Athelstan

Ath·el·stan

A0495600 (ăth′əl-stăn′) 895?-939. King of Mercia and Wessex (924?-939) who was the first Saxon ruler to establish his authority over all of England.

Athelstan

(ˈæθəlstən) n (Biography) ?895–939 ad, king of Wessex and Mercia (924–939 ad), who extended his kingdom to include most of England

Ath•el•stan

(ˈæθ əlˌstæn)

n. A.D. 895?–940, king of England 925–940.

Thesaurus

Noun

Athelstan - the first Saxon ruler who extended his kingdom to include nearly all of England (895-939)

Athelstan

enUK

Athelstan

Æthelstan

(both: ăth`əlstən, ăth`ĕlstän), d. 939, king of Wessex (924–39), son and successor of Edward the Elder. After coming to the throne, he vigorously built up his kingdom on the foundations established by his grandfather AlfredAlfred,
849–99, king of Wessex (871–99), sometimes called Alfred the Great, b. Wantage, Berkshire. Early Life

The youngest son of King Æthelwulf, he was sent in 853 to Rome, where the pope gave him the title of Roman consul.
..... Click the link for more information. . He made himself overlord of all England, establishing his hegemony firmly by victory over a coalition of his enemies at BrunanburhBrunanburh, battle of
, A.D. 937, a victory won by Athelstan, king of the English, over a coalition of Irish, Scots, and Britons (or Welsh) of Strathclyde. The site of the battle is not known. The battle is celebrated in a poem in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
..... Click the link for more information. in 937. He was popular as well as able, was generous to the church, and issued laws that attempted to impose royal authority on customary law. Athelstan married his sisters to Charles III of France, the French duke Hugh the Great, Otto I of Germany, and Louis, king of Arles. He was succeeded by his brother Edmund.

Bibliography

See F. M. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (3d ed. 1971).

Athelstan

?895--939 ad, king of Wessex and Mercia (924--939 ad), who extended his kingdom to include most of England