Ethelbert
Ethelbert names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Ethelbert King of England
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
King of England, son of Ethelwulf, succeeded to the government of the E. side of the kingdom in 857, and in 860, on the death of his brother, Ethelbald, became sole king. His reign was much disturbed by the inroads of the Danes. He died in 866. ETHELRED I., King of England, son of Ethelwulf, succeeded his brother Ethelbert in 866. The Danes became so formidable in his reign as to threaten the conquest of the whole kingdom. Ethelred died in consequence of a wound received in an action with the Danes in 871, and was succeeded by his brother Alfred. ETHELRED II., King of England, son of Edgar; born 968; succeeded his brother, Edward the Martyr, in 978, and, for his want of vigor and capacity, was surnamed the Unready. In his reign began the practice of buying off the Danes by presents of money. After repeated payments of tribute he effected, in 1002, a massacre of the Danes; but this led to Sweyn gathering a large force together and carrying fire and sword through the country. They were again bribed to depart; bu but, upon a new invasion, Sweyn obliged the nobles to swear allegiance to him as King of England; while Ethelred, in 1013, fled to Normandy. On the death of Sweyn he was invited to resume the government, and died in London in the midst of his struggle with Canute (1016).
Ethelbert King of Kent
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
King of Kent; born about 560. He succeeded his father, Hermenric, and reduced all the Anglo- Saxon states, except Northumberland, to the condition of his dependents. Ethelbert married Bertha, the daughter of Caribert, King of Paris, and a Christian princess, an event which led indirectly to the introduction of Christianity into England by St. Augustine. Ethelbert was the first Anglo-Saxon king to draw up a code of laws. He died 616.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The bare outline Collier's gave in 1921 still stands: Æthelberht of Kent married the Christian Frankish princess Bertha, received Augustine's mission in 597, and issued the first Anglo-Saxon law code. Historians now stress that this code, which survives only in a copy made about 1123 in the Textus Roffensis at Rochester, is the earliest surviving document written in the English language. On Ethelred II, the nickname has been re-explained rather than revised: "Unready" is a pun on Old English unraed, "ill-counselled", against his name Aethelred, "noble counsel", so it mocks his advisers as much as the "want of vigor and capacity" Collier's blamed. Excavations at St John's College, Oxford in 2008 uncovered a mass grave of young men that has been linked to the St Brice's Day massacre of Danes in 1002 described here.
Written for this edition, 2026.