text:
King of the Anglo-Saxons
King of the English
Edward the Elder
Ecgwynn
Edmund
Mercia
Ælfweard
Wessex
Viking
York
Constantine II
Battle of Brunanburh
charter
Alfred the Great
Benedictine
Northumbria
East Anglia
Egbert
Viking
Great Heathen Army
Battle of Edington
Guthrum
Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians
Æthelflæd
Æthelwold
Æthelred
Battle of the Holme
Battle of Tettenhall
Ælfwynn
Humber
Sihtric
Kingdom of York
Ealdred
Bernicia
Bamburgh
Constantine II
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Deheubarth
Gwent
Brycheiniog
Gwynedd
William of Malmesbury
Ecgwynn
Conquest
Simon Keynes
Barbara Yorke
Sarah Foot
St Dunstan
Michael Lapidge
Michael Wood
Janet Nelson
acrostic
John the Old Saxon
Ælfflæd
Edwin
Eadgifu
Eadred
Danelaw
St Oswald's Priory, Gloucester
Farndon
David Dumville
Kingston upon Thames
Archbishop of Canterbury
Athelm
West Frankish
Bishop of Winchester
Frithestan
Adelolf, Count of Boulogne
Abbey of Saint Bertin
Saint-Omer
Symeon of Durham
Sihtric
Deira
Guthfrith
Dublin
Eamont
Penrith
Hywel Dda
Ealdred of Bamburgh
King Owain of Strathclyde
Thomas Charles-Edwards
Armes Prydein Vawr
Exeter
River Tamar
Cornish see
first bishop
John Maddicott
Beverley
York
Amounderness
Archbishop of York
Annals of Clonmacnoise
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
John of Worcester
Idwal Foel
Chester-le-Street
stole
maniple
Simeon of Durham
Dunnottar
Caithness
Buckingham
Olaf Guthfrithson
Michael Wood
Harold
Battle of Brunanburh
King Edmund I
Æthelweard
Annals of Ulster
Æthelweard
Ælfric of Eynsham
heroic poem vaunting the great victory
Bromborough
Wirral
Alex Woolf
pyrrhic victory
Alfred Smyth
ealdormen
Æthelstan
Æthelstan A
witan
Frank Stenton
Old English
Æthelberht of Kent
ealdormen
Carolingian
Charlemagne
hundreds
judicial ordeal
Grately
Faversham
the 'Dunsæte'
Patrick Wormald
Wulfhelm
Nicholas Brooks
tithing
frankpledge
King Edgar
minting
coinage
Ælfheah
Bishop of Wells
Beornstan
Ælfheah
Æthelwold
Wulfstan
Oda
Bishop of Ramsbury
Dol
St. Cuthbert
Bede
Milton Abbas
Muchelney
Cenwald
Bishop of Worcester
Saxon court
Holy Roman Emperor
Otto
Dol Cathedral
Israel the Grammarian
Gospel Dice
Bangor
Beowulf
"hermeneutic" style
Aldhelm
W. H. Stevenson
Christ Church, Canterbury
basileus
Byzantine emperors
Flodoard
Carolingians
Æthelwulf
Judith
Charles the Bald
Ælfthryth
Baldwin II, Count of Flanders
Eadgifu
Charles the Simple
West Franks
Louis
Hugh
Constantine the Great
Crown of Thorns
Eadhild
Liudolfing
East Francia
Henry the Fowler
Oswald
Eadgyth
Mathilde, Abbess of Essen
Alps
Alan II, Duke of Brittany
Hakon
Harald Fairhair
Norway
Cnut
Gloucester
Malmesbury Abbey
Reformation
Anlaf Cuaran
Edmund
Watling Street
Eric Bloodaxe
Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Ælfwine of Lichfield
Alfred the Great
Offa
Edward I
Æthelred the Unready
William Tyndale
Sharon Turner
History of the Anglo-Saxons
Charles Dickens
Child's History of England
Royal Academy
Ann Williams
The Vale of York Hoard

categories: 9th-century English people,Anglo-Saxon warriors,890s births,10th-century English monarchs,House of Wessex,Christian monarchs,West Saxon monarchs,Northumbrian monarchs,Monarchs of England before 1066,Anglo-Saxon monarchs,939 deaths,Mercian monarchs,Founding monarchs

paragraph: Æthelstan

paragraph: Æthelstan or Athelstan (; or "Æðelstān"; meaning "noble stone"; 894 – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to 939 when he died. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern historians regard him as the first King of England and one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon kings. He never married and had no children. He was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund.

paragraph: When Edward died in July 924, Æthelstan was accepted by the Mercians as king. His half-brother Ælfweard may have been recognised as king in Wessex, but died within three weeks of their father's death. Æthelstan encountered resistance in Wessex for several months, and was not crowned until September 925. In 927 he conquered the last remaining Viking kingdom, York, making him the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of the whole of England. In 934 he invaded Scotland and forced Constantine II to submit to him, but Æthelstan's rule was resented by the Scots and Vikings, and in 937 they invaded England. Æthelstan defeated them at the Battle of Brunanburh, a victory which gave him great prestige both in the British Isles and on the Continent. After his death in 939 the Vikings seized back control of York, and it was not finally reconquered until 954.

paragraph: Æthelstan centralised government; he increased control over the production of charters and summoned leading figures from distant areas to his councils. These meetings were also attended by rulers from outside his territory, especially Welsh kings, who thus acknowledged his overlordship. More legal texts survive from his reign than from any other 10th-century English king. They show his concern about widespread robberies, and the threat they posed to social order. His legal reforms built on those of his grandfather, Alfred the Great. Æthelstan was one of the most pious West Saxon kings, and was known for collecting relics and founding churches. His household was the centre of English learning during his reign, and it laid the foundation for the Benedictine monastic reform later in the century. No other West Saxon king played as important a role in European politics as Æthelstan, and he arranged the marriages of several of his sisters to continental rulers.

paragraph: Section::::Background.

paragraph: By the ninth century the many kingdoms of the early Anglo-Saxon period had been consolidated into four: Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia. In the eighth century, Mercia had been the most powerful kingdom in southern England, but in the early ninth, Wessex became dominant under Æthelstan's great-great-grandfather, Egbert. In the middle of the century, England came under increasing attack from Viking raids, culminating in invasion by the Great Heathen Army in 865. By 878, the Vikings had overrun East Anglia, Northumbria, and Mercia, and nearly conquered Wessex. The West Saxons fought back under Alfred the Great, and achieved a decisive victory at the Battle of Edington. Alfred and the Viking leader Guthrum agreed on a division that gave Alfred western Mercia, while eastern Mercia was incorporated into Viking East Anglia. In the 890s, renewed Viking attacks were successfully fought off by Alfred, assisted by his son (and Æthelstan's father) Edward and Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians. Æthelred ruled English Mercia under Alfred and was married to his daughter Æthelflæd. Alfred died in 899 and was succeeded by Edward. Æthelwold, the son of Æthelred, King Alfred's older brother and predecessor as king, made a bid for power, but was killed at the Battle of the Holme in 902.

paragraph: Little is known of warfare between the English and the Danes over the next few years, but in 909, Edward sent a West Saxon and Mercian army to ravage Northumbria. The following year the Northumbrian Danes attacked Mercia, but suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Tettenhall. Æthelred died in 911 and was succeeded as ruler of Mercia by his widow Æthelflæd. Over the next decade, Edward and Æthelflæd conquered Viking Mercia and East Anglia. Æthelflæd died in 918 and was briefly succeeded by her daughter Ælfwynn, but in the same year Edward deposed her and took direct control of Mercia.

paragraph: When Edward died in 924, he controlled all of England south of the Humber. The Viking king Sihtric ruled the Kingdom of York in southern Northumbria, but Ealdred maintained Anglo-Saxon rule in at least part of the former kingdom of Bernicia from his base in Bamburgh in northern Northumbria. Constantine II ruled Scotland, apart from the southwest, which was the British Kingdom of Strathclyde. Wales was divided into a number of small kingdoms, including Deheubarth in the southwest, Gwent in the southeast, Brycheiniog immediately north of Gwent, and Gwynedd in the north.

paragraph: Section::::Early life.

paragraph: According to William of Malmesbury, Æthelstan was thirty years old when he came to the throne in 924, which would mean that he was born around 894. He was the oldest son of Edward the Elder and also the tallest. He was Edward's only son by his first consort, Ecgwynn. Very little is known about Ecgwynn, and she is not named in any pre-Conquest source. Medieval chroniclers gave varying descriptions of her rank: one described her as an ignoble consort of inferior birth, while others described her birth as noble. Modern historians also disagree about her status. Simon Keynes and Richard Abels believe that leading figures in Wessex were unwilling to accept Æthelstan as king in 924 partly because his mother had been Edward the Elder's concubine. However, Barbara Yorke and Sarah Foot argue that allegations that Æthelstan was illegitimate were a product of the dispute over the succession, and that there is no reason to doubt that she was Edward's legitimate wife. She may have been related to St Dunstan.

paragraph: William of Malmesbury wrote that Alfred the Great honoured his young grandson with a ceremony in which he gave him a scarlet cloak, a belt set with gems, and a sword with a gilded scabbard. Medieval Latin scholar Michael Lapidge and historian Michael Wood see this as designating Æthelstan as a potential heir at a time when the claim of Alfred's nephew, Æthelwold, to the throne represented a threat to the succession of Alfred's direct line, but historian Janet Nelson suggests that it should be seen in the context of conflict between Alfred and Edward in the 890s, and might reflect an intention to divide the realm between his son and his grandson after his death. Historian Martin Ryan goes further, suggesting that at the end of his life Alfred may have favoured Æthelstan rather than Edward as his successor. An acrostic poem praising prince "Adalstan", and prophesying a great future for him, has been interpreted by Lapidge as referring to the young Æthelstan, punning on the old English meaning of his name, "noble stone". Lapidge and Wood see the poem as a commemoration of Alfred's ceremony by one of his leading scholars, John the Old Saxon. In Michael Wood's view, the poem confirms the truth of William of Malmesbury's account of the ceremony. Wood also suggests that Æthelstan may have been the first English king to be groomed from childhood as an intellectual, and that John was probably his tutor. However, Sarah Foot argues that the acrostic poem makes better sense if it is dated to the beginning of Æthelstan's reign.

paragraph: Edward married his second wife, Ælfflæd, at about the time of his father's death, probably because Ecgwynn had died, although she may have been put aside. The new marriage weakened Æthelstan's position, as his step-mother naturally favoured the interests of her own sons, Ælfweard and Edwin. By 920 Edward had taken a third wife, Eadgifu, probably after putting Ælfflæd aside. Eadgifu also had two sons, the future kings Edmund and Eadred. Edward had several daughters, perhaps as many as nine.

paragraph: Æthelstan's later education was probably at the Mercian court of his aunt and uncle, Æthelflæd and Æthelred, and it is likely the young prince gained his military training in the Mercian campaigns to conquer the Danelaw. According to a transcript dating from 1304, in 925 Æthelstan gave a charter of privileges to St Oswald's Priory, Gloucester, where his aunt and uncle were buried, "according to a pact of paternal piety which he formerly pledged with Æthelred, ealdorman of the people of the Mercians". When Edward took direct control of Mercia after Æthelflæd's death in 918, Æthelstan may have represented his father's interests there.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:The struggle for power.

