Northumbria Aethelred I AD 789-796 Silver Sceatta

Northumbria Aethelred I AD 789-796 Silver Sceatta,

Cross / Pellet TIDVVLF

S856, 13mm, 1.09g

A most pleasing example, central, very little wear and good surfaces.

Provenance will be provided.

Æthelred I (774-779, 790-796) –             a king with two reigns, Æthelred was deposed in 779 but returned to rule in 790. In 792, he achieved a substantial act of diplomacy by allying with Mercia through marriage to King Offa’s daughter Ælfflæd. However, the next year Lindisfarne was raided for the first time by marauding Vikings – Æthelred’s popularity subsequently tumbled, as many saw this event as God punishing his brutal habits of murdering potential rivals. Chroniclers record that he was killed by a group of his own nobles at Corbridge in 796.