S4.02 Æthelwold

Summary

Rex Factor – S4.02 Æthelwold
April 24, 2026
Hosts: Graham Duke & Ali Hood

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Overview

This episode is the first in Rex Factor’s new series reviewing the “nearly monarchs” of England—those who came closest to being kings or queens only for fate (sometimes grim, sometimes offstage) to intervene. The subject is Æthelwold, nephew to Alfred the Great and rival to Edward the Elder, remembered by some through the Last Kingdom TV series and books. Graham and Ali dive into Æthelwold’s claim, rebellion, and the lasting legacy (and scandal) he left in the Anglo-Saxon world.

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Main Discussion Points

Æthelwold’s Background & Claim to the Throne

• Birth & Lineage

  • Born ~868, son of King Æthelred I (not the Unready; Alfred’s older brother) and Wulfrith [04:13].
  • Wessex, at this time, is the dominant kingdom, following conquest by Æthelwold’s great-grandfather, Egbert [04:26].
  • The succession crisis emerges with the deaths of Æthelred’s brothers and the looming Viking threat [05:21].

• Primogeniture & Succession

  • Saxons don’t follow strict primogeniture; need for an adult capable of leading armies outweighs birth order [06:21].
  • Æthelred and Alfred’s will: surviving brother gets all lands to ensure unity against Vikings [07:04].
  • When Æthelred dies, Alfred becomes king—prompting later tension over whether Alfred’s son (Edward) or Æthelwold should succeed [09:15].

• Strength of Æthelwold’s Claim

  • As the older aetheling ("nobly born male”), Æthelwold could be seen as having a better claim than the much younger Edward, whose position was engineered by Alfred [10:09], [12:02].
  • A charter from the 890s actually lists Æthelwold above Edward, hinting at his perceived seniority [10:57].

Notable quote:

“Æthelwold’s got quite a lot of things in his favour. Much more of a legitimate claimant than Alfred would want us to believe.”
— Ali Hood [12:02]

Alfred’s Machinations & the Propaganda War

• Alfred strips Æthelwold and his supporters of lands and influence; manipulates the Witan (royal council); and launches the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, promoting Edward’s legitimacy [15:07]–[15:39].
• With Alfred’s death in 899, Edward becomes king, but Æthelwold starts his open rebellion [18:21].

Æthelwold’s Rebellion

• Initial Moves

  • Seizes Twynham (Christchurch) & Wimborne in Dorset [18:21].
  • Marries/abducts a noblewoman/nun to cement support, an act heavily criticized in hostile contemporary sources [18:54].

• Face-off with Edward

  • Edward brings an army but Æthelwold refuses battle, then flees, leaving his wife behind [19:50]–[20:09].

• Alliance with Vikings

  • Rides north to Viking-held Northumbria—where he’s received as king(!) [20:46].
  • Later, returns with a fleet and gets recognition from Essex and East Anglia, forming a rare Anglo-Viking coalition against Edward [22:10]–[22:59].

Notable quote:

“He was submitted to in Essex... It’s quite a loss for Edward that Essex had turned.”
— Ali Hood [22:10]–[22:44]

• Climax: The Battle of the Holm
  • Æthelwold leads Vikings and allies into Mercia and raids Wessex [22:59], Edward reluctantly launches a counter-raid.
  • The Kentish contingent ignores Edward’s order to retreat and is annihilated, but Æthelwold and several Viking leaders are killed in the battle [23:52]–[25:11].
  • Ironically, his coalition wins the battle but loses its leaders, ending Æthelwold’s bid [25:23], [25:57].

Notable quote:

“They lose the battle, but all the key leaders on the other side are killed.”
— Graham Duke [25:11]

Aftermath & Legacy

• Short-term:

  • Edward secures his kingship, but only through the turn of fortune that sees Æthelwold killed [25:57]–[26:01].
  • The Kentish dead are diplomatically (and matrimonially) appeased by Edward afterward [35:04].

• Long-term:

  • The divisions and alliances forged in this crisis resurface decades later, notably in the struggle between Edwig and Edgar in the 950s [35:59].
  • Speculation that if Æthelwold had succeeded, England might have united sooner and more peacefully—perhaps as an Anglo-Scandinavian hybrid state [49:47]–[50:37].

Notable quote:

“Aethelwold might very well have been regarded as one of the greatest figures in our island story.”
— James Campbell (historian), read by Ali Hood [49:48]

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Category Reviews & Notable Scores

Battliness [26:42–42:47]

• Impressive in mustering broad alliances: Northumbria, Essex, East Anglia, and possibly Denmark.
• Demonstrates both initial strategic retreat and effective coalition-building.
• Ultimately, only wins one battle—though loses his own life in it!
• Score: 6 (Graham), 6.5 (Ali), 12.5/20

Notable quote:

“He won the battle but lost the war...which is the worst way round.”
— Graham Duke [39:25]

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Scandal [42:51–48:50]

• Marries/abducts a woman “consecrated a nun” without royal or episcopal consent; possibly his cousin [43:32]–[45:41].
• Such liaisons were dynastically explosive, and the rules were as much about controlling succession as a moral issue.
• Allied with Vikings (“King of the Danes,” “King of the Pagans”)—accused of threatening the new Christian order for personal gain [47:05].
• Score: 7 (both)

Notable quote:

“He’s ticked a couple of boxes there...Well done. Strong start.”
— Graham Duke [48:48]

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Subjectivity [48:50–52:38]

• Limited info on Æthelwold’s personal benevolence or achievements, but historians speculate he could have created a more peaceful union of England and the Danelaw—had he prevailed.
• Mints coins in York: a key sign of kingly ambition.
• Scores reflect “what if” potential, but not actual subjectivity.
• Score: 4 (Ali), 3 (Graham)

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Longevity [52:39–53:55]

• Reckoned as having a claim for only about 3 years (899–902), from Alfred’s death until his own.
• Score: 4.5/20 (22nd out of 35 in their rankings).

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Dynasty [53:55–55:39]

• Possible descendants, but evidence ambiguous; given one surviving child on the basis of plausible inference.
• Score: 6.5 (11th out of 35).

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Overall & Rex Factor [55:40–61:19]

• Total: 44.5 points (1st so far, as first reviewed “nearly monarch” in this series).
• The burning question: is Æthelwold “rexy” enough to earn the Rex Factor?
• Graham: “Just doesn’t feel rexy. ...I do think he’s the stooge.”
• Ali: Initially inclined to yes, seeing beyond propaganda, but ultimately agrees Æthelwold falls into the “Nearly Rexy” category.
• Both hosts engaged in classic back-and-forth, struggling between the romantic possibilities of Æthelwold’s legacy and his ultimate failure.

Notable quote:

“The Ætheling’s flame flared brightly, a brief consuming fire... In that flickering red light we can see the dreams of deeds undone, of destiny unfulfilled... It would not come to pass.”
— Historian Thomas Williams (read by Ali, poetic summing up) [57:14]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Alfred’s manipulation:
  “In other words, we all agreed that I was right and could do whatever I like.”
  — Ali Hood [14:42]

• On battle outcomes:
  “He loses his life, but not the battle.”
  — Graham Duke [39:20]

• On the “sex with nuns” angle:
  "Sex with nuns and the nun is potentially his cousin."
  — Graham Duke [46:32]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic/Segment | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------| | 01:25 | Series intro & scope | | 04:11 | Æthelwold's early life | | 10:09 | Æthelwold’s claim and Anglo-Saxon succession practices | | 13:33 | Alfred’s will and securing Edward’s succession | | 18:21 | Æthelwold's rebellion begins | | 22:10 | Alliance with Vikings; expansion beyond Wessex | | 23:52–25:11| Battle of the Holm: victory with fatal cost | | 26:42 | Category “Battliness” reviewed | | 42:51 | Category “Scandal” (sex with nuns, alliances) | | 48:50 | Category “Subjectivity” & historical speculation | | 52:39 | Longevity discussion | | 53:55 | Dynasty discussion | | 55:40 | Final scores | | 56:21 | Rex Factor question—does Æthelwold have “it”? | | 57:14 | Poetic summing up from historian Thomas Williams | | 61:21 | Teasing the next episode & wrap-up |

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Tone & Style

As ever, Rex Factor maintains a witty, irreverent, but well-informed conversational style. The hosts riff on historical nicknames, poke fun at dramatizations (Last Kingdom), and turn obscure points of Anglo-Saxon succession law into memorable banter, while never losing sight of their historian’s skepticism—particularly about how much is lost (or spun) in proto-PR chronicles.

