Æthelwald Of Kent

• Preferred Name: Æthelwald Of Kent^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}
  
• Gender: M
  
• Death: 962 in England
  
• Birth: ABT 945 in Wessex
  
• Burial: in Ramsey Abbey, Huntingdonshire, England at LATI: N2.4503 LONG: E0.1087
  
• Fact: with note: Description: https://www.geni.com/people/%C3%86thelwold-Ealdorman-of-East-Anglia/4644589
  
• FSID: 9HYM-NHJ
  
• Fact: with note: Description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelwald,_Ealdorman_of_East_Anglia
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Æthelwald (died 962) was ealdorman of East Anglia. He is mentioned in Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester along with other members of his family.
  
  He was probably the oldest son of Æthelstan Half-King and succeeded to some of his father's offices in 956 when Æthelstan became a monk at Glastonbury Abbey. He was a benefactor of Ramsey Abbey and a supporter of the Benedictine reform movement which began in the reign of King Edgar.
  
  He was the first husband of Ælfthryth who married King Edgar after Æthelwald's death. William of Malmesbury's Gesta regum anglorum has a late account of Æthelwald's marriage and death. According to William, the beauty of Ordgar's daughter Ælfthryth was reported to King Edgar. Edgar, looking for a Queen, sent Æthelwald to see Ælfthryth, ordering him "to offer her marriage [to Edgar] if her beauty were really equal to report." When she turned out to be just as beautiful as was said, Æthelwald married her himself and reported back to Edgar that she was quite unsuitable. Edgar was eventually told of this deception, and decided to repay Æthelwald's betrayal in like manner. He said that he would visit the poor woman, which alarmed Æthelwald. He asked Ælfthryth to make herself as unattractive as possible for the king's visit, but she did the opposite. Edgar, quite besotted with her, killed Æthelwald during a hunt.
  
  Edward Augustus Freeman debunks the Æthelwald murder story as a "tissue of romance" in his Historic essays,[1] but his arguments were in turn refuted by the naturalist William Henry Hudson in his 1920 book Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn.[2]
  Æthelwald was seemingly dead by 962 as he ceases to witness charters at that time. He was buried at Ramsey Abbey. His younger brother Æthelwine succeeded to his offices.
  
  A memorial to Æthelwald, known as the Dead Man's Plack, was erected in Longparish, Hampshire in 1825.
  
  Source:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Æthelwald,_Ealdorman_of_East_Anglia

