Sent to the abbey as a child, he had grown up with a justifiable pride in its history. Why’s the king giving him a sword? What was the condition of England when Athelstan came to power as “King of the Anglo-Saxons” in 924? Ideal for helping with Key Stage 2 of the History National Curriculum Unit 6B: Why have people invaded and settled in Britain in the past? “The king thinks it cruel to have such young people put to death, and for such minor offences, as he has learnt is the common practice elsewhere. She taught him how to lead an army into war and she also taught him how to make peace. Voice 1: What’s going on? By entering your details, you are agreeing to HistoryExtra terms and conditions and privacy policy. A monk named William took the chance to inspect the skeleton that lay inside it. You will remember that name. Edward, Alfred’s eldest son and heir as king, had arrived at a momentous conclusion: that ultimately, faced by enemies as predatory and opportunistic as the Vikings, it was only by forcing all of them to submit permanently that Wessex and Mercia would ever be able to enjoy true security. Villiers Road, Kingston Upon Thames, KT1 3AR Tel: 020 8546 8210 Athelstan or Æthelstan, (893/4–27 October 939), called the Glorious, was the first King of England. Harold Harefoot was king until 1040, then Hardicanute was king until 1042. Dr King was born on the 15th of January 1929 and lived in America...where every year there is a public holiday to remember and celebrate his life. He was born to Edward's first wife Ecgwynn around AD 894. It was thanks to his generosity that it could boast a particularly awesome relic: a fragment of the True Cross. The first Viking king of England was King Canute in 1016. Yet though the site of Brunanburh may be unrecoverable, the implications of what was forged by Æthelstan and his dynasty more than a millennium ago have lately come to possess a renewed saliency. Athelstan: The people of Mercia hate my people - the people of Wessex. It was the law in Wessex that even a child as young as 10 might be condemned for theft. 1066 AD - King Harold is killed in Battle Of Hastings ending the Anglo Saxon period. Constantin was quickly brought to heel. KS2 History: The Vikings - King of the English Worksheet This story-led task sheet provides facts and information about the war that broke out in Britain as the new King Athelstan waged war against the Vikings. The story of how, over the course of three generations, the royal dynasty of Wessex went from near-oblivion to fashioning a kingdom that still endures today is the most remarkable and momentous in British history. Nevertheless, Æthelstan’s conscience remained troubled. A Christian king was nothing, in his opinion, if he did not combine greatness with care for the vulnerable. Designed by David Nash Ford for Year 3/4 in UK Schools. More than anyone, he appreciated the significance of the man whose braided hair he had so carefully noted. Then, two years later, he marched on the Viking-held city of York and made it his own. Follow flowering and non-flowering plants on their journey from being seeds and spores, to being fully grown, and producing new plants of their own. It was evident as well that the roots of this precociously unitary state, with its single currency, its common language and its intimidating monarchy, reached back in turn a further century – and that the first man who could legitimately be reckoned its king was Æthelstan. This article was first published in the July 2016 issue of BBC History Magazine. Buy Athelstan: The First King of England Yale English Monarchs (The English Monarchs Series) Illustrated by Foot, Sarah (ISBN: 0787721974642) from Amazon's Book Store. Perhaps following the battle Athelstan remembered the words of his aunt, Athelfleda of Mercia... Athelstan: We have won the battle. Almost nothing is known about Edmund. Narrator: Athelstan grew up to become a strong and wise young prince. He was the son of King Edward the Elder. Try 6 issues of BBC History Magazine or BBC History Revealed for only £9.99 Son of Edward the Elder and grandson of Alfred the Great, Æthelstan (or Athelstan) was the first West Saxon king to effectively rule over the whole of England, with the whole of Britain coming to acknowledge him as overlord during the course of his reign. Voice 1: But he’s just a child. By the time she died, on 12 June 918, everywhere south of the Humber had effectively come under Edward’s rule. Generous a patron of Malmesbury though Æthelstan had been, there were reasons far more telling why William should portray him as the greatest of England’s kings. This resource is ideal for pupils to use in pairs or small groups, this resource contains questions prompts to encourage discussion. Home Learning at King Athelstan At King Athelstan we promote meaningful learning outside of the classroom to instil a lifelong passion for learning; we