Overview
A study of the King of the English from 978 to 1013, and 1014 to 1016
Richard Abels examines the long and troubled reign of Aethelred II the "Unraed," the "Ill-Advised." It is characteristic of Aethelred's reign that its greatest surviving work of literature, the poem The Battle of Maldon, should be a record of heroic defeat. Perhaps no ruler could have stemmed the encroachment of wave upon wave of Viking raiders, but Aethelred will always be associated with that failure.
Author Biography
Richard Abels recently retired as Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy. He is the author of Alfred the Great. He lives in Annapolis.