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Æthelberht, King of Wessex
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== Early life == Æthelberht was first recorded when he attested charters in 854.{{sfn|Smyth|1995|p=379}} In the following year Æthelwulf went on pilgrimage to Rome after appointing his eldest surviving son, Æthelbald, under-king of Wessex and Æthelberht under-king of Kent, Essex, Sussex and Surrey, appointments which suggest that his sons were to succeed to the separate kingdoms whether or not he returned to England. Æthelberht attested charters as ''dux'' (ealdorman) in 854 and king in 855.{{sfnm|1a1=Abels|1y=1998|1pp=70–71|2a1=Abels|2y=2002|2p=88}} In 856, Æthelwulf returned to England with a new wife, [[Judith of Flanders|Judith]], daughter of [[Charles the Bald]], king of the [[West Franks]]. Æthelbald, with the support of [[Eahlstan]], [[Bishop of Sherborne]], and Eanwulf, Ealdorman of Somerset, refused to give up his kingship of Wessex. Æthelwulf compromised to avoid a civil war, but historians disagree on how the kingdom was divided. According to Asser, Æthelwulf was assigned the "eastern districts", and most historians assume that Æthelbald kept Wessex while Æthelberht gave up Kent to his father;{{sfnm|1a1=Stenton|1y=1971|1p=245|2a1=Keynes and Lapidge|2y=1983|2pp=70, 235, n. 27|3a1=Abels|3y=1998|3pp=85–86}} some others believe that Wessex itself was divided, with Æthelbald ruling the west and Æthelwulf the east, and Æthelberht retaining Kent.{{sfnm|1a1=Kirby|1y=2000|1pp=166–67|2a1=Miller|2y=2004b}} [[File:Charter S 331 dated 862 of of King Æthelberht of Wessex.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Charter S 331, which survives in its original form, dated 862. King Æthelberht granted land at [[Bromley]] in Kent to his minister Dryhtwald.{{sfnm|1a1=Campbell|1y=1973|1pp=29–30|2a1=Keynes|2y=1994|2p=1132, n. 5}}]] Æthelwulf confirmed that he intended a permanent division of his kingdom as he recommended that on his death Æthelbald should be king of Wessex and Æthelberht king of Kent. This proposal was carried out when Æthelwulf died in 858.{{sfn|Abels|2002|p=89}} According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'': "And then Æthelwulf's two sons succeeded to the kingdom: Æthelbald to the kingdom of Wessex, and Æthelberht to the kingdom of the inhabitants of Kent and to the kingdom of Essex and to Surrey and to the kingdom of Sussex".{{sfn|Swanton|2000|p=66}} Æthelbald was later condemned by Alfred the Great's biographer, Asser, both for his rebellion against his father and because he married his father's widow,{{sfn|Keynes and Lapidge|1983|pp=70–73}} but he appears to have been on good terms with Æthelberht. In 858 Æthelbald issued a charter ([[Peter Sawyer (historian)|S]] 1274) relating to land in Surrey, and thus in his brother's territory, and a charter he issued in 860 (S 326) was witnessed by Æthelberht and Judith.{{sfnm|1a1=Keynes|1y=1994|1pp=1128–29|2a1=Miller|2y=2004a}} Æthelberht appears to have made significant changes in personnel as a Kentish charter of 858 (S 328) was witnessed by twenty-one [[thegn]]s, out of whom fourteen did not witness a surviving charter of his father. They include Eastmund, who Æthelberht later appointed ealdorman of Kent.{{sfn|Abels|2002|p=90, n. 26}} The charter is regarded by historians as important because it clarifies the obligations of [[Bookland (law)|folkland]].{{sfn|Stenton|1971|p=311}}{{efn|Folkland, which was passed on a holder's death by customary rules, was distinguished from bookland which could be left by will. S 328 showed that the king could draw food rents and customary services from folkland.{{sfn|Stenton|1971|p=311}} }}{{sfnm|1a1=Campbell|1y=1973|1pp=29–30|2a1=Keynes|2y=1994|2p=1132, n. 5}}
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