King of Kings

MJ Porter

Description

All NEW from MJ Porter.

'An epic tale of the birth of a nation. Truly mesmerising. Game of Thrones meets The Last Kingdom' - Gordon Doherty

In the battle for power, there can be only one ruler.

AD925
Athelstan is the king of the English, uniting the petty kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia, the Danish-held Five Boroughs and York following the sudden death of his father, King Edward.
His vision is to unite the realms of the Scots and the Welsh in a peace accord that will protect their borders from the marauding threat of the Norse Vikings.
Whilst seemingly craving peace and demanding loyalty with an imperium over every kingdom, Athelstan could dream of a much bigger prize.
But danger and betrayal surround his best intentions, namely from his overlooked stepbrother, Edwin, who conspires and vies for what he deems is his rightful place as England's king.
As ever, powerful men who wish to rule do not wish to be ruled, and Constantin of the Scots, Owain of Strathclyde, and Ealdred of Bamburgh plot their revenge against the upstart English king, using any means necessary.
An epic story of kingsmanship that will set in motion the pivotal, bloody Battle of Brunanburh where allies have to be chosen wisely...

'MJ effortlessly draws you into early Medieval England with this fascinating tale.' - Donovan Cook

'The year is 925 and Athelstan has been chosen as the King of the English with ‘imperium’ over Britain, making him King of the Kings of Wales and Scotland. These kings are called upon to sign an agreement to recognise his authority. And so our novel commences and we follow Athelstan and his family and followers for the next few years. Not everyone wishes to follow this accord and will try in different ways to undermine it. Eventually things will come to a head. A very good read and MJ Porter is at her best bringing flesh to the facts and giving the main players personalities. Great way to read about the history of this time. Enjoy.' - Goodreads

Sujets

• Classiques
• Tous les classiques
• Religion
• Christianisme
• Mashups
• Historical Fiction
• Siblings
• World Literature
• Historical
• Inglaterra
• Reino Unido
• Sibling
• Battle of Brunanburh
• United Kingdom
• Great Britain
• Battle
• Christian
• Family Life
• War
• England
• Fiction
• Royaume-Uni

Informations

• Publié par: Boldwood Books
• Date de parution: 10 février 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 6
• EAN13: 9781837511730
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

KING OF KINGS


MJ PORTER
For a man I never met who inspired my love of history, my great-grandfather, George Fullerton (1897–1924).
‘Here King Edward died at Farndon in Mercia, and very soon, sixteen days after, his son Ælfweard died at Oxford; and their bodies lie at Winchester. And Athelstan was chosen as king by the Mercians, and consecrated at Kingston; and he gave his sister across the sea to the son of the Old Saxons.’
ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE, D TEXT, FOR 925


‘Here fiery rays appeared in the northern part of the sky. And Sihtric perished and King Athelstan succeeded to the kingdom of Northumbria; and he governed all the kings who were in this island: first Hywel, king of the West Welsh [read South Welsh], and Constantine, king of Scots, and Owain, king of Gwent [read Strathcylde], and Ealdred, Ealdwulf’s offspring, from Bamburgh, And they confirmed peace with pledges and with oaths in a place which is named Rivers’ Meeting on 12 July; and they forbade all devil-worship and then parted in concord.’
ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE, D TEXT, FOR 926(CORRECT TO 927)
CONTENTS



Map

Cast of Characters

Glossary


Prologue


I. The Path to Peace


Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21


II. The Road to War


Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Epilogue


Continue the story…

Author Notes

Acknowledgments

More from MJ Porter

About the Author

About Boldwood Books

CAST OF CHARACTERS
(ALL HISTORICAL UNLESS UNDERLINED AND THEN FICTIONAL CHARACTERS)



The English





The English Ealdormen


Ealdorman Wulfgar
Ealdorman Æthelfrith of Mercia (d.c.915), an ealdorman and father of Ælfstan, Athelstan, Eadric and Æthelwald
Ealdorman Athelstan of the East Angles (from 932), an ealdorman, married to Ælfwynn, the lady of Mercia’s daughter
Ealdorman Ælfstan of Mercia (from 930), Ealdorman Athelstan’s brother
Eadric, Ealdorman Athelstan’s brother, not yet an ealdorman
Æthelwald, Ealdorman Athelstan’s brother, not yet an ealdorman
Ealdorman Guthrum
Ealdorman Oswulf
Ealdorman Uhtred
Jarl Regenwald
Jarl Inhwaer
Jarl Hadd
Jarl Scule
Jarl Thurfrith
Athelm, archbishop of Canterbury d.926
Wulfheard, archbishop of Canterbury from 926
Hrothweard, archbishop of York
Wulfstan, archbishop of York from 931
Frithestan, bishop of Winchester resigned 932, died 933
Hakon, son of Harald Fairhair of Denmark, Athelstan’s foster son


Flodwin, King Athelstan’s warrior
Sigelac, King Athelstan’s warrior
Beohtric, King Athelstan’s messenger



The Scots


The succession strictly alternated between two lines of succession
Constantin, son of Aed, king of the Scots (reigned 900 onwards)
Ildulb, son
Amlaib, grandson
Aed, son
Cellach, son
Alpin, son


Mael Coluim, Constantin’s designated successor, the son of his predecessor, Domnall
Denewulf, Constantin’s messenger



Strathclyde


Donald, previous king of Strathclyde (once allied with Constantin)


Owain, king of Strathclyde


The Welsh kings


Hywel, king of the West Welsh, (Deheubarth) known as Hywel Dda
Owain ap Hywel, Rhodri ap Hywel and Edwin ap Hywel, Hywel’s sons


Idwal, king of Gwynedd
Elisedd, Idwal’s brother


Owain, king of Gwent
Morgan ap Owain, king of Gwent after Owain (his son)


Tewdwr ap Griffi ab Elise, king of Brycheiniog


Gwriad, king of Glywysing



The independent kingdom of Bamburgh


Ealdred, king of Bamburgh (died 934)
Ealdwulf, his son
Hild, his wife



The Dublin Norse and their allies


All claimed to be descended from Ivarr, the Viking raider who led the Great Heathen Army of the 860s


Ragnall, died c.921, a grandson of Ivarr, claimed Jorvik (York), once allied with Constantin and Donald II of Strathclyde


Sihtric, king of York, died c.926, married Athelstan’s only natural sister, Edith


Gothfrith, king of Dublin, grandson of Ivarr
Olaf Gothfrithson, son of Gothfrith



The notable families of West Frankia


Charles III m. Eadgifu, daughter of Edward and Æfflæd
Louis, their son


Hugh the Great, married Eadhild, daughter of Edward and Ælfflæd


Heribert of Vermandois, Charles III captor and jailer



The king of East Frankia


Henry the Fowler
Otto married Eadgyth, daughter of Edward and Ælfflæd
Note on names
The unwary traveller to this period of time will be faced with a profusion of names for the men and women in this story. Names may be given in Welsh, Gallic, Old Norse, Old English or with modern spellings. As such, you may find Olaf/Anlaf/Amlaib and be surprised to discover these are all the same person. You may find the name Eadward used, although the most common form is Edward. Equally, Æthelstan is the correct form of Athelstan. You will find names used interchangeably if you consult different sources, and secondary sources. The choice taken will depend, quite often, on the main sources the writer uses and on their own personal preference. I have attempted to use the names that are most recognisable for the individuals involved. Welsh and Norse convention usually names someone as the son of their father, e.g. Olaf Gothfrithson is Gothfrith’s son; Owain ap Hywel is the son of Hywel. Names are often reused throughout the generations in all societies and, in England, families often name all of their children with names that begin with similar letters, e.g. Athelstan, Athelwald, etc.
All quotes from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are taken from The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles M. Swanton ed. and trans.
GLOSSARY

Ætheling – meaning ‘throne-worthy’, the title given to a son of a king, whether or not they were considered the heir to the kingdom. As such, when Edward the Elder became king, his brother, Æthelweard, and his young sons, Athelstan and Ælfweard, were all classified as æthelings in the available charter evidence. Æthelweard’s brother was the son of King Alfred, and Alfred’s sons were therefore also his sons.

Ealdorman – an ealdorman ruled an ealdordom on behalf of the king. These were often areas roughly parallel with the ancient Saxon kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbria, the kingdom of the East Angles, Kent and Wessex, or may be subdivided further. These positions were rarely hereditary. Indeed, ealdormen would often have landed wealth elsewhere in the kingdom. It’s believed that some landed property might have been assigned to the ealdormen to assist them in ruling their areas of control. There were strong ruling families and, occasionally, the position did pass from father to son, or brother to brother. This was not common practice.

Jarl – the Norse version of an ealdorman. This would lead, in the eleventh century, to the ealdordoms becoming known as earldoms (jarldoms) under the Danish king, Cnut.

Witan – an assembly of the noblemen, women, members of the religious orders including archbishops, bishops, abbots and abbesses, king’s thegns and thegns, and also ministers/advisors to the king. They had a say in voting for the next king, and supported the king in governing the kingdom.
PROLOGUE
SEPTEMBER AD925, KINGSTON UPON THAMES, THE KINGDOM OF THE ENGLISH



Athelstan, king of the English

The church at Kingston upon Thames is full, the smell of incense heavy in the air. Expectant faces look my way, some friendly and open, others more hooded and some overtly hostile, and that’s just amongst the members of my family.
These are my people, and I rule them as king. This ceremony will officially mark me as anointed and raised above all by the Almighty God. And for the first time in the history of the Saxon people, I’ll be crowned as king of the English people, with an actual crown. No warrior helm will grace my head, marking me as a warrior and only then a king, for all that I am a warrior and proud to be one.
No, my holy men have decreed that it’s time for a change. No longer will men be known as the king of the Anglo-Saxons or the king of Wessex. From now on, kings will be the king of the English. A new coronation service has been written by my holy men, and a new crown has been moulded and fitted to my head. It’s made of the lightest gold and embellished with the finest jewels. It’s beautiful to behold.
It will fit me perfectly and will denote me as no other king of the House of Wessex has yet been marked. Not my illustrious grandfather, Alfred, who brought his religious conviction to bear in crushing the Viking raider menace and holding Wessex complete against the attack. Nor my father, Edward, who continued my grandfather’s work and added Mercia and much of the lands conquered by the Norse interlopers to his kingdom.
My father’s work in Mercia unsettles me still. The fate of my cousin is an uncomfortable reminder that my father was ambitious, despite the connections of family and kin. His actions will always make me wary of the damage those who share blood can cause one another. Some say he ruled Mercia as overking of my aunt and her husband, Lord Æthelred. But without my aunt, on Wessex’s northern border, Wessex would have succumbed to the attacks of the Norse from Jorvik and the Danelaw, and perhaps even from the Welsh of their many kingdoms. I know that. I fought in those battles when I was old enough. I became a man during th