Aethelstan, The First King of England by Sarah Foot

(Yale English Monarchs Series, Yale University Press), 2011

283pp., £30, hard, ISBN 978-0-300-12535-1

Most people remember King Alfred, if only because he is the only English monarch to be accorded the title ‘the Great' but far fewer people will have heard of Aethelstan who reigned only briefly between 924 and 939.  Yet his achievements during those fifteen years changed the course of English history. He won spectacular military victories, most notably at Brunanburh against a combined Scottish and Norse army in 937, forged unparalleled political connections across Europe and succeeded in creating the first unified kingdom of the English. It is no exaggeration to claim that he was the ‘first English monarch'. Sarah Foot offers a vibrant and lucid portrait of Athelstan, the first full account of the king ever written. Given the paucity of contemporary sources, she adopts a thematic approach tracing his life through the various spheres in which he lived and worked.  She begins with the intimate context of his family, extending from the personal to his unusual multi-ethnic royal court, the Church and his kingdom, the wars he conducted and finally his death and legacy. For Foot, Aethelstan was a sophisticated man, a great military leader, so essential for a medieval monarch but also a worthy king. He governed very effectively and developed creative and original ways to project his image as a ruler. He also devised strategic marriage treaties and gift exchanges to cement alliances with the leading royal and ducal houses of Europe. In this excellent biography, Athelstan's legacy is seen in the new light that is inextricably connected to the forging of England and early English identity.