

The dynastic chaos of all of this seemed to have left an enduring lesson after the Wars of the Roses. While there would be powerful royal bastards - Henry VIII’s son Henry Fitzroy Duke of Richmond and Somerset, Charles II’s bastard James Fitzroy the Duke of Monmouth - they would never be added to the succession, even if it meant enduring the occasional rebellion (see Monmouth’s Rebellion). 

[windermeresimblr]

11 and 16 for Hild? C:

Hild:11: How important is family to your muse?     Hild is Family Oriented (TM). She would die for her children, although her husband she doesn't really care about at all. But since her husband would have custody of the children should he put her aside, she has to kind of work around him. She also keeps in close contact (for the period) with her family of origin, which will come up in later parts of the story.

16: How does your muse see themselves in 5 years? What about 10?     In five years: By age 29, she'll have at least four children. Aethelstan will be ten and therefore of age to foster at an aetheling's hall (maybe, if she's lucky, at her brother's). Aethelflaed will be six and learning to spin and weave, and the current baby will be five years old. If it's a boy, it'll be following in Aethelstan's footsteps; if it's a girl, well, at least Fleda will have a friend. She'll have a three-year-old--and that one will still be in the nursery regardless of the gender. If she's really lucky, she'll have an infant, too. Hopefully at least two more boys.     In ten years: Honestly, she can't think that far ahead right now. Aethelstan will be fifteen, and Hild eleven--if they're not betrothed to someone by then, she'd really need to get cracking.