Editing Æthelred the Unready (section)

== Legislation ==
[[File:Aethelred charter 1003.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A charter of Æthelred's in 1003 to a follower, also called Æthelred. [[British Library]], London]]

Æthelred's government produced extensive legislation, which he "ruthlessly enforced".{{sfn|Wormald|1978|p=49}} Records of at least six legal codes survive from his reign, covering a range of topics.{{sfn|Liebermann|1903|pp=216–270}} Notably, one of the members of his council (known as the {{lang|ang|Witan}}) was [[Wulfstan (died 1023)|Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York]], a well-known [[Homily|homilist]]. The three latest codes from Æthelred's reign seemed to have been drafted by Wulfstan.{{sfn|Wormald|2004}} These codes are extensively concerned with ecclesiastical affairs. They also exhibit the characteristics of Wulfstan's highly rhetorical style. Wulfstan went on to draft codes for King Cnut, and recycled there many of the laws which were used in Æthelred's codes.{{sfn|Wormald|1999a|pp=356–360}}

Despite the failure of his government in the face of the Danish threat, Æthelred's reign was not without some important institutional achievements. The quality of the coinage, a good indicator of the prevailing economic conditions, significantly improved during his reign due to his numerous coinage reform laws.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |contribution=Ethelred II |year=2009 |title=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>