encourage our pupils to take part in sports, clubs and enrichment activities outside of school, pursing personal interests and hobbies. I don’t want to be a king. Which one is Athelstan? Humbly he acknowledged the invader as his overlord. Athelstan: But grandfather, I don’t want to be famous. Æthelstan, Edward’s eldest son and Æthelflæd’s ward for much of his youth, had been on the throne since 924. This Order is a tribute to the Spirit of King Athelstan. Never before had the grasp of a southern king reached so far. KS2 History: The Anglo-Saxons. Athelstan was the son of Edward the Elder, and grandson of Alfred the Great. Narrator: And just as Alfred had predicted, Athelstan became a great king. But in the north trouble was brewing. Æthelstan (Penguin Monarchs): The Making of England is published by Allen Lane and is available now. Alfred the Great: do we overplay his ‘greatness’. Most importantly, he started to bring the kingdom together. … I don’t feel safe. Thus the Norman dynasty, beginning in 1066, has too long taken pride of emphasis. Alfred: Today I wish to give this cloak, belt and sword to my grandson, Athelstan. Yet Æthelwold, who had served as one of Æthelstan’s closest advisers before becoming a priest, knew full well that the united kingdom of the English had been obtained by human agency as well as by divine providence. Fighting fades to funereal drumbeat. Princes in the lands beyond the city, intimidated by the scope of his power, scrabbled to acknowledge his authority. Two years later, though, exhausted perhaps by the sheer scale of his labours, Æthelstan was dead, and the Vikings – taking their chance – returned to York. Only after several decades of ebb and flow was the integrity of the new kingdom of ‘Englalonde’ enduringly established. What’s the king planning? If table is blank, it means there are no recent inspections for this school. Brought the news of the powers ranged against him, he had acted at first as though frozen by the sheer horror of it. He had four older brothers who all ruled as king before he did. He had been crowned as king of both the Saxons of Wessex and the Anglians of Mercia – as king of the Anglo-Saxons. The picture was taken 1961 and it shows Dr Martin Luther King. They and Alfred richly merit being commemorated as England’s founding fathers – or, of course, in Æthelflæd’s case, as England’s founding mother. What’s in a name? He invited leaders from all over the land to meet with him…and they came. Who’s he giving a present to? It was called the ‘Great War’. In mark of this, he adopted a  fateful new title, that of ‘Rex Anglorum’: ‘King of the English’. Tom Holland will be speaking about ‘Christianity: The Most Enduring Legacy of the Ancient World‘ at our History Weekend events in autumn 2019. A KS2 History – Roman Britain – 2a Julius Caesar Roman Empire and the Impact on Britain. The people here are just afraid - afraid of Wessex because Wessex is strong - just like Wessex fears the Vikings because they are strong. A wise answer. Name: King Athelstan (Aethelstan) Born: c.895 Parents: Edward the Elder and Ecgywn Relation to Elizabeth II: 30th great-granduncle House of: Wessex Ascended to the throne: July 17, 924 Crowned: September 4, 925 at Kingston-upon-Thames, aged c.30 Married: Unmarried Children: None Died: October 27, 939 at Gloucester Buried at: Malmesbury Reigned for: 15 years, 3 months, and 9 days My lords - look upon this child. King Athelstan (c. 894-939) BY DAVID ROSS, EDITOR. Pupils are then given a variety of comprehension questions and deeper-thinking tasks on the topic. Even as he attempted to stamp out theft and robbery, legislating against them to an almost obsessive degree, anxiety that he might be betrayed by his own laws into savagery still gnawed at him. “Æðelstan cyning lædde fyrde to Brunanbyrig”: “Æthelstan the king led the levy to Brunanburh.”. The entire future of the English as an independent people had been left hanging by a thread. Wessex, Mercia and now Northumbria: all the peoples who spoke the conqueror’s own language, the whole way to the Firth of Forth, acknowledged Æthelstan as their lord. There seems to be a problem, please try again. Spring 2 2021 (Adobe Acrobat PDF file / 929 KB); Year 1 - Looking Through Time - Spring 2021 (Adobe Acrobat PDF file / 278 KB); Year 2 - Diary of a London Kid - Spring 2021 (Adobe Acrobat PDF file / 1.3 MB) Narrator: While he was still young we believe Athlestan was sent by his father, King Edward – the son of Alfred - to the Kingdom of Mercia. When the two are close Alfred says quietly: Today, not even our people here in Wessex know your name, but one day, when you are tall enough to wear this cloak and strong enough to lift this sword, you will be a great king and your name will be known throughout the land. Athelfleda: I don’t know. Learn about Alfred the Great and other famous Anglo-Saxon kings in this BBC Bitesize