paragraph: Edward died at Farndon in northern Mercia on 17 July 924, and the ensuing events are unclear. Ælfweard, Edward's eldest son by Ælfflæd, had ranked above Æthelstan in attesting a charter in 901, and Edward may have intended Ælfweard to be his successor as king, either of Wessex only or of the whole kingdom. If Edward had intended his realms to be divided after his death, his deposition of Ælfwynn in Mercia in 918 may have been intended to prepare the way for Æthelstan's succession as king of Mercia. When Edward died, Æthelstan was apparently with him in Mercia, while Ælfweard was in Wessex. Mercia acknowledged Æthelstan as king, and Wessex may have chosen Ælfweard. However, Ælfweard outlived his father by only sixteen days, disrupting any succession plan.

paragraph: Even after Ælfweard's death there seems to have been opposition to Æthelstan in Wessex, particularly in Winchester, where Ælfweard was buried. At first Æthelstan behaved as a Mercian king. A charter relating to land in Derbyshire, which appears to have been issued at a time in 925 when his authority had not yet been recognised outside Mercia, was witnessed only by Mercian bishops. In the view of historians David Dumville and Janet Nelson he may have agreed not to marry or have heirs in order to gain acceptance. However, Sarah Foot ascribes his decision to remain unmarried to "a religiously motivated determination on chastity as a way of life".

paragraph: The coronation of Æthelstan took place on 4 September 925 at Kingston upon Thames, perhaps due to its symbolic location on the border between Wessex and Mercia. He was crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Athelm, who probably designed or organised a new "ordo" (religious order of service) in which the king wore a crown for the first time instead of a helmet. The new "ordo" was influenced by West Frankish liturgy and in turn became one of the sources of the medieval French "ordo".

paragraph: Opposition seems to have continued even after the coronation. According to William of Malmesbury, an otherwise unknown nobleman called Alfred plotted to blind Æthelstan on account of his supposed illegitimacy, although it is unknown whether he aimed to make himself king or was acting on behalf of Edwin, Ælfweard's younger brother. Blinding would have been a sufficient disability to render Æthelstan ineligible for kingship without incurring the odium attached to murder. Tensions between Æthelstan and Winchester seem to have continued for some years. The Bishop of Winchester, Frithestan, did not attend the coronation or witness any of Æthelstan's known charters until 928. After that he witnessed fairly regularly until his resignation in 931, but was listed in a lower position than entitled by his seniority.

paragraph: In 933 Edwin was drowned in a shipwreck in the North Sea. His cousin, Adelolf, Count of Boulogne, took his body for burial at the Abbey of Saint Bertin in Saint-Omer. According to the abbey's annalist, Folcuin, who wrongly believed that Edwin had been king, he had fled England "driven by some disturbance in his kingdom". Folcuin stated that Æthelstan sent alms to the abbey for his dead brother and received monks from the abbey graciously when they came to England, although Folcuin did not realise that Æthelstan died before the monks made the journey in 944. The twelfth-century chronicler Symeon of Durham said that Æthelstan ordered Edwin to be drowned, but this is generally dismissed by historians. Edwin might have fled England after an unsuccessful rebellion against his brother's rule, and his death probably helped put an end to Winchester's opposition.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:King of the English.

paragraph: Edward the Elder had conquered the Danish territories in Mercia and East Anglia with the assistance of Æthelflæd and her husband, but when Edward died the Danish king Sihtric still ruled the Viking Kingdom of York (formerly the southern Northumbrian kingdom of Deira). In January 926, Æthelstan arranged for one of his sisters to marry Sihtric. The two kings agreed not to invade each other's territories or to support each other's enemies. The following year Sihtric died, and Æthelstan seized the chance to invade. Guthfrith, a cousin of Sihtric, led a fleet from Dublin to try to take the throne, but Æthelstan easily prevailed. He captured York and received the submission of the Danish people. According to a southern chronicler, he "succeeded to the kingdom of the Northumbrians", and it is uncertain whether he had to fight Guthfrith. Southern kings had never ruled the north, and his usurpation was met with outrage by the Northumbrians, who had always resisted southern control. However, at Eamont, near Penrith, on 12 July 927, King Constantine of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred of Bamburgh, and King Owain of Strathclyde (or Morgan ap Owain of Gwent) accepted Æthelstan's overlordship. His triumph led to seven years of peace in the north.

paragraph: Whereas Æthelstan was the first English king to achieve lordship over northern Britain, he inherited his authority over the Welsh kings from his father and aunt. In the 910s Gwent acknowledged the lordship of Wessex, and Deheubarth and Gwynedd accepted that of Æthelflæd of Mercia; following Edward's takeover of Mercia, they transferred their allegiance to him. According to William of Malmesbury, after the meeting at Eamont Æthelstan summoned the Welsh kings to Hereford, where he imposed a heavy annual tribute and fixed the border between England and Wales in the Hereford area at the River Wye. The dominant figure in Wales was Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, described by the historian of early medieval Wales Thomas Charles-Edwards as "the firmest ally of the 'emperors of Britain' among all the kings of his day". Welsh kings attended Æthelstan's court between 928 and 935 and witnessed charters at the head of the list of laity (apart from the kings of Scotland and Strathclyde), showing that their position was regarded as superior to that of the other great men present. The alliance produced peace between Wales and England, and within Wales, lasting throughout Æthelstan's reign, though some Welsh resented the status of their rulers as under-kings, as well as the high level of tribute imposed upon them. In "Armes Prydein Vawr" (The Great Prophecy of Britain), a Welsh poet foresaw the day when the British would rise up against their Saxon oppressors and drive them into the sea.

paragraph: According to William of Malmesbury, after the Hereford meeting Æthelstan went on to expel the Cornish from Exeter, fortify its walls, and fix the Cornish boundary at the River Tamar. This account is regarded sceptically by historians, however, as Cornwall had been under English rule since the mid-ninth century. Thomas Charles-Edwards describes it as "an improbable story", while historian John Reuben Davies sees it as the suppression of a British revolt and the confinement of the Cornish beyond the Tamar. Æthelstan emphasised his control by establishing a new Cornish see and appointing its first bishop, but Cornwall kept its own culture and language.

paragraph: Æthelstan became the first king of all the Anglo-Saxon peoples, and in effect overlord of Britain. His successes inaugurated what John Maddicott, in his history of the origins of the English Parliament, calls the "imperial phase" of English kingship between about 925 and 975, when rulers from Wales and Scotland attended the assemblies of English kings and witnessed their charters. Æthelstan tried to reconcile the aristocracy in his new territory of Northumbria to his rule. He lavished gifts on the minsters of Beverley, Chester-le-Street, and York, emphasising his Christianity. He also purchased the vast territory of Amounderness in Lancashire, and gave it to the Archbishop of York, his most important lieutenant in the region. But he remained a resented outsider, and the northern British kingdoms preferred to ally with the pagan Norse of Dublin. In contrast to his strong control over southern Britain, his position in the north was far more tenuous.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:The invasion of Scotland in 934.

paragraph: In 934 Æthelstan invaded Scotland. His reasons are unclear, and historians give alternative explanations. The death of his half-brother Edwin in 933 might have finally removed factions in Wessex opposed to his rule. Guthfrith, the Norse king of Dublin who had briefly ruled Northumbria, died in 934; any resulting insecurity among the Danes would have given Æthelstan an opportunity to stamp his authority on the north. An entry in the "Annals of Clonmacnoise", recording the death in 934 of a ruler who was possibly Ealdred of Bamburgh, suggests another possible explanation. This points to a dispute between Æthelstan and Constantine over control of his territory. The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" briefly recorded the expedition without explanation, but the twelfth-century chronicler John of Worcester stated that Constantine had broken his treaty with Æthelstan.

paragraph: Æthelstan set out on his campaign in May 934, accompanied by four Welsh kings: Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Idwal Foel of Gwynedd, Morgan ap Owain of Gwent, and Tewdwr ap Griffri of Brycheiniog. His retinue also included eighteen bishops and thirteen earls, six of whom were Danes from eastern England. By late June or early July he had reached Chester-le-Street, where he made generous gifts to the tomb of St Cuthbert, including a stole and maniple (ecclesiastical garments) originally commissioned by his step-mother Ælfflæd as a gift to Bishop Frithestan of Winchester. The invasion was launched by land and sea. According to the twelfth-century chronicler Simeon of Durham, his land forces ravaged as far as Dunnottar in north-east Scotland, while the fleet raided Caithness, then probably part of the Norse kingdom of Orkney.

paragraph: No battles are recorded during the campaign, and chronicles do not record its outcome. By September, however, he was back in the south of England at Buckingham, where Constantine witnessed a charter as "subregulus", that is a king acknowledging Æthelstan's overlordship. In 935 a charter was attested by Constantine, Owain of Strathclyde, Hywel Dda, Idwal Foel, and Morgan ap Owain. At Christmas of the same year Owain of Strathclyde was once more at Æthelstan's court along with the Welsh kings, but Constantine was not. His return to England less than two years later would be in very different circumstances.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:The Battle of Brunanburh.

paragraph: In 934 Olaf Guthfrithson succeeded his father Guthfrith as the Norse King of Dublin. The alliance between the Norse and the Scots was cemented by the marriage of Olaf to Constantine's daughter. By August 937 Olaf had defeated his rivals for control of the Viking part of Ireland, and he promptly launched a bid for the former Norse kingdom of York. Individually Olaf and Constantine were too weak to oppose Æthelstan, but together they could hope to challenge the dominance of Wessex. In the autumn they joined with the Strathclyde Britons under Owain to invade England. Medieval campaigning was normally conducted in the summer, and Æthelstan could hardly have expected an invasion on such a large scale so late in the year. He seems to have been slow to react, and an old Latin poem preserved by William of Malmesbury accused him of having "languished in sluggish leisure". The allies plundered English territory while Æthelstan took his time gathering a West Saxon and Mercian army. However, historian Michael Wood praises his caution, arguing that unlike Harold in 1066, he did not allow himself to be provoked into precipitate action. When he marched north, the Welsh did not join him, and they did not fight on either side.

paragraph: The two sides met at the Battle of Brunanburh, resulting in an overwhelming victory for Æthelstan, supported by his young half-brother, the future King Edmund I. Olaf escaped back to Dublin with the remnant of his forces, while Constantine lost a son. The English also suffered heavy losses, including two of Æthelstan's cousins, sons of Edward the Elder's younger brother, Æthelweard.

paragraph: The battle was reported in the Annals of Ulster:

paragraph: A generation later, the chronicler Æthelweard reported that it was popularly remembered as "the great battle", and it sealed Æthelstan's posthumous reputation as "victorious because of God" (in the words of the homilist Ælfric of Eynsham). The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" abandoned its usual terse style in favour of a heroic poem vaunting the great victory, employing imperial language to present Æthelstan as ruler of an empire of Britain. The site of the battle is uncertain, however, and over thirty sites have been suggested, with Bromborough on the Wirral the most favoured among historians.

