Back to the Mainly The Vikings calendar
Ethelred now became King but, as he was only 10, mummy decided she would rule for him, at least until he could tie his own
laces. This didn’t take too long but, to be honest, Ethelred’s reign, which lasted until 1013, was a complete disaster. He did actually make a brief comeback in
1014, although this second series was even worse than the first.
Ethelred was later known as Ethelred the Unready and you will soon find out why. Actually, although it seems he often wasn’t ready for things that
happened in his reign, the word unready comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “unraed” which means he wouldn’t listen to his advisors.
He had two wives. The first was called Elfled, who came from Northumbria; good move for uniting his kingdom. The second wife was Emma of Normandy;
bad move this, as we will see later. It still seems to be that “E” is a good letter if you want to be part of the rulers of England. Probably explains why Queen
Elizabeth was around so long.
It was also during this time that the Danes (or Vikings) started to attack England again even though many Vikings were now happily(ish) living
here.
The first major landing happened in 991AD at a place called Maldon in Essex. This is interesting because a poem was written about the battle. You can
read more about it here and read a translation of the poem which interested JRR Tolkein,
the man who wrote The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Go and have a look but do come back. Please. Pretty please.
Forward to 991AD
