Æthelstan Half-King (fl. 932 – 956) was an Ealdorman of East Anglia who served five kings of England, including Edgar, who was brought up by Æthelstan's wife Ælfwynn, following the death of Edgar's mother. He was called the "half-king" because he was respected so highly that kings were said to depend on his advice. Many of Æthelstan's close relatives were also involved in important affairs. Soon after the death of King Eadred in 955 he left his position and became a monk at Glastonbury Abbey.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Æthelstan Half-King
- Æthelstan Half-King in the context of Æthelwine, Ealdorman of East Anglia
- Æthelstan Half-King in the context of Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia
- Æthelstan Half-King in the context of Ælfwynn, wife of Æthelstan Half-King
- Æthelstan Half-King in the context of Æthelwald, Ealdorman of East Anglia
- Æthelstan Half-King in the context of Æthelstan Rota
Æthelstan Half-King in the context of Æthelwine, Ealdorman of East Anglia
Æthelwine (died 992) was ealdorman of East Anglia and one of the leading noblemen in the kingdom of England in the later 10th century. As with his kinsmen, the principal source for his life is Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester. Æthelwine founded Ramsey Abbey in 969, and Byrhtferth and Ramsey Abbey remembered him as Dei amicus (friend to God), but the monks of nearby Ely saw him as an enemy who had seized their lands.
Æthelwine was the son of Æthelstan Half-King and Ælfwynn, but probably not the eldest son as his brother Æthelwald seems to have succeeded their father on his retirement in 956. Æthelwine appears to have followed Æthelwald in office from 962. He was a benefactor of the New Minster at Winchester, and of Ramsey Abbey.
Æthelstan Half-King in the context of Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia
Ælfhere (died in 983) was Ealdorman of Mercia. His family, along with those of Æthelstan Half-King and Æthelstan Rota, rose to greatness in the middle third of the 10th century. In the reign of Edward the Martyr, Ælfhere was a leader of the anti-monastic reaction and an ally of Edward's stepmother Queen Dowager Ælfthryth. After the killing of Edward by Ælfthryth's servants in 978, Ælfhere supported the new king, Ælfthryth's son Æthelred the Unready, and was the leading nobleman in the Kingdom of England until his death in 983.
Æthelstan Half-King in the context of Ælfwynn, wife of Æthelstan Half-King
Ælfwynn or Ælfwyn (died 8 July 983) was a member of a wealthy Anglo-Saxon family in Huntingdonshire who married Æthelstan Half-King, the powerful ealdorman of East Anglia, in about 932. She is chiefly known for having been foster-mother to the future King Edgar (ruled 959-975) following his mother's death in 944, when he was an infant. She had four sons, and the youngest, Æthelwine, became the chief secular magnate and leading supporter of the monastic reform movement. Ælfwynn donated her estates for his foundation of Ramsey Abbey in 966 and was probably buried there.
Æthelstan Half-King in the context of Æthelwald, Ealdorman of East Anglia
Æthelwold or Æthelwald (died 962) was ealdorman of East Anglia. He is mentioned in Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester along with other members of his family.
He was probably the oldest son of Æthelstan Half-King and succeeded to some of his father's offices in 956 when Æthelstan became a monk at Glastonbury Abbey. He was a benefactor of Ramsey Abbey and a supporter of the Benedictine reform movement which began in the reign of King Edgar.
Æthelstan Half-King in the context of Æthelstan Rota
Æthelstan (floruit 940–970) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman. He served as an Ealdorman in southern Mercia in the reigns of Kings Eadwig and Edgar. He is referred to as Æthelstan Rota (Æthelstan the Red) in one charter, and is so known to distinguish him from Æthelstan Half-King, and another Æthelstan (fl. 940–949), who were Ealdormen in the same period.
Æthelstan rose to prominence in the reign of King Eadwig; Æthelflæd of Damerham, second wife of Eadwig's father King Edmund I, and thus Eadwig's stepmother, was married to this Æthelstan. Æthelflæd was a woman of considerable influence, and not merely as a relict of King Edmund; her father Ælfgar is described as a dux and Ealdorman of Essex.