Editing Æthelwulf, King of Wessex (section)

== Pilgrimage to Rome and later life ==
In 855, Æthelwulf went on a pilgrimage to Rome. According to Abels: "Æthelwulf was at the height of his power and prestige. It was a propitious time for the West Saxon king to claim a place of honour among the kings and emperors of [[christendom]]."{{sfn|Abels|1998|p=62}} His eldest surviving sons Æthelbald and Æthelberht were then adults, while Æthelred and Alfred were still young children. In 853 Æthelwulf sent his younger sons to Rome, perhaps accompanying envoys in connection with his own forthcoming visit. Alfred, and probably Æthelred as well, were invested with the "belt of consulship". Æthelred's part in the journey is only known from a contemporary record in the ''[[Confraternity book|liber vitae]]'' of [[San Salvatore, Brescia|San Salvatore]], [[Brescia]], as later records such as the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' were only interested in recording the honour paid to Alfred.{{sfn|Nelson|2004a}} Abels see the embassy as paving the way for Æthelwulf's pilgrimage, and the presence of Alfred, his youngest and therefore most expendable son, as a gesture of goodwill to the papacy; [[confirmation]] by [[Pope Leo IV]] made Alfred his spiritual son, and thus created a spiritual link between the two "fathers".{{sfn|Abels|1998|pp=62, 67}}{{efn|Abels is sceptical whether Æthelred accompanied Alfred to Rome as he is not mentioned in a letter from Leo to Æthelwulf reporting Alfred's reception,{{sfn|Abels|1998|p=67, n. 57}} but Nelson argues that only a fragment of the letter survives in an 11th-century copy, and the scribe who selected excerpts from Leo's letters, like the editors of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', was only interested in Alfred.{{sfn|Nelson|2004a}} }} Kirby argues that the journey may indicate that Alfred was intended for the church,{{sfn|Kirby|2000|pp=164–65}} while Nelson, on the contrary, sees Æthelwulf's purpose as affirming his younger sons' throneworthiness, thus protecting them against being [[tonsure]]d by their elder brothers, which would have rendered them ineligible for kingship.{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1997|1pp=144–46|2a1=Nelson|2y=2004a}}

Æthelwulf set out for Rome in the spring of 855, accompanied by Alfred and a large retinue.{{sfn|Abels|1998|p=72}} The King left Wessex in the care of his oldest surviving son, Æthelbald, and the sub-kingdom of Kent to the rule of Æthelberht, and thereby confirmed that they were to succeed to the two kingdoms.{{sfn|Abels|2002|p=88}} On the way the party stayed with Charles the Bald in Francia, where there were the usual banquets and exchange of gifts. Æthelwulf stayed a year in Rome,{{sfn|Abels|1998|pp=73, 75}} and his gifts to the [[Diocese of Rome]] included a gold crown weighing {{convert|4|lb|kg}}, two gold goblets, a sword bound with gold, four silver-gilt bowls, two silk tunics and two gold-interwoven veils. He also gave gold to the clergy and leading men and silver to the people of Rome. According to the historian Joanna Story, his gifts rivalled those of Carolingian donors and the Byzantine emperor and "were clearly chosen to reflect the personal generosity and spiritual wealth of the West Saxon king; here was no Germanic "hillbilly" from the backwoods of the Christian world but, rather, a sophisticated, wealthy and utterly contemporary monarch".{{sfn|Story|2003|pp=238–39}} The post-Conquest chronicler [[William of Malmesbury]] stated that he helped to pay for the restoration of the [[Schola Saxonum|Saxon quarter]], which had recently been destroyed by fire, for English pilgrims.{{sfn|Abels|1998|p=77}}

The pilgrimage puzzles historians and Kelly comments that "it is extraordinary that an early medieval king could consider his position safe enough to abandon his kingdom in a time of extreme crisis". She suggests that Æthelwulf may have been motivated by a personal religious impulse.{{sfn|Kelly|2005|p=91}} Ryan sees it as an attempt to placate the divine wrath displayed by Viking attacks,{{sfn|Ryan|2013 |p=255}} whereas Nelson thinks he aimed to enhance his prestige in dealing with the demands of his adult sons.{{sfn|Nelson|2013|p=240}} In Kirby's view:

{{blockquote|Æthelwulf's journey to Rome is of great interest for it did not signify abdication and a retreat from the world as their journeys to Rome had for [[Cædwalla]] and Ine and other Anglo-Saxon kings. It was more a display of the king's international standing and a demonstration of the prestige his dynasty enjoyed in Frankish and papal circles.{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=164}} }}