KS2 History ... and was the very first ‘King of all England’. Memories had faded of the seismic character of Æthelstan’s reign and of just how momentous its effect had been upon the political configuration of the entire island. The official website for BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed, Try 6 issues of BBC History Magazine or BBC History Revealed for only £9.99, Son of Edward the Elder and grandson of Alfred the Great, Æthelstan (or Athelstan) was the first West Saxon king to effectively rule over the whole of England, with the whole of Britain coming to acknowledge him as overlord during the course of his reign. For many historians Athelstan is the first ruler who can truly be regarded as 'king of all England'. Four Roman legions, led by General Aulus Plautius, landed in three locations on the coast of Britain – Richborough, Lympne and Dover. The sheer antiquity of the English state, far from being despised by its conquerors, tended instead to be both prized and respected by them – for it added lustre to their rule. Christianity: The Most Enduring Legacy of the Ancient World. The 9th century had been a tumultuous one for the Saxon kingdoms of England, which had fallen one by one to invading Danes with the exception of Alfred’s kingdom: Wessex. Narrator: The battle lasted for two days and at the end, Athelstan was victorious. BBC School Radio. But when Athelstan was sent to live with her in Mercia, he was not happy…. The dead man, so he reported, had been of average height and slender build. Name: King Aethelred II The Unready Born: c.968 Parents: Edgar and Elfrida Relation to Elizabeth II: 28th great-grandfather House of: Wessex Ascended to the throne: March 18, 978 Crowned: April, 978 at Kingston-upon-Thames, aged c.10 Married: (1) Elfleda, (2) Emma Children: 9 sons including Edmund and Edward, and 4 daughters Died: April 23, 1016 at London Buried at: St Paul's My lords! Devout, learned and martial in her ambitions, she had been married by Alfred to the most powerful man in Mercia and then, after his death in 911, accepted by the Mercians as their ruler. Roman Britain – 2c Invasion Successful invasion by Claudius. The reign of Alfred the Great, including his struggles with the Vikings. He knew it insufferable to be branded with the shame of having submitted meekly to barbarian arms.” And so, with the weariness of a man who had believed his life’s great labour of construction completed, only to find it threatened with utter ruin, he readied himself to fight for the survival of England. Thanks! “It had been,” so he recorded later, “blonde in colour, and beautifully twisted into golden braids.” William of Malmesbury had good reason to take an interest in such details. Now, turn round and face the people. Yet Æthelstan, in spelling out the details of what precisely was to constitute a capital offence, made sure to spare from execution all those under the age of 13. Athelstan is often referred to as the first true king of all England. He reigned from 924 to 939. Breaking news, sport, TV, radio and a whole lot more. Thank you for subscribing to HistoryExtra, you now have unlimited access. The greatest warrior of the age did not scorn to moderate martial prowess with compassion. A brief history of baby name trends from the Anglo-Saxons to today. The king who founded England has largely been forgotten even by the English. Scots, Irish, Vikings are joining together to attack us. Despite William’s own best efforts, Æthelstan’s personal renown began to fade. We do not hate you. That Æthelstan, let alone Edward and Ætheflæd, are shadowy figures, with inner lives that are as unknowable to us as the site of Brunanburh, does not render their accomplishments any less astonishing. He was the Anglo-Saxon king from 924 to 927 AD, and King of England from 927 to 939. We, at a millennium’s remove, could perhaps remember it better. Around 2,000 years ago, Britain was ruled by tribes of people called the Celts. He reigned from 924 to 939. But what if one day everyone could stop fearing one other and come together as one? This is Athelstan. Accordingly, he dug for victory. Thereafter Athelstan focused on building the strength of the kingdom. The kingdom of the English had been fashioned over the course of three generations and in the teeth of a desperate struggle for survival against the Vikings. Athelfleda: You have much to learn! He became king in 871 and died in 899. In time, it came to seem as though it had always been. Therefore, it is the stated opinion both of the king and of those with whom he has discussed the matter that no one should be put to death who is under 15 years of age.”, Clemency such as this was the reverse side of the ferocity with which Æthelstan punished betrayals of his lordship. And learning and her warriors taught him how to lead an army into war she. 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