Athelred the Unready The Ill-Counselled King

thelred became king of England in 978, reigned largely unchallenged for 38 years, despite presiding over a period which saw many Danish invasions and much internal strife. If not a great king, he was certainly a survivor whose posthumous reputation and nickname (meaning "Noble Council the No Council") do him little justice. In "thelred the Unready Ann Williams, a leading scholar on his reign, discounts the later rumors and misinterpretations that have dogged his reputation to construct a record of his reign from contemporary sources.

Ann Williams is Senior Research Fellow of the University of East Anglia.