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13th-century illustration of Æthelred

Æthelred the Unready (c. 968 – 1016) was King of the English from 978 to 1013 and from 1014 until his death. He came to the throne as a boy after the killing of his half-brother King Edward the Martyr. During his reign, raids by the Vikings escalated to large-scale invasions, and the English paid increasingly large amounts of tribute. In December 1013, King Swein Forkbeard of Denmark conquered England. Æthelred fled to Normandy, but when Swein died in February 1014 he returned and drove out Swein's son Cnut, who returned the following year. English resistance was hampered by the treachery of Æthelred's chief advisor, Eadric Streona, and by distrust between Æthelred and his eldest son, Edmund Ironside. Æthelred died in April 1016 and Edmund became king. He put up stronger resistance than his father, but died in December, and Cnut then became king. Æthelred's reign was nevertheless a period of cultural achievements, and some historians see its first half as moderately successful. (Full article...)