The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom
“The First King of England: Aethelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom” is a superb biography of one of England’s most significant and accomplished kings. David Woodman demonstrates how Aethelstan held his enlarged kingdom together, managed the church, became a prominent European statesman, and dominated his Celtic neighbours. Both a general audience and well-informed readers will find it a most illuminating guide to early tenth-century England.
Born in the year 894, Aethelstan was the third in a remarkable line of great warrior kings from Wessex. His grandfather, Alfred the Great, halted the Viking advance into southern England; his father, Edward the Elder, reconquered the Viking kingdoms in eastern England and Aethelstan himself, in 927, conquered Viking Northumbria, thereby taking control of all of England. His 15-year reign is one of the most significant periods in English history and is the subject of David Woodman’s recent book, The First King of England: Aethelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom.
Woodman is a Professor of History at the University of Cambridge and the author of Edward the Confessor: The Sainted King (2020). In the preface of The First King of England, he recalls a question given to him as a Cambridge student: "If you were to write a biography of King Aethelstan, what would its main themes be?" Woodman’s answer, all these years later, is to divide the book into seven chapters, across just over 200 pages.
He begins with the king’s youth, then follows his early reign and the conquest of northern England in 927. Woodman then adopts a thematic approach, examining how the king governed and then how he handled the church. He next shifts to the king’s foreign policy, first explaining how Aethelstan subjugated his Celtic neighbours and then exploring his dealings with the leading kings and nobles of Europe. Finally, he concludes with the king’s death in 939 and the accession of his brother, Edmund I (r. 939-946).
Woodman’s expertise is most evident in explaining Anglo-Saxon charters. These documents record meetings of royal councils, list their attendees (or ‘witnesses’), and mark the king’s granting of estates or privileges to his followers. By examining Aethelstan’s charters’ witness lists, Woodman shows that as the king conquered northern England in 927, the size of his councils expanded considerably, developing into what some scholars have called 'proto-parliaments’ – though Woodman prefers the term ‘royal assemblies’.
Amongst these assemblies’ witness lists were Danish names – Guthrum, Gunner, and Fraena – evidence that the conquered Viking aristocracy retained their status within this new kingdom and were welcome at Aethelstan’s court. But these larger gatherings did not last, reverting to a small size after 935 – possibly reflecting a decline in Aethelstan’s power, perhaps changing relations with regional magnates, or merely a new scribe using a different style when writing charters.
A much larger kingdom also brought Aethelstan into contact with church leaders and communities, far away from Wessex. Woodman highlights how he won them over with gifts such as rare books and land grants – much of Lancashire was given to the Archbishop of York. Aethelstan also associated himself with St Cuthbert – beloved by northern Christians – visiting his shrine at Chester-Le-Street, County Durham, in 934, and showering it with gifts, estates, money, precious manuscripts and tapestries, an act Woodman considers “a masterstroke of diplomacy.”
Woodman clearly admires his subject, describing him as “an extraordinary individual” and “a master politician.” Yet, he admits a lack of source material makes it “difficult to know anything about Aethelstan the man.” This is a common struggle for Aethelstan biographers. In Aethelstan: The First King of England (2011), Sarah Foot similarly noted, “Aethelstan the man remains elusive.” Woodman, however, concludes that from his actions, we can at least say with certainty that Aethelstan was ambitious, ruthless, and pious.
Perhaps Woodman’s boldest claim is that 927, the year England was unified, should be considered as important as 1066. Maybe he is right. Oddly, the nation remembered its conquest better than its creation, and with England’s 1100th birthday approaching in 2027, it deserves to be given the appropriate recognition. The First King of England is an excellent starting point for anyone who doubts the importance of 927 and Aethelstan’s place in English history.
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