Person:Athelstan of England (1)

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Æthelstan or Athelstan (Old English: Æþelstan, Æðelstān; c. 893/895 – 27 October 939) was King of the West Saxons from 924 to 927, and King of the English from 927 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Æthelstan's conquest of the last remaining Viking kingdom in 927, that of York, made him the first ruler to control the whole of England, and he is regarded by historians as the first king of England. He claimed the title of 'king of the English', and the submission of Scottish and Welsh kings later in the same year even allowed him to call himself "by wishful extension" 'king of Britain'. Victory over Scottish and Viking forces at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937 confirmed his prestige. His reign has been overlooked and overshadowed by the achievements of his grandfather, Alfred the Great, but he is now considered one of the greatest kings of the West Saxon dynasty.

His reign was of fundamental importance to political developments in the 10th century. The view of the twelfth century chronicler William of Malmesbury that "no one more just or more learned ever governed the kingdom" has been endorsed by modern historians. His household was the centre of English learning during his reign. He never married, and was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund. After Æthelstan's death, the Vikings seized back control of the north, and although Edmund was able to reverse these gains, York was not finally conquered until 954.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Athelstan of England, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. (Online: Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.).
2.   Æthelstan, King of England, in Lundy, Darryl. The Peerage: A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe.