MERCIA

this is a work in progress

KING ATHELSTAN King of the Mercians. 925- 940AD (924-939) He was Edwards son and Alfred�s grandson. Brothers; Edmund and Eadred.

Educated in the household of his Aunt.
William of Malmsbury describes him as slender and flaxen-haired.
He was schooled.

His Grandfather made him a knight at an early age, giving him a
scarlet cloak, belt studded with diamonds, and a Saxon sword with
a golden scabbard.

933AD = He allied himself with Siltric, King of Northumbria and
invaded and harried Scotland.

935AD = HENRY "the fowler" of Germany dies. OTTO I succeeds his
father, Henry "the fowler". His sister Aelggifu is married to
Edmund who is King Athelstans brother.

937AD = With his brother, Prince Edmund he fought a battle at
Brunanburgh. Five Kings and seven Earls were among the dead.


KING EDMUND I 940-946AD<
Brother; Athelstan
Father, Edward the Elder.


941AD=ANSLAF(?) ruled in England to; 952AD

942AD=Edmund conquered Mercia as far as Dore and Whitwell Gap
the boundry farm and Humber river, the ocean stream.

944AD=He brought Northumbria under his sway.

945AD=Ravaged all Strathclyde and ceded it to Malcolm, King of
Scots, on the condition that he would be his fellow worker both
by sea and land.

946AD=MAY 26, EDMUND was assassinated as told:

A certain robber named Leofa, whom he had banished for his
crimes, returning after 6 years sat, on the feast of St.Augustine...
among the guests at Puckle church in Gloucestershire...this was
percieved by the King alone, who leapt from the table, caught the
robber by the hair, and dragged him to the floor; but he, secretly
drawing a dagger from its sheath, plunged it into the breast of the
King as he lay upon him. The robber was shortly torn limb from limb
by the attendants who rushed in. St. Dunstan was Abbot of
Glastonbury at the time.

KING ELDRED (EADRED) 946AD TO 955AD Father -Edward the Elder.
946AD =Edmund�s sons being then too young to rule, the last of
Edward the Elder�s children was chosen as King.

Had a success in Northumbria against Eric Bloodaxe of Norway.


KING EDWY ( EADWIG) 955AD TO 959AD ANGLO -SAXON KING
FATHER; EDMUND

955AD =EADRED being childless, the throne then passed to the sons
of Edmund. He was young when he took the throne.

At his succession a certain woman of noble birth, with her daughter,
attached herself to him, pursuing him and wickedly enticing him to
intimacy, obviously in order to join herself or else her daughter to
him in lawful marriage. Shameful to relate, people say that in his
turn he acted wantonly with them, with disgraceful caresses, without
any decency on the part of either. And when he was anointed and
consecrated king by popular election, on that day after the kingly
anointing at the holy ceremony, the lustful man suddenly jumped up
and left the happy banquet and the filling company of his nobles,
for the company of the women.

The horrified archbishop ordered some of his followers to bring the
king back, but fearing the royal anger they appointed Dunstan and
the Bishop of Lichfield to go.

When they entered his room they found the royal crown, which was
bound with wondrous metal, gold and silver and gems, and shone
with many-coloured lustre, on the floor, and he himself wallowing
between the two in evil fashion. Dunstan had to force him from the
women and drag him out by the hand.

The penalty for his interference was Dunstan�s exile.


KING EDGAR 959AD TO 975AD Great Grandson of Alfred Son-Edward- born 960AD

ALFRED THE GREAT
I Edward the elder
I I --------------------------------------------
I 2 3 Athelstan Edmund Eadred
I ---------------------------------
I 2 Eadwig EDGAR
Ist wife 2nd wife
I 2 EDWARD the martyr
2
AETHELRED II the unready

Restored the Church on Thorney Island (which had been dispoiled by
the Danes) at the intercession of Dunston, who brought there 12 monks
of the Benedictine order (from Glastonbury?) to whom both Dunston and
the king made grants of landed property and gold. The dedication of
the Church to St.Peter led to their offerings of Salmon upon the high
altar; the donor having the privilege of sitting to table at the
convent and demanding bread and ale from the cellarer.


973AD = Was not crowned until 14 years after he ascended the throne.
A new order of service was implimented in the ceremony which was
the work of Dunstan and which long remained in use.

The ceremony was performed at Bath, the ancient city of
ACEMANNESCEASTEE, on the day called WHIT Sunday.

The King led all his fleet to Chester and there six kings came to
him to make their submission and pledge themselves to be his fellow
workers by sea and land. (ANGLO -SAXON CHRONICLES).


KING EDWARD (THE MARTYR)(Martyr meant unpopular.) 975AD TO 978AD FATHER -EDGAR

A royal residence is noticed at Greenwich as early as the reign
of King Edward 1st, when that Monarch made an offering of seven
shillings at each of the holy crosses in the chapel of the Virgin
Mary, and the prince an offering of half that sum. It is not known
by whom the Palace was erected.

975AD =Edward was 15 years old when he came to the throne.
= a comet appeared.

976AD =A great famine in England = Elfhere, a nobleman, with the consent and the help of a
powerful faction (of Mercia), destroyed some of the Abbeys which
King Edgar and BISHOP Ethelwald had founded. (Note the change to
capitol letters for the word bishop at this point!)

978AD =All the great men of the English nation fell from a loft
at Calne, except St. Dunstan, who supported himself by taking hold
of a beam. Some of them were much hurt, and some were killed.

978AD= March 18th, A reaction against the monastic reform of
EDGAR�S reign was recorded and the young king was cruelly murdered
by his own family at Corfe-gate, at even-tide; and carrying to the
grave their malice towards him in life, he was buried at Wareham
without royal honours, that his name might perish also. He would
have been only 18years old.

It is reported that his stepmother, the mother of King Ethelred,
stabbed him with a dagger while she was in the act of offering him
a cup to drink.

From Wareham the bones of Edward were moved to Shaftesbury Abbey,
Dorset. At the dissolution of the monasteries in Henry VIII�s reign
they disappeared.

(1931; The Claridge family acquired the site on which the Abby�s
ruins stood in 1930. In 1931 their gardener digging in the remains
of the North transept, unearthed a Tudor casket, two feet long and
made of lead, contained part of a skull and some bones. But a
dispute arose between the two Claridge brothers after their Mother
died in 1951 over the bones, both were over 80 yrs old at the
time. When last heard of, the royal bones were still waiting =in
a cutlery box=in the bank at Woking for a decision on their fate.)


KING ETHELRED II 978AD TO 1013AD Brother to Edward by another mother.
Father- EDGAR
Wife - EMMA of Normandy
Mother- AELFTHRYTH
1st Wife; AELFGIFUM = SON; EDMUND IRONSIDE.
Sons by EMMA; ALFRED, EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.

ALFRED the great
I EDWARD the elder
I EDMUND I
I EDGAR m AELFHRYTH
1 2 3 AELFGUFUM-m AETHELRED-m EMMA I I = Daughter of EDMUND II I Richard of I Normandy I I ---------------------------------------------m. CNUT I I I I ALFRED EDWARD the confessor I I HARTHACNUT
(CNUT II)

979AD?= He was consecrated king before all the nobles of England
at Kingston.

990 AD = Catholic Church established the, "Pax Dei"; the Peace
of God.
It was the beginning of religious sanctions over kings, using
the power of excommunication and interdict. The church�s effort
to establish its power over men..

991AD = King is held for ransom for 10,000 lbs silver. It was paid.
(DANES).

994AD =The first payment of Danegeld was made following a raid
by the Danes. This was a form of tribute to the Danes to prevent
Slaughters and to get them to cease harrying. They accepted and
the whole army then came to Southhampton and took winter quarters
there where they were provisioned throughout all the West Saxon
Kingdom and paid 16,000pounds in money.

1001AD = Danegeld paid

1002AD = King is held for ransome of 24,000lbs silver. He paid
it, and then he had every Dane in England killed. The Vikings
then raised their tribute to 36,000lbs in silver.
=He ordered to be slain, on this day, all the Danish men
who were in England; because he had been informed that they would
slay him and all of his councillors and take the kingdom.
=King Sven/Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark�s sister was among the
slain.
=Sven Forkbeard landed in Northumbria with a new fleet,
but they were Danes who had survived and passive. He went on to
Conquer almost all of England except, London.
=Aethelfred paid 21,000 in silver and fled the country.
= London was being defended for Aethelfred by Torkel,
(A Dane) his vassel. When Aethelfred fled he opened the gates to
the Vikings.

1004AD = Danegeld paid

1007AD =36,000 pounds paid in Danegeld up to now.

1009AD =Danegeld paid

1011AD =Danegeld paid.

1011AD = Greenwich, "Green Town" by the Saxons; the whole fleet
of the Danish army lay at roade here two or three years, and the
soldiors were encamped upon the hill above the town now called
Blackheath. During this time they pierced the whole country,
sacked and spoiled the city of Canterbury, and brought from
thence to their ships, Alepheg (Alphege) the Archbishop. And
here a Dane (Thrum) whom the Archbishop had confirmed a Christian
the day before, struck him on the head from behind and slew him,
because he would not condescend to redeem his life with three
thousand pounds, which the people of the city and diocese were
contented to have given for his ransom; neither would the rest
of the soldiers suffer his body to be burried in a Christian
manner, till such time as they percieved that a dead stick,
being anointed with his blood, waxed suddenly green again, and
the next day to blossom. It was claimed that the wood was gathered
in the wood of DIA FERONIA; for she was a goddess, whom the poets
do phantasie to have caused the whole wood, (that was on fire)
to wax green again.. The present church of St. Alphage, in
Greenwich, stands on the spot where he suffered Martyrdom.

1012AD =48,000 pounds paid in Danegeld up to now.

1013AD =Danegeld paid. Swyn arrives in England with his son Cnut.