On this day in 860, Athelbald, King of Wessex died. He is one of those kings we don’t know much about. An early mention of him is positive, describing the part he played in a defeat of the Vikings. But later records are not so positive and Asser described his reign as ‘lawless’.
Personally, I have a bit of a soft spot for this bad-boy king and find it amusing that the rather saintly Alfred the Great should have this wild older brother!
Athelbald is a key character in Three Times the Lady where he appears as Judith’s oldest stepson.
But does he become more to her than that?
RIP Athelbald.
I’ve written more about Athelbald in Judith of Flanders – the Wessex years and Aethelwulf of Wessex – a Dad for the Dark Ages
Dark Age Voices 