On his way back from Rome Æthelwulf again stayed with King Charles the Bald, and may have joined him on a campaign against a Viking warband.{{sfn|Abels|1998|p=79}} On 1 October 856, Æthelwulf married Charles's daughter, Judith, aged 12 or 13, at [[Verberie]]. The marriage was considered extraordinary by contemporaries and by modern historians. Carolingian princesses rarely married and were usually sent to nunneries, and it was almost unknown for them to marry foreigners. Judith was crowned queen and [[anoint]]ed by [[Hincmar]], [[Archbishop of Rheims]]. Although empresses had been anointed before, this is the first definitely known anointing of a Carolingian queen. In addition, West Saxon custom, described by Asser as "perverse and detestable", was that the wife of a king of Wessex could not be called queen or sit on the throne with her husband&nbsp;– she was just the king's wife.{{sfnm|1a1=Stafford|1y=1981|1pp=139–42|2a1=Story|2y=2003|2pp=240–42}}

Æthelwulf returned to Wessex to face a revolt by Æthelbald, who attempted to prevent his father from recovering his throne. Historians give varying explanations for both the rebellion and the marriage. In Nelson's view, Æthelwulf's marriage to Judith added the West Saxon king to the family of kings and princely allies which Charles was creating.{{sfn|Nelson|1997|p=143}} Charles was under attack both from Vikings and from a rising among his own nobility, and Æthelwulf had great prestige due to his victories over the Vikings; some historians such as Kirby and [[Pauline Stafford]] see the marriage as sealing an anti-Viking alliance. The marriage gave Æthelwulf a share in Carolingian prestige, and Kirby describes the anointing of Judith as "a charismatic sanctification which enhanced her status, blessed her womb and conferred additional throne-worthiness on her male offspring." These marks of a special status implied that a son of hers would succeed to at least part of Æthelwulf's kingdom, and explain Æthelbald's decision to rebel.{{sfnm|1a1=Kirby|1y=2000|1pp=165–66|2a1=Stafford|2y=1981|2p=139}} The historian Michael Enright denies that an anti-Viking alliance between two such distant kingdoms could serve any useful purpose, and argues that the marriage was Æthelwulf's response to news that his son was planning to rebel; his son by an anointed Carolingian queen would be in a strong position to succeed as king of Wessex instead of the rebellious Æthelbald.{{sfn|Enright|1979|pp=291–301}} Abels suggests that Æthelwulf sought Judith's hand because he needed her father's money and support to overcome his son's rebellion,{{sfnm|1a1=Abels|1y=1998|1pp=80–82|2a1=Enright|2y=1979|2pp=291–302}} but Kirby and Smyth argue that it is extremely unlikely that Charles the Bald would have agreed to marry his daughter to a ruler who was known to be in serious political difficulty.{{sfnm|1a1=Kirby|1y=2000|1p=166|2a1=Smyth|2y=1995|2pp=191–92}} Æthelbald may also have acted out of resentment at the loss of patrimony he suffered as a result of the decimation.{{sfn|Kelly|2005|p=91}}

Æthelbald's rebellion was supported by Ealhstan, Bishop of Sherborne, and Eanwulf, ealdorman of Somerset, even though they appear to have been two of the king's most trusted advisers.{{sfn|Abels|1998|p=81}} According to Asser, the plot was concerted "in the western part of Selwood", and western nobles may have backed Æthelbald because they resented the patronage Æthelwulf gave to eastern Wessex.{{sfn|Yorke|1995|pp=98–99}} Asser also stated that Æthelwulf agreed to give up the western part of his kingdom in order to avoid a civil war. Some historians such as Keynes and Abels think that his rule was then confined to the south-east,{{sfnm|1a1=Keynes|1y=1998|1p=7|2a1=Abels|2y=2002|2p=89}} while others such as Kirby think it is more likely that it was Wessex itself which was divided, with Æthelbald keeping Wessex west of Selwood, Æthelwulf holding the centre and east, and Æthelberht keeping the south-east.{{sfn|Kirby|2000|pp=166–67}} Æthelwulf insisted that Judith should sit beside him on the throne until the end of his life, and according to Asser, this was "without any disagreement or dissatisfaction on the part of his nobles".{{sfnm|1a1=Keynes|1a2=Lapidge|1y=1983|1pp=71, 235–36, n. 28 |2a1=Nelson|2y=2006|2pp=70–71}}