The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom, a groundbreaking new biography of Æthelstan, marks 1,100 years since his coronation in 925AD, reasserts his right to be called the first king of England, explains why he isn’t better known, and highlights his many achievements.
The book’s author, University of Cambridge-based Professor David Woodman, is campaigning for greater public recognition of Æthelstan’s creation of England in 927AD.
Professor David Woodman with the portrait of Æthelstan. Picture: The Parker Library, Corpus Christi College
The Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the signing of Magna Carta in 1215 are two of the most famous years in English history.
But very few people know what happened in 925 or 927AD – and Professor Woodman is determined to change this, and not just with his book.
He – and other historians – are planning a fitting memorial for England’s first and unfairly-overlooked king.
David, a professor at Robinson College and Cambridge’s Faculty of History, says: “As we approach the anniversaries of Æthelstan’s coronation in 925 and the birth of England itself in 927, I would like his name to become much better known. He really deserves that.”
David is working with other historians towards a memorial for the king, which could be a statue, plaque or portrait in a location like Westminster, Eamont Bridge (where Æthelstan’s authority in 927 was recognised by other British rulers), or Malmesbury, where he was buried.
The author is also calling for the history of Æthelstan’s reign to appear more routinely on the school curriculum, noting: “There has been so much focus on 1066, the moment when England was conquered.
“It’s about time we thought about its formation, and the person who brought it together in the first place.”
Why isn’t Æthelstan better known? Professor Woodman’s book, published by Princeton University Press, blames a lack of public relations.
“Æthelstan didn’t have a biographer writing up his story,” says David. “His grandfather, Alfred the Great, had the Welsh cleric Asser to sing his praises.
“And within decades of Æthelstan’s death, a wave of propaganda ensured King Edgar became famous for reforming the church. This completely overshadowed Æthelstan’s earlier revamping of learning and religiosity.”
In modern times, historians have tended to dismiss Æthelstan’s status as England’s first king, on the basis that the kingdom fragmented soon after his death in 939AD.
The focus has instead shifted to Edgar. David rejects this argument.
“Just because things broke down after Æthelstan’s death doesn’t mean that he didn’t create England in the first place,” he says.
“He was so ahead of his time in his political thinking, and his actions in bringing together the English kingdom were so hard-won, that it would have been more surprising if the kingdom had stayed together.
“We need to recognise that his legacy, his ways of governing and legislating, continued to shape kingship for generations afterwards.”
‘The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom’ by Professor David Woodman
Among the largely-forgotten king’s many achievements, David suggests that Æthelstan’s most powerful legacy rests in his “revolution of government”.
Legal documents from Æthelstan’s reign survive in relative abundance and, the author argues, take us right to the heart of the type of king he was.
“King Alfred must have been a role model for his grandson,” says David. “Æthelstan saw that a king should legislate and he really did. He took crime very seriously.”
Once Æthelstan had created the English kingdom, royal documents known as ‘diplomas’ (in essence a grant of land by the king to a beneficiary) were suddenly transformed.
Formerly short and straightforward, they were transformed into grandiose statements of royal power.
“They’re written in a much more professional script and in amazingly learned Latin, full of literary devices like rhyme, alliteration, chiasmus,” says David.
“They were designed to show off, he’s trumpeting his success.”
But the professor also argues that government became increasingly efficient during Æthelstan’s reign.
“We can see him sending law codes out to different parts of the kingdom, and then reports coming back to him about what was working and what changes needed to be made.
“There is also some of the clearest evidence we have for centralised oversight of the production of royal documents, with one royal scribe put in charge of their production.
“No matter where the king and the royal assembly travelled, the royal scribe went too.”
The writer points out that Æthelstan also brought England together just as parts of continental Europe were fragmenting.
“Nobles across Europe were rising up and taking territory for themselves,” he says.
“Æthelstan made sure that he was well placed to take advantage of the unfolding of European politics by marrying a number of his half-sisters into continental ruling houses.”
The book also argues that Æthelstan reversed a decline in learning brought by the Vikings and their destruction of churches.
“Æthelstan was intellectually curious and scholars from all over Europe came to his court,” says David. “He sponsored learning and was a keen supporter of the church.”
Two of David’s favourite pieces of evidence relate to Saint Cuthbert. The first, the earliest surviving manuscript portrait of any English monarch, appears in a 10th-century manuscript now cared for by The Parker Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Æthelstan’s head is bowed as he stands before the saint. “Everyone should know about this portrait, it’s one of the most important images in English history,” says David.
Professor David Woodman with the portrait of Æthelstan. Picture: The Parker Library, Corpus Christi College
In November 2021, King Æthelstan was voted England’s greatest ever monarch by listeners of the podcast The Rest is History.
David calls the result “terrific”, adding: “Obviously there are great difficulties in conducting a comparison of all England’s monarchs, but you can certainly make a case that Æthelstan was formidably successful.
“Not only was he England’s founding father (a significant accolade in itself!), but he oversaw major advances in learning, governance, styles of kingship and in creating a foreign policy that connected England to contemporary Europe in new ways.
“To my mind, the date when Æthelstan first formed England – in 927 – should be as well-known as 1066, the date that everyone knows.”
The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom was published by Princeton University Press on 2 September.