Talk:Æthelbald, King of Wessex

message: I understand what went on in 855.
In 855, King Ethelwulf made a pilgrimage to Rome. He was king of Wessex, stretching from the county of Kent in the east to Devon in the west. Before leaving he bisected the kingdom into the Kingdom of Kent and the Kingdom of Wessex(-proper). Where the split came exactly is unknown, but almost certainly the Kingdom of Kent comprised what is now Kent, Surrey, Sussex, West Sussex, part of Berkshire and Middlesex south of the Thames; and the Kingdom of Wessex comprised Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset and Devon. This latter kingdom is sometimes known as Wessex-proper to differentiate it from the name of the whole kingdom. Ethelwulf made his two eldest sons, Ethelbald and Ethelbert, kings in these territories: Ethelbald became king of Wessex-proper and Ethelbert became King of Kent. Ethelwulf (with the infant Alfred the Great, brother of Ethelbert and Ethelbald) spent a year in Rome and on his return married Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, king of the Franks, in October 856 in France. 
On Ethelwulf's return, Ethelbald refused to hand back Wessex-proper to his father but Ethelbert gave up the kingship of Kent. There was some kind of military clash between Ethelwulf and Ethelbald, which apparently ground into a stalemate, leaving Ethelwulf king of Kent and Ethelbald still king of Wessex-proper. Ethelwulf died January 858 and Ethelbert resumed his kingship of Kent. Ethelbald remained king of Wessex-proper until his death in 860, at which point Ethelbert stitched the whole kingdom together as Wessex again. Notably, Ethelbald's death marked Kent's last moment as a separate kingdom.
Much of the rest of this article is either wrong or misleading. Unfortunately, as a newbie I lack the knowledge and skills to rewrite it. 
Dantes Warden (talk) 11:04, 4 March 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ethelbald's rebellion 

message: If that's the word I'm after. I didn't mention this at FAC just now (enthusiastically supporting) as it isn't relevant to the FA process, but I'm interested to know if there was any canonical ban at the time on marrying one's widowed stepmother. I assume the pope said nothing, as you don't mention him, but I suppose that could be either because there was no current rule against the practice or that there was but the pope felt it expedient to overlook a breach of it. Tim riley talk 11:30, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: There was a ban. Pope Gregory the Great condemned marriage with a step-mother in his Libellus responsionum, his answer in 601 to theological queries by Augustine of Canterbury, which is recorded in book 27 of Bede's Ecclesiastical History. Whether the Pope in the 850s condemned that specific marriage is a different matter. It is very much a matter of chance what survives from that period but I guess that Asser would have made much of it if there had been any official denunciation. The very little evidence that survives suggests that the marriage was not an issue at the time, though there was no doubt much muttering by churchmen. I guess that the Pope would probably only have got involved if appealed to by an English bishop. Dudley Miles (talk) 16:32, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: Interesting. Thank you, Dudley. Tim riley talk 18:18, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Consanguinity 

message: His article reasonably suggests that Æthelbald's older brother died in the early 850s, not the 860s as stated here.  As this is a featured article, i won't change it silently, but i'd suggest we want to reconcile the two and ensure that whichever isn't correct is changed. Happy days, LindsayHello 19:21, 25 January 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: This was vandalism which I have reverted. The version before today has 850s. Dudley Miles (talk) 20:49, 25 January 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks, .  I looked at the history, but didn't go back many hours earlier because, well, to be honest, i figured that as it's TFA it had been checked for vandalism fairly regularly. My bad! Happy days, LindsayHello 21:01, 25 January 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Brother's death 

message: There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Ecgberht, King of Wessex which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you.  —RMCD bot 07:47, 4 January 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Move discussion in progress