Edward Elder. Edward the Elder was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death.
He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Aethelwold, who had a strong claim to the throne as the son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor, Aethelred.
Alfred had succeeded Aethelred as king of Wessex in 871, and almost faced defeat against the Danish Vikings until his decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 878. After the battle, the Vikings still ruled Northumbria, East Anglia and eastern Mercia, leaving only Wessex and western Mercia under Anglo-Saxon control.
In the early 880s Aethelred, Lord of the Mercians, the ruler of western Mercia, accepted Alfred's lordship and married his daughter Aethelflaed, and around 886 Alfred adopted the new title King of the Anglo-Saxons as the ruler of all Anglo-Saxons not subject to Danish rule. In 910 a Mercian and West Saxon army inflicted a decisive defeat on an invading Northumbrian army, ending the threat from the northern Vikings.
In the 910s, Edward conquered Viking-ruled southern England in partnership with his sister Aethelflaed, who had succeeded as Lady of the Mercians following the death of her husband in 911. Historians dispute how far Mercia was dominated by Wessex during this period, and after Aethelflaed's death in June 918, her daughter Ael
He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Aethelwold, who had a strong claim to the throne as the son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor, Aethelred.
Alfred had succeeded Aethelred as king of Wessex in 871, and almost faced defeat against the Danish Vikings until his decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 878. After the battle, the Vikings still ruled Northumbria, East Anglia and eastern Mercia, leaving only Wessex and western Mercia under Anglo-Saxon control.
In the early 880s Aethelred, Lord of the Mercians, the ruler of western Mercia, accepted Alfred's lordship and married his daughter Aethelflaed, and around 886 Alfred adopted the new title King of the Anglo-Saxons as the ruler of all Anglo-Saxons not subject to Danish rule. In 910 a Mercian and West Saxon army inflicted a decisive defeat on an invading Northumbrian army, ending the threat from the northern Vikings.
In the 910s, Edward conquered Viking-ruled southern England in partnership with his sister Aethelflaed, who had succeeded as Lady of the Mercians following the death of her husband in 911. Historians dispute how far Mercia was dominated by Wessex during this period, and after Aethelflaed's death in June 918, her daughter Ael
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