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Aethelred

Detail depicting the unusual death of King Edmund Ironside as portrayed in a 13th-century illustrated Anglo-Norman manuscript of the Life of St Edward the Confessor. Source: Cambridge University Library / CC BY-NC 3.0

King Edmund Ironside Was Killed on the Toilet by a Cesspit Assassin

Having ruled England for less than a year, King Edmund is primarily remembered for his unusual death. In one of the most uncomfortable murders in history, legend has it the Anglo-Saxon king was...
Aethelred II or Aethelred the Unready sitting on his throne unaware that history would judge him to be unready for what lay ahead as the Anglo-Saxons battled the Danish Vikings. From the illuminated manuscript, The Chronicle of Abindon, circa 1220 AD. Source: The British Library / Public domain

Aethelred II: Aethelred the Unready, or Was He Just Unlucky?

Immortalized forever as an incompetent, ill-advised monarch by his epitaph, King Aethelred II has been viewed unfavorably by history. Over the last decade, historians have made moves to reinterpret...