Memorable running jokes:

• Graham’s amusement and mockery of the “sex with nuns” trope.
• Multiple ruminations on how to judge “battliness” when all nearly-monarchs ultimately fall short or die.
• Debating how much weight to give “what ifs” in assessing historical subjectivity and “rexy”-ness.

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Conclusion

Æthelwold emerges as a surprisingly significant "might-have-been": a serious challenger whose coalition spanned much of England; whose claim was legitimate but ultimately foiled by both dynastic politics and luck on the battlefield. While lacking the star power for a full Rex Factor badge, his story sets a high benchmark for scandal, battle, and the chaotic world of Anglo-Saxon succession. The episode is a strong start to a fascinating new series examining the “nearly but not-quite” rulers of English history.

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Next time: The brothers Ælfrith and Edwin—two more nearly monarchs with intertwined, tragic fates.

Transcript

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[Graham Duke]

Welcome to Rex Factor. This week, Ethelwald. With your hosts Graham Duke and Ali Hood.

[Ali Hood]

Hello, hello and welcome to Rex Factor, reviewing all the nearly monarchs of England, from Aethelwold to Albert Victor, the people who could or should have become a monarch only for fate to intervene. And we are now beginning the series. We had our introductory episode, we had our chat with Emily, but Aetherwold is the opening proper review episode of the series.

[Graham Duke]

Fate is always death, isn't it?

[Ali Hood]

In this instance, no, not necessarily. There are some who try and fail to become the monarch and just go away, pack their bags and say, oh well, never mind. But in most, most cases, yes, fate is death. Now if you want to hear a little bit more about us, head to rexfactor.podcast.com you get links to all of our social media sites and indeed more information about the podcast. And if you want to hear more of us, you can sign up on patreon.com rexfactor and you get an ad free version of the main podcast. Over 450 bonus episodes plus access to our Discord server.

[Graham Duke]

Do it.

[Ali Hood]

And you can also now watch us on Spotify and YouTube. So the whole of series four, the main podcast will be on video.

[Graham Duke]

Not sure how I feel about that.

[Ali Hood]

So Aethelwold today. Now people might be familiar with him if you've seen or read the Bernard Cornwall books or TV series Last Kingdom. He's a major recurring character in that the disaffected nephew of Alfred the Great and a Rival for the throne of Edward the Elder.

[Graham Duke]

Does anyone like that?

[Ali Hood]

A lot of people like it. It was around for quite a while.

[Graham Duke]

Really?

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. All right, so probably not going to be foremost in Ali's mind, but nevertheless, we're going to be looking at just how good was Aethelwold's claim to the throne and how close did he come to securing it?

[Graham Duke]

I mean, he doesn't.

[Ali Hood]

Who's this guy? So that is. Yeah, they had photos, Ben, in that time. No, that is the. That's the actor who played him. The Lost Kingdom.

[Graham Duke]

He looks like such an actor. Look at that sideways smirk. What's going on there? Is that him being. Is that him being Tom Kerridge the actor, or him being Ethel?

[Ali Hood]

Is that him being the TV chef actor?

[Graham Duke]

Tom. I'm trying to make up a name. He looks like a Tom. What?

[Ali Hood]

He's a Harry.

[Graham Duke]

Well, is that him being Harry or being Aethelwold?

[Ali Hood]

It's him being Aethelworld. Okay.

[Graham Duke]

Well, I don't like the cut of his jib.

[Ali Hood]

Hmm. Yes. We'll see the Last Kingdom version of Ethel. They've got an interpretation of him which I think is a valid one, but it's interesting to consider. Is that just the kind of official Alfredian Aethelwold? But is there a different one that they'd rather us not know about? Okay, let's find out.

[Graham Duke]

Biography.

[Ali Hood]

Aethelwold was born in roughly 868, the son of King Aethelred the First. Not that one. And Wulfrith also know that one, but you're probably not remembering that one.

[Graham Duke]

Wolverhampton.

[Ali Hood]

No, it was Wulf. Yeah, so not Aethelred the Unready. Instead, Aethelred I is an older brother of Alfred the Great, or rather one of four elder brothers of Alfred the Great and was king. So we're in the Anglo Saxon period and it's the time before there is actually an England. So instead we've got a series of smaller kingdoms. Now, Aethelwold's great grandfather Egbert had emerged from the shadow of offer of Mercia, the episode that people might have heard that we did not too long ago to conquer Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex, and establishes his kingdom, Wessex, as the predominant power in the island now with the older brothers all being quite short lived and childless. Aethelred. So Aethelwold's father becomes king in 865, and that's rather unfortunate because it's exactly at the same time that the great heathen army so A large Viking army aiming at conquest heads for England.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

By 870, Wessex is the only English kingdom still fully intact and independent.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

So together with his younger brother, alfred, Ethelred fights four inconclusive battles in the space of a month, 817 to 871. And then, during a subsequent lull in hostilities, Aethelred and Alfred try to clarify their wills and the succession to ensure that the kingdom won't be weakened in the event of one of them dying and there being legal disputes about what's happening when they're in the midst of war. Now, at this point, both have young children, so Aethelred has two sons, obviously, Aethelwold, and also, it seems, an older brother, Aethel Helm. Alfred, at this point only has a daughter, Ethel. Fled.

[Graham Duke]

What's with Ethel?

[Ali Hood]

It's. It's the name.

[Graham Duke]

But they can't all be called this because maybe the nickname is the last bit of the word. So instead of him being called, no

[Ali Hood]

one would call him Aethelwald the whole time. Waldy.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. It'd be Wold. And what was the other one? Ethel?

[Ali Hood]

Helm. Wold.

[Graham Duke]

Helm.

[Ali Hood]

And fled.

[Graham Duke]

Fled.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So at the moment, we've got two sons for Aethelred, just a daughter for Alfred. But, you know, he might have sons later on, Alfred, as indeed, obviously he does. But the Saxons don't follow strict primogeniture, so the priority is to have an adult king who can lead armies in battle. Particularly, obviously, at a time like this when you've got the Vikings trying to conque. So Alfred will be his brother's heir, even though his brothers has got sons, they will want Alfred to succeed because they need a king who can lead the troops in battle.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So to ensure that they've got all the lands at their disposal to new king, they agree that whichever brother dies first, they will grant all the lands to the surviving brother.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

So they won't split it up and give it some to their sons and some to whoever. The king will inherit everything. So he's got the full resources he needs to fight. To fight the Vikings. Exactly. Now, this effectively gives either brother free license to virtually disinherit the other's children, barring the assurances of some territorial possessions that is sort of personally owned by the person rather than the office of the crown. Yeah.

[Graham Duke]

So he's completely dissent. One of them has to completely give up the claim line.

[Ali Hood]

That's the long term. The short term priority is obviously just making sure they survive, because realistically there's a very strong possibility that one or both of them will be killed in the next, well, potentially the next week, you know, with the battles coming. So they really just have to make some kind of provision that says this will just continue if one of us dies, we can just keep going just to survive. But indeed after that, we all see it then gets a little trickier. And indeed it's just a couple of months after the Witan, a sort of high council of Saxon nobles, agree to the deal at a place called Swinbiorg, that Ethelred, the older brother, dies, probably in wounds from a battle fought a month earlier. So Aethelred dies and indeed Alfred becomes king unopposed. It's successful and indeed Alfred is ultimately able to defeat the Vikings, so effectively ultimately splits England up. So the Vikings rule what's called the Danelaws, that's the east and the north of what is now England. Alfred rules the rest of the south and the west. But Alfred does have a vision of uniting all the English peoples under one kingdom. So that's the long term goal that we're now moving towards. But with the urgency of the Viking threat now substantially reduced, Alfred has to make suitable accommodation for his nephews. But it appears that this will be a source of tension throughout his reign. So Alfred does now have a son, Edward, who becomes known later as Edward the Elder. And he's born a few years after the agreement at Swinbjorg, probably in about 874.