paragraph: Historians disagree over the significance of the battle. Alex Woolf describes it as a "pyrrhic victory" for Æthelstan: the campaign seems to have ended in a stalemate, his power appears to have declined, and after he died Olaf acceded to the kingdom of Northumbria without resistance. Alfred Smyth describes it as "the greatest battle in Anglo-Saxon history", but he also states that its consequences beyond Æthelstan's reign have been overstated. In the view of Sarah Foot, on the other hand, it would be difficult to exaggerate the battle's importance: if the Anglo-Saxons had been defeated, their hegemony over the whole mainland of Britain would have disintegrated.

paragraph: Section::::Kingship.

paragraph: Section::::Kingship.:Administration.

paragraph: Anglo-Saxon kings ruled through ealdormen, who had the highest lay status under the king. In ninth-century Wessex they each ruled a single shire, but by the middle of the tenth they had authority over a much wider area, a change probably introduced by Æthelstan to deal with the problems of governing his extended realm. One of the ealdormen, who was also called Æthelstan, governed the eastern Danelaw territory of East Anglia, the largest and wealthiest province of England. After the king's death, he became so powerful that he was known as Æthelstan Half-King. Several of the ealdormen who witnessed charters had Scandinavian names, and while the localities they came from cannot be identified, they were almost certainly the successors of the earls who led Danish armies in the time of Edward the Elder, and who were retained by Æthelstan as his representatives in local government.

paragraph: Beneath the ealdormen, reeves—royal officials who were noble local landowners—were in charge of a town or royal estate. The authority of church and state was not separated in early medieval societies, and the lay officials worked closely with their diocesan bishop and local abbots, who also attended the king's royal councils.

paragraph: As the first king of all the Anglo-Saxon peoples, Æthelstan needed effective means to govern his extended realm. Building on the foundations of his predecessors, he created the most centralised government that England had yet seen. Previously, some charters had been produced by royal priests and others by members of religious houses, but between 928 and 935 they were produced exclusively by a scribe known to historians as "Æthelstan A", showing an unprecedented degree of royal control over an important activity. Unlike earlier and later charters, "Æthelstan A" provides full details of the date and place of adoption and an unusually long witness list, providing crucial information for historians. After "Æthelstan A" retired or died, charters reverted to a simpler form, suggesting that they had been the work of an individual, rather than the development of a formal writing office.

paragraph: A key mechanism of government was the Royal Council (or witan). Anglo-Saxon kings did not have a fixed capital city. Their courts were peripatetic, and their councils were held at varying locations around their realms. Æthelstan stayed mainly in Wessex, however, and controlled outlying areas by summoning leading figures to his councils. The small and intimate meetings that had been adequate until the enlargement of the kingdom under Edward the Elder gave way to large bodies attended by bishops, ealdormen, thegns, magnates from distant areas, and independent rulers who had submitted to his authority. Frank Stenton sees Æthelstan's councils as "national assemblies", which did much to break down the provincialism that was a barrier to the unification of England. John Maddicott goes further, seeing them as the start of centralised assemblies that had a defined role in English government, and Æthelstan as "the true if unwitting founder of the English parliament".

paragraph: Section::::Kingship.:Law.

paragraph: The Anglo-Saxons were the first people in northern Europe to write administrative documents in the vernacular, and law codes in Old English go back to Æthelberht of Kent at the beginning of the seventh century. The law code of Alfred the Great, from the end of the ninth century, was also written in the vernacular, and he expected his ealdormen to learn it. His code was strongly influenced by Carolingian law going back to Charlemagne in such areas as treason, peace-keeping, organisation of the hundreds and judicial ordeal. It remained in force throughout the tenth century, and Æthelstan's codes were built on this foundation. Legal codes required the approval of the king, but they were treated as guidelines which could be adapted and added to at local level, rather than a fixed canon of regulations, and customary oral law was also important in the Anglo-Saxon period.

paragraph: More legal texts survive from Æthelstan's reign than from any other tenth-century English king. The earliest appear to be his tithe edict and the "Ordinance on Charities". Four legal codes were adopted at Royal Councils in the early 930s at Grately in Hampshire, Exeter, Faversham in Kent, and Thunderfield in Surrey. Local legal texts survive from London and Kent, and one concerning the 'Dunsæte' on the Welsh border probably also dates to Æthelstan's reign. In the view of the historian of English law, Patrick Wormald, the laws must have been written by Wulfhelm, who succeeded Athelm as Archbishop of Canterbury in 926. Other historians see Wulfhelm's role as less important, giving the main credit to Æthelstan himself, although the significance placed on the ordeal as an ecclesiastical ritual shows the increased influence of the church. Nicholas Brooks sees the role of the bishops as marking an important stage in the increasing involvement of the church in the making and enforcement of law.

paragraph: The two earliest codes were concerned with clerical matters, and Æthelstan stated that he acted on the advice of Wulfhelm and his bishops. The first asserts the importance of paying tithes to the church. The second enforces the duty of charity on Æthelstan's reeves, specifying the amount to be given to the poor and requiring reeves to free one penal slave annually. His religious outlook is shown in a wider sacralization of the law in his reign.

paragraph: The later codes show his concern with threats to social order, especially robbery, which he regarded as the most important manifestation of social breakdown. The first of these later codes, issued at Grately, prescribed harsh penalties, including the death penalty for anyone over twelve years old caught in the act of stealing goods worth more than eight pence. This apparently had little effect, as Æthelstan admitted in the Exeter code:

paragraph: In desperation the Council tried a different strategy, offering an amnesty to thieves if they paid compensation to their victims. The problem of powerful families protecting criminal relatives was to be solved by expelling them to other parts of the realm. This strategy did not last long, and at Thunderfield Æthelstan returned to the hard line, softened by raising the minimum age for the death penalty to fifteen "because he thought it too cruel to kill so many young people and for such small crimes as he understood to be the case everywhere". His reign saw the first introduction of the system of tithing, sworn groups of ten or more men who were jointly responsible for peace-keeping (later known as frankpledge). Sarah Foot commented that tithing and oath-taking to deal with the problem of theft had its origin in Frankia:

paragraph: Historians differ widely regarding Æthelstan's legislation. Patrick Wormald's verdict was harsh: "The hallmark of Æthelstan's law-making is the gulf dividing its exalted aspirations from his spasmodic impact." In his view, "The legislative activity of Æthelstan's reign has rightly been dubbed 'feverish'... But the extant results are, frankly, a mess." In the view of Simon Keynes, however, "Without any doubt the most impressive aspect of King Æthelstan's government is the vitality of his law-making", which shows him driving his officials to do their duties and insisting on respect for the law, but also demonstrates the difficulty he had in controlling a troublesome people. Keynes sees the Grately code as "an impressive piece of legislation" showing the king's determination to maintain social order. David Pratt describes his legislation as "a deep and far-reaching reform of legal structures, no less important than developments under King Alfred two generations earlier".

paragraph: Section::::Kingship.:Coinage.

paragraph: In the 970s, Æthelstan's nephew, King Edgar, reformed the monetary system to give Anglo-Saxon England the most advanced currency in Europe, with a good quality silver coinage, which was uniform and abundant. In Æthelstan's time, however, it was far less developed, and minting was still organised regionally long after Æthelstan unified the country. The Grately code included a provision that there was to be only one coinage across the king's dominion. However, this is in a section that appears to be copied from a code of his father, and the list of towns with mints is confined to the south, including London and Kent, but not northern Wessex or other regions. Early in Æthelstan's reign, different styles of coin were issued in each region, but after he conquered York and received the submission of the other British kings, he issued a new coinage, known as the "circumscription cross" type. This advertised his newly exalted status with the inscription, "Rex Totius Britanniae". Examples were minted in Wessex, York, and English Mercia (in Mercia bearing the title "Rex Saxorum"), but not in East Anglia or the Danelaw.

paragraph: In the early 930s a new coinage was issued, the "crowned bust" type, with the king shown for the first time wearing a crown with three stalks. This was eventually issued in all regions apart from Mercia, which issued coins without a ruler portrait, suggesting, in Sarah Foot's view, that any Mercian affection for a West Saxon king brought up among them quickly declined.

paragraph: Section::::Kingship.:Church.

paragraph: Church and state maintained close relations in the Anglo-Saxon period, both socially and politically. Churchmen attended royal feasts as well as meetings of the Royal Council. During Æthelstan's reign these relations became even closer, especially as the archbishopric of Canterbury had come under West Saxon jurisdiction since Edward the Elder annexed Mercia, and Æthelstan's conquests brought the northern church under the control of a southern king for the first time.

paragraph: Æthelstan appointed members of his own circle to bishoprics in Wessex, possibly to counter the influence of the Bishop of Winchester, Frithestan. One of the king's mass-priests (priests employed to say Mass in his household), Ælfheah, became Bishop of Wells, while another, Beornstan, succeeded Frithestan as Bishop of Winchester. Beornstan was succeeded by another member of the royal household, also called Ælfheah. Two of the leading figures in the later tenth-century Benedictine revival of Edgar's reign, Dunstan and Æthelwold, served in early life at Æthelstan's court and were ordained as priests by Ælfheah of Winchester at the king's request. According to Æthelwold's biographer, Wulfstan, "Æthelwold spent a long period in the royal palace in the king's inseparable companionship and learned much from the king's wise men that was useful and profitable to him". Oda, a future Archbishop of Canterbury, was also close to Æthelstan, who appointed him Bishop of Ramsbury. Oda may have been present at the battle of Brunanburh.

paragraph: Æthelstan was a noted collector of relics, and while this was a common practice at the time, he was marked out by the scale of his collection and the refinement of its contents. The abbot of Saint Samson in Dol sent him some as a gift, and in his covering letter he wrote: "we know you value relics more than earthly treasure". Æthelstan was also a generous donor of manuscripts and relics to churches and monasteries. Indeed, his reputation was so great that some monastic scribes later falsely claimed that their institutions had been beneficiaries of his largesse. He was especially devoted to the cult of St. Cuthbert in Chester-le-Street, and his gifts to the community there included Bede's Lives of Cuthbert. He commissioned it especially to present to Chester-le Street, and out of all manuscripts he gave to a religious foundation which survive, it is the only one which was wholly written in England during his reign. This has a portrait of Æthelstan presenting the book to Cuthbert, the earliest surviving manuscript portrait of an English king. In the view of Janet Nelson, his "rituals of largesse and devotion at sites of supernatural power ... enhanced royal authority and underpinned a newly united imperial realm".

paragraph: Æthelstan had a reputation for founding churches, although it is unclear how justified this is. According to late and dubious sources, these churches included minsters at Milton Abbas in Dorset and Muchelney in Somerset. In the view of historian John Blair, the reputation is probably well-founded, but "These waters are muddied by Æthelstan's almost folkloric reputation as a founder, which made him a favourite hero of later origin-myths." However, while he was a generous donor to monasteries, he did not give land for new ones or attempt to revive the ones in the north and east destroyed by Viking attacks.