• m. ABT 960 in Wessex, Devon, England

1. Title: Æthelweald/Æthelwold in Ælfthryth Wife of Eadgar, king of England - The Henry Project: The Ancestors of King Henry II of England
   Publication: Name: https://fasg.org/projects/henryproject/data/aelft000.htm;
   Note: Ælfthryth Wife of Eadgar, king of England. Ælfthryth was married to king Eadgar in 965 ["Her on þissum geare Eadgar cyning genam Ælf[ðr]yðe him to cwene, heo wæs Ordgares dohtor ealdormannes." ASC(D)]. Although contemporary sources tell us little about her, later sources attributed the murder of Eadweard the Martyr to her. [See DNB 1: 167-8] Date of birth: Unknown. Place of birth: Unknown. Date of death: 17 November 999×1002. Place of death: Unknown. An eleventh century calendar gives her date of death as 17 November ["[17 Nov.] Obitusque Ælfþryð matris Æþelredi regis." Lib. Vit. Hyde, 272]. She was still living in 999, when she witnessed one of Æthelred's charters ["Ego Ælfðryð mater eiusdem regis fautrix extiti." Codex Dipl. Sax. 3: 314 (#703)], but was deceased in 1002 when Æthelred made a donation for her soul ["... ego Æðelred ... pro remedio animae patris mei Eadgari et matris meae Ælfðryð ..." Codex Dip;. Sax. 3: 323 (#707)]. Father: Ordgar, d. 971, ealdorman of Devon. Mother: NN, d. bef. 981, bur. at Tavistock. Spouses: Both of Ælfthryth's marriages are mentioned by the Vita Sancti Oswaldi, which however confuses her with Eadgar's first wife ["Athelwoldus vero satis digniter principatum Orientalis regni acquisivit a rege, tenuitque magna virtute; qui accipiens filiam Ormeri ducis Occidentalium Anglorum, perduxit secum ad suum regnum, quæ vocitata erat Ælfritha; quam post mortem ejus rex Eadgar præpotentissimus accepit, ex qua duos habuit filios, quorum unus Eadwerd est dictus, alter vero Æthelredus." Vita Sancti Oswaldi, Hist. Ch. York, 1: 428-9]. The two marriages are also given by John of Worcester ["Rex Anglorum pacificus Eadgarus Ordgari ducis Domnaniæ filiam, Ælfthrytham nomine, post mortem viri sui Æthelwoldi, gloriosi ducis Orientalium Anglorum, in matrimonium accepit; ex qua duos filios, Eadmundum et Æthelredum, suscepit." John Worc. s.a. 964 (1: 140)]. (1) Æthelweald/Æthelwold, fl. d. prob. 962, ealdorman of East Anglia, 956-962. Æthelweald succeeded as ealdorman of East Anglia on the retirement of his father Æthelstan "Half King" in 956 [Hart (1973), 128]. He was still living in 962, when he witnessed several charters as ealdorman ("dux") [Cart. Sax. 3: 312 (#1082), 316 (#1085), 322 (#1092), 327 (#1095)]. He probably died in the same year, for in 962 his brother Æthelwine begins to sign as dux in his place [ibid., 3: 314 (#1083), 324 (#1093)]. See the paper by Hart on Athelstan 'Half King' and his family [Hart (1973)]. (2) Eadgar, d. 8 July 975, king of England, 959-975. Children: See the page of Eadgar for more details. MALE Eadmund, b. ca. 966, d. 971, bur. Romsey. MALE Æthelred II "the Unready", b. ca. 968, d. 23 April 1016, king of England, 978×9-1013, 1014-6; m. (1) Ælfgifu (?); m. (2) 1002, Emma, d. 6×7 March 1052, daughter of Richard I of Normandy. Commentary Possible child by Æthelweald: MALE Leofric, fl. 14 June 987; perhaps m. Leoflæd, founders of St. Neots Priory, 979×84. ["... sub testimonio Æthelsii, filii Athelstani Aldermani, et Leofrici filii Æthelwyni* Aldermanni, ..." * version A; alternate readings: Æthelwoldi, B; Athelwardi, B in p.iv., Hist Rameseiensis, c. 33, Chron. Rams., 61; Hart argues that when the two versions disagree, B is usually the superior, Hart (1973), 131 & n. 2]. For Hart's theory that this Leofric was the same as the Leofric who married Leoflæd and founded St. Neots Priory [Liber Eliensis ii, 29-30 (pp. 103-4)], see Hart's paper on Athelstan 'Half King' [Hart (1973), 130 & n. 5]. If the testimony of the not always reliable Geoffrey Gaimar can be believed, Ælfthryth did have a child by Æthelweald [Gaimar 3728-35]. Conjectured additional child by Æthelweald: MALE Æthelnoth. The Leofric who founded St. Neots had a brother named Æthelnoth ["Ægelnoþus, frater Leofrici" Liber Eliensis ii, 30 (p. 104)]. He would belong as a son of Ælfthryth only if Hart's above identification is correct, and if Hart if right in preferring version B to version A in the statement of Leofric's parentage. Bibliography ASC = Charles Plummer, Two of the Saxon Chronicles parallel, based on the earlier edition by John Earle, 2 vols. (Oxford, 1892-9). ASC(A) indicates the "A" manuscript of the chronicle, and similarly for the other manuscripts. Chron. Rams. = W. Dunn Macray, ed., Chronicon Abbatiæ Rameseiensis (Rolls Series 83, London, 1886). Codex Dipl. Sax. = John M. Kemble, ed., Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici, 6 vols. (London, 1839-48). DNB = Dictionary of National Biography. Gaimar = Thomas Duffus Hardy & Charles Trice Martin, ed. & trans., Lestorie des Engles solum la translacion Maistre Geffrei Gaimar, 2 vols. (London 1888-9). Hart (1973) = Cyril Hart, "Athelstan 'Half King' and his family", Anglo-Saxon England 2 (1973): 115-144. Hist. Ch. York = James Raine, ed., The Historians of the Church of York, and its Archbishops, 3 vols. (Rolls Series 71, London, 1879-86). John Worc. = Benjamin Thorpe, ed., Florentii Wigorniensis monachi chronicon ex chronicis, 2 vols., (London, 1848-9). (The work formerly attributed to Florence of Worcester is now generally attributed to John of Worcester.) Lib. Vit. Hyde = Walter de Gray Birch, Liber Vitae: Register and Martyrology of New Minister and Hyde Abbey Winchester (London, 1892). Liber Eliensis = E. O. Blake, Liber Eliensis (Camden 3rd. ser. 92, London, 1962). Compiled by Stewart Baldwin First uploaded 20 June 2010.
   Page: Identifies Æthelweald/Æthelwold as ealdorman of East Anglia 956-962. As the son of Æthelstan "Half King" and the brother of Æthelwine. Was the first husband of Ælfthryth, who married 2nd Eadgar, king of England. With Ælfthryth was possibly the father of Leofric, and conjectured parent of Æthelnoth. Died probably in 962
   
