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Æthelred the Unready

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PBracewell
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Post by PBracewell » Thu December 6th, 2012, 4:30 am

Nefret, If your interest is in the historical Aethelred and not a novel, there is a wonderful book titled "The Death of Anglo-Saxon England" by N.J. Higham that is pretty fascinating reading about the reign of Aethelred. Alibris.com has it for under $10, but your local library might be able to get it for you, too.

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Mythica
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Post by Mythica » Thu December 6th, 2012, 9:29 am

[quote=""PBracewell""]I'd send you an ARC if I had one! I only have one left in the house, and I need it! To answer your question, neither Viking nor I see it as a young adult novel, and I certainly wrote it for adult readers, meant to appeal to both women and men. :) [/quote]

Thanks, I'm not heavily into YA so I'm glad. I think some people tend to automatically assume a teenage character means it's YA but of course, that is not necessarily the case.

I'm looking forward to it! Emma is one of my favorite historical figures.

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Rowan
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Post by Rowan » Tue December 11th, 2012, 1:39 pm

I'd like to throw my two cents in here, if I may.

I am currently reading Shieldwall and contrary to what the back-of-the-book-blurb would have you think, it does not begin at the time of Æthelred's death. He is, in fact, alive for most of the book. I've got 1/4 of the book to read and he's only just now died.

The plot itself focuses on Godwin Wolfnothson (who would later father Harold, the last king of England) and his friendship with Edmond Ironside as well as his on-going conflict with Eadric.
Last edited by Rowan on Wed December 12th, 2012, 3:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Mythica
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Post by Mythica » Wed December 12th, 2012, 9:17 am

[quote=""Rowan""]I'd like to throw my two cents in here, if I may.

I am currently reading Shieldwall and contrary to what the back-of-the-book-blurb would have you think, it does not begin at the time of Æthelred's death. He is, in fact, alive for most of the book. I've got less than 1/4 of the book to read and he's only just now died.

The plot itself focuses on Godwin Wolfnothson (who would later father Harold, the last king of England) and his friendship with Edmond Ironside as well as his on-going conflict with Eadric.[/quote]

That's good to know, thanks!

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Post by Mythica » Wed December 12th, 2012, 12:09 pm

I just came across Kings of the North by Cecelia Holland - it sounds like it's more from the Danish side but it does involve Æthelred.

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Post by annis » Wed December 12th, 2012, 4:31 pm

Æthelred' also gets a mention in Sheelagh Kelly's Jorvik, but only as the perpetrator of the St Brice's Day massacre of Danish settlers which sets the hero on his path of vengeance.

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red805
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Post by red805 » Sat December 29th, 2012, 11:25 pm

I'm currently listening to my first Bernard Cornwell book - Sword Song, & there is an Aethelred that is a major character in the book, but I don't know if that's the Aethelred you're referring to. Oh, sorry, You wanted Aethelred the Unready. Who knew there were so many Aethelreds?
Last edited by red805 on Sat December 29th, 2012, 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: wrong Aethelred!

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Nefret
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Post by Nefret » Sun December 30th, 2012, 10:33 am

Oh, the Saxon series. Nice. That's actually the fourth book.

Wrong time period though.
Into battle we ride with Gods by our side
We are strong and not afraid to die
We have an urge to kill and our lust for blood has to be fulfilled
WE´LL FIGHT TILL THE END! And send our enemies straight to Hell!
- "Into Battle"
{Ensiferum}

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Post by annis » Sun December 30th, 2012, 5:01 pm

Posted by red805
Sword Song & there is an Aethelred that is a major character in the book.
Yes, Cornwell's Athelred is the Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, who married Æthelflæd, eldest daughter of King Alfred (also spelt Ælfred). Æthelflæd makes an excellent fist of running Mercia on her own as Lady of the Mercians after her husband Æthelred falls ill and later dies. Cornwell portrays him rather unkindly, though there's no particular evidence that he was a nasty piece of work. As Bernard Cornwell says, though, one of the fun things about using a relatively undocumented period as a setting is that it gives you room for artistic licence :)

The Anglo-Saxons were fond of reusing names, especially within families, which makes it difficult at times to work out just who's who! Anglo-Saxon names were generally compounded of two words, and causing special confusion is the habit among families of using the same first part of the compound for several family members. So, for example, Æthelflæd's siblings were called Edward, Æthelgifu, Ælfthryth and Æthelweard. Æthelred and Æthelflæd had a daughter called Ælfwynn. It's enough to make your eyes cross!
Last edited by annis on Tue January 1st, 2013, 7:56 am, edited 10 times in total.

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Post by Carla » Wed January 2nd, 2013, 7:52 pm

[quote=""annis""]Posted by red805


Yes, Cornwell's Athelred is the Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, who married Æthelflæd, eldest daughter of King Alfred (also spelt Ælfred). Æthelflæd makes an excellent fist of running Mercia on her own as Lady of the Mercians after her husband Æthelred falls ill and later dies. Cornwell portrays him rather unkindly, though there's no particular evidence that he was a nasty piece of work. As Bernard Cornwell says, though, one of the fun things about using a relatively undocumented period as a setting is that it gives you room for artistic licence :)

The Anglo-Saxons were fond of reusing names, especially within families, which makes it difficult at times to work out just who's who! Anglo-Saxon names were generally compounded of two words, and causing special confusion is the habit among families of using the same first part of the compound for several family members. So, for example, Æthelflæd's siblings were called Edward, Æthelgifu, Ælfthryth and Æthelweard. Æthelred and Æthelflæd had a daughter called Ælfwynn. It's enough to make your eyes cross![/quote]

'Aethel-' names seem to have been especially popular, perhaps because 'aethel' meant 'noble, royal'. There are Aethel- names back in the late sixth/early seventh century, so it was popular for a very long time.
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