paragraph: He also sought to build ties with continental churches. Cenwald was a royal priest before his appointment as Bishop of Worcester, and in 929 he accompanied two of Æthelstan's half-sisters to the Saxon court so that the future Holy Roman Emperor, Otto, could choose one of them as his wife. Cenwald went on to make a tour of German monasteries, giving lavish gifts on Æthelstan's behalf and receiving in return promises that the monks would pray for the king and others close to him in perpetuity. England and Saxony became closer after the marriage alliance, and German names start to appear in English documents, while Cenwald kept up the contacts he had made by subsequent correspondence, helping the transmission of continental ideas about reformed monasticism to England.

paragraph: Section::::Kingship.:Learning.

paragraph: Æthelstan built on his grandfather's efforts to revive ecclesiastical scholarship, which had fallen to a low state in the second half of the ninth century. John Blair described Æthelstan's achievement as "a determined reconstruction, visible to us especially through the circulation and production of books, of the shattered ecclesiastical culture". He was renowned in his own day for his piety and promotion of sacred learning. His interest in education, and his reputation as a collector of books and relics, attracted a cosmopolitan group of ecclesiastical scholars to his court, particularly Bretons and Irish. Æthelstan gave extensive aid to Breton clergy who had fled Brittany following its conquest by the Vikings in 919. He made a confraternity agreement with the clergy of Dol Cathedral in Brittany, who were then in exile in central France, and they sent him the relics of Breton saints, apparently hoping for his patronage. The contacts resulted in a surge in interest in England for commemorating Breton saints. One of the most notable scholars at Æthelstan's court was Israel the Grammarian, who may have been a Breton. Israel and "a certain Frank" drew a board game called "Gospel Dice" for an Irish bishop, Dub Innse, who took it home to Bangor. Æthelstan's court played a crucial role in the origins of the English monastic reform movement.

paragraph: Few prose narrative sources survive from Æthelstan's reign, but it produced an abundance of poetry, much of it Norse-influenced praise of the King in grandiose terms, such as the Brunanburh poem. Sarah Foot even made a case that Beowulf may have been composed in Æthelstan's circle.

paragraph: Æthelstan's court was the centre of a revival of the elaborate "hermeneutic" style of later Latin writers, influenced by the West Saxon scholar Aldhelm (c.639–709), and by early tenth-century French monasticism. Foreign scholars at Æthelstan's court such as Israel the Grammarian were practitioners. The style was characterised by long, convoluted sentences and a predilection for rare words and neologisms. The "Æthelstan A" charters were written in "hermeneutic" Latin. In the view of Simon Keynes it is no coincidence that they first appear immediately after the king had for the first time united England under his rule, and they show a high level of intellectual attainment and a monarchy invigorated by success and adopting the trappings of a new political order. The style influenced architects of the late tenth-century monastic reformers educated at Æthelstan's court such as Æthelwold and Dunstan, and became a hallmark of the movement. After "Æthelstan A", charters became more simple, but the "hermeneutic" style returned in the charters of Eadwig and Edgar.

paragraph: The historian W. H. Stevenson commented in 1898:

paragraph: However, Michael Lapidge argues that however unpalatable the "hermeneutic" style seems to modern taste, it was an important part of late Anglo-Saxon culture, and deserves more sympathetic attention than it has received from modern historians. In the view of historian David Woodman, "Æthelstan A" should "be accorded recognition as an individual author of no little genius, a man who not only overhauled the legal form of the diploma but also had the ability to write Latin that is as enduringly fascinating as it is complex ... In many ways the diplomas of "Æthelstan A" represent the stylistic peak of the Anglo-Saxon diplomatic tradition, a fitting complement to Æthelstan's own momentous political feats and to the forging of what would become England."

paragraph: Section::::Kingship.:British monarch.

paragraph: Historians frequently comment on Æthelstan's grand and extravagant titles. On his coins and charters he is described as "Rex totius Britanniae", or "King of the whole of Britain". A gospel book he donated to Christ Church, Canterbury is inscribed "Æthelstan, king of the English and ruler of the whole of Britain with a devout mind gave this book to the primatial see of Canterbury, to the church dedicated to Christ". In charters from 931 he is "king of the English, elevated by the right hand of the almighty to the throne of the whole kingdom of Britain", and in one manuscript dedication he is even styled "basileus et curagulus", the titles of Byzantine emperors. Some historians are not impressed. "Clearly", comments Alex Woolf, "King Æthelstan was a man who had pretensions," while in the view of Simon Keynes, "Æthelstan A" proclaimed his master king of Britain "by wishful extension". But according to George Molyneaux "this is to apply an anachronistic standard: tenth-century kings had a loose but real hegemony throughout the island, and their titles only appear inflated if one assumes that kingship ought to involve domination of an intensity like that seen within the English kingdom of the eleventh and later centuries."

paragraph: Foreign contemporaries described him in panegyrical terms. The French chronicler Flodoard described him as "the king from overseas", and the "Annals of Ulster" as the "pillar of the dignity of the western world". Some historians take a similar view. Michael Wood titled an essay, "The Making of King Aethelstan's Empire: an English Charlemagne?", and described him as "the most powerful ruler that Britain had seen since the Romans". In the view of Veronica Ortenberg, he was "the most powerful ruler in Europe" with an army that had repeatedly defeated the Vikings; continental rulers saw him as a Carolingian emperor, who "was clearly treated as the new Charlemagne". She wrote:

paragraph: Section::::Kingship.:European relations.

paragraph: The West Saxon court had connections with the Carolingians going back to the marriage between Æthelstan's great-grandfather Æthelwulf and Judith, daughter of the king of West Francia (and future Holy Roman Emperor), Charles the Bald, as well as the marriage of Alfred the Great's daughter, Ælfthryth to Judith's son by a later marriage, Baldwin II, Count of Flanders. One of Æthelstan's half-sisters, Eadgifu, married Charles the Simple, king of the West Franks, in the late 910s. He was deposed in 922, and Eadgifu sent their son, Louis to safety in England. By Æthelstan's time the connection was well established, and his coronation was performed with the Carolingian ceremony of anointment, probably to draw a deliberate parallel between his rule and Carolingian tradition. His "crowned bust" coinage of 933–938 was the first Anglo-Saxon coinage to show the king crowned, following Carolingian iconography.

paragraph: Like his father, Æthelstan was unwilling to marry his female relatives to his own subjects, so his sisters either entered nunneries or married foreign husbands. This was one reason for his close relations with European courts, and he married several of his half-sisters to European nobles in what historian Sheila Sharp called "a flurry of dynastic bridal activity unequalled again until Queen Victoria's time". Another reason lay in the common interest on both sides of the Channel in resisting the threat from the Vikings, while the rise in the power and reputation of the royal house of Wessex made marriage with an English princess more prestigious to European rulers. In 926 Hugh, Duke of the Franks, sent Æthelstan's cousin, Adelolf, Count of Boulogne, on an embassy to ask for the hand of one of Æthelstan's sisters. According to William of Malmesbury, the gifts Adelolf brought included spices, jewels, many swift horses, a crown of solid gold, the sword of Constantine the Great, Charlemagne's lance, and a piece of the Crown of Thorns. Æthelstan sent his half-sister Eadhild to be Hugh's wife.

paragraph: Æthelstan's most important European alliance was with the new Liudolfing dynasty in East Francia. The Carolingian dynasty of East Francia had died out in the early tenth century, and its new Liudolfing king, Henry the Fowler, was seen by many as an "arriviste". He needed a royal marriage for his son to establish his legitimacy, but no suitable Carolingian princesses were available. The ancient royal line of the West Saxons provided an acceptable alternative, especially as they (wrongly) claimed descent from the seventh-century king and saint, Oswald, who was venerated in Germany. In 929 or 930 Henry sent ambassadors to Æthelstan's court seeking a wife for his son, Otto, who later became Holy Roman Emperor. Æthelstan sent two of his half-sisters, and Otto chose Eadgyth. Fifty years later, Æthelweard, a descendant of Alfred the Great's older brother, addressed his Latin version of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" to Mathilde, Abbess of Essen, who was Eadgyth's granddaughter, and had apparently requested it. The other sister, whose name is uncertain, was married to a prince from near the Alps who has not definitely been identified.

paragraph: In early medieval Europe, it was common for kings to act as foster-fathers for the sons of other kings. Æthelstan was known for the support he gave to dispossessed young royalty. In 936 he sent an English fleet to help his foster-son, Alan II, Duke of Brittany, to regain his ancestral lands, which had been conquered by the Vikings. In the same year he assisted the son of his half-sister Eadgifu, Louis, to take the throne of West Francia, and in 939 he sent another fleet that unsuccessfully attempted to help Louis in a struggle with rebellious magnates. According to later Scandinavian sources, he helped another possible foster-son, Hakon, son of Harald Fairhair, king of Norway, to reclaim his throne, and he was known among Norwegians as "Æthelstan the Good".

paragraph: Æthelstan's court was perhaps the most cosmopolitan of the Anglo-Saxon period. The close contacts between the English and European courts ended soon after his death, but descent from the English royal house long remained a source of prestige for continental ruling families. According to Frank Stenton in his history of the period, "Anglo-Saxon England", "Between Offa and Cnut there is no English king who played so prominent or so sustained a part in the general affairs of Europe."

paragraph: Section::::Death.

paragraph: Æthelstan died at Gloucester on 27 October 939. His grandfather Alfred, his father Edward, and his half-brother Ælfweard had been buried at Winchester, but Æthelstan chose not to honour the city associated with opposition to his rule. By his own wish he was buried at Malmesbury Abbey, where he had buried his cousins who died at Brunanburh. No other member of the West Saxon royal family was buried there, and according to William of Malmesbury, Æthelstan's choice reflected his devotion to the abbey and to the memory of its seventh-century abbot, Saint Aldhelm. William described Æthelstan as fair-haired "as I have seen for myself in his remains, beautifully intertwined with gold threads". His bones were lost during the Reformation, but he is commemorated by an empty fifteenth-century tomb.

paragraph: Section::::Aftermath.

paragraph: After Æthelstan's death, the men of York immediately chose the Viking king of Dublin, Olaf Guthfrithson (or his cousin, Anlaf Cuaran), as their king, and Anglo-Saxon control of the north, seemingly made safe by the victory of Brunanburh, collapsed. The reigns of Æthelstan's half-brothers Edmund (939–946) and Eadred (946–955) were largely devoted to regaining control. Olaf seized the east midlands, leading to the establishment of a frontier at Watling Street. In 941 Olaf died, and Edmund took back control of the east midlands, and then York in 944. Following Edmund's death York again switched back to Viking control, and it was only when the Northumbrians finally drove out their Norwegian Viking king Eric Bloodaxe in 954 and submitted to Eadred that Anglo-Saxon control of the whole of England was finally restored.

paragraph: Section::::Primary sources.

