On this day in history, 2nd August 924: the 1101st anniversary of the death of Ælfweard, the short-reigned king of Wessex

Who was Ælfweard?

Ælfweard was the son of Edward the Elder (who'd died 16 days earlier, and was himself the son of King Alfred) and his second wife, Ælfflæd (Edward the Elder fathered children with at least three different women, two of whom were certainly married to him). He was, presumably, the oldest born son with Edward’s second wife, and from a very young age, he can be seen attesting to his father’s charters. We don’t know his exact date of birth because we don’t know when Edward remarried, and whether it was before or after King Alfred's death in 899.

The family of King Alfred, Ælfweard's grandfather.

What do we know about Ælfweard, aside from very little?

Ælfweard begins to attest charters in 901 as filius regis, alongside his more-famous older half-brother, Athelstan, although Ælfweard is given precedence and named before him. This precedence for the oldest son from a second marriage would also be mirrored in later years by King Edgar, who presented his oldest son with his third wife, Elfrida, as the legitimate ætheling while still acknowledging his oldest son with his first wife. (It didn't end well there, either).

Ælfweard attests eight of his father’s charters (S365, S375, S376, S377, S378, S381, S382 and S383 - visit the Electronic Sawyer for details). The number is small and may not be representative because there’s a lack of surviving charter evidence from the later part of Edward the Elder's reign and none from Ælfweard’s short reign, either. Indeed, Ælfweard's full brother, Edwin, doesn’t attest any of his father’s charters, although he's named in one of Athelstan’s later charters (S1417).

The text of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recording the death of Edward the Elder and his son, Ælfweard.

Ælfweard’s death ‘allowed’ Athelstan to become king of Wessex

Despite the survival of Ælfweard's full brother, Edwin, Athelstan (his half-brother) was, eventually, proclaimed king of Wessex as well as Mercia on Ælfweard's death, although Athelstan's coronation was delayed until September 925 (so over a year later) (Read about Athelstan here). We must consider what led to Ælfweard’s death at Oxford. Had he been with his father at Farndon in Mercia, putting down a revolt or fighting the Norse enemy? Was there some sort of illness? Was he murdered by those loyal to Athelstan to allow him to become king of Wessex as well as Mercia? We do not know. The situation is presented as a fait accompli in the sources.

Edwin, Ælfweard’s younger full brother, would die far from England’s shores, if the information we do have about his death is correct. It is possible he did rise in rebellion against Athelstan, but alas, we don't know any further details, and so the two sons of Edward the Elder's second marriage, pass almost without mention in the surviving historical record.

Check out the Brunanburh Series to read more about this fascinating period.

Check out The Royal Women Who Made England to read about Ælfweard's mother, and his father's many wives.