[Graham Duke]

Where's Swinbjorg? Please say Swindon.

[Ali Hood]

I don't think we know. I mean, it's not impossible, it's that sort of area. But I think it's just one of those place names they've not actually been able to find, probably the name of

[Graham Duke]

a farm or something in the middle of nowhere.

[Ali Hood]

And it becomes very clear from the author, Alfred intends Edward to succeed him. So Alfred wants the line of succession to just go through father to son, which to us obviously we expect primogentia, that seems entirely standard and regular, but for contemporaries it's much less dry, much less cut and dried. So it seems the older brother Ethelhelm disappears from the records in the 880s at some point, so presumably he dies young. So we've got Aethelwold. And many people will see Aethelwold as the natural heir rather than Edward. Right now, the throne can be claimed by anyone with the status of being an Aetheling. So that literally means nobly born. But by the 9th century, it's pretty much exclusively Taken to mean the son of a king, therefore worthy of the throne.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

And this obviously applies to both Edward and Aethelwold. Both their fathers were kings.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Edward's father is the king, but at the world's father was the dead king. The dead king, and indeed Athelwold, is nearly a decade older than Edward. He's the son of the older brother, I. E. The senior brother. Thus he might be viewed as the senior Etheling.

[Graham Duke]

Gosh, that's. That's odd, isn't it? Because you think at a time of great emergency, oh, no, they did do that.

[Ali Hood]

Well, that's the thing. At the time, I've got emergency, fine, that goes to Alfred. But after that, Ethel's like, well, it should be meat next, shouldn't it? But Alfred doesn't want things to go like that.

[Graham Duke]

But that. That's the bit they stumble on some logic, as in careering towards a meritocracy when the chips are down. And as soon as the chips are picked back up, they're like, meh, I was born first. That's more important.

[Ali Hood]

But, you know, the flip side of this is there could come a point where, you know, if Alfred dies youngish, we could have Aethelwold at 20 and Edward at 10. And almost certainly Aethelwold would be the one that they move to. But Alfred very much is like, no family line. My line. Yeah. I want to ensure this happens. Yes. So Aethelwold, for many people, will be seen as the Senior Etheling. Indeed, there's a charter in the 890s which lists him immediately above Edward. And usually the order in which they witness is taken to imply seniority. So that does imply seniority to Aethelwold. Now, in our previous series on the Consorts, we discussed how Wessex had this antipathy towards crowned queens. Yeah, they really don't like it. And Alfred particularly, apparently seemed to be dead set against it. But interestingly, Aethelwold's mother had witnessed a charter as Regina as Queen, so was part of Alfred's opposition, because he knew that Aethelwold might otherwise say, well, my mum was the queen and Edward's mum was just playing Aelswith.

[Graham Duke]

It's. Yeah, it's all, yeah, okay, they're all just vying for position here.

[Ali Hood]

But Alfred is putting all these things in place to try and undermine Aethelwold's case. But actually, Aethelwold's got quite a lot of things in his favour. Much more of a legitimate claimant than Alfred would want us to believe.

[Graham Duke]

But all it comes down to is who's got the biggest, sharpest swords. Well, go on then, what's he up to?

[Ali Hood]

Well, despite Alfred's success as king, this is an issue that doesn't go away. It's there throughout his reign. So Aethelwold has powerful supporters at court. So his maternal uncle, a chap called Wulf here, was removed as Ealdoman of Wiltshire for deserting Alfred after the Viking ambush in 878 that saw Alfred forced to seek refuge in the marshes of Athelney.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

And Barbara York believes that probably Wulf here, thinking that Alfred might be done for and not coming back. Maybe he tries to come to an accommodation with the Vikings and suggests that they install Aethelwold as a sort of puppet king, which is something they've done in other kingdoms. Things may be thinking, oh, here's a chance, get Aethelwold on the throne and

[Graham Duke]

say it's puppet, but then actually kick them out.

[Ali Hood]

Exactly, yeah. By the mid-880s, Aethelwold and his brother are on the verge of manhood and they seem to become figureheads for opposition to Alfred. And Alfred is forced to call a meeting of the Weetan at a place called Langondene, following criticisms that he was withholding territory from his nephews that he should have given them. And later in Alfred's will, he recalls the discussion. So I got a big quote here, but I think it's quite. It's very on the money.

[Graham Duke]

That's weird language for a will, isn't it, to have, like, quote in it?

[Ali Hood]

Well, no, I'm going to quote the will.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, right. I thought it was saying. And anyway, he told me, and as

[Ali Hood]

Shakespeare says, I will say, rather will say. So this is what Alfred says, his recollections. When we now heard many disputes about the inheritance. I brought King Ethelwulf's will to our assembly at Langondine and it was read before all the councillors of the West Saxons. When it had been read, I urged them all and gave them my pledge that I would never bear a grudge against any one of them because they declared what was right, that none of them would hesitate, either for love or fear of me, to expound the common law, lest any man should say that I treated my young kinsman wrongfully, the older or the younger. And then they all pronounced what was right and said that they could not conceive any juster title, nor could they find one in the will. And then quote, now Everything therein has come into your possession, so you may bequeath it and give it into the hand of kinsman or stranger, whichever you prefer.

[Graham Duke]

Guys, really, that's watertight there, isn't it? It's mine. I can do what I like.

[Ali Hood]

In other words, we all agreed that I was right and could do whatever I like. Richard Abels has considered Alfred's justifications rather tendentious. But at this point, Alfred is at the height of his powers. So the fact that he's having to deal with this at all tells us he has been placed under a certain amount of pressure and that there is obviously a strong level of support there for Aethelwold, that even once he's defeated the Vikings, Alfred's still having to go up before everyone and justify himself.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. And address it.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. So Alfred therefore goes to great lengths to ensure that Edward will succeed him. So he makes sure that future appointments to the Witan, who will ultimately determine the succession, are men that are loyal to him and thus loyal to Edward. So by the time it gets to it, hopefully he thinks Ethelwold won't have anybody who's speaking up for him anymore. It's around this time that Alfred commissions the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, which is kind of official history. Oh. So obviously he's trying to magnify his own achievements. Perhaps he's also, though, enshrining this notion of the patrilineal succession.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And the correct order and the correct line and that sort of thing, because Alfred is a bit of a dab hand at pr. So we've seen some, I think, on our interview with David Woodman, how he played down the role of Mercia in the role of some of his victories against Vikings. There were stories about his brother Aethelred, Aethelwold's father, apparently being too busy praying to join in the Battle of Ashdown, leaving Alfred to win the day.

[Graham Duke]

That sounds like something Alfred would do.

[Ali Hood]

It does sound like something Alfred would do. And you wonder whether it's very much written in this context in which Alfred is trying to embellish his own record and perhaps tone down that of his brother, because that's Aethelwold's father. So just subtle little things that he's doing. When Alfred makes his own will, the one that we quoted earlier, the vast bulk of his properties do go to Edward and he does the absolute bare minimum for Aethelwold. So he just gets three territories, what's known as Bookland properties. So basically, those are ones that ethelred his Father had owned independently rather than as the king. So Alfred has to give him those lands, didn't give him anything else. So all Aethelwold gets is Godalming and Guildford in Surrey and Steyning in Sussex. Now, Staining is an interesting one because that was the burial place of Alfred's father, which would be quite a significant place to have. It's quite symbolic to have the graves of dynastic figures. To avoid his nephew getting such symbolic site, Alfred has his father reburied in Winchester.

[Graham Duke]

Ah, that's practical.

[Ali Hood]

It is practical. It's a useful place to have him. But yeah, it's interesting where he's like, he's got to have that land, but my dad's in that land.

[Graham Duke]

Hoik him out.

[Ali Hood]

Exactly. Alfred increasingly involves Edward in royal governance so that he will be seen as a kingly figure. From892, he witnesses six charters compared to just one for Aetherworld. And he's noted by Asser as frequently accompanying Alfred whenever they travel across the country. And then that with the resurgence of Viking attacks in 892, Edward is given independent military commands.

