| “ | Tonight I order that all Vikings living on this island be exterminated. | ” |
–King Æthelred II | ||
Æthelred II, also known as Æthelred "the Unready" (Old English: Æþelræd), is the King of England and a descendant of King Alfred the Great. His son is Prince Edmund II.
Biography
Season 1
King Æthelred has been urged by his nobles to view the Vikings in the Danelaw as a threat to the Saxons. They have convinced him to find a solution to the "Viking Problem."
It is St. Brice's Day. King Æthelred has summoned the leader of the nearest Danelaw Viking Settlement, Sten Sigurdsson, and his warriors to the castle in London. When Sten and his men arrive, Æthelred invites them to a feast. He begins to slowly explain how the Vikings are a threat. Sten does not understand at first. But then Æthelred says he wants to purify the field and exterminate all Vikings living on the island. Æthelred signals his soldiers to brutally murder Sten and his warriors and then sends out soldiers to murder the Vikings in the Danelaw,, all the men, women, and children. This event becomes known as the St. Brice's Day Massacre.
In the former Danelaw, King Æthelred speaks about how the Norse have been exterminated from the land and it is once again in Saxon hands. The people are gathered to commemorate the restoration of a sanctuary burnt down during the St. Brice's Day Massacre. In the carriage on the way back to London, Æthelred tells Godwin, his advisor, that he believes Godwin is keeping something from him. Godwin tells him about the rumors of a potential Viking invasion.
Personality
King Æthelred is ruthless and violent. He comes across as a paranoid man who has lapsed into a monster and has been urged on by his advisers and nobles.
In History
It is believed King Æthelred marries Emma of Normandy to pacify the Normans who had been supporting the Viking attacks against England. Emma was eighteen at the time of the marriage, while Æthelred was thirty-six. Æthelred is presented as much older than he would have been at the time of the actual events depicted in the series. He was in his late forties at the time of Canute's invasion.
Gallery
Appearances
| The Greenlanders | Viking | The Marshes | The Bridge |
| Miracle | The Last Daughter of Uppsala | Choices | The End of the Beginning |