A Chronological History of Britain
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When we left off, England was reforming its legal structure.
Now, law isn’t known for being a sexy subject…neither are lawyers for that matter. But law shapes our societies in ways that are so fundamental that they are often invisible to us. And these reforms are no exception. These codes go on to transform English life.
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With the Scandinavian raiders gone, and with AElfric of Hampshire defanged, England was free to get back to work. And, as we saw last episode, this meant that the King was once again redistributing wealth from the have-a-lots to the have-even-mores.
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The Dowager Queen AElfthryth has returned to the King’s inner council following what looks like a political coup against AElfic of Hampshire and his faction.
And just because it was political doesn’t mean it was bloodless. All of AElfric’s allies were dead. Only AElfric himself, who appears to have been too big to fail, remained as the sole surviving member of the faction.
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Ealdorman AElfirc of Hampshire was out… and Ealdorman AEthelweard the Chronicler was in.
He would now be the King’s chief councillor… and he would be supported by his son, AEthelmaer… the King’s uncle, High Reeve Ordwulf of Devon, and the King’s mother, AEthelthryth.
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992 was a bad year.
There was treason, Vikings, the King’s closest advisor absconded with half the navy, and tipped off an enemy invasion with just enough time to let them escape.
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The Battle of Maldon was a catastrophe. The brave last stand of Ealdorman Byrhtnoth was never going to change that fact. He was the leading man of Essex and the second most powerful Ealdorman in England and now he was dead. And his Fyrd was defeated.
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By 984 the Regency council had been broken and a new inner circle of nobles had been elevated. And this development was accompanied by a rapid series of changes at the highest levels of the kingdom.
The political rivals of this new council were rapidly losing power, with titles (and even lands) of wealthy dynasties being systematically funnelled to the King. During this surge of political consolidation, no one was safe. Even the powerful Ealdorman of Mercia was exiled on charges of treason.
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At 16 years old, King AEthelred was considered fully grown by Anglo Saxon standards. And as a bonus graduation present, the powerful Bishop AEthelwold of Winchester… who appears to have been the defacto head of state while AEthelred was a child… had died.
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Before we get back to our story, I’ve been seeing your conversations online and it made me realize I need to clarify something.
Some of you took the discussion of AEthelred’s unflattering nickname, and how he caught hell for some things that were out of his control or part of the common culture, and took that to mean that the BHP argues that AEthelred was a good king.