[Graham Duke]

Right, okay.

[Ali Hood]

Alfred even invests his grandson Athelstan in a public ceremony. And Athelstan's about five years old, which again, perhaps is to symbolize this sense of a fixed dynastic line. So even going beyond Edward, you've already seen. Well, after Edward, obviously we. We've said it's going to be Athelstan. So really trying to write out Aethelwold from anybody's thoughts. So A chart of 898even gives Edward the title of Rex still when Alfred is alive. So Alfred is Rex Saxonum, King of the Saxons. Edward is Rex, which perhaps implies almost like a form of kingship. So Edward is effectively already acknowledged king.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. Wow. Coking job.

[Ali Hood]

Hmm. So indeed, when Alfred dies in 899, Edward does become king and doesn't seem to have been something that the wheatown challenge in any way. But as expected, he does face opposition from his cousin, this fella. This fella. Ethelwold. So Aethelwold gathers his supporters and seizes the royal manor of Twynham, which is now Christchurch in Dorset, and then the strategically significant Wimborne in Dorset. And then along his travels to Wimborne, he acquires a wife.

[Graham Duke]

We found one indeed. On the side of the road. That's how they get them a lot of the time.

[Ali Hood]

Well, not in this case, because it's the Saxons. So the Anglo Saxon Chronicle states that what he Actually did was abduct a nun.

[Graham Duke]

Yes.

[Ali Hood]

Early doors.

[Graham Duke]

Brilliant. First ep, Sex with nuns.

[Ali Hood]

Now, this is a source heavily biased in Edward's favour. So almost certainly the unnamed nun would have been of noble birth and the marriage would have been a means for Ethelwold to broaden his support with Wessex. So he's not just kidnapped a random nun because that's its habit. It will be someone important that he's

[Graham Duke]

just whipped out of school and said,

[Ali Hood]

you know, come be Queen.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Anyway, so he's got these towns, he's got a bride. So Aethelwold sets himself up in preparation for standoff with Edward. Edward, of course, responds immediately. So he brings a large army to an ancient hill Fort about 4 miles north west of Wimborne called Bradbury. Rings.

[Graham Duke]

Mm.

[Ali Hood]

Just still there. And then readies for battle. But Ethelwold refuses to come out, barricades himself inside and declares that this will be the location of his last stand. Nice. Instead, though, he actually slips out during the night and leaves his wife behind. Oh, but he's not finished.

[Graham Duke]

Hang on, he was in the. He was in the concentric rings.

[Ali Hood]

Edward is in the concentric rings, but a few miles away from where Aethelwold is barricaded inside a town.

[Graham Duke]

Who's Edward?

[Ali Hood]

Edward the Elder, who's Alfred's now king. So Aethelwald slips out during the night, leaves his wife behind, but he isn't finished. He's obviously failed to get enough support within Wessex, which you assume is because of all the stuff that Alfred was doing to make sure Edward was unopposed. So instead, Aetheld seeks alliances elsewhere. Not francaise, he rides north to Viking Northumbria.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, no.

[Ali Hood]

Where the Anglo Saxon chronicle tells us they received him as their king and submitted to him.

[Graham Duke]

What? No, they didn't. The Vikings.

[Ali Hood]

The Vikings in Northumbria.

[Graham Duke]

No, they didn't.

[Ali Hood]

Now, this obviously represents a much more serious challenge to Edward, because the initial rebellion was kind of an internal thing going on. Now it's been escalated. It's not just a dynastic challenge, it's potential full scale national war with the national enemy.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Now, there's a lot of debate amongst historians as to exactly how Aethelwold was viewed by the Vikings. Was he genuinely seen as their king?

[Graham Duke]

No.

[Ali Hood]

Was he just acknowledged as King of Wessex?

[Graham Duke]

That's helpful to them if they can.

[Ali Hood]

Did they see him as a puppet king or is he actually a genuine leader that commands respect?

[Graham Duke]

I mean, but no one thinks that, do they?

[Ali Hood]

Well, we'll see the continuation of his journey suggests this is a man who is able to get quite a lot of people fighting for him. We will assess it more in battliness, but nevertheless, things go quiet for about a year or so. But about 900 World 902, Aethelwold has drummed up enough support, presumably from Northumbria, to resume his bid for the throne of Wessex. So the Anglo Saxon Chronicle records, this year came Aethelwold hither oversea, with all the fleet that he could get, and he was submitted to in Essex.

[Graham Duke]

Oh.

[Ali Hood]

Now, it's not clear whether he just sails down the east coast from Northumbria or if perhaps he actually may have even gone to Denmark, got some troops and come back again. So we don't know exactly, but nevertheless, he's got a fleet, he's got troops, and he makes a good enough impression because he'd previously got the submission of people in York, and then he comes to Essex and he also gets submission.

[Graham Duke]

Do we know where he landed?

[Ali Hood]

We don't know exactly where he landed. Now, Essex at this point is predominantly English in population, but it's not very close politically to Wessex, so it's kind of a buffer zone between Wessex and the Vikings of East Anglia.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, right.

[Ali Hood]

So it's again quite a loss for Edward that Essex had turned. And indeed, soon after this, the Viking leaders in East Anglia submit to Ethelwald as well.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

And then after that, they go off onto the offensive. So they raid into English Mercia as far as the Thames, cross over at an ancient fort at Cricklade, and then go into Wessex itself, plunder around Breydon and northern Wessex before heading back towards East Anglia. Edward again, of course, has to take action in response to this. So he launches the counter raid across East Anglia. But he doesn't seem to have wanted to have engaged Aethelwold in open battle, so orders his various armies to withdraw.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

Now, obviously, most of the forces obey his summons, but unfortunately, one army did not, as the Anglo Saxon Chronicle relates, being desirous of returning thence, he issued an order through the whole army that they should all go out at once. But the Kentish men remained behind, contrary to his order, though he had sent seven messengers to them.

[Graham Duke]

Uh. Oh.

[Ali Hood]

So for some reason, the Kent army ignores his order and just. They stay out there. So we don't know. Was Edward's authority waning outside of Wessex under the pressure of Aethelwold? Did the Kentish leaders disagree with Edward's reluctance to engage in battle? Yeah, we don't know. But Regardless, as a result they are caught up and surrounded by Aethelwold's forces. And we have at the Battle of the Holm and it is almost as disastrous as Edward could have feared. The men of Kent lose two. One of Edward's thanes and an abbot.

[Graham Duke]

Oh God, where'd you get them? Where are you gonna pick another one of those up?

[Ali Hood]

Exactly. And the Vikings hold the field. That is they win the battle. Okay, almost as Eddie World wins a battle. Well, yes and no. It's almost as disastrous as Edward could have feared. Except that despite the winnings, with the Vikings winning the battle, they suffer the loss of several Jarls earls, a Mercian prince that was in the army, the Danish king of East Anglia, and most importantly Aethelwold himself.

[Graham Duke]

So when, when that could. That's almost a victory for the Kentish.

[Ali Hood]

Yes, except that they lose.

[Graham Duke]

They lose.

[Ali Hood]

Weird situation. Yes. They lose the battle but all the key leaders on the other side are killed.

[Graham Duke]

It's a, it's a Jutland gig, isn't it? Who won? Yeah, I think Alfred won overall. No, who do I mean?

[Ali Hood]

Edward. Yeah, well, yes. So I mean ultimately, despite losing the battle, the upshot for Edward of course is that Aethelwald has been killed and his revolt is over. Yeah, but it's a close run thing, as I said, that they win the battle and Edward's authority had they won the battle and had all those leaders surviving. With Edward having failed to bring the men of Kent back in, having not wanted to fight Aethelwold, perhaps because it's quite a notable army, he potentially was in a bit of trouble there.

[Graham Duke]

Golly. Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

But as it is, Aethelwold is killed.

[Graham Duke]

Job done.

[Ali Hood]

And job is done. So that is the life and non reign of Aethelwald. We shall now move on to review him after a quick break.