2. Title: ÆTHELWOLD in record of ÆTHELSTAN, son of ÆTHELFRITH & his wife Æthelgyth - Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
   Publication: Name: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20nobility.htm#AethelwoldEastAngliadiedbefore964;
   Note: ÆTHELSTAN, son of ÆTHELFRITH & his wife Æthelgyth (-956 or after). "Æthelfritho, eius filius Ethelstanus dux" gave Wrington, given to his father by King Edward, to Glastonbury[49]. "Æthelstan dux" subscribed charters of Kings Athelstan and Edmund between 931 and 970[50]. Between 943 and 956, there were two subscribers "Æthelstan dux" in several charters[51], suggesting that there may have been two individuals of the same name during this period. The Chronicon Rameseiensis names "Æthelstan Halfkyng, quod est semirex"[52]. although Florence of Worcester does not name the parents of these brothers[53]. Ealdorman Æthelwold under his will dated [946/47] bequeathed land at Broadwater, Sussex and South Newton, Wiltshire to his brother Athelstan[54]. m ÆLFWYNN, daughter of --- (-8 Jul 983, bur Chateris, Cambridgeshire). The Chronicon Rameseiensis records that "Æthelstan Halfkyng, quod est semirex" married "Alfwen" adding that she was later the nurse of King Eadgar and that she later donated "villam de Westona" to the monastery[55]. The Genealogia Comitis Ailwini names “Alfwen” as wife of “Æthelstani Regis quidam dux Orientalium Anglorum, Æthelstanus halfkineg id est”, and in a later passage her death in 983, her donation of “Weston” to the monastery, and her burial “apud Chateriz”[56]. A manuscript relating to Chateris Monastery records that it was founded by “Alwen, le mere Aylwyn”[57]. The Libellus de Anniversariis of Ramsey Monastery records the death “VIII Id Jul” of “Alfwen soror nostra, mater Ailwini ducis, comitissa, quæ dedit Westune”[58]. Æthelstan & his wife had [six] children: 1. ÆTHELWOLD (-before 964, bur Ramsey, Huntingdonshire). The Chronicon Rameseiensis names "primus Æthelwoldus, secundus Alfwoldus, tertius Athelsinus, quartus Æthelwynus" as the four sons of "Æthelstan Halfkyng, quod est semirex"[59]. The Vita Oswaldi names Æthelstan as father of Æthelwine, Ælfwald, Æthelwald and Æthelwig[60]. Florence of Worcester names him and his three brothers without naming their parents[61]. Ealdorman of East Anglia 956. "Æthelwold dux" subscribed charters of Kings Edmund, Eadwig, and Edgar dated between 940 and 961[62]. In a charter of King Æthelred II, "Æthelwold" is recorded as the previous holder of land at Wylye, Wiltshire which the king then granted to Ælfgar, minister[63], although it is not certain that this was the same person. Simeon of Durham records the marriage of King Eadgar and "the daughter of Ordgar duke of Devonshire after the death of her husband Elfwold…duke of the East Angles" in 964[64]. The Genealogia Comitis Ailwini records the death in 971 of “Ethelwoldus comes, frater Ailwini” and his burial at Ramsey[65], although this date is inconsistent with his widow´s remarriage as shown below. [m firstly ---. There is no proof that Æthelwold had an earlier marriage. However, Ælfthryth must have considerably younger than her husband, who was already active in the administration of the country in 940, the earliest date when his name appears in subscription lists of charters, which makes an earlier marriage probable.] m [secondly] as her first husband, ÆLFTHRYTH, daughter of Ealdorman ORDGAR of Devon (Lydford Castle, Devon ([945]-Wherwell Abbey, Hampshire [999/1002], bur Wherwell Abbey). The Vita Oswaldi names Æthelwald as husband of Ælfthryth[66]. She married secondly ([965]) as his second wife, "the Peaceable" Edgar King of England. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the marriage in 965 of King Edgar and Ælfthryth, stating that she was the daughter of ealdorman Ordgar[67]. Simeon of Durham records the marriage of King Eadgar and "the daughter of Ordgar duke of Devonshire after the death of her husband Elfwold…duke of the East Angles" in 964[68]. Roger of Hoveden names her, her father and her first husband, when recording her second marriage[69]. Geoffrey Gaimar records a lengthy account of King Edgar having sent "Edelwoth" to woo "Estrueth la fille Orgar" on his behalf, and Æthelwold having married her without the king´s knowledge[70]. King Edgar granted land in Buckinghamshire to "Ælfgifu que mihi afinitate mundialis cruoris coniuncta" in 966[71]. "Ælfthryth regina" subscribed charters of King Edgar dated between 964 and 974[72]. William of Malmesbury recounts that King Edgar killed Ælfthryth's first husband to enable him to marry her[73]. She was crowned queen with her husband in 973, which was the first instance of the coronation of a queen in England. It was alleged that she was involved in the plot to kill her stepson so her own son could succeed as King[74]. "Ælfthryth regina" subscribed charters of King Æthelred II between 979 and 983[75], and "Ælfthryth regis mater" between 981 and 999[76]. She became a nun at Wherwell Abbey, Hampshire in [985]. Her son King Æthelred II granted privileges to Wherwell Abbey in 1002 for the benefit of her soul[77]. 2. ÆLFWOLD (-14 Apr 990, bur Ramsey, Huntingdonshire). The Chronicon Rameseiensis names "primus Æthelwoldus, secundus Alfwoldus, tertius Athelsinus, quartus Æthelwynus" as the four sons of "Æthelstan Halfkyng, quod est semirex"[78]. The Vita Oswaldi names Æthelstan as father of Æthelwine, Ælfwald, Æthelwald and Æthelwig[79]. Florence of Worcester names him and his three brothers without naming their parents[80]. Florence of Worcester names him and his three brothers[81]. Florence of Worcester records Ælfwold as "germanus" of Æthelwine, as well as his opposition to the expulsion of the monks from the Mercian monasteries in 975[82]. The Chronicon Rameseiensis records that "dux Ailwinus et eius frater Alfwoldus" defended the monasteries of East Anglia[83]. The Genealogia Comitis Ailwini records the death in 990 of “Alfwoldus comes, frater Ailwini”, his donation of “Hotton et Witton, Rippon cum Wenigton, Bithern cum Elinton”, and his burial at Ramsey[84]. The Libellus de Anniversariis of Ramsey Monastery records the death “XVIII Kal Mai” of “Ailwoldus comes frater Ailwini ducis, qui dedit Hocton et Withon”[85]. m ÆTHELFLEDA, daughter of --- (-997, bur Ramsey, Huntingdonshire). The Chronicon Rameseiensis records that "Alfild" confirmed donations made by "vir meus Alfwoldus comes frater Ailwyni Aldermanni" and records that "Ædnotho filio filiæ meæ" was punished for mocking St Ivo[86]. The Genealogia Comitis Ailwini records the death in 997 of “Ethelfleda comitissa uxor Ethelwoldi fratris Ailwini” and her burial at Ramsey[87]. The Libellus de Anniversariis of Ramsey Monastery records the death “VI Id Sep” of “Ailflid comitissa, uxor Oswaldi fratris Ailwini ducis, quæ dedit Welinctune, et Weninctune, et Bitherne, et Riptun”[88]. It is suggested that these inconsistent entries should be interpreted as indicating that Æthelfleda was the wife of Ælfwold, but this is not beyond doubt. At any rate, it is incompatible with other primary source data for her to have been the wife of Æthelwold, Æthelwine´s first brother (see above). Ælfwold & his wife had one child: a) daughter . m ---. One child: i) ÆDNOTH . The Chronicon Rameseiensis records that "Alfild" confirmed donations made by "vir meus Alfwoldus comes frater Ailwyni Aldermanni" and records that "Ædnotho filio filiæ meæ" was punished for mocking St Ivo[89]. 