paragraph: Chronicle sources for the life of Æthelstan are limited, and the first biography, by Sarah Foot, was only published in 2011. The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" in Æthelstan's reign is principally devoted to military events, and it is largely silent apart from recording his most important victories. An important source is the twelfth-century chronicle of William of Malmesbury, but historians are cautious about accepting his testimony, much of which cannot be verified from other sources. David Dumville goes so far as to dismiss William's account entirely, regarding him as a "treacherous witness" whose account is unfortunately influential. However, Sarah Foot is inclined to accept Michael Wood's argument that William's chronicle draws on a lost life of Æthelstan. She cautions, however, that we have no means of discovering how far William "improved" on the original.

paragraph: In Dumville's view, Æthelstan has been regarded by historians as a shadowy figure because of an ostensible lack of source material, but he argues that the lack is more apparent than real. Charters, law codes, and coins throw considerable light on Æthelstan's government. The scribe known to historians as "Æthelstan A", who was responsible for drafting all charters between 928 and 935, provides very detailed information, including signatories, dates, and locations, illuminating Æthelstan's progress around his realm. "Æthelstan A" may have been Bishop Ælfwine of Lichfield, who was close to the king. By contrast with this extensive source of information, no charters survive from 910 to 924, a gap which historians struggle to explain, and which makes it difficult to assess the degree of continuity in personnel and the operation of government between the reigns of Edward and Æthelstan. Historians are also paying increasing attention to less conventional sources, such as contemporary poetry in his praise and manuscripts associated with his name.

paragraph: Section::::Legacy.

paragraph: The reign of Æthelstan has been overshadowed by the achievements of his grandfather, Alfred the Great, but he is now considered one of the greatest kings of the West Saxon dynasty. Modern historians endorse the view of twelfth century chronicler William of Malmesbury that "no one more just or more learned ever governed the kingdom". Frank Stenton and Simon Keynes both describe him as the one Anglo-Saxon king who will bear comparison with Alfred. In Keynes's view he "has long been regarded, with good reason, as a towering figure in the landscape of the tenth century ... he has also been hailed as the first king of England, as a statesman of international standing". David Dumville describes Æthelstan as "the father of mediaeval and modern England", while Michael Wood regards Offa, Alfred, and Æthelstan as the three greatest Anglo-Saxon kings, and Æthelstan as "one of the more important lay intellectuals in Anglo-Saxon history".

paragraph: Æthelstan is regarded as the first King of England by some modern historians. Although it was Eadred who would achieve the final unification of England by the permanent conquest of Viking York, Æthelstan's campaigns made this success possible. His nephew Edgar called himself King of the English and revived the claim to rule over all the peoples of Britain. Simon Keynes argued that "the consistent usages of Edgar's reign represent nothing less than a determined reaffirmation of the polity created by Æthelstan in the 930s". Historian Charles Insley, however, sees Æthelstan's hegemony as fragile: "The level of overlordship wielded by Æthelstan during the 930s over the rest of Britain was perhaps not attained again by an English king until Edward I." George Molyneaux argues that:

paragraph: Simon Keynes saw Æthelstan's law-making as his greatest achievement. His reign predates the sophisticated state of the later Anglo-Saxon period, but his creation of the most centralised government England had yet seen, with the king and his council working strategically to ensure acceptance of his authority and laws, laid the foundations on which his brothers and nephews would create one of the wealthiest and most advanced systems of government in Europe. Æthelstan's reign built upon his grandfather's ecclesiastical programme, consolidating the local ecclesiastical revival and laying the foundation for the monastic reform movement later in the century.

paragraph: Æthelstan's reputation was at its height when he died. According to Sarah Foot, "He found acclaim in his own day not only as a successful military leader and effective monarch but also as a man of devotion, committed to the promotion of religion and the patronage of learning." Later in the century, Æthelweard praised him as a very mighty king worthy of honour, and Æthelred the Unready, who named his eight sons after his predecessors, put Æthelstan first as the name of his eldest son. In his biography of Æthelred, Levi Roach commented:

paragraph: Memory of Æthelstan then declined until it was revived by William of Malmesbury, who took a special interest in him as the one king who had chosen to be buried in his own house. William's account kept his memory alive, and he was praised by other medieval chroniclers. In the early sixteenth century William Tyndale justified his English translation of the Bible by stating that he had read that King Æthelstan had caused the Holy Scriptures to be translated into Anglo-Saxon.

paragraph: From the sixteenth century onwards Alfred's reputation became dominant and Æthelstan largely disappeared from popular consciousness. Sharon Turner's "History of the Anglo-Saxons", first published between 1799 and 1805, played a crucial role in promoting Anglo-Saxon studies, and he helped to establish Brunanburh as a key battle in English history, but his treatment of Æthelstan was slight in comparison with Alfred. Charles Dickens had only one paragraph on Æthelstan in his "Child's History of England", and although Anglo-Saxon history was a popular subject for nineteenth-century artists, and Alfred was frequently depicted in paintings at the Royal Academy between 1769 and 1904, there was not one picture of Æthelstan.

paragraph: According to Michael Wood: "Among all the great rulers of British history, Æthelstan today is the forgotten man", and in medieval historian Ann Williams's view: "If Æthelstan has not had the reputation which accrued to his grandfather, the fault lies in the surviving sources; Æthelstan had no biographer, and the "Chronicle" for his reign is scanty. In his own day he was 'the roof-tree of the honour of the western world'".

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- (On The Vale of York Hoard)

description: King of the Anglo-Saxons, King of the English

wikidata_label: Athelstan

wikipedia_title: Æthelstan


text:
Overschie
Hillegersberg
Dutch Golden Age
Cornelis Saftleven
Anthony Palamedes
Delft
Jan van Bijlert
Utrecht
France
Caravaggio
Jacob Duck
Pieter de Hooch
Ludolf de Jongh
The Getty
Vermeer and The Delft School

categories: Dutch Golden Age painters,1616 births,1679 deaths,Dutch male painters

paragraph: Ludolf Leendertsz de Jongh

paragraph: Ludolf Leendertsz de Jongh (Overschie, 1616 – Hillegersberg, 1697) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, and member of the "vroedschap".

paragraph: Section::::Biography.

paragraph: De Jongh was the son of a shoemaker, who wanted to teach his son his craft. When his father moved to Rotterdam, the young Ludolf decided to learn art rather than shoemaking, and became a pupil of Cornelis Saftleven. Later he studied under Anthony Palamedes in Delft, and later still with Jan van Bijlert in Utrecht.

paragraph: In 1635, he travelled to France with Frans Bacon. Seven years later, in 1642, he returned to the Netherlands when he heard that his mother had fallen ill. He set up shop in Rotterdam, and his earliest signed paintings date from that year. According to Houbraken his travels had caused him to speak French so fluently that he forgot Dutch, and his parents had to get someone who spoke French in order to communicate with him. De Jongh's work shows a strong influence from the Utrecht school of Caravaggio admirers, especially Jacob Duck, but also from Pieter de Hooch. In the 1650s he was one of the most fashionable painters of Rotterdam. He experimented with various innovations in portraiture in this period, both from a psychological perspective with expressions, but also with the use of space and lighting. He married the daughter of a member of the highest circles of Rotterdam, Pieter Montagne, and was granted a rank of major of Rotterdam. In 1664 he became scout of Hillegersberg, a function he fulfilled until his death. From 1660 onwards he painted less, and this may have been due to his responsibilities as a major, as a merchant, and later, as

paragraph: magistrate in Hillegersberg. He did paint a "schuttersstuk", however, which Houbraken saw in the target practise hall in the next century.

paragraph: Section::::References.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Ludolf de Jongh (The Getty)

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Vermeer and The Delft School, a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Ludolf Leendertsz de Jongh

alias:
Lieve de Jongh
Ludolf De Young
Leuff Jongh
Ludolf de Jongh
Ludolf De Jongh
Leuven De Jongh
Ludolf Dejongh
Ludlof Jonghe
Ludolph Jongh
Leuven de Jongh
Ludolph de Jongh
Leuff de Jongh
Lendertsz. de Jongh
Ludolf Lendertz de Jongh
Ludolf Lendertsz de Jongh
Ludolf Lenderts De Jongh
De Jong
L. De Young
Jongh
Jonghe
De Jongh
L. de Jongh
Ludolph
L. de Jong

description: Dutch painter

wikidata_label: Ludolf Leendertsz de Jongh

wikipedia_title: Ludolf Leendertsz de Jongh


text:
Seoul
Korean
ice hockey
goaltender
Anyang Halla

wikipedia_title:
Seoul
South Korea
Ice hockey
Goaltender
Anyang Halla

categories: Sportspeople from Seoul,1985 births,South Korean ice hockey players,Living people

paragraph: Yoo Sung-je

paragraph: Yoo Sung-je (; born 16 July 1985 in Seoul) is a Korean ice hockey goaltender. He played for Anyang Halla from 2009 through 2012.

description: South Korean ice hockey player

wikidata_label: Yoo Sung-je

wikipedia_title: Yoo Sung-je


text:
Emperor Go-Daigo
Ashikaga Takauji
Kamakura shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate
Himeji Castle
Sesson Yūbai
Hōun-ji
Hōrin-ji
Daitoku-ji
Kyoto
History of Himeji Castle

paragraph: Akamatsu Norimura

paragraph: Section::::Warrior.

paragraph: Norimura supported Emperor Go-Daigo and Ashikaga Takauji in the struggle to overcome the Kamakura shogunate. Akamatsu joined Takauji in capturing Kyoto from imperial forces on 23 Feb. 1336. He then became a part of the Ashikaga shogunate. Norimura constructed a fort on a hill which later became the site for Himeji Castle.

paragraph: Section::::Patron.

paragraph: Norimura was a patron of Sesson Yūbai who established Hōun-ji and Hōrin-ji in Harima. In records about the establishment of land rights for Daitoku-ji in Kyoto, Norimura's help is recognized.

