Editing Æthelbald, King of Wessex (section)

== Kingship ==
According to Asser, at the end of his life, Æthelwulf directed that his kingdom should be divided between his two eldest sons, and this was carried out when he died on 13 January 858. Æthelbald then continued (or resumed) as king of Wessex, while Æthelberht resumed (or kept) the kingship of Kent and the south-east. Æthelwulf left a bequest to Æthelbald, Æthelred and Alfred, with the provision that whoever lived the longest was to inherit the whole; this is seen by some historians as leaving the kingship of Wessex to the survivor, but other historians dispute this and it may have been intended to provide for the younger sons.{{sfnm|1a1=Keynes and Lapidge|1y=1983|1p=314|2a1=Nelson|2y=2004|3a1=Smyth|3y=1995|3pp=416–417|4a1=Miller|4y=2001|4pp=10–11}} Judith's status as both a Carolingian princess and a consecrated queen was so great that, rather than lose the prestige of her connections to Francia and to his father's reign, Æthelbald decided to marry her.{{sfnm|1a1=Firth|1y=2024|1pp=186-187|2a1=Nelson |2y=2004}} The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' ignores the marriage, perhaps because mentioning such a prestigious connection of Alfred's older brother would have detracted from its focus on the achievements of Alfred himself.{{sfn|Smyth|1995|pp=106–107}} Æthelbald's marriage to his widowed stepmother was subsequently condemned by Asser as "against God's prohibition and Christian dignity, and also contrary to the practice of all pagans",{{sfn|Keynes and Lapidge|1983|p=73}} although it does not appear to have aroused opposition at the time. The Frankish ''[[Annals of St Bertin]]'' reported the marriage without comment, and stated that when she returned to her father after Æthelbald's death, Judith was treated "with all the honour due to a queen".{{sfn|Nelson|1991b|pp=86, 97}} To her father's fury, soon afterwards she eloped with [[Baldwin I, Margrave of Flanders|Baldwin, Count of Flanders]], and their son [[Baldwin II, Margrave of Flanders|Baldwin II]] married Alfred's daughter [[Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders|Ælfthryth]].{{sfn|Nelson|2004}}

Little is known of Æthelbald's reign and only two of his charters survive. S 1274, dated 858,{{efn|The authenticity of charter S 1274 is disputed. [[Janet Nelson]] describes it as "untrustworthy" and [[David Dumville]] as "suspicious", but its genuineness is defended in detail by [[Simon Keynes]].{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1991a|1p=58, n. 62|2a1=Dumville|2y=1992|2p=43|3a1=Keynes|3y=1994|3pp=1123–1126}} }} is a grant by Swithun of an episcopal estate at [[Farnham]] to the king for his lifetime, and in [[Barbara Yorke]]'s view it is an example of Æthelbald's confiscations of the bishop of Winchester's estates for his own use.{{sfn|Yorke|1984|p=64}} S 326, dated 860, is a grant by Æthelbald of fourteen [[Hide (unit)|hides]] at [[Teffont]] in [[Wiltshire]] to a [[thegn]] called Osmund.{{sfn|Keynes|1994|p=1123}} Both are attested by Judith, an indication of her high status, as ninth-century West Saxon kings' wives were not normally given the rank of queen and almost never witnessed charters. The marriage and attestations are evidence that Æthelbald intended the succession to pass to his own son, not his brothers.{{sfn|Stafford|2003|pp=257–258}}{{efn|In S 326 Judith is styled ''filius regis'' (king's son) due to a copyist's error.{{sfn|Keynes|1994|p=1129}} }} S 326 is also attested by King Æthelberht, suggesting that he was on good terms with his brother.{{sfn|Miller|2004}} S 1274 is the earliest surviving West Saxon charter to require a contribution to fortification work, and Nelson suggests that Judith's entourage may have been responsible for the innovation. A few years later Charles the Bald began a programme of rebuilding town walls and building new fortresses in West Francia.{{sfnm|1a1=Brooks|1y=1971|1p=81|2a1=Nelson|2y=2003|2p=297}}

[[File:Fake coins of Æthelwulf and Æthelbald.jpg|thumb|260px|Fake coins of Æthelwulf and Æthelbald]]

No coins are known to have been issued in the name of Æthelbald. The main mints in southern England were both in Kent, at [[Canterbury]] and [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]]. They minted coins in the name of Æthelwulf until 858 and then in the name of Æthelberht. There was one mint in Wessex, probably at [[Southampton]] or [[Winchester]], but it operated at a minimal level in the mid-ninth century and only three coins from it between 839 and 871 are known, two of Æthelwulf and one of Æthelred I, all produced by the same moneyer. The fact that the Kentish mints produced coins only for Æthelberht between 858 and 860 is evidence that Æthelbald was not his brother's overlord.{{sfnm|1a1=Naismith|1y=2011|1pp=43–46|2a1=Naismith|2y=2012|2pp=110, 125–126}} Three coins of Æthelbald were regarded as genuine in the late nineteenth century, but in the 1900s they were found to be forgeries.{{sfnm|1a1=Grierson and Blackburn|1y=1986|1p=337|2a1=Lawrence|2y=1893|2pp=40–45|3a1=Lawrence|3y=1905|3pp=407–409|4a1=Naismith|4y=2011 |4p=34}}

=== Death ===
Æthelbald died in 860 and the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives him a reign of five years, dating the start to 855 when Æthelwulf left for Rome. Both Asser and the ''[[Annals of St Neots]]'' give Æthelbald a rule of two and a half years, and the ''Annals'' adds that he also ruled for two and a half years jointly with his father.{{sfnm|1a1=Keynes and Lapidge|1y=1983|1p=73|2a1=Smyth|2y=1995|2p=192}} Most modern historians date his reign as 855 to 860,{{sfnm|1a1=Williams|1y=1991|2a1=Dumville|2y=1996|2p=23|3a1=Smyth|3y=1995|3p=10|4a1=Abels|4y=1998|4p=347|5a1=Yorke|5y=1995|5p=114}} but some as 858 to 860.{{sfnm |1a1=Keynes and Lapidge|1y=1983|1p=62|2a1=Nelson|2y=2004}} Only the year of his death is known, but as his father died in January 858 and he ruled for two and a half years thereafter, he probably died in about July 860. He was buried at Sherborne in [[Dorset]] and he is not known to have had any children.{{sfnm|1a1=Keynes and Lapidge|1y=1983|1p=73|2a1=Smyth|2y=1995|2p=192|3a1=Stenton|3y=1971|3p=245}}

He was succeeded by Æthelberht, who re-united Wessex and Kent under his rule. It is not clear whether the division between Wessex and Kent had been intended to be permanent, but if so Æthelbald's early death allowed Æthelberht to reverse the division, and Kent and the south-east were thereafter treated as an integral part of Wessex.{{sfn|Williams|1999|p=72}}