3. ÆTHELSINE (-13 Oct 987, bur Ramsey, Huntingdonshire). The Chronicon Rameseiensis names "primus Æthelwoldus, secundus Alfwoldus, tertius Athelsinus, quartus Æthelwynus" as the four sons of "Æthelstan Halfkyng, quod est semirex"[90]. Florence of Worcester names him and his three brothers[91]. The Genealogia Comitis Ailwini records the death in 987 of “Ethelsinus frater Ailwini” and his burial at Ramsey[92]. The Libellus de Anniversariis of Ramsey Monastery records the death “III Id Oct” of “Ailsinus frater Æthelwini ducis”[93]. 4. ÆTHELWINE (-24 Apr [992/93], bur Ramsey, Huntingdonshire[94]). The Chronicon Rameseiensis names "primus Æthelwoldus, secundus Alfwoldus, tertius Athelsinus, quartus Æthelwynus" as the four sons of "Æthelstan Halfkyng, quod est semirex"[95]. The Vita Oswaldi names Æthelstan as father of Æthelwine, Ælfwald, Æthelwald and Æthelwig[96]. Florence of Worcester names him and his three brothers[97]. Ealdorman of East Anglia. "Æthelwine dux" subscribed charters for Kings Edgar, Edward and Æthelred II dated between 964 and 988[98]. The Genealogia Comitis Ailwini records that “sanctus Oswaldus et dux Ailwinus” constructed Ramsey Monastery in 969[99]. Florence of Worcester records that he opposed the expulsion of the monks from the Mercian monasteries founded by King Edgar after the king died in 975 and defended the monasteries[100]. The Chronicon Rameseiensis records that "dux Ailwinus et eius frater Alfwoldus" defended the monasteries of East Anglia[101]. The list of sureties for estates of Peterborough Abbey records that "Æthelsige the earl's uncle" was one of the sureties for gift by "Earl Æthelwine and Abbot Ealdulf"[102]. The Genealogia Comitis Ailwini records the death in 993 of “comes Ailwinus”[103]. The Libellus de Anniversariis of Ramsey Monastery records the death “VIII Kal Mai” of “Ailwinus comes fundator Ramesiensis monasterii”[104]. Florence of Worcester states that he "excelled his brothers in meekness, piety, goodness and justice"[105]. m firstly ÆTHELFLEDA, daughter of --- (-11 Oct 977). The Chronicon Rameseiensis records donations by "dux Ailwinus pater filiæ maritatæ", including land inherited from "pater Æthefledæ uxoris suæ"[106]. The Genealogia Comitis Ailwini records the death in 977 of “Ethelfleda comitissa uxor Ailwini prima” and her donation of “Saltreiam”[107]. The Libellus de Anniversariis of Ramsey Monastery records the death “V Id Oct” of “Ethelfleda uxor Ailwini ducis prima, quæ dedit Stivecle”[108]. m secondly ÆTHELGIFU, daughter of --- (-985). The Chronicon Rameseiensis records donations by "Athelgiva comitissa"[109]. The Genealogia Comitis Ailwini records the death
   Page: Identifies ÆTHELWOLD as the son of ÆTHELSTAN and his wife ÆLFWYNN, also the grandson of ÆTHELFRITH & his wife Æthelgyth. Ealdorman of East Anglia in 956. Married ÆLFTHRYTH, daughter of Ealdorman ORDGAR of Devon, who after ÆTHELWOLD's death married Edgar King of England. ÆTHELWOLD died before 964 and was buried at Ramsey, Huntingdonshire. Brother of: ÆLFWOLD, ÆTHELSINE, ÆTHELWINE, ÆTHELWIG, and ÆLFNOTH.
   
