Editing Æthelbald of Mercia (section)

==Legend of Alfred III, King of Mercia==
[[File:Alfred the Third, King of Mercia, visiting William d'Albanac (Michel, after West).jpeg|thumb|''Alfred the Third, King of Mercia, visiting William d'Albanac'', engraving after [[Benjamin West]]'s painting (1782)]]
According to a story recorded by the 16th-century antiquarian [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]], and derived by him from a now lost book in the possession of the [[Earls of Rutland]] at [[Belvoir Castle]], there was once a King Alfred III of Mercia, who reigned in the 730s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wCPVQe8J5_MC&q=%22alfred+iii+of+mercia%22&pg=PA300|title=Anglo-Saxon England|first1=Michael|last1=Lapidge|first2=Malcolm|last2=Godden|first3=Simon|last3=Keynes|date=22 June 2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521652032|via=Google Books}}</ref> Though no Mercian king was ever named Alfred, let alone three, if this story has any historical basis (which Leland himself rejected) it must presumably relate to Æthelbald. The legend states that Alfred III had occasion to visit a certain William de Albanac, alleged ancestor of the Earls of Rutland, at his castle near [[Grantham]], and took a fancy to William's three comely daughters. It was the king's intention to take one as his mistress, but William threatened to kill whichever he chose rather than have her dishonoured in this way, whereupon Alfred "answerid that he meant to take one of them to wife, and chose Etheldrede that had fat bottoks, and of her he had Alurede that wan first all the Saxons the monarchy of England." A painting of this supposed incident was commissioned in 1778 by the [[Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland|Duke of Rutland]], but was destroyed in a fire in 1816.<ref>[http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/sdk13/histpaint/ashistpaint.html#alfthird1 Images of Anglo-Saxon England (Simon Keynes)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713202532/http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/sdk13/histpaint/ashistpaint.html |date=2009-07-13 }}</ref>