He was also a very good military leader. In 926 Athelstan conquered Northumbria, and in the same year he had his sister Edith marry Sihtric, king of Jorvik (York). Sihtric died the next year, allowing Athelstan to take the city of York. Edith was married again to the Holy Roman Emperor, and two other sisters sent to France and Brittany. It is thought that the recurring element Brun- could be a personal name, a river name, or the Old English or Old Norse word for a spring or stream. [71] [13] Less mystery surrounds the suffixes –burh/–werc, -dun, -ford and –feld, which are the Old English words for a fortification, low hill, ford, and open land respectively. [71] Ancient artesian spring at Barton-upon-Humber Athelstan lives with the Vikings and is introduced to their way of life. He can see the value in their ways and beliefs, and so becomes torn between his commitment to his Christian faith and his desire to fully become part of his new community. William of Malmesbury wrote of him two hundred years later ' The firm opinion is still current among the English that no one more just or learned administered the state.' Athelstan did not want his sisters to marry his own subjects, perhaps fearing a challenge to the throne. Thus, they either joined nunneries or married foreign kings. One of his half-sisters, Eadgifu, had already been married to Charles the Simple, King of the West Franks. When he died, Athelstan fostered her son Louis and helped him take his father’s throne.

The complete supremacy of the House of Wessex was firmly established under Athelstan and he could correctly be described as the first true King of all England. Athelstan used the title Basilius, the Greek term for king. Livingston, Michael (2021). Never Greater Slaughter: Brunanburh and the Birth of England. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781472849373. Deakin, Michael (2022). "Bromborough, Brunanburh and Dingesmere". Notes and Queries. 69 (2): 65–71. doi: 10.1093/notesj/gjac020. Seven Kings Must Die introduced a very different Athelstan from the little boy in The Last Kingdom’s Fifth season despite retaining Harry Gilby to play the character. One of the most interesting things about the boy king was his sexuality. The self-loathing gay king made Athelstan a pitiful character at the beginning of the film, but it has also left many fans wondering whether the real-life Athelstan was gay. a b Cavill, Paul; Harding, Stephen; Jesch, Judith (October 2004). "Revisiting Dingesmere". Journal of the English Place Name Society. 36: 25–36.While Athelstan is portrayed as possibly gay or bisexual in Seven Kings Must Die, no historical facts fully support the theory. Athelstan and Ingilmundr (Laurie Davidson) being lovers in the movie was, therefore, based on the scriptwriters and Bernard Cornwell’s interpretation of Athelstan from historical accounts, and not necessarily a reflection of King Athelstan’s real-life sexuality. 10th-century British culture also insisted on religious piety, meaning if the real-life Athelstan were gay, it would be a heavily guarded secret. Conspiracies against the new king's rule formed in the early months of Athelstan's reign, lead by one Alfred, who was probably a member of the Saxon Royal House. The Kings brother, Edwin, was in 933 accused of being party to this conspiracy, despite his strong protestations to the contrary. Athelstan depicted in stained glass

He was also an extremely pious man, translating the Bible into English and supporting the growth and development of monasteries. He is considered the first king of all England, something Ecbert aspires to be in the show, and one of its most important. He is actually known for successfully battling against the Vikings. Clarkson, Tim (2012). The Makers of Scotland: Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings. Birlinn Limited. ISBN 978-1-907909-01-6. Athelstan was a keen scholar. He collected manuscripts and invited scholars to his court. He wanted to build a system of education based on sacred learning. Unfortunately, books from the era have not lasted although some oral literature has made it down through the centuries. Some people believe that the famous Beowulf was written in Athelstan’s court. The first folio of the heroic epic poem Beowulf Battles and Military Triumphs 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, 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. [60]Foot, Sarah, "Where English becomes British: Rethinking Contexts for Brunanburh", in Barrow, Julia; Andrew Wareham (2008). Myth, Rulership, Church and Charters: Essays in Honour of Nicholas Brooks. Aldershot: Ashgate. pp.127–144.

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. [17] 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, [18] 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. [19] Historian Martin Ryan goes further, suggesting that at the end of his life Alfred may have favoured Æthelstan rather than Edward as his successor. [20] 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". [21] Lapidge and Wood see the poem as a commemoration of Alfred's ceremony by one of his leading scholars, John the Old Saxon. [22] 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. [23] However, Sarah Foot argues that the acrostic poem makes better sense if it is dated to the beginning of Æthelstan's reign. [24] Aethelweard". brunanburh.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018 . Retrieved 30 October 2015. Aethelweard conveniently died just 3 weeks after Edward's death, and Athelstan was able to claim both Wessex and Mercia. In the year 937, Constantine II of Scotland in alliance with Eógan of Strathclyde and Olaf Guthfrithson, King of Dublin, invaded England. The King marched an army north to meet them, gaining a glorious victory at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937, against a combined invasion force of Vikings and Scots. The Annals of Ulster record the battle as' a great battle, lamentable and terrible was cruelly fought...in which fell uncounted thousands of the Northmen. ... And on the other side, a multitude of Saxons fell; but Æthelstan, the king of the Saxons obtained a great victory The Dacre Stone commemorating peace between Athelstan and Constantine, King of Scots a b Symeon of Durham. ”Libellus de Exordio". In The Battle of Brunanburh. A Casebook. Ed. Michael Livingston. University of Exeter Press. 2011. pp. 54–55In 926, Hugh, Duke of the Franks, asked for the hand of one of Athelstan’s sisters. He sent gifts like spices, swift horses, a crown made of solid gold, the lance of Charlemagne, the sword of the Roman Emperor Constantine I, and a piece of the Crown of Thorns. Athelstan sent his half-sister Eadhild to be his wife. Athelstan's law codes strengthened royal control over his large kingdom; currency was regulated to control silver's weight and to penalise fraudsters. Buying and selling was mostly confined to the burhs, encouraging town life; areas of settlement in the midlands and Danish towns were consolidated into shires. Overseas, Athelstan built alliances by marrying four of his half-sisters to various rulers in western Europe. After Æthelstan defeated the Vikings at York in 927, King Constantine of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred I of Bamburgh, and King Owen I of Strathclyde (or Morgan ap Owain of Gwent) accepted Æthelstan's overlordship at Eamont, near Penrith. [3] [4] [a] Æthelstan became King of England and there was peace until 934. [4]