Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Æthelwulf

Æthelwulf

 * This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page. 

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/October 6, 2016 by — Chris Woodrich (talk) 23:36, 23 September 2016 (UTC)



Æthelwulf was King of Wessex from 839 to 858. He was defeated in 843 during a battle against the Vikings at Carhampton in Somerset, but achieved a major victory at the Battle of Aclea in 851. Æthelwulf went on pilgrimage to Rome in 855, leaving his eldest surviving son Æthelbald to act as King of Wessex in his absence. Æthelwulf stayed a year in Rome, and on his way back he married Judith, the daughter of the West Frankish King Charles the Bald. When Æthelwulf returned to England, Æthelbald refused to surrender the throne, and Æthelwulf agreed to divide the kingdom, taking the east and leaving the west in Æthelbald's hands. In the twentieth century Æthelwulf's reputation among historians was poor: he was seen as excessively pious and impractical, and his pilgrimage was viewed as a desertion of his duties. However, historians in the twenty-first century see him as a king who consolidated and extended the power of his dynasty, and dealt more effectively than most of his contemporaries with Viking attacks. He is regarded as one of the most successful West Saxon kings, who laid the foundations for the success of his son, Alfred the Great.
 * Most recent similar article(s): Eardwulf of Northumbria, 14 May 2016
 * Main editors: Dudley Miles
 * Promoted: 31 October 2015
 * Reasons for nomination: Noms needed
 * Support as nominator. Dudley Miles (talk) 15:08, 10 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Support Long enough between drinks, good candidate. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 23:09, 15 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Support Great candidate, and an interesting read for the main page. Aoba47 (talk) 16:09, 25 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Comment: Definitely a worthy candidate. I'm delaying scheduling it only because we're a bit over-represented at TFA this year on "Royalty" articles, but I think an October date will be fine. Brianboulton (talk) 10:23, 5 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Support A great article. --John (talk) 22:13, 17 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Support Per above Ceoil (talk) 10:06, 18 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Support core material Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 21:11, 20 September 2016 (UTC)