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- History of Himeji Castle

description: Japanese samurai and clan leader

wikidata_label: Akamatsu Norimura

wikipedia_title: Akamatsu Norimura


text: Incident at Honnō-ji

paragraph: Murai Sadakatsu

paragraph: Sadakatsu died in 1582, during the Incident at Honnō-ji.

paragraph: Section::::References.

paragraph: BULLET::::- De Bary, William T., and Yoshiko Dykstra. "Sources of Japanese Tradition".

description: samurai

wikidata_label: Murai Sadakatsu

wikipedia_title: Murai Sadakatsu


text:
Eustace de Balliol
John of England
Barons Wars
King John
Alexander II of Scotland
Barnard Castle
Eustace de Vesci
John
John de Balliol
Dervorguilla of Galloway
John I of Scotland
John FitzRobert of Warkworth
, accessed 24 Jan 2008
, accessed 24 Jan 2008

categories: House of Balliol,Anglo-Normans,1229 deaths,Year of birth unknown,People from Somme (department),People from County Durham

paragraph: Hugh de Balliol

paragraph: Hugh de Balliol (died 1229), Lord of Bywell, Barnard Castle and Gainford, was a 12th and 13th century nobleman. He was the son of Eustace de Balliol and Petronilla FitzPiers. Balliol was a supporter of King John of England during the Barons Wars of 1215-17.

paragraph: Section::::Life.

paragraph: Balliol was the eldest son and successor of Eustace de Balliol of Barnard Castle and Petronilla FitzPiers. Hugh probably succeeded to his father Eustace's lordships by 1209. Hugh and his brother Bernard were staunch supporters of King John; Hugh probably named his son John, after the king. Balliol defended the northern borders of England against King Alexander II of Scotland in 1216. His castle of Barnard Castle was besieged by Alexander II, however the siege was abandoned after the death of Alexander II's brother in-law Eustace de Vesci.

paragraph: After Hugh's death in 1229, his son John succeeded to the chief Balliol estates.

paragraph: Section::::Marriage and issue.

paragraph: Balliol married Cecily, daughter of Aleaune de Fontaines and Laurette de St. Valerie, they had the following known issue:

paragraph: BULLET::::- John de Balliol (died 1268), married Dervorguilla of Galloway, had issue. Their son become King John I of Scotland.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Eustace de Balliol (died 1274)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Jocelin de Balliol

paragraph: BULLET::::- Hugh de Balliol (died 1292)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Bernard de Balliol

paragraph: BULLET::::- Ada de Balliol (died 1251), married John FitzRobert of Warkworth, had issue.

paragraph: Section::::References.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Stell, G. P., "Balliol, Bernard de (d. c.1190)", "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004 , accessed 24 Jan 2008

paragraph: BULLET::::- Stell, G. P., "Balliol , John de (b. before 1208, d. 1268)", "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004 , accessed 24 Jan 2008

description: Anglo-Norman noble

wikidata_label: Hugh de Balliol

wikipedia_title: Hugh de Balliol


text:
Pleasant Valley
Atlantic City
American
entomologist
Diptera
Therevidae
species
genera
Alexander Craw
Archive
Archive
Galapagos
Portrait

categories: 1911 deaths,American entomologists,1856 births,Dipterists

paragraph: Daniel William Coquillett

paragraph: Daniel William Coquillett (23 January 1856, Pleasant Valley, Ill. – 7 July 1911 Atlantic City, New Jersey) was an American entomologist who specialised in Diptera. He wrote a revision of the dipterous family Therevidae and many other scientific papers in which he described many new species and genera of Diptera. Coquillett was also the first to attempt fumigation with hydrocyanic acid as a means for controlling citrus scale insects. He experimented in the Wolfskill orange groves where he was supported by the foreman and later quarantine entomologist Alexander Craw in 1888-89.

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Archive Digitised Coquillett, D. W. "Report on the locusts of the San Joaquin valley, Cal." Anaheim, Calif.Date 1886

paragraph: BULLET::::- Archive Digitised Coquillet, D. W. (Diptera) Papers from the Hopkins-Stanford Galapagos expedition, 1898–1899 Volumes 14, 15,16, 17 Washington, D.C., The Academy.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Portrait

alias:
Coquillett
Daniel William Coquillet

description: American entomologist

wikidata_label: Daniel William Coquillett

wikipedia_title: Daniel William Coquillett


text:
Bartow, Florida
American football
tight end
National Football League
Denver Broncos
1999 NFL Draft
college football
Wake Forest
Miami Dolphins
Chicago Bears
quarterback
free safety
return specialist
Chicago Bears
Paul Edinger
basketball
baseball
Dominique Davis
East Carolina University
Wake Forest University
Denver Broncos
1999 NFL Draft
Shannon Sharpe
Dwayne Carswell
Byron Chamberlain
Miami Dolphins
Chicago Bears
Pro Bowl
Super Bowl XLI
Kyle Orton
Greg Olsen
Green Bay Packers
Mike Martz
Ron Turner
offensive coordinator
NFC North
NFC Championship
Green Bay Packers
Mike Ditka
Chicago Tribune
Alex Brown
Vernon Hills High School
Desmond Clark

categories: African-American players of American football,American football wide receivers,Chicago Bears players,American football tight ends,Miami Dolphins players,1977 births,Denver Broncos players,Sportspeople from Lakeland, Florida,Living people

paragraph: Desmond Clark

paragraph: Desmond Darice Clark (born April 20, 1977 in Bartow, Florida) is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wake Forest. Clark also played for the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears.

paragraph: Section::::Early life.

paragraph: Clark attended Kathleen High School, where he played football as a quarterback, free safety, and return specialist. He was also the holder for former Chicago Bears place kicker Paul Edinger. He also played basketball and baseball during his high school years. His brother, Dominique Davis, played quarterback at East Carolina University.

paragraph: Section::::College career.

paragraph: Clark attended Wake Forest University, where he was a wide receiver and caught at least one pass against every ACC opponent he faced. He was a two-time second team All-ACC selection, a two-time team MVP, and finished his career as the ACC all-time leading receiver with 216 receptions for 2834 yards (13.12 yards per rec. avg.) and twenty touchdowns.

paragraph: Section::::Professional career.

paragraph: The Denver Broncos drafted Clark in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL Draft, where he was converted to tight end, behind Shannon Sharpe, Dwayne Carswell and Byron Chamberlain on the depth chart. He played with them for three seasons, until the team waived him the preseason. Clark, who was nursing an arm injury, was signed by the Miami Dolphins, and spent one season with them before joining the Chicago Bears in 2003. In 2005 Clark was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate. In 2006, Clark helped the Bears win the NFC Championship and a trip to Super Bowl XLI with regular season statistics of 626 receiving yards on 45 catches and six touchdowns.

paragraph: On February 24, 2008, the Bears awarded Clark with a two-year extension. During the 2008 season, Clark caught 41 passes from Kyle Orton and recorded 367 receiving yards and one touchdown. With the emergence of fellow tight end Greg Olsen, Clark dropped to the number two tight end on the team's depth chart. Clark suffered a back injury during the team's 2009 season opener against the Green Bay Packers, and missed five starts. He accumulated 19 receptions, 145 receiving yards, and two touchdowns in this injury-shortened season.

paragraph: In 2010, Mike Martz was hired to replace Ron Turner as the Bears offensive coordinator. Clark's role in the Bears offense began to diminish, as he spent most of his time on the team's inactive list. He recorded just one reception for twelve yards. The Bears won the NFC North, but lost the NFC Championship to the Green Bay Packers. After the game, Clark, who was on the final year of his contract, stated he was not sure if the team would offer him an extension.

paragraph: Clark re-signed with the Bears on August 2, 2011, but was later released on September 3, 2011. At the end of his tenure with the Bears, Clark ranked second all-time in tight end receptions for the team with 242, trailing only Hall of Famer Mike Ditka.

paragraph: Clark retired from football in September 2012. After a meeting with the Bears community relations department regarding his youth foundation, he was escorted from the premises of Halas Hall by security. Clark said that "he was viewed as an uninvited free agent, not a former member of the Bears' family." Clark told the "Chicago Tribune", "I was like, 'Are you serious?', so what I did, just so I could have a relationship with the team was, I wrote them a letter saying my intentions were to never play again and that I was officially retired from football." "

paragraph: Section::::88 Wayz Youth Organization.

paragraph: 88 Wayz, a non-profit school program started by Clark in 2008, provides a free mentor/leadership program for Polk County-area and Chicago-area schools. 88 Wayz assists youth in realizing their dreams and reaching their full potential by mentoring, motivating, and developing the confidence needed to achieve and become productive adults. 88 Wayz utilizes T.A.L.K.S. Mentoring, an innovative, cognitive-behavioral approach to youth mentoring that focuses on leadership skill development through peer-to-peer and youth-adult interactions. 88 Wayz is delivering its program in 12 schools. 88 Wayz is based in Lakeland, FL.

paragraph: Section::::Personal life.

paragraph: Clark and former teammate Alex Brown hosted the "Dez Clark & Alex Brown Show".

paragraph: Clark was a broadcaster. Clark is now a financial adviser for Wayne Messmer & Associates and President of NFL Alumni, Chicago Chapter.

paragraph: On August 29, 2015, Clark and his wife, Maria, were arrested following a dispute at Vernon Hills High School. Clark was charged with disorderly-conduct, while his wife was charged with two counts of battery. Clark and his wife were arrested following a meeting with the school's administration to discuss the 'racial bullying' their son was receiving from peers and faculty members at the school.

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- NFL.com: Desmond Clark

paragraph: BULLET::::- 2006 Interview:

paragraph: BULLET::::- 2013 Article:

description: Player of American football

wikidata_label: Desmond Clark

wikipedia_title: Desmond Clark


text: woodcarving

text: Stora Tuna, Kopparberg county, Dalarna

text: Sweden

text: Carl Johan Trygg

text: Maria Axelina Andersson

text: inflation

text: immigrated

text: Canada

text: Nils Johan

text: Halifax, Nova Scotia

text: Halifax

text: Montreal, Quebec

text: inflation

text: basswood

text: pine

text: Carl Johan Trygg

text: Carl Johan Trygg

text: Nils Johan Trygg

text: Lars Trygg

text: Carl Johan Trygg

text: Carl Johan Trygg

text: Lars Trygg

text: Nils Trygg

text: Carl Johan Trygg

text: Lars

text: Nils

text: Lars

text: Nils

text: Sweden

paragraph: Carl Olof Trygg

paragraph: Carl Olof Trygg (December 21, 1910 – 1993), was one of the recognized masters of 20th century woodcarving, most famous for Scandinavian flat-plane style of woodcarving.

paragraph: Trygg was born in Stora Tuna, Kopparberg county, Dalarna, Sweden. He was one of three son of Carl Johan Trygg and Maria Axelina Andersson. Carl Olof worked with his father carving wooden figures of various common people in the Scandinavian flat-plane style of woodcarving. Between C. O. Trygg, his father (Carl Johan) and two brothers (Nils, and Lars), they carved over 10,000 figures. Many of his carvings were sold to tourists for approximately $10.00 USD. Adjusted for inflation what cost $10.00 in 1929 would cost $108.05 in 2005.

paragraph: Section::::Migrating to Canada.

paragraph: Carl Olof, at the age of 17, immigrated to Canada with his mother Maria (43), brother Nils Johan (13) and an unknown relative, possibly his sister, Kally Maria Trygg (8) arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 7, 1928. He was proceeded in immigrating by his father Carl Johan who arrived in Halifax on 3 March 1928.

paragraph: The Trygg family eventually settled in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and there they continued to carve. Together they carved thousands of figures in the Scandinavian flat-plane style of woodcarving. Between C. J. Trygg and his sons they carved over 10,000 figures. Many of his carvings were sold to tourists for approximately $10.00 USD. Adjusted for inflation what cost $10.00 in 1929 would cost $108.05 in 2005.

paragraph: Trygg was a craftsman in tune to the tourist trade. Trygg generally carved solo figures from basswood or pine, and mounted them on a base. He had a stylized execution with clean cuts, working from a single piece of wood. A highlight of Trygg’s carvings is his use of vibrant paint. He often painted his character’s clothing in plaid.

paragraph: Section::::Return to Sweden.

paragraph: Carl Johan Trygg and Carl Olof Trygg eventually returned to Sweden, where they continued their careers. Carl Johan died there 1954 and Carl Olof, based on the dates on his carvings, was producing figures as late as 1987.

