Aged: 48 years

He was an Anglo-Saxon king of England. His reign was marked by bitter military struggles. After negotiating a treaty with Richard II, duke of Normandy, Aethelred married Richard's sister. This marriage provided the basis for the subsequent Norman claim to the English throne. Although Aethelred paid tribute to the plundering Danes, Sweyn I (the Forkbeard), king of Denmark, invaded England in 1013 and proclaimed himself king. In 1014 Aethelred fled to Normandy but returned a few months later upon Sweyn's death. Sweyn's son and successor, Canute II, invaded the country a year later and, following Aethelred's death, became king of England. Aethelred's sobriquet, The Unready is a corruption of the Old English unraed, bad counsel, which is a reference to his misfortunes.
--Other Fields EVEN: Reigned Date: 978/1016