ATHELSTAN
(r. 924-939)Edward's heir Athelstan (reigned 925-39) was also a distinguished
and audacious soldier who pushed the boundaries of the kingdom to their furthest
extent yet. In 927-8, Athelstan took York from the Danes; he forced the submission
of king Constantine of Scotland and of the northern kings; all five Welsh kings
agreed to pay a huge annual tribute (reportedly including 25,000 oxen), and Athelstan
eliminated opposition in Cornwall. The battle of Brunanburh in 937, in which Athelstan
led a force drawn from Britain and defeated an invasion by the king of Scotland
in alliance with the Welsh and Danes from Dublin, earned him recognition by lesser
kings in Britain.
Athelstan's law codes strengthened royal control over
his large kingdom; currency was regulated to control silver's weight and to penalise
fraudsters. Buying and selling was mostly confined to the