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[Ali Hood]

Aetherworld's revolt was a very serious political and military threat to Edward the Elder. And Ethelwald demonstrates an impressive ability to muster a broad sweep of allies. So obviously soon after his accession, he's initially just focused within Wessex, so he took those towns of Twynham and Wimborne. Wimborne was of particular strategic value because of its location. It commands a number of different roads and crosses, a couple of rivers. But it's also very symbolic for its association in Wessex's history, particularly because it is the burial site of his own father. Yeah, because we saw how Alfred moved his father away from a territory that Aethelwold owned, so that world didn't get his grave. But Wimborne is where Aethelwold's father is, so he takes that town. That's a very symbolic declaration of a dynastic.

[Graham Duke]

Right. Oh, I see. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So it's strategically good militarily, but also symbolism, the dynasty, etc.

[Graham Duke]

This is what you do when you have a dynasty.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. Aethelwold, of course, he stressing his own regal heritage and maybe even establishing a different centre of power in Wessex. It is kind of from a different part of Wessex. So, you know, it may even be that he had an idea of splitting the kingdom. We don't quite know, but certainly he was establishing a power source somewhere else, away from Winchester. Now, it's also notable that Edward isn't crowned until Aethelwold leaves Wimborne.

[Graham Duke]

Sorry, say that again.

[Ali Hood]

So Edward the Elder became king in 899 after Edward died, but he isn't crowned until 900 after Aethelwold had been forced to leave Westlakes. So again, that just suggests that Edward is not really fully secure on the throne at this point. Yeah, it's very much contested and he has to wait for the coronation. Implies.

[Graham Duke]

What does that terrible BBC program make of all this? Does he. Do they show all this?

[Ali Hood]

Yes, that is in there. Aethelworld's Revolt is in. That is Netflix at the point at which it gets to Aethelworld's Revolt. But, yes, now Aethelworld's Revolt is in there. Now, Aethelwold's Revolt, in that, Aethelwold's character, he's, as you saw from the picture, a bit of a Weasley sort of figure, a bit cowardly. He is quite manipulative. But in that one, he's very much the useful idiot for the Vikings. Yeah, he's not commanding them, he's not in charge. But they see the value of having a Saxon prince because of what he is rather than really who he is.

[Graham Duke]

That. That's where I was going when like that's where my gut suggests.

[Ali Hood]

But it's interesting because that would be very much what Alfred and Edward and the Anglo Saxon Chronicle would want you to think.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

Let's dismiss the value of this person. But as I said, he's doing an awful lot of getting people who don't respect him to nevertheless kind of use him. Maybe use him and do what he wants them to do.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. I just. For him to have been crowned or acknowledged as King of the Vikings.

[Ali Hood]

Well, it's not king of all Vikings, so specifically in York.

[Graham Duke]

Right. As their leader or something.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, Than all of them. Anyway, we'll get to that in a minute. So, firstly, just the windborne bits. It is interesting that we've kind of got two phases to the revolt. So Ryan level is highlighted. We've got the legitimate challenge within Wessex. And at that point he's referred to as Ethelwold. Etheling, Throat worthy. He's never referred to as Etheling again after that. Once he goes off to the Vikings.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

It's a different thing. But again, that does sort of imply that he's absolutely seen as being with the Vikings. It's not just this sort of Aaron Prince is over there. It does imply that he's turned.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

But it's in the second phase when he's probably more of a threat, because that's the Vikings and not himself is a threat to Edward. But it also suggests that Ethelwold can command more support. So Northumbria, York. The Danes submitting to him, recognized as king. To what extent is he actually ruling? Very much debatable. But there is evidence that he mints coins in York. So I think it's like the Alwaldas. That's what it says on it. But that's very pretty close to Aethelwold's name. There's also Norse sagas that record the brief rule of a chap called King Canute, not that one in about 900, who is initially repulsed north of Cleveland by an English king called Adalbright, which again, you can see is a bit. Could be a corruption for the north sagas to actually be Aethelworld.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So we've got a Norse saga that potentially might be referencing an Ethelwelbeing king. We've got coins being minted in York and we've got versions of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle saying that he is worthy but accepted as king in York. Now, as I said, whether they actually think that he is their king, whether they. It's probably not a coronation ceremony. He probably doesn't Necessarily even really think of ruling Northumbria. It's more that he comes in, he is of a certain status, they acknowledge that status, and then he goes about raising troops and heads off. He's never planning to remain in York and be the king there.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

So it's perhaps a slightly different way of viewing it, how we might view it to Wessex, but there is evidence to suggest that he has some genuine power there. Now, the Anglo Saxon chronicle has always tried to play down Aethelwold, but as I said, it is very much biased towards Alfred and towards Edward. And the fact that they mention the revolt at all indicates the fact that it must be a serious threat. But also, we do have an incredible range of support from Aethelwold here. So we've got Northumbria, we've got Essex, we've got East Anglia, a fleet which, you know, may have gone to Denmark to get troops. We don't quite know. There's also probably a Mercian prince in his army as well, who's maybe hoping to get back into the mix. So you've got almost all of England apart from Wessex, in a funny way. Yeah. Kind of involved in this rebellion. The Annals of St Neots described Aetherworld at this time as Rex Pa, king of the Pagans, and also Rex Donorum, King of the Danes. In both cases, probably intended as a negative, but also maybe again, reflects the level of support.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

That he's got.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. The fact that they're mentioning him shows you the threat.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. Martin Ryan, the historians argue that Aethelwold has a claim at this point to be the most powerful ruler in England and that perhaps the fact that Edward didn't want to fight him when he ordered the troops to withdraw, maybe that's understandable. If Edward Scott, Northumbrians, East Anglians, Essex, Mercy, etc.

[Graham Duke]

The Kentish Book did him a real solid.

[Ali Hood]

They did, yeah. Maybe not on purpose, but nevertheless, likewise, Janet Nelson has concluded that in the eyes of many Englishmen as well as Scandinavians, this Etheling had claimed stronger than Edward's own. And it also shows the fragility of the sort of Alfredian concept of gens Anglorum, this united English kingdom that he's building towards Aethelwold. You know, he tries to split Wessex in 899, but he does get support from other kingdoms and maybe that's because these other kingdoms don't want to be subsumed.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Into Wessex. So Ryan levels noted, Edward's strategy in this period is entirely dictated by what Aethelwold is doing. So later on we see Edward and his sister Ethel fled very much, taking the battle to the Vikings, bringing these territories.

[Graham Duke]

He's got the initiative, hasn't he, this Aetherworld chap?

[Ali Hood]

Absolutely. It's what Aethelwold is doing that's dictating what Edward is having to do. And it's only the chance of war and battle and Aethelworld being killed at the Holm that Edward is actually able to be secure as king. There's nothing that Edward's really done and indeed his allies are actually wiped out and defeated.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

He's just fortunate that.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah, completely.

[Ali Hood]

Battle. Aetheld is killed and it's.

[Graham Duke]

And actually he. I mean, if he weren't killed, then the Kentish people have been destroyed. They lost that battle. Didn't they go, yeah, he could quite easily then just carried on off to wherever Alfred was.

[Ali Hood]

No, Edward was.

[Graham Duke]

Golly.

[Ali Hood]

And the impact of Aethelwold's revolt and the validity of his claim to the throne is shown by the remarkably long legacy it has in English royal politics. So Edward later marries the daughter of one of the Kentish leaders that was killed in the battle. Edgyver of Kent.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And a lot of historians have suggested that probably there were some ongoing tensions with Kent about how they found themselves abandoned and surrounded and wiped out.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. So this is him bringing them back into the fold.

[Ali Hood]

So he feels he needs to say thanks for that. But even later than that, Shashi Jayakumar's observed that a division in the 950s between the brothers Edwig and Edgar, Edgar the peaceable, has its origins in Aethelworld's revolt. So key supporters on both sides are all descended from people who are on opposite sides of the Battle of the Holm. So, like Edwig's queen chronicler, some of the leading ealdormen, Edgar supporters such as Edgyver, they're on the opposite side. So it's almost like this moment kind of is still 50 years later, defining, you know, kind of where you are politically.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Wow. So we've got a very powerful and threatening revolt for Methelwald.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Against him, obviously. We have to acknowledge, as is always the case, that he is old, unsuccessful, he doesn't become king. And while he commanded sport across England, the notable exception is the one bit that really mattered, which was Wessex. So his rebellion starts in Wessex and, you know, it looked like we were all set for a great showdown at Wimborne, a very dramatic moment where the Anglo Saxon chronicle Tells us that Aethelwold remained in the town with the men that were under him and had all the gates shut upon him, saying that he would either there live or there die.

