Æthelred I was a semi-historical eighth-century king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

 kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

 and Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

. It is thought that he ruled for some time between 760 and 790 and held East Anglia

Kingdom of the East Angles

The Kingdom of East Anglia, also known as the Kingdom of the East Angles , was a small independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom that comprised what are now the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and perhaps the eastern part of the Fens...

 during the overlordship of Offa of Mercia

Offa of Mercia

Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald after defeating the other claimant Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign it is likely...

. He succeeded three East Anglian kings who ruled together after c.649 - Hun

Hun of East Anglia

Hun is the name of a supposed 8th century ruler of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia, who may have begun ruling with Beorna and Alberht at the division of the kingdom in 749.- Sources :...

, Beorna

Beorna of East Anglia

Beorna was a ruler in East Anglia from 749. The end-date of his reign is not known, but may have been around 760 AD. He shared his reign with another ruler called Alberht , and possibly with another named Hun.The primary sources for Beonna are very few...

 and Alberht

Alberht of East Anglia

Alberht, Ethælbert or Æthelberht was an eighth century ruler of East Anglia, who shared the kingdom with Beorna and possibly with a ruler named Hun in 749. He may still have been ruling c...

.

There is no coinage known for Æthelred and the only historical sources that name him date from after the Norman conquest of England

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

, including the Lives of St Æthelberht and the regnal lists of William of Malmesbury

William of Malmesbury

William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...

. In the legendary narratives of Saint Æthelberht, Æthelred and his queen, who was possibly named Leofruna, both dwelt at Beodricesworth (modern Bury St. Edmunds

Bury St. Edmunds

Bury St Edmunds is a market town in the county of Suffolk, England, and formerly the county town of West Suffolk. It is the main town in the borough of St Edmundsbury and known for the ruined abbey near the town centre...

).

Æthelred was the father of Æthelberht II of East Anglia, who succeeded him in the 770s.

External links

• A section on Æthelred in England, Anglo-Saxon and Danish Kings, a fully cited online resource published by the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy.