A Family Genealogy of
the Gentle House of Stapleton
the Gentle House of Stapleton
(King of Kent) Æthelstan WESSEX #50554
BEF 830 - ABT 852
Personal Information
- TITLE: King of Kent
- BIRTH: BEF 830
- DEATH: ABT 852
Notes
When Æthelwulf became King of the West Saxons in 839 on the death of his father, Ecgberht, he appointed Æthelstan to rule over Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex. He is styled king in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Æthelweard's chronicle calls him "King of the Dwellers in Kent, of the East Saxons, of the South Saxons and of Surrey". He attested a number of his father's charters as king in the 840s.
In 851, Æthelstan and Ealdorman Ealhhere defeated a Viking fleet and army off Sandwich, Kent, described by Frank Stenton as "the first naval battle in recorded English history". Æthelstan is not mentioned after 851 and presumably died before Æthelwulf went to Rome in 855 as he was not included in arrangements for government of the kingdom during his father's absence. In 853, Ealhhere died in a disastrous defeat of the men of Kent and Surrey by the Vikings, and as Æthelstan is not mentioned as present at the battle he was probably dead by then.
A mid-ninth century burial found during excavations in the Old Minster, Winchester contained the body of a young man of 25-35. His headdress and the prestigious location of the burial in the nave suggests royal status, and the "strongest putative candidate" is Æthelstan.
In 851, Æthelstan and Ealdorman Ealhhere defeated a Viking fleet and army off Sandwich, Kent, described by Frank Stenton as "the first naval battle in recorded English history". Æthelstan is not mentioned after 851 and presumably died before Æthelwulf went to Rome in 855 as he was not included in arrangements for government of the kingdom during his father's absence. In 853, Ealhhere died in a disastrous defeat of the men of Kent and Surrey by the Vikings, and as Æthelstan is not mentioned as present at the battle he was probably dead by then.
A mid-ninth century burial found during excavations in the Old Minster, Winchester contained the body of a young man of 25-35. His headdress and the prestigious location of the burial in the nave suggests royal status, and the "strongest putative candidate" is Æthelstan.
Parents
Father: Æthelwulf WESSEX #50550
Mother: Osburh OSLACSDOTTER #50551
_Ealhmund of KENT ___
|
_Egbert WESSEX _______|
| (0770 - 0839) |
| |_____________________
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_Æthelwulf WESSEX ___|
| (.... - 0857) |
| | _____________________
| | |
| |_Redburga of FRANCIA _|
| |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Æthelstan WESSEX
| (0830 - 0852)
| _____________________
| |
| _Oslac UNKNOWN _______|
| | |
| | |_____________________
| |
|_Osburh OSLACSDOTTER _|
|
| _____________________
| |
|______________________|
|
|_____________________