One of Æthelstan’s greatest achievements was his success in uniting the disparate Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into a single, cohesive entity. At the start of his reign, England was divided into several smaller kingdoms, including Wessex, Mercia, and Northumbria. The notion of a single, unified English kingdom was still in its infancy. Æthelstan, however, recognized the need for consolidation and worked tirelessly to integrate these regions under his rule.

Through a combination of military conquest and diplomatic alliances, Æthelstan gradually brought the various kingdoms of England into submission. His most significant achievement in this regard was his victory over the Scots at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937. This decisive battle, in which Æthelstan’s forces defeated a combined army of Scots, Vikings, and Strathclyde Britons, secured his control over much of the British Isles and cemented his reputation as a formidable military leader.

Holland describes Æthelstan's unification of England as a triumph of both strategy and diplomacy. His rule marked the first time that a single English monarch could claim sovereignty over the entire island, a landmark in the history of England that would have lasting effects for centuries to come.

Æthelstan and the Viking Threat

The Viking threat was ever-present during Æthelstan’s reign. Throughout the 9th and 10th centuries, the Viking raids had decimated much of England, and many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had been forced to cede land to the Norse invaders. Æthelstan, however, proved to be a resilient and effective opponent of the Vikings.

One of the key elements of Æthelstan's reign was his ability to secure peace with the Scandinavian rulers in the northern part of the British Isles. His diplomacy helped keep the Viking forces at bay, and he even managed to establish relatively peaceful relations with the Norse kings of Dublin and York. Æthelstan’s dealings with the Vikings, which included strategic marriages and alliances, were crucial in maintaining stability in his kingdom. shutdown123