[Graham Duke]

Forgetting option three.

[Ali Hood]

Sir, have you thought about running away to the Vikings? Oh, yes, that's. That's better.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Yes, let's do that one.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So his resolve appears a bit less robust than his rhetoric. So he stole away in the night and did a runner. Now, in his defence, he does go directly to the Vikings, spends two years raising an army and then goes back on the offensive. So strategically, it made more sense to withdraw, presumably in face of a force way bigger than what he'd got, than a sort of a suicidal, heroic last stand. But nevertheless, it's a bit disappointing. We had that moment, it felt like it was going to be after that. And also, the Chronicle notes that the King ordered them to ride after him and then he could not be overtaken. So he did thaw Edward's attempt to nip the revolt in the bud by not being captured.

[Graham Duke]

Right, Yep.

[Ali Hood]

Now, obviously, there's the flip side. Also. The King of Northumbria. Mighty impressive. Unless he wasn't actually really king England. Do the Viking leaders in York bend the knee, pledge their allegiance to him, give him a crown, or is he a stooge? Is it the Last Kingdom interpretation that they think this guy's an idiot, but we could use him against Edward?

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, but they'd have had to have been. There's no reason for them to just accept him as their king other than having him as a puppet. Unless he defeated them in some way or had won over them in some way.

[Ali Hood]

I mean, I suppose perhaps they might just be that there is a power vacuum within York. It does seem that there's quite a lot of kings in a short period of time in York. It's almost like you just get powerful people coming to York and if they're of a certain status and command respect, they might be acknowledged as king. They take some money, they try and raise some troops and then they head off to where? Wherever it is that they're actually trying to be.

[Graham Duke]

It's like a kingpick stop, then pick up the crown here.

[Ali Hood]

Exactly. So maybe it's a different thing to be king in York at this point. It's not an expectation that they are going to rule for 30 years and take them all over the country in battle. It's more a case of, I'm a prince and I'm very important. Yeah, okay. Probably.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah. It's that Power vacuum that I guess you just turn up with a big enough army. Yeah, that'll do.

[Ali Hood]

And his plan is always going to be to go to Wessex, so it's, you know, he's not going to stay in Northumbria. But of course, ultimately, the most important thing is Aethelwold is defeated. And for all the difficulties caused, Edward, he is killed in the Battle of the Holm. And yet, as you said, technically, his side won the battle. So he doesn't actually lose the Battle of the Holm as such.

[Graham Duke]

He loses the opportunity to take advantage

[Ali Hood]

of it by dying. He loses his life, but not the battle.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. Which is the worst way round.

[Ali Hood]

Yes, yes. He won the battle but lost the war.

[Graham Duke]

That's disappointing.

[Ali Hood]

And, you know, maybe there should be a certain kudos in the fact that actually he's killed in battle as well. You don't get that very often with the English monarchs. Not many of them killed in battle, but Ethelwald is.

[Graham Duke]

It's tricky, isn't it, to know how good the others are gonna be.

[Ali Hood]

Mmm.

[Graham Duke]

They're gonna lose that final battle because they're nearly monarchs. Exactly. This guy didn't.

[Ali Hood]

Yes, but this didn't lose.

[Graham Duke]

He's just confusing. But he did, you know, he didn't lose the battle, so he should have become king, but he did lose his life. Yeah. And I don't think we can blame these nearly monarchs for that. It's just like you're saying the other

[Ali Hood]

episode, you know, if we're gonna mark him down at Winborn for running away instead of dying in a heroic final stand.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

It's like, well, now you're marking me down when I did have a battle, so what am I meant to do?

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah, win.

[Ali Hood]

Well, it did win.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. Yeah, true. But you're not king. I know. I think. I don't know that. What are we scoring out of?

[Ali Hood]

We each score out of 10, and then it.

[Graham Duke]

Okay, gotta think out how to score these, because that could be a solid 10. Because if. If the old. Ultimately they do always die. You've got to be able to have a 10 in this series.

[Ali Hood]

I guess there will be people who win battles.

[Graham Duke]

Well, this guy. Well, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Win battles and don't die in them. Yeah, I guess. So there will be people that have a longer period of time and more opportunities to battle and do better, even if they don't win the battle that makes them king. They maybe do do a lot of impressive battling. So I guess you could say we don't have actually a lot of successful battling for wolves. But we do have a lot of successful revolting. So I don't think it needs to be top tier. I think we will get people that are more successful in battle even without becoming king. But equally I think it's better than many would be able to do.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, it's difficult. It's really difficult to score. Five would be really harsh. Ten. Okay, I take it that would be too much.

[Ali Hood]

If you think of like the Black Prince for example, you've got battles that he leads and wins against the French.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah. So maybe it's five actually. Battliness. He literally. There's one battle he wins but loses,

[Ali Hood]

then you've got the revolt, you've got all of these English kingdoms submitting to him and fighting for him.

[Graham Duke]

Alright, I started to say six, I'll stick with six.

[Ali Hood]

It is tricky when he's the first one because even though I think he does, he definitely needs to be above 5. But I think he's definitely not anywhere near 10. So I was sort of thinking of a 7, but I'm not sure if that's a little bit on the high side. It's just that question, isn't it? It's which version of Aethelworld is it? Is it the last kingdom, Aethelwold, or is it actually a real one that's substantial person and threat? And then Alfred Edward propaganda trying to dismiss him.

[Graham Duke]

And even then, if you get to the bottom of that, you've got a losing winning situation.

[Ali Hood]

I'm gonna give him six and a half.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

I just feel like seven's just a little bit too much. But I'm gonna as much as I can. So a six from you, A six and a half for me is a pretty good start of 12 and a

[Graham Duke]

half for Battle Enos scandal.

[Ali Hood]

Well, we've got a pretty good starters here as well because potentially Aethelwold sex with nuns.

[Graham Duke]

Oh yes. Oh yes. Well, that's five points.

[Ali Hood]

During his initial rebellion within Wessex, he is said to have taken a wife for himself on his way to Winborn. And this is how the Anglo Saxon Chron describes the situation in the aftermath of his retreat from Wimborne. Because this is where we get the information. They then rode after the wife that Aethelwold had taken without the King's leave and against the command of the bishops, for she was formerly consecrated a nun.

[Graham Duke]

Proper nun.

[Ali Hood]

Proper nun. Now the reason that this is a thing, sex with nuns, rather than just a particularly kinky habit amongst Anglo Saxon monarchs, because we do see it again and we will come back to it later in this series as well. We've got a grey area because you have a lot of lay women, I. Secular women who can be educated at a nunnery without actually being a nun.

[Graham Duke]

Right. Without taking the saying, the magic spell.

[Ali Hood]

Indeed. Or indeed they can be placed in a nunnery against their will.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So the fact that someone's at a nunnery doesn't necessarily mean that it's a nun nun.

[Graham Duke]

But the bishop said that she was a consecrated one or something, didn't he?

[Ali Hood]

Well, indeed, yes. Now, under Alfred's law codes, it could be legal to marry a cloistered woman, as he put it, if there was authorization from the king and the relevant bishop, which is why the Anglo Saxon chronicle says it was without the king's permission. Without the bishop's permission, because that would be how it would be a legal thing to do. So without any permission, children born of the relationship would be barred from the inheritance. In other words, the emphasis is not so much on it being illegal to marry a nun, but it's rather about controlling the dynastic element. So probably the view is to prevent a marriage alliance that could threaten the king's interest.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So if we put a significant young lady in this nunnery, you go in and marry her. Unless I say it's okay. That is not okay, because that could be used against me.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, it's not the nun bit.