3. Title: Æthelwald, Ealdorman of East Anglia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
   Author: Wikipedia
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Æthelwald,_Ealdorman_of_East_Anglia;
   Note: Æthelwald (died 963) was ealdorman of East Anglia. He is mentioned in Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester along with other members of his family. He was probably[weasel words] the oldest son of Æthelstan Half-King and succeeded to some of his father's offices in 956 when Æthelstan became a monk at Glastonbury Abbey. He was a benefactor of Ramsey Abbey and a supporter of the Benedictine reform movement which began in the reign of King Edgar. He was the first husband of Ælfthryth who married King Edgar after Æthelwald's death. William of Malmesbury's Gesta regum anglorum has a late account of Æthelwald's marriage and death. According to William, the beauty of Ordgar's daughter Ælfthryth was reported to King Edgar. Edgar, looking for a Queen, sent Æthelwald to see Ælfthryth, ordering him "to offer her marriage [to Edgar] if her beauty were really equal to report." When she turned out to be just as beautiful as was said, Æthelwald married her himself and reported back to Edgar that she was quite unsuitable. Edgar was eventually told of this deception, and decided to repay Æthelwald's betrayal in like manner. He said that he would visit the poor woman, which alarmed Æthelwald. He asked Ælfthryth to make herself as unattractive as possible for the king's visit, but she did the opposite. Edgar, quite besotted with her, killed Æthelwald during a hunt. Edward Augustus Freeman debunks the Æthelwald murder story as a "tissue of romance" in his Historic essays,[1] but his arguments were in turn refuted by the naturalist William Henry Hudson in his 1920 book Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn.[2] Æthelwald was seemingly dead by 962 as he ceases to witness charters at that time. He was buried at Ramsey Abbey. His younger brother Æthelwine succeeded to his offices. A memorial to Æthelwald, known as the Dead Man's Plack, was erected in Longparish, Hampshire in 1825. Sources Æthelwald 41 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England. Retrieved 2007-10-29. Æthelwald 43 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England. Retrieved 2007-10-29. Henson, Donald, A Guide to Late Anglo-Saxon England: From Ælfred to Eadgar II. Hockwold-cum-Wilton: Anglo-Saxon Books, 1998. ISBN 1-898281-21-1 Higham, Nick, The Death of Anglo-Saxon England. Stroud: Sutton, 1997. ISBN 0-7509-2469-1 Miller, Sean, "Æthelstan Half-King" in Michael Lapidge, et al. (eds), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 0-631-22492-0 Stafford, Pauline, Unification and Conquest: A Political and Social History of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. London: Edward Arnold, 1989. ISBN 0-7131-6532-4 William of Malmesbury, The Kings before the Norman Conquest, trans. Joseph Stevenson. Reprinted Llanerch, 1989. ISBN 0-947992-32-4 References Freeman, Edward Augustus (1875). Historic Essays. MacMillan & Co. pp. 10–25. Hudson, William Henry (1920). Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn.
   
4. Title: Æthelstan Half-King From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelstan_Half-King#Family;
   Note: Æthelstan Half-King (fl. 932 – 956) was an important and influential Ealdorman of East Anglia who interacted with five kings of England, including his adopted son King Edgar the Peaceful. Many of Æthelstan's close relatives were also involved in important affairs, but soon after the death of King Eadred in 955, he left his position and became a monk at Glastonbury Abbey. Origins Æthelstan was the son of Æthelfrith, an Ealdorman who held lands in Somerset, Berkshire, and Middlesex.[1] His mother was Æthelgyth, daughter of Æthelwulf.[2] His elder brother Ælfstan and his younger brothers Æthelwold and Ædric or Eadric, were Ealdormen of south and east Mercia, Kent and central Wessex, respectively.[3] Æthelfrith was an ealdorman in Mercia in the late ninth and early tenth centuries. Career Æthelstan seems to have been appointed Ealdorman of East Anglia and other parts by King Æthelstan in about 932. The lands King Æthelstan gave him had mostly been part of the Danelaw which had only been forced out of the area after the Battle of Tempsford in Bedfordshire fifteen years earlier in 917. Æthelstan's brother Ælfstan inherited his father's ealdormandom but died in 934. Æthelwold became an ealdorman in 940 and Eadric in 942.[3] Æthelstan and his family were supporters of the monastic reforms of Saint Dunstan which introduced the Benedictine rule to Glastonbury. Both Glastonbury, and Abingdon Abbey, were endowed by Æthelstan.[4] Æthelstan's wife was named Ælfwynn. Her family came from the East Midlands. She was foster-mother of King Edgar of England. Ælfwynn's lands would later endow Ramsey Abbey, refounded by Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester, Bishop Oswald of Worcester, and Æthelstan's son Æthelwine. The epithet 'Half-King' is first recorded in Byrhtferth of Ramsey's Life of St Oswald, written between 997 and 1002. Byrhtferth referred to "Ealdorman Æthelstan, whom the elders and all the populace called 'Half-King', since he was a man of such authority that he was said to maintain the kingdom and its rule with his advice to the king".[5] Byrhtferth devoted considerable space to Æthelstan's family, several of whom were buried at Ramsey. The epithet Half-King comes from Byrhtferth's writings. Several members of the family were buried, or reburied, at Ramsey. The position of Æthelstan and his brothers in the middle of the 10th century has been compared with the similar dominance of the family of Godwin, Earl of Wessex in the 11th century.[6] It is possible that Æthelstan's withdrawal to Glastonbury may not have been voluntary.[7] However, the death of Æthelwald in 962 resulted in the family's offices in Wessex passing to their chief rivals, the family of Ealdorman Ælfhere. The result of this was that the two families were roughly equal in influence. Ælfhere's death in the early 970s did not result in a return of the old dominance of Æthelstan's family.[8] Family People associated with Æthelstan's family include Ealdorman Byrhtnoth, whose defeat at the Battle of Maldon is commemorated in verse.[9] Æthelstan's children included: Æthelwald (died c. 962), Ealdorman of Essex, then of East Anglia after his father became a monk. Queen Ælfthryth, daughter of Ealdorman Ordgar, who was later the third wife of King Edgar, was first married to Æthelwald. Ælfwald, called dux in charters.[10] He married Elfhild, perhaps the daughter of Ealdorman Elfsige.[11] Æthelwig, Ealdorman. Æthelsige, became King Edgar's chamberlain (died c.986). Æthelwine (died 992), Ealdorman of East Anglia after Æthelwald, youngest son of Æthelstan. Chief Ealdorman from 983.[12] He married three times, firstly to Ethelflaed who died in 977, secondly to Ethelgifu (d. 985) and thirdly to Wulfgifu (d. 994).[13] References Henson, pp. 125 & 127; Æthelfrith 3 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England, retrieved 2007-01-28; Stenton, p. 351. Æthelgyth 1 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England, retrieved 2007-01-28 Hart, 2004 Higham, p. 4; Williams. Lapidge, Brrhtferth of Ramsey, pp. xxxviii, 85; Miller, 'Æthelstan Half-King', p. 19 Higham, p. 4; Miller; Williams. Higham, p. 4. Higham, pp. 5 & 68–69. Higham, p. 22. Byrhtferth of Ramsey (The Life of Saint Oswald, iii, 14) writes of Ælfwald: "He was exalted with such great authority, that he even disdained to become an ealdorman; Ælfwald 42 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England, retrieved 2007-01-28. Ælfwald was a prominent supporter of the monasteries and ordered the death of one Leofsige who was attempting to claim lands belonging to the monastery of Peterborough. Andrew Wareham, Lords and Communities in Early Medieval East Anglia, Institute of Historical Research Byrhtferth of Ramsey (The Life of Saint Oswald, iii, 14) presents Æthelwine as a key supporter of the monasteries in land disputes, along with Ælfwald; Miller; Williams. Andrew Wareham, Lords and Communities in Early Medieval East Anglia, Institute of Historical Research Sources Hart, Cyril (2004). "Æthelstan [Ethelstan, Æthelstan Half-King] (fl. 932–956)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8917. (subscription or UK public library membership required) Henson, Donald, A Guide to Late Anglo-Saxon England: From Ælfred to Eadgar II. Anglo-Saxon Books, 1998. ISBN 1-898281-21-1 Higham, Nick, The Death of Anglo-Saxon England. Sutton, 1997. ISBN 0-7509-2469-1 Lapidge, Michael, ed. (2009). Byrhtferth of Ramsey: The Lives of St Oswald and St Ecgwine. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-955078-4. Miller, Sean, "Æthelstan Half-King" in Michael Lapidge et al., The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England., 2nd ed. 2014, Wiley Blackwell Stenton, Frank, Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford UP, 3rd edition, 1971. ISBN 0-19-280139-2 William of Malmesbury, The Kings before the Norman Conquest, trans. Joseph Stevenson. Reprinted Llanerch, 1989. ISBN 0-947992-32-4 Williams, Ann, Smyth, Alfred P., and D.P. Kirkby, A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain. Seaby, 1991. ISBN 1-85264-047-2 External links Æthelstan 26 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England. Retrieved 2007-10-29. Anglo-Saxons.net
   Page: Identifies Æthelwald as the son of Æthelstan Half-King (fl. 932 – 956) Ealdorman of East Anglia. Identifies him as Ealdorman of Essex, then succeeding his father as Ealdorman of East Anglia after his father became a monk. Married Ælfthryth, daughter of Ealdorman Ordgar, who after his death became the third wife of King Edgar, and Queen of England. Æthelwald died c. 962.