AETHELWALD ( - )

1 AETHELWALD¹ ( - ) [14643].

2 Alfred the GREAT^2,3,4,5,6 (849-899) [14625]. Born 0849, Wantage in Oxfordshire.^4,6 Marr EALSWITHA 0868.⁵ Died 0899.⁴ Buried Wincester.⁴

The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature edited by David Scott Kastan, 2006, contains a lengthy chapter on Alfred. Contrary to the BBC History Site, this reports that Alfred was born in Berkshire. This also reports that Alfred's father, Aethelwulf, died in 858 and that Aethelwulf's father was King Egbert who died in 839. Another brother of Alfred's is identified here as Aethelstan who died early in the 1850s. I have been able to confirm that Aethelred and Aethelstan were two different individuals and there was another brother named Ethelbald also known as Aethelbald. Alfred himself is sometimes shown as Aelfred.

From the BBC history site:

"Alfred the Great (849 AD - 899 AD) - King of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex and one of the outstanding figures of English history, as much for his social and educational reforms as for his military successes against the Danes. He is the only English monarch known as "the Great".

Alfred was born at Wantage in Oxfordshire in 849, fourth or fifth son of Aethelwulf, king of the West Saxons. Following the wishes of their father, the sons succeeded to the kingship in turn. At a time when the country was under threat from Danish raids, this was aimed at preventing a child inheriting the throne with the related weaknesses in leadership. In 870 AD the Danes attacked the only remaining independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Wessex, whose forces were commanded by Alfred's older brother, King Aelthelred, and himself.

In 871 AD, Alfred defeated the Danes at the battle of Ashdown in Berkshire. The following year, he succeeded his brother as king. Despite his success at Ashdown, the Danes continued to devastate Wessex and Alfred was forced to withdraw to the Somerset marshes, where he continued guerrilla warfare against his enemies. In 878 AD, he again defeated the Danes in the battle of Edington. They made peace and Guthrum, their king, was baptised with Afred as his sponsor. In 866 AD, Alfred negotiated a treaty with the Danes. England was divided, with the north and the east (between the Rivers Thames and Tees) declared to be Danish territory - later known as 'Danelaw'. Alfred therefore gained control of areas of West Mercia and Kent which had been beyond the boundaries of Wessex.

Alfred built up the defences of his kingdom to ensure that it was not threatened by the Danes again. He reorganized his army and built a series of well-defended settlements across southern England. He also established a navy for use against the Danish raiders who continued to harass the coast.

As an administrator Alfred advocated justice and order and established a code of laws and a reformed coinage. He had a strong belief in the importance of education and learnt Latin in his late thirties. He then arranged, and himself took part in, the translation of books from the Latin to Anglo-Saxon.

By the 890's Alfred's charters and coinage were referring to him as 'king of the English'. He died in October 899 AD and was buried at his capital city of Winchester.

4 AETHELWULF^1,4,6,7 (795-857) [14635]. Born 0795, Winchester Palace, Winchester, England.⁶ Marr OSBURGA 0830, Wessex, England.⁶ Div 0853.⁶ Div. Marr Judith MARTEL 0855, Rheims Cathedral of Notre-Dame.⁶ Died 13 Jan 0856/57, Stamridge, England.^1,6 Buried Steyning, Susses, reburial at Winchester Cathedral, Winchester.⁶

8 King EGBERT^1,5,8,9 (775-aft838) [14637]. Born 0775.⁵ Died aft 19 Nov 0838.^1,5 Buried Winchester Palace, Winchester, England.⁸

Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, 1992, contains a section concerning Egbert. We learn that he was born in 775, the son of Eahlmund, and died after November 19, 838. (Most researchers report that he died in 838 or 839.) He was reportedly the first king of all of England. This shows Lady Redburga as Raedburh.

Next is a more complete bio of Egbert from a very early source - The History of England, from the Earliest Accounts, to the Accession of His Present Majesty King George III by Isaac Kimber, 1775. In addition to details of his reign, we learn that he was buried at Winchester.

The story of Egbert's reign is confirmed in a more recent source - The Book of Firsts: 150 World-Changing People and Events by Peter D'Epiro, 2010.

From Alfred the Great: the Truth Teller, Maker of England, 848-899, by Beatrice Adelaide Lees, 1915.

"The ancient West-Saxon royal genealogy traces Egbert's paternal ancestry to Ingild, brother of Ine, through he is linked with the kin of Cerdic, the royal stock of Wessex. Egbert is said to have been the son of Ealhmund, the son of Eafa or Eaba, the son of Eoppa, the son of Ingild. If Ingild, Eafa and Eoppa are only a shade less mythical than the demigods and heroes from whom the house of Cerdic derived its descent, there is some evidence for the existence of Ealhmund, Egbert's reputed father.".

9 Lady REDBURGA ( - ) [14649].

5 OSBURGA^1,7 (810- ) [14639]. Born 0810, Isle of Wight, England.⁶ Died Wessex, England.⁶ Buried Wessex, England.⁶

3 EALSWITHA^1,5 ( -c. 905) [14640]. Died c. 0905.⁵

6 Earl of LINCOLNSHIRE¹ ( - ) [14641].

Sources

1	"The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature edited by David Scott Kastan, 2006".

2	"History of the Monarchy-Kings and Queens of England".

3	"The Collegiate, School and Family History of England by Edward Farr, 1848 ".

4	"The BBC history site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/alfred_the_great.shtml".

5	"Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weiss, 1992".

6	"Fast Facts on the Kings and Queens of England by David L. Tunis, 2005".

7	"Genealogical and Family History of Central New York by William Richard Cutter, 1912.".

8	"The History of England, from the Earliest Accounts, to the Accession of His Present Majesty King George III by Isaac Kimber, 1775".

9	"Alfred the Great: the Truth Teller, Maker of England, 848-899, by Beatrice Adelaide Lees, 1915".