[Ali Hood]

So the fact that the Anglo Saxon chronicle emphasizes this is without permission, we can probably assume that she is someone of high birth and that the marriage would have been considered against the king's interests. Now, unfortunately, we don't know who she was. John of Worcester suggests a nun of Wimborne, but the historian Alex Wolfe has argued that if he passed through Shaftesbury, which is about 20 miles away, it could have been a sister of Edward the Elder, Ethelgiver. So a daughter of Alfred the Great, now also technically Aethelwold's cousin.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

But these things do happen. And thus that would be a royal match that technically brings in Alfred's line. So if you're trying to kind of bring the Wessex lot together.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And indeed, it's also plausible that she might actually have gone willingly if she was placed in a nunnery to prevent her marrying. Maybe even to prevent her marrying him. Oh, you never know. Alfred might have thought this is an alliance perhaps Ethelwalder pursued before.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. That's why he was very specific about the one he picked up.

[Ali Hood]

Yes.

[Graham Duke]

Golly. Yeah, that sounds likely to me. And who was. Who is this person, his cousin?

[Ali Hood]

Well, we don't know. So one historian has suggested perhaps it could be his cousin. Just because we know that there is a royal princess in an abbey not that far away.

[Graham Duke]

That's definitely right. That's what you're thinking. That's what all of this is about.

[Ali Hood]

Which, you know, you might think of saying, oh, that's a shame, because it felt like it was just going to be sort of just your sex with nuns thing, but actually it's a bit more political. But technically then we could say, well, it's sex with nuns and the nun is potentially his cousin.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, no, it's fine. No, he's already. It's. He's definitely getting the points. And with his cousin, that's going to give it another. Another one. We've got. Anything else?

[Ali Hood]

Well, you could also look at the fact that he's allying with the Vikings. King of the pagans. His uncle Alfred has heroically prevented the Viking conquest of England. His cousins and nephews will go on to inflict terminal defeats that will lead to the creation of the English nation. And here we've got Aethelwold trying to bring them back into power just to advance his own interests.

[Graham Duke]

7.

[Ali Hood]

And it's interesting also we got, as a great grandson of Charlemagne, Pepin II of Aquitaine, who's sort of slightly earlier in the century, but similar sort of time, he tried to shore up his position by utilising Viking support and was ultimately accused of abandoning Christianity, effectively turning pagan in order to secure their support. Now, obviously, we've got the propaganda element of calling after a world king of the pagans.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

But at the same time, you know, what sort of promises does he make? What are the Vikings expecting to get out of this iflwel becomes king, Are they all just gonna line up under him and say all how Ethelwold? Or has he made promises that he's got to fulfill?

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

What are those promises?

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

On the flip side, with the Vikings, they've sort of been kind of a legitimate part of the political establishment for the last 20 years. You know, Alfred makes a deal with Guthrum, the previous king of East Anglia, so they are acknowledged rulers of the Danelaw. Guthrum was baptized and had a Saxon name, so it's not quite the same as just the marauding invaders. Yeah. Of earlier decades. So he doesn't necessarily have to have sold his mortal soul in order to gain their support, but.

[Graham Duke]

But nevertheless, you got. It's. It's pulling. If. If the aim is this unified country You've got the one chap, Edward.

[Ali Hood]

Yes.

[Graham Duke]

Who's following Athelstan's aim of pulling it all together. The other guy, in order to sit in that seat, is prepared to go back a generation, make deals with Vikings. This is pretty rubs. I still think seven.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, I think. I think a seven as well. He's ticked a couple of boxes there. Yeah.

[Graham Duke]

Well done. Strong start.

[Ali Hood]

That's a 14 for scandal subjectivity. Now, subjectivity is probably going to be tricky for quite a lot of the nearly monarchs, on account of the fact that they don't actually get to do anything as king or queen, particularly these early ones where we don't have a lot of evidence to go on anyway. However, we do sort of have an interesting counterfactual for Ethelwold that might count in his favour. While he lacked support in Wessex, he has got submissions and alliances from pretty much all the other English kingdoms and Vikings. So if he had defeated Edward, what might England have looked like under Aethelwold's rule? King of Wessex, but apparently with strong support in the Danelaw as well. Sarah Footer speculated he could have created a genuinely Anglo Scandinavian realm. And James Campbell suggests that under Ethelwold, England could perhaps have been united much earlier. That would ultimately be the case, and with much less bloodshed than would ultimately be required.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, shut me up.

[Ali Hood]

So he even says, had it not been for the chances of battle and of war, Aethelwold might very well have been regarded as one of the greatest figures in our island story.

[Graham Duke]

He would have taken that Alfred crown.

[Ali Hood]

Well, yeah, because ultimately it's Athelstan that becomes the first king of all England. But that's following decades of Edward the Elder and Aethelflaed fighting all these battles against the Vikings. It's a sort of blitzkrieg campaign that Athelstan himself launches and has to fight. But if Aethelwold has already kind of got the backing of all these other kingdoms and then he can add Wessex to it, maybe you don't have to do all of that. Maybe Aethelwold just is the one that's able to unite at all. And perhaps it's a bit more Anglo Scandinavian than just English and the way that Alfred wanted, but maybe a more peaceful and easier route to.

[Graham Duke]

Interesting.

[Ali Hood]

And that would be good.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, that would be good. But that's hard to give points.

[Ali Hood]

That's the thing. And that's going to be the tricky thing with the series. It's hard to judge on a what if.

[Graham Duke]

And maybe that's what this round is. That's what subject factor is. Subjectivity is the what if.

[Ali Hood]

But I guess again, some of them will have stuff that they do. That's thing. Some of them will have a bit more stuff, good or bad, that you could judge them on. So you can't just always be like, well, I mean, if it had worked out like this and if it had been this version of the way that it worked out, and if he had been this sort of person, then he would have been the best king we ever had.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Yes.

[Graham Duke]

There's a lot of. There's a lot of ifs.

[Ali Hood]

The only sort of concrete thing we've got is that he mints some coins. Now, Saxon historians love a coin being minted, so, you know, that's a thing.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

That he did. But we don't otherwise obviously have anything because obviously all you have to go on is the fact that he's fighting a revolt, that he loses.

[Graham Duke]

We don't have anything, do we? We don't really.

[Ali Hood]

But, yeah, I do think it's an interesting one. It is. If you do think that he genuinely has some backing from these people, then you can see that he could have done something different with England and maybe that would have been a good thing. How likely you think that is?

[Graham Duke]

Three.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. I don't feel like we can give him too much credit. I think it's a really interesting one. I'm not sure it's likely that it would have just been like, right, that's it, we're all England now.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

As we said. What promises did he make to all these people? I'm sure the promise wasn't. You can be really well respected within my kingdom of the entire nation.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Probably they would have been tempted to join him because it wasn't.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, they're opportunists.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. So I think I'm gonna give him a four for the counterfactual and the coins. But I think. Because I think I'd have gone quite high if I thought that was genuinely on the cards, then I think that'd been quite high, but I think probably not. But it's still intriguing enough.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So four for me, three from you, seven for subjectivity. Nice longevity. We discussed our slightly altered approach to how I'm making the scores happen for longevity in the introductory episode. But essentially we're looking for how long the Nearly Monarch. Actually, I don't think I did talk about this, but this was quite a key thing. I got distracted by talking about the formula.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

I forgot to Mention this bit, we're looking for how long the nearly monarch is the heir. So in the event of their predeceasing a parent monarch, how long are they the heir for before they die? In the event of somebody who is laying a claim to the throne, for how long does their claim last? Okay, so in Aethelwold's case, we can see that as much as he would have claimed that he should be the heir, clearly Alfred designated Edward as the heir. So for Aethelwold, it's how long does his claim last? So effectively it's how long is the revolt before he dies? And he is challenging from, we assume, 26-10-899, which is the death of Alfred the Great, to 13-12-902, which is his own death at the Battle of the Hull. So that's a total of 3.08 years, which gives him a score of 4 and a half out of 20, which puts him 22nd out of 35 for the series as a whole.

[Graham Duke]

Well, he's got to have a weakness somewhere. Dynasty.