paragraph: Section::::The legacy.

paragraph: Section::::The legacy.:Trygg family of woodcarvers.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Carl Johan Trygg (1877–1954)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Carl Olof Trygg (1910–1993)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Nils Johan Trygg (1914 – 1951)

paragraph: BULLET::::- Lars Trygg

paragraph: Trygg family woodcarvings are still sought after today as collectibles. There are over 10,000 carved figures that were manufactured by the members of the Trygg family. Prices range from $50 to $500 depending upon the age, size, and condition of the piece.

paragraph: Section::::The legacy.:Identifying Trygg woodcarvings.

paragraph: Trygg woodcarvings can be identified by the signatures and dates on the bases.

paragraph: Signatures commonly found are:

paragraph: BULLET::::- "Trygg" carved on base. — Carl Johan Trygg (Generally)

paragraph: BULLET::::- "C.J. Trygg" — Carl Johan Trygg

paragraph: BULLET::::- "C.O. Trygg" — Carl Olof Trygg

paragraph: BULLET::::- "L. Trygg" — Lars Trygg

paragraph: BULLET::::- "N. E. Trygg" — Nils Trygg

paragraph: BULLET::::- "Hand Carved by Trygg" — Carl Johan Trygg or Carl Olof, Lars, or Nils

paragraph: BULLET::::- "Carved by Trygg Jr." — Carl Olof, Lars, or Nils

paragraph: Most of the carvings are dated and include the location carved. For example, you may find a carving with ""C.O. Trygg 1961 Sweden"" meaning it was carved by Carl Olof Trygg in 1961 while he was living in Sweden.

paragraph: Section::::Notes.

paragraph: BULLET::::1. Carl Olof Trygg was lised on the immigration record as Karl Olof Trygg. This is most likely due to the poor legibility of the original indexes. The signature used on woodcarvings he produced is "C. O. Trygg" (Carl-Olof Trygg).

description: Swedish woodcarver

wikidata_label: Carl Olof Trygg

wikipedia_title: Carl Olof Trygg


text: Osage Hills

text: U.S.

text: cattle

text: murder

text: Greenville, Texas

text: Osage Indian Reservation

text: Osage County, Oklahoma

text: Osage Indian Reservation

text: Oklahoma

text: bribery

text: extortion

text: oil

text: testify

text: J. Edgar Hoover

text: FBI

text: undercover agent

text: contract killer

text: Leavenworth prison

text: Kansas

text: Montana

text: Benny Binion

text: Arizona

text: Oklahoma State Penitentiary

text: McAlester, Oklahoma

text: pardon

text: Osage Indian murders

text: David Grann

text: Linda Hogan

text: Mean Spirit

text: Morrison v State Appelate Court ruling

categories: 1921 crimes,Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government,American people convicted of murder,American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment,Criminals from Oklahoma,1962 deaths,People paroled from life sentence,People convicted of murder by the United States federal government,People from Oklahoma,Osage Nation,American cattlemen

paragraph: William Hale (cattleman)

paragraph: William King Hale (December 24, 1874—August 15, 1962), often known locally as "Bill", or the self-styled "King of the Osage Hills," was a U.S. cattleman and convicted murderer. Born in Greenville, Texas, he came to the Indian Territory late in the 19th century and settled on the Osage Indian Reservation, where he built the noted Hale Ranch and made a fortune raising cattle. When Oklahoma gained statehood in 1907, the land occupied by the reservation became contiguous with Osage County, Oklahoma.

paragraph: A power player in the Osage Indian Reservation in northern Oklahoma, Hale rose to local prominence in the late 19th century through years of bribery, intimidation, and extortion. In 1921, he ordered the murders of his nephew's wife and mother-in-law, followed by her cousin, sister and brother-in-law two years later, to gain control of their oil rights. Over the next few months, he had killed at least two dozen others who had threatened to testify against him.

paragraph: Section::::Early life.

paragraph: Little seems to have been written about Bill Hale's early life, other than that he was born in Greenville, Texas. He apparently came to the Osage Indian reservation in Indian Territory just before the turn of the 20th century.

paragraph: Thomas B. White, special agent in charge, wrote in a 1932 memo to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover: "Eventually (Hale) became a millionaire, who dominated local politics and seemingly could not be punished for any of the many crimes which were laid at his door...His method of building up power and prestige was to put various individuals under obligation to him by means of gifts and favors shown to them. Consequently he had a tremendous following in the vicinity composed not only of the riffraff element which had drifted in, but of many good and substantial citizens."

paragraph: Section::::Murders for money.

paragraph: William King Hale and his nephews, Ernest and Bryan Burkhart, conspired to kill several Osage Indians for the oil headrights. Ernest married Mollie Kile (or Kyle), a native Osage. Through various permutations, William King Hale had Mollie's sister Anna Brown killed in 1921. Anna's head rights were inherited by her mother Lizzie Q and Mollie. The death of Lizzie Q and several cousins left Mollie Burkhart and therefore Ernest as heirs to the headrights worth several hundreds of thousands of dollars in 1920s. Mollie fell ill and was later discovered to have been poisoned. When she moved away from Fairfax she recovered. She divorced Ernest afterward, and their children inherited Mollie's estate.

paragraph: Section::::Investigations.

paragraph: The Osage Tribal Council suspected Hale early on, but couldn't elicit any testimony from the townspeople, many of whom Hale had bribed or threatened into silence. The council turned to the FBI, who sent four undercover agents to the Reservation who, over the next few years, gained the townspeople's trust enough that they began speaking out against Hale. Hale's nephew whom he had coerced into helping with the scheme confessed, and charges were finally brought against Hale, as well as the contract killer he had hired to perform the murders and his corrupt attorney. In 1929, Hale was convicted of ordering the murders, and imprisoned.

paragraph: Section::::Conviction and later life.

paragraph: After four trials Hale was convicted before a Federal District Court in 1929 for only one killing - that of the shooting death of Anna Brown's cousin, Henry Roan, and sent to the Leavenworth prison in Kansas. Hale had attempted to cash in a $25,000 insurance policy on Roan's life only a week after the man's death; obligingly, Hale had also served as one of Roan's pall bearers. He was sentenced to life but was paroled on July 31, 1947. He spent some of his life in Montana working as a ranch hand for Benny Binion. He died in Arizona in 1962 and was buried in Wichita, Kansas.

paragraph: Bryan turned state's evidence and never served time. His brother Ernest was sentenced to life in state court and was sent to Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was released in 1959 and received a pardon in 1966 from Governor Henry Bellmon.

paragraph: Section::::See also.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Osage Indian murders

paragraph: BULLET::::- David Grann. "" (2017) reports Hale as mastermind of murders with detailed evidence

paragraph: BULLET::::- Linda Hogan. "Mean Spirit" (1991) presents fictional yet historically accurate account of murders based on FBI files

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- FBI Pressroom: Murder and Mayhem in the Osage Hills

paragraph: BULLET::::- Freedom of Information Act documents on the Osage Indian Murders

paragraph: BULLET::::- Morrison v State Appelate Court ruling

alias:
William King Hale
King of the Osage Hills
Bill Hale

description: American murderer

wikidata_label: William Hale

wikipedia_title: William Hale (cattleman)


text:
Eastern Orthodox
hegumen
Russian Orthodox Church
baptismal name
peasant
Novgorod Republic
Ladoga
Valaam Monastery
isolation
Serapion
Archbishop of Novgorod
Alexander-Svirsky Monastery
Lake Ladoga
Svir River
Trinity
Mother Mary
Holy Child
Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar

categories: Incorrupt saints,1448 births,16th-century Christian saints,1533 deaths,Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church,Russian monks

paragraph: Alexander Svirsky

paragraph: Alexander Svirsky or Alexander of Svir (1448–1533) was an Eastern Orthodox saint, monk and hegumen of Russian Orthodox Church.

paragraph: Amos (his baptismal name) was born to an ordinary peasant family in the Novgorod Republic, east of Ladoga. At the age of 19, he left home for the Valaam Monastery and spent further time of his life as monk, including some period of total isolation from society.

paragraph: In 1506, Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod, appointed him Hegumen of the Trinity monastery, which later became known as Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, at the place of the saint's eremitic life between Roschinsky and Holy lakes, 20 km to the east from Lake Ladoga and 6 km from the Svir River.

paragraph: The saint became known for his righteous life and contemplative miracles, including the appearances of the Trinity and of Mother Mary with the Holy Child. His day is commemorated on April 17 and August 30 according to Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar.

paragraph: The relics of the saint were found on April 17 (27), 1641. According to the Vita of the saint, the relics were found incorruptible.

paragraph: On October 22, 1918, the coffin with the relics of Alexander Svirsky was opened. In a cast reliquary weighing over 40 pounds of silver, instead of the imperishable relics of Alexander Svirsky, a wax doll was claimed according to the Soviet reports.. The testimony of the monks present, as well as a later soviet commission under the direction of Grigory Zinoviev, demonstrated that they found a human body instead of a wax figure.

description: Russian saint

wikidata_label: Alexander Svirsky

wikipedia_title: Alexander Svirsky


text:
Animax Anison Grand Prix
anime
Valkyria Chronicles

categories: People from Nagoya,1978 births,Musicians from Aichi Prefecture,Living people

paragraph: Shintarō Tokita

paragraph: In 2008, Tokita produced the winner of the second annual Animax Anison Grand Prix competition, Catherine St. Onge's debut theme song for the anime adaptation of "Valkyria Chronicles".

alias:
Shintaro Tokita
Shintarou Tokita

description: Japanese musician

wikidata_label: Shintarō Tokita

wikipedia_title: Shintarō Tokita


text: Albanian

text: Islamic scholar

text: hadith

text: fiqh

text: Salafi

text: quietism

text: watchmaker

text: hadith

text: its sciences

text: Islamic University of Madinah

text: Islamic law

text: Mecca

text: Shkodër

text: Albania

text: Ahmet Zogu

text: Damascus

text: Syria

text: Quran

text: Tajwid

text: Arabic

text: Hanafi

text: Fiqh

text: carpenter

text: watchmaker

text: hadith studies

text: Abd al-Rahim ibn al-Husain al-'Iraqi

text: "Al-Manar" magazine

text: Hadith

text: Islamic University of Madinah

text: Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz

text: Wahhabi

text: Hanbali

text: Niqab

text: Az-Zahiriyah library

text: Ba'ath

text: Hafez al-Assad

text: Wahhabi

text: Qatar

text: Egypt

text: Kuwait

text: United Arab Emirates

text: Bin Baz

text: Saudi Arabia

text: Islamic law

text: Mecca

text: Salafism

text: schools

text: Islamic law

text: Madhhab

text: fiqh

text: hadith

text: Wahhabism

text: Zahiri

text: Hanbali

text: mihrab

text: Mecca

text: bid'ah

text: Salafi

text: al-Quraysh

text: Tahajjud

text: Taraweeh

text: Syed Qutb

text: Oneness of Being

text: Hassan al-Banna

text: Muslim Brotherhood

text: Sunni

text: Safar Al-Hawali

text: Taqlid

text: hadith

text: Hadith scholar

text: Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda

text: Sahih al-Bukhari

text: Sahih Muslim

text: hadith scholar

text: Said Ramadan al-Bouti

text: Israel

text: West Bank

text: Gaza

text: bid'ah

text: jihadist

text: Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif

text: Jihad

text: King Faisal International Prize

text: Islamic studies

text: Muhibb-ud-Deen Al-Khatib

text: Huffington Post

text: takfir

text: ISIS

text: Rashid Rida

text: Ibn Taymiyyah

text: Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya

text: Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz

text: Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen

text: Muhammad Asadullah Al-Ghalib

text: Salafism

text: Official Website of Sheikh Al-Albani

categories: 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam,Syrian Salafis,People from Shkodër,Atharis,Albanian emigrants to Syria,1914 births,1999 deaths,20th-century Albanian writers,Critics of Shia Islam,Watchmakers (people),Carpenters,Syrian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam,King Faisal International Prize recipients for Islamic studies,20th-century imams,Albanian Islamic religious leaders,Wahhabism,Albanian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam,Hadith scholars,Sunni imams,20th-century Syrian writers,Arabic-language writers,Albanian Salafis

paragraph: Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani

paragraph: Muhammad Nasir-ud-Dīn al-Albani(1914 – October 2, 1999) (In Arabic محمد ناصر الدين الألباني) was an Albanian Islamic scholar who specialised in the fields of hadith and fiqh. He established his reputation in Syria, where his family had moved when he was a child and where he was educated.

paragraph: Albani is considered to be a major figure of the purist Salafi movement which developed in the 20th century. Al-Albani did not advocate violence, preferring quietism and obedience to established governments.

paragraph: A watchmaker by trade, al-Albani was active as a writer, publishing chiefly on hadith and its sciences. He also lectured widely in the Mideast, Spain and the United Kingdom on the Salafist movement.

paragraph: Section::::Islamic University of Madinah.

paragraph: In the 1960s, Albani was invited to teach at the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia. His views were opposed by numerous traditional clerics and his contract allowed to lapse. He later returned from Syria for a brief time in the 1970s as the head of higher education in Islamic law in Mecca. He again aroused too much opposition, and returned to Syria. After serving time under house arrest by the Syrian government in 1979, Albani moved to Jordan, where he resided for the rest of his life.

paragraph: Section::::Biography.

paragraph: Section::::Biography.:Early life.

paragraph: Albani was born into a poor Muslim family in the city of Shkodër in northern Albania in 1914. During the reign of the secularist Albanian leader Ahmet Zogu, al-Albani's family migrated to Damascus, Syria. In Damascus, Albani completed his early education – initially taught by his father – in the Quran, Tajwid, Arabic linguistic sciences, Hanafi Fiqh and further branches of the Islamic faith, also helped by native Syrian scholars. In the meantime, he earned a modest living as a carpenter before joining his father as a watchmaker.

paragraph: Section::::Biography.:Early life.:Hadith Studies.

paragraph: Albani began to specialize in hadith studies in the 1930s. Though he was largely self-taught, he transcribed and commented on Abd al-Rahim ibn al-Husain al-'Iraqi's "Al-Mughnee 'an-hamlil-Asfar fil-Asfar fee takhrej maa fil-lhyaa min al-Akhbar". He followed this writing a series of lectures and books, as well as publishing articles in "Al-Manar" magazine.

paragraph: Section::::Biography.:Scholastic career.

paragraph: Starting in 1954, Albani began delivering informal weekly lessons. By 1960, his popularity began to worry the government of Syria, and he was placed under surveillance by the Hafiz al-Asad government. He was imprisoned twice in 1969. In the late 1970s, the government placed him under house arrest more than once.

paragraph: After a number of his works were published, Albani was invited to teach Hadith at the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia by the University's then-vice president, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz. Shortly upon his arrival, Albani angered the Wahhabi elite in Saudi Arabia, who did not like his anti-traditionalist stances in Muslim jurisprudence. They were alarmed by Albani's intellectual challenges to the ruling Hanbali school of law but were unable to challenge him openly due to his popularity. When Albani wrote a book supporting his view that the Niqab, or full face-veil, was not a binding obligation upon Muslim women, he caused a minor uproar in the country. His opponents ensured that his contract with the university was allowed to lapse without renewal.

paragraph: In 1963, Albani left Saudi Arabia and returned to his studies and work in the Az-Zahiriyah library in Syria. He left his watch shop in the hands of one of his brothers. He was later invited back to Saudi Arabia in the 1970s but did not remain long because of opposition from clerics.

paragraph: Section::::Biography.:Imprisonment in Syria.

paragraph: He was placed under house arrest more than once in the 1970s by the Ba'ath regime of Hafez al-Assad. The Syrian government accused Albani of "promoting the Wahhabi da'wa, which distorted Islam and confused Muslims."

paragraph: Section::::Biography.:Later life.

paragraph: Albani visited various countries for preaching and lectures – amongst them Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, and the United Kingdom. He moved a number of times between Syria and a couple of cities in Jordan. He also lived in the UAE.

paragraph: After Bin Baz's intervention with Saudi educational management, Albani was invited to Saudi Arabia a second time in order to serve as the head of higher education in Islamic law in Mecca. This did not last due to controversy among the Saudi establishment regarding Albani's views.

paragraph: Albani returned to Syria, where he was briefly jailed again in 1979. He moved to Jordan, living there for the remainder of his time. He died in 1999 at the age of 85.

paragraph: Section::::Views.

paragraph: Albani was a proponent of Salafism and is considered one of the movement's primary figureheads in the 20th century. Albani criticized the four mainstream schools of Islamic law and rejected the traditional Sunni view that Muslims should automatically turn to a Madhhab for fiqh (jurisprudence). Instead, he spent much of his life critically re-evaluating hadith literature and felt that numerous previously accepted hadiths were unsound. This led him to produce rulings that were at odds with the Islamic majority. Although Salafism has frequently been associated with Wahhabism, Albani distinguished between the two movements, and he criticized the latter while supporting the former. He had a complex relationship to each movement.

paragraph: Albani was amongst some leading Salafi scholars who were preaching for decades against what they considered the warped literalism of extremists. Politically they were quietists who rejected vigilantism and rebellion against the state. They believed that Muslims should focus on purifying their beliefs and practice and that, in time, "God would bring victory over the forces of falsehood and unbelief."

paragraph: Albani's own views on jurisprudence and dogma have been a matter of debate and discussion. During a 1989 visit to Saudi Arabia, Albani was asked if he adhered to the lesser-known Zahiri school of Islamic law; he responded affirmatively. Albani's opponents among the mainstream have affirmed this as a point of criticism. A number of Albani's students have denied his association with any formal school of jurisprudence.

paragraph: Section::::Controversies.

paragraph: Albani held a number of controversial views that ran counter to the wider Islamic consensus, and more specifically to Hanbali jurisprudence.

paragraph: These include:

paragraph: BULLET::::- "his view that mihrabs – the niche found in a mosques indicating the direction of Mecca – were bid'ah (an innovation)."

paragraph: BULLET::::- "his view that it was permissible to pray in a mosque with one's shoes"

paragraph: BULLET::::- "his call for Palestinians to leave the occupied territories since, according to him, they were unable to practice their faith there as they should This view was also controversial within the Salafi movement."

paragraph: BULLET::::- "his view that it is prohibited for women to wear gold bracelets."

paragraph: BULLET::::- "his view that it was not necessary for women to cover their faces."

paragraph: BULLET::::- "his view that the Muslim ruler must be from the tribe of al-Quraysh."

paragraph: Section::::Prayer (Salah) Formula.

paragraph: Albani wrote a book in which he redefined the proper gestures and formula that constitute the Muslim prayer ritual "According to the Prophet's sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallams practice." These were contrary to the prescriptions of all established schools of jurisprudence.

paragraph: As he argued that several details of the concrete prayer that have been taught from generation to generation were based on dubious hadith, his book caused considerable unease. Albani's descriptions for the performance of the Tahajjud and Taraweeh prayer deviated considerably from established practice.

paragraph: Albani openly criticized Syed Qutb after the leader was executed. He claimed that Qutb had deviated in creed and held the belief of Oneness of Being. Further, Albani accused Hassan al-Banna, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, of not being a religious scholar and holding "positions contrary to the Sunna".

paragraph: Section::::Criticism.

paragraph: Albani was criticized by a number of contemporary Sunni scholars. Safar Al-Hawali criticized Albani for his "categorical condemnation of Taqlid" and his "radical hadith based revisionism".

paragraph: In the early 1970s Syrian Hadith scholar Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda published a tract against al-Albani's revaluation of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. In 1987 the Egyptian hadith scholar Mahmud Sa'id Mamduh published a work entitled "Alerting the Muslim to al-Albani's Transgression upon Sahih Muslim."

paragraph: He stated that:

paragraph: Syrian hadith scholar Nur al-Din 'Itr rebutted some of al-Albani's views. His contemporary, the Syrian scholar Said Ramadan al-Bouti, took issue with Albani's well-known call for all Palestinians to leave Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. He wrote two rebuttals of al-Albani entitled "Anti-Madhabism: the dangers of an innovation that threaten the Sharia" and "Salafiyya: a blessed historical period, not a school of fiqh."

paragraph: Lebanese scholar Gibril Fouad Haddad dubbed al-Albani "the chief innovator of our time" and accused him of bid'ah. The "reformed" jihadist Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif considered Albani to be "wrapped in evil" and "not suitable to be a sheikh" for his alleged claim that Jihad is defined as forgiveness, education and prayer.

paragraph: Section::::Awards.

paragraph: Albani was awarded the King Faisal International Prize in 1999 before his death for his contributions to Islamic studies. The award committee described him as "considered by many academics as probably the greatest Islamic scholar of the 20th Century."

paragraph: Over a period of sixty years, Albani's lectures and published books were highly influential in the field of Islamic studies, and many of his works became widely referred to by other Islamic scholars.

paragraph: Muhibb-ud-Deen Al-Khatib, a contemporary scholar, said of him: "And from the callers to the Sunnah who devoted their lives to reviving it was our brother Muhammad Nasiruddin Nooh Najati Al-Albani."

paragraph: In 2015, the "Huffington Post" remarked that Albani's movement of 'Quietist Salafism' with its strong opposition to takfirism (doctrine of excommunication and declaring other Muslims of being heretics) and violence may provide the rhetoric that could prevent youth from being drawn to the apocalyptic rubbish of ISIS."

paragraph: Section::::See also.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Rashid Rida

paragraph: BULLET::::- Ibn Taymiyyah

paragraph: BULLET::::- Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya

paragraph: BULLET::::- Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz

paragraph: BULLET::::- Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen

paragraph: BULLET::::- Muhammad Asadullah Al-Ghalib

paragraph: BULLET::::- Salafism

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- The Albaani Site – Translations from His Works – Updated Regularly

paragraph: BULLET::::- Official Website of Sheikh Al-Albani

alias: Albānī, Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al- 1914-1999

description: Hadith scholar

wikidata_label: Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani

wikipedia_title: Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani