Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates/Æthelred I, King of Wessex/archive1

TFA blurb review
Æthelred I (c. 847 to 871) was King of Wessex from 865 until his death. He was the fourth of five sons of King Æthelwulf of Wessex, four of whom in turn became king. He succeeded his elder brother Æthelberht and was followed by his youngest brother, Alfred the Great. Æthelred's accession coincided with the arrival of the Viking Great Heathen Army in England. Over the next five years the Vikings conquered Northumbria and East Anglia, and at the end of 870 they launched a full-scale attack on Wessex. In early January 871 Æthelred was defeated at the Battle of Reading. Four days later he scored a victory in the Battle of Ashdown, but this was followed by defeats at Basing and, about a month before his death, at Meretun. Æthelred had two sons, Æthelhelm and Æthelwold, who were still infants when their father died. During Æthelred's reign he adopted the design of the neighbouring kingdom of Mercia for the silver penny, creating a common coinage design across southern England for the first time.

Just a suggested blurb ... thoughts and edits are welcome. - Dank (push to talk) 22:28, 28 March 2020 (UTC)


 * It is of course true that his fight against the Vikings was the defining aspect of his career, but it only occupied the last four months of his life, and I wonder whether there is room to mention his little known and generally ignored importance in the history of English coinage. Dudley Miles (talk) 22:49, 28 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks Dudley, John will take a look in the morning. - Dank (push to talk) 23:03, 28 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Now 1022 ... does that work? - Dank (push to talk) 17:02, 31 March 2020 (UTC)

Alternative version - adapt or discard as you please. Dudley Miles (talk) 09:58, 1 April 2020 (UTC)


 * No objection. - Dank (push to talk) 13:19, 1 April 2020 (UTC)

Æthelred I (c. 847 to 871) was King of Wessex from 865 until his death. He was the fourth of five sons of King Æthelwulf of Wessex, four of whom in turn became king. He succeeded his elder brother Æthelberht and was followed by his younger brother, Alfred the Great. Wessex had been in alliance with the Midland kingdom of Mercia for the previous thirty years, and Æthelred adopted the Mercian coinage design, creating for the first time a form of monetary union in southern England. His accession had coincided with the arrival of the Viking Great Heathen Army in England. By the end of 870 the Vikings had conquered the other English kingdoms, and they now launched a full-scale attack on Wessex. In early January 871 Æthelred was defeated at the Battle of Reading. Four days later he scored a victory in the Battle of Ashdown, but this was followed by defeats at Basing and Meretun. He died shortly afterwards in April 871. Alfred was forced to buy off the Vikings, but eight years later he defeated them decisively at the Battle of Edington.