[Ali Hood]

Not the program for Dynasty. It's the usual in terms of how many legitimate surviving children the subject left behind on their death. But even here, we've got a bit of a question mark for Ethelwald, because we know that his father has descendants in the 10th century. The chronicler Ethelwiard and his sister Elfgiva, who marries King Edwig, are said to be descendants of Aethelred the First.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

What we don't know is by whom are they descendants of Aethelred the First, because he has two sons, Aethel Helm that died earlier and Aethelwold. So is Aethelwold the means by which.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, right.

[Ali Hood]

And if it's Aethel Helm, then we don't know anything about descendants of Aethelwald. Now, for some reason, generally historians seem to name Ethel Helm as being the person that they're descended from, but I've not seen any reason why he's considered more likely, particularly because I can't find any reference to Ethelhelm having married. Whereas we do know that Ethelwold finds himself a nun to marry.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So I feel that given that we do have strong suggestion that there are descendants of Aethelred the First, and given that we do know that Aethel Wald has a wife and we don't.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, give it him. Yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Benefit of the doubt. Now, I think probably we should only give him credit for one legitimate surviving child, because we don't technically know if he had any, but we're sort of assuming that he probably does.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, I see. Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So we'll assume he has one surviving child, which gives him a score of six and a half for Dynasty, which is joint 11th for the series.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

So overall, that gives him a total score of 44.5, which puts him in first place for series four so far.

[Graham Duke]

Well done, that man.

[Ali Hood]

Obviously, he's also in last place for series four because we haven't done anybody else yet, so we can't really say whether or not that's a good score. But, you know, he's done well for Battle, he has done well for Scandal, not so much longevity. And Dynasty is where he's probably not going to be able to be at the top level, but that's probably a pretty decent score, I think. Yeah, that's in the mix. But of course, it's not all about the score. Does he have that certain something, that lasting legacy, the great achievement, the star quality that we call Rex factor?

[Graham Duke]

There's not much to cling onto with him, is there?

[Ali Hood]

No. He's an interesting starting point for the series because, you know, when you tell the Wessex story from the traditional official perspective, as James Campbell noted, he comes across as sort of a somewhat odd episode. You don't really think about him much, but actually he's got a very justifiable claim to the throne. Might be a lot of people that think that he probably is the more senior heir out of him and Edward, and may not have been very far away from success. Ryan Levels argued he's able to successfully utilise both political legitimacy in Wessex and the opportunity externally of Anglo Scandinavian relations. So, you know, we've got rebellion, Viking alliances and kingship perishing in a final battle, sex with nuns, but also the defeat and failure to ever become king. But, you know, it's. He packs quite a lot in there for not a lot of information. Actually, we've got quite a lot of things to talk about for Aethelworld.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Do you want a poetic quote from historian Thomas Williams, which I think will apply quite well to a lot of the characters in this series, so I will read it. The Etheling's flame flared brightly, a brief consuming fire. In that flickering red light we can see the dreams of deeds undone, of destiny unfulfilled. A Viking England united by a man thrice begotten of West Saxon kings, trampling the wreckage of his father's realm at the head of a great Anglo Viking horde. It would not come to pass. Aethelwold's flame would be extinguished in the leeching damp of the East Anglian fens.

[Graham Duke]

Was that a poem?

[Ali Hood]

It's not a poem. I just thought it was quite poetic language. But yes, you can. As he said, we can see that. How much this could have been a thing and a something is a genuine threat. It gets forgotten about. And things could have been very different with him as king. The question is, is it enough to feel rexy?

[Graham Duke]

Just doesn't feel rexy. I was. I spent a lot of that silence and trying to feel it, but no, just I can't do it.

[Ali Hood]

Do you think it's just because you looked at the actor's face and thought, oh, I don't like him.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, I don't mind. Hungry.

[Ali Hood]

I've not got enough eggs to give the rex factor at the moment. Gr. It's just.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, I could do with an egg.

[Ali Hood]

So you're saying a no?

[Graham Duke]

I don't know why I'm saying a no, actually. Cuz he's got sex with nuns. They're all going to fail at a battle or, you know that. That can't be the. I'm going to start it with a yes.

[Ali Hood]

Are you sure? I mean, without wanting to, you know, convince you against it. I guess the reason I feel like you've been feeling like you're gonna be a no for the whole episode is that it feels like your instinct is he's a stooge. They don't really.

[Graham Duke]

Yes, that's right. I do think he's the stooge. Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And that's the difference. If you think he's a stooge, then, and that's the Last Kingdom version, then it's not very rexy. He's just a chancer who runs out of luck.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Whereas if you think that he's actually the real deal and he just is unlucky to die in the battle, then actually, then maybe he's got a bit more about him.

[Graham Duke]

It is possible to be both. You know, let them think I'm a stupid.

[Ali Hood]

I mean, let's not rule out the chances of this world, Craig. There's a lot to be said about just chancing your luck.

[Graham Duke]

Exactly. Don't do chances, Dar.

[Ali Hood]

No, he's gonna go, no. I sort of. It's one of those where I just. Without doing the whole series yet, you just don't have a feel for it. And the previous. By series three, you feel like you've got a sense of it. But it does feel like a bit of a new beginning. In this series because it feels like the judgment's gonna be, yeah, a little bit different. So there is a bit of me that feels like he is a rexy one, because I think actually maybe does have more substance to him. And I feel like he's been written out by the Wessex propaganda. And actually there's a lot more to him than that. But I'm also aware that as we move along, there'll be ones where there's much more information and they'll have much more star quality, they'll be much rexier, and thus he might not stand up very well against him. I'm gonna give him the benefit of. I'm gonna say yes. I feel, I think that I've had my eyes opened a little bit more to the Wessex propaganda, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle propaganda of Alfred and Edward and this fixed England. And actually Aethelwold's just a little alternate version that actually you can see a different.

[Graham Duke]

Interesting.

[Ali Hood]

But he has to get two yeses. So that means that he is a no for the Rex Factor, though appropriately. In the Consort series, we did the Nearly Rexy Consorts, there's a little mini playoff for the Privy Councillors for the ones where there was a split vote. So they nearly got it. So thus Aethelwold is the opening episode and he is the first nearly.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Good.

[Ali Hood]

Correspondence corner. So that was Aethelwold. Let us know what you thought about him and where you would have fallen on the yes or no line for the Rex factor. Head to rexfactorpodcast.com for more information and our links on social media. And if you want to support the podcast and get lots more bonus content, then you can go to patreon.com rexfactor and sign up to become a Privy Counsellor. You get an ad free version of this podcast over 450 separate bonus podcasts. And also you can join our Discord server. And one of the bonus podcasts you get is a privy chamber, where we have more of my research, more information about Aethelwold and his story that didn't make it into the main episode. So if you want to know a little bit more, then there will be more wicked. And we have some new Privy Councillors to welcome to the fold.

[Graham Duke]

Adam Crampton, Kate and Brego, pgs Fish Lovely Anonymous, James Knoop, Kevin Bien, Bid Siddiq, Mark Widdowson, Lily Caroline Brehm, Kate Larkins, Alan Graham, Robert Shepherd, Daria Cara Ward, Beena Gluck, Grace Farley, Caroline Hanley, Alice Gresham and Alice Keane.

[Ali Hood]

So thank you all very much for signing up and becoming Privy Councillors. Now, that is all from us today. So next time it will be a double header and that we'll be doing two subjects in one episode due to a lack of sufficient information about either one of them. But actually, they kind of together make a good combined narrative. So that will be Aethelwold's first cousins once removed, the brothers Elfride and Edwin.

[Graham Duke]

What is in the next episode? Did they make that list that you did at the start?

[Ali Hood]

They did. And as we go on, Graham, it's going to get harder and harder for me to remember this list. Because you need to have it. Just have it pinned up on the wall behind you.

[Graham Duke]

Exactly. Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Anyway, we shall see you next time. Spring just slid into your DMs. Grab that boho. Look for that rooftop dinner, those sandals that can keep up with you.

[Graham Duke]

And hang some string lights to give

[Advertiser]

your patio a glow up.

[Ali Hood]

Spring's calling, Ross. Work your magic.