Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey chooses \u00c6thelstan as a history hero <\/p>
\u00c6thelstan was king of the Anglo-Saxons from 924\u201327 and king of the English from 927\u201339. The son of Edward the Elder and the grandson of Alfred the Great, his coronation took place in Kingston upon Thames in 925. He is renowned for being the first king of all England, and for his victory at the 937 battle of Brunanburh.<\/p>\n
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When I was studying medieval history for my A-levels. Becoming the MP for Kingston upon Thames a couple of decades later deepened my interest in him because he was one of several Anglo-Saxon kings crowned \u2028in my constituency. I\u2019m currently ploughing through a big \u2028biography of him \u2013 it\u2019s not the lightest of bedtime reading!<\/p>\n
The historical sources for that period of history are limited, but from what we know he was a strong leader, very pious and well-educated. Having Alfred the Great<\/a> as a grandfather marked him out as quite a special person, although there was a period before \u00c6thelstan was crowned when it wasn\u2019t clear whether he was going to become king. It appears that he never married or had children \u2013 why that was so remains a mystery.<\/p>\n He was a sophisticated person: a man of culture, a law-maker, a military leader of some substance and the first king to try to impose one coinage for all of England. He was seen as almost the English Charlemagne.<\/p>\n First and foremost, being the first monarch who could really be called the king of the English \u2013 Rex Anglorum \u2013 something that could not be said of either Alfred the Great or Edward the Elder. Secondly, his victory at the battle of Brunanburh<\/a> (the exact location of which remains unknown) over a Viking-led coalition. But for that triumph, the English nation might not have survived and would almost certainly not have developed culturally into the country we know today. And thirdly, his importance as both a law-maker and a great benefactor of the church.<\/p>\n Undoubtedly. He should be up there on a list of the greatest kings of England \u2013 \u2028he arguably did more for his country economically, culturally and diplomatically than Alfred the Great. Why has he been forgotten? \u2028I think in part because he was brought up in what was then the kingdom of Mercia. The Wessex establishment only reluctantly accepted him as king, and some Wessex chroniclers tried to write him out of history.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think that\u2019s very likely! But it would be wonderful if Buckingham Palace would consider a royal visit in \u20282025 to mark the 1,100th anniversary of \u00c6thelstan\u2019s coronation. Some of the amazing pageantry in Charles\u2019s coronation last year dates back to \u00c6thelstan\u2019s time \u2013 and did you know that \u00c6thelstan was the first English king shown wearing a crown?<\/p>\nWhat made him a hero?<\/h3>\n
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What was \u00c6thelstan\u2019s finest hour?<\/h3>\n
Do you think he should be better known?<\/h3>\n
Would you like to see future monarchs crowned in your constituency?<\/h3>\n