Aetheling
Encyclopedia
Ætheling, also spelt Aetheling, Atheling or Etheling, was an Old English term (æþeling) used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the kingship.
Ætheling is an Old English
and Old Saxon
compound of aethele, æþele or (a)ethel, meaning "noble family", and -ing, which means "belonging to." It is etymologically related to the modern German
words Adel, "nobility", and adelig or adlig, "noble", and also to the modern Swedish word ättling ("descendant".) It was usually rendered in Latin as clito.
Ætheling can be found in the Suffolk place-name Athelington
.
, Ethelwulf, Ethelred
, and was used obviously to indicate their noble birth. According to a document which probably dates from the 10th century, the wergild of an ætheling was fixed at 15,000 thrymsas, or 11,250 shillings, which is equal to that of an archbishop and one-half of that of a king.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
, in the annal for 728, refers to a certain Oswald as ætheling due to his great-great-grandfather being king of the West Saxons. From the ninth century, however, the designation was used in a much narrower context and came to refer exclusively to members of the house of Cerdic, the ruling dynasty of Wessex
, most particularly sons or brothers of reigning kings. Unusually, Edgar Ætheling
receives this appellation due to being the grandson of King Edmund Ironside
.
Ætheling was also used in a poetic sense to mean "a good and noble man". Old English verse often uses ætheling to describe Christ
, prophets and saints, for example. The hero of the Old English saga Beowulf
(8th century) is introduced as an ætheling (æþeling), possibly in the sense of a relative of the King of the Geats (Goths), though some translators render ætheling as "retainer". Since many early Scandinavian kings were chosen by competition or election rather than primogeniture, an æþeling may have been the term for a person qualified to compete for the kingship.
After the Norman Conquest the term was used only occasionally to designate members of the royal family. The Latinised Germanic form, Adelin(us), was used for William Adelin
, the only legitimate son and heir of king Henry I
, who died in the White Ship
disaster of 1120.
It has been proposed, although the question remains an open one, that the idea of the tanáise ríg
in Early Medieval Ireland
was adopted from the Anglo-Saxon, specifically Northumbria
n, concept of the ætheling. The earliest use of tanaíste ríg was of an Anglo-Saxon prince c. 628, and many subsequent ones relate to non-Irish rulers before the term attaches to Irish kings-in-waiting.
In Wales, the variant edling
was used to signify the son chosen as heir apparent.
Ætheling is an Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
and Old Saxon
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in the Netherlands by Saxon peoples...
compound of aethele, æþele or (a)ethel, meaning "noble family", and -ing, which means "belonging to." It is etymologically related to the modern German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
words Adel, "nobility", and adelig or adlig, "noble", and also to the modern Swedish word ättling ("descendant".) It was usually rendered in Latin as clito.
Ætheling can be found in the Suffolk place-name Athelington
Athelington
Athelington is a hamlet and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about south-east from Diss. The name is derived from the Old English word Aetheling.-External links:it used to be thought to be the smallest parish in England...
.
History
During the earliest years of the Anglo-Saxon rule in England the word was probably used to denote any person of noble birth. Its use was, however, soon restricted to members of a royal family. It was occasionally used after the Norman Conquest. The earlier part of the word formed part of the name of several Anglo-Saxon kings, e.g. EthelbertEthelbert of Kent
Æthelberht was King of Kent from about 580 or 590 until his death. In his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, the eighth-century monk Bede lists Aethelberht as the third king to hold imperium over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms...
, Ethelwulf, Ethelred
Ethelred of Wessex
King Æthelred I was King of Wessex from 865 to 871. He was the fourth son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex...
, and was used obviously to indicate their noble birth. According to a document which probably dates from the 10th century, the wergild of an ætheling was fixed at 15,000 thrymsas, or 11,250 shillings, which is equal to that of an archbishop and one-half of that of a king.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
, in the annal for 728, refers to a certain Oswald as ætheling due to his great-great-grandfather being king of the West Saxons. From the ninth century, however, the designation was used in a much narrower context and came to refer exclusively to members of the house of Cerdic, the ruling dynasty of Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
, most particularly sons or brothers of reigning kings. Unusually, Edgar Ætheling
Edgar Ætheling
Edgar Ætheling , or Edgar II, was the last male member of the royal house of Cerdic of Wessex...
receives this appellation due to being the grandson of King Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside or Edmund II was king of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut...
.
Ætheling was also used in a poetic sense to mean "a good and noble man". Old English verse often uses ætheling to describe Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, prophets and saints, for example. The hero of the Old English saga Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
(8th century) is introduced as an ætheling (æþeling), possibly in the sense of a relative of the King of the Geats (Goths), though some translators render ætheling as "retainer". Since many early Scandinavian kings were chosen by competition or election rather than primogeniture, an æþeling may have been the term for a person qualified to compete for the kingship.
After the Norman Conquest the term was used only occasionally to designate members of the royal family. The Latinised Germanic form, Adelin(us), was used for William Adelin
William Adelin
William , surnamed Adelin , was the son of Henry I of England by his wife Matilda of Scotland, and was thus heir-apparent to the throne. His early death without issue caused a succession crisis.William was born in Winchester...
, the only legitimate son and heir of king Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, who died in the White Ship
White Ship
The White Ship was a vessel that sank in the English Channel near the Normandy coast off Barfleur, on 25 November 1120. Only one of those aboard survived. Those who drowned included William Adelin, the only surviving legitimate son and heir of King Henry I of England...
disaster of 1120.
It has been proposed, although the question remains an open one, that the idea of the tanáise ríg
Tanistry
Tanistry was a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist was the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the Gaelic patrilineal dynasties of Ireland, Scotland and Man, to succeed to the chieftainship or to the kingship.-Origins:The Tanist was chosen from...
in Early Medieval Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
was adopted from the Anglo-Saxon, specifically Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
n, concept of the ætheling. The earliest use of tanaíste ríg was of an Anglo-Saxon prince c. 628, and many subsequent ones relate to non-Irish rulers before the term attaches to Irish kings-in-waiting.
In Wales, the variant edling
Edling
Edling was a title given to the agreed successor or heir apparent of a reigning Welsh monarch. The title comes from the Anglo-Saxon language word Æðling , literally meaning noble child, which was used in the Anglo Saxon kingdoms of England before the Norman Conquest to denote one of "royal...
was used to signify the son chosen as heir apparent.