King Aethelwulf: Father of Alfred The Great

 In the late 830s, Aethelwulf became king of Wessex, succeeding his father, Egbert. The Viking threat to the Anglo Saxon kingdoms during Aethelwulf's near two decade long reign was growing ever more sinister and Aethelwulf would suffer defeats in battle against them and areas like London and Kent would be ravaged by vicious Viking attacks. Aethelwulf, however, was surrounded by capable and proactive advisers including a bishop by the name of Swithun, who would later be made a saint. Wishing to ensure that the Vikings were kept at bay as much as physically possible, Swithun demanded that the king respond to the raids as swiftly as possible. Aethelwulf was described as being a mild mannered man and it would seem that warfare went against his natural instincts. He was certainly a man who preferred times of peace where he could perhaps enjoy more leisurely pursuits.

But for Bishop Swithun and the other advisers, they knew that the Viking threat had to be dealt with forcefully and they did their best to ensure that the king was kept on his toes by constant and firm reminders of what it took to govern a kingdom. Another man close to Aethelwulf, Ealstan, took it upon himself to not only ensure that the army was kept in good order as well making significant financial contributions to the crown. Ealstan was accused of being a greedy man but his contributions were vital nonetheless Aethelwulf may not have been perfect in terms of his character but he deserves credit for having advisers around him that could help provided strong resistance against the Vikings.

In the late 840s, around the half way point of Aethelwulf's reign, his youngest son Alfred was born who, on two occasions during his childhood, was sent to Rome. On the second occasion, Aethelwulf accompanied his son and ,on the way back, he would take back to Wessex Judith of Flanders, daughter of Charles The Bald, the king of West Francia and future Holy Roman Emperor. On his return to Wessex, Aethelwulf had found his son Aethelbald had gone into rebellion against him, with the assistance of Ealstan and others, and aimed to deprive his father of the crown. However, support for Aethelbald was in short supply and in the end Wessex was divided into two with father and son getting a half each. 

The episode with his son may have demonstrated that Aethelwulf was not an overly ruthless man. Aethelbald perhaps should have been put in his place a little bit more. But what it also demonstrated is that Aethelwulf had a reasonably unified nobility behind him, crucial in this day and age were the wars against the Vikings had only just begun. Aethelwulf was also praised for his treatment of the church and his general, day to day governance of his kingdom seems to have been sensible enough. So it was into this world that young Alfred was born. Things would be tougher during his reign then it had been during his father's rule but Aethelwulf had certainly set a good example of kingship to not only Alfred but to his other four sons, all kings themselves, as well. Even if it wasn't an example they wished to follow.