Æthelred I of East Anglia

Beodricesworth

The location of Beodricesworth, where Æthelred and his queen lived

Æthelred I was a semi-historical eighth-century king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. It is thought that he ruled for some time between 760 and 790 and held East Anglia during the overlordship of Offa of Mercia. He succeeded three East Anglian kings who ruled together after 749.

There is no coinage known for Æthelred and the only historical sources that name him date from after the Norman conquest of England, including the Lives of St Æthelberht and the regnal lists of William of Malmesbury.^[1] In the legendary narratives of Saint Æthelberht, Æthelred and his queen, who was possibly named Leofruna,^[2] both dwelt at Beodricesworth (modern Bury St. Edmunds).

Æthelred was the father of Æthelberht II of East Anglia, who succeeded him in the 770s.

Footnotes

1. William of Malmesbury, Chronicle of the kings of England, p. 89.
2. Queen 'Leoueromia' is named as the mother of Æthelberht II in Nova legenda Anglie, p.412 (in Latin)

References

• Plunkett, Steven (2005). Suffolk in Anglo-Saxon Times. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-3139-0.
• William of Malmesbury (1847). Chronicle of the Kings of England. Giles, J. A. (trans.). London: Bohn.

External links

• Cawley, Charles, A section on Æthelred, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, retrieved August 2012 in Medieval Lands Project: England, Anglo-Saxon and Danish Kings.