Æthelhelm facts for kids

Æthelhelm (also spelled Æþelhelm) was the older of two known sons of Æthelred I, who was King of Wessex from 865 to 871. His mother was Queen Wulfthryth. He lived around the 880s.

Will of Alfred the Great, showing land given to Æthelhelm (a copy from the 11th century)

When Æthelhelm's father, King Æthelred I, died in 871, Æthelhelm and his brother were very young children. Because they were too young to rule, the throne went to their uncle, Alfred the Great.

The only clear record we have of Æthelhelm is from Alfred the Great's will. A will is a legal document that says who gets someone's property after they die. In the mid-880s, Alfred's will mentioned Æthelhelm as someone who would receive land or goods. Æthelhelm likely died sometime in the next ten years.

After Alfred the Great died in 899, Æthelhelm's younger brother, Æthelwold, tried to become king. However, he was not successful.

Who Was Æthelhelm?

Some historians, like Pauline Stafford, believe that Æthelhelm might be the same person who was an important leader called an Ealdorman in Wiltshire. An Ealdorman was a high-ranking royal official in Anglo-Saxon England, similar to a governor.

If this is true, then Æthelhelm would have been the father of Ælfflæd. She later became the second wife of Edward the Elder, who was King Alfred's son and the next king after Alfred.

Family Connections

A historian named Æthelweard, who lived much later (around 998 AD), said that he was a descendant of King Æthelred I. This means Æthelweard might have been a descendant of Æthelhelm.

Some people who study family trees (called genealogists) have suggested that the famous Godwin family (who were very powerful in England later on) also came from King Æthelred I through Æthelhelm. However, most historians today do not agree with this idea.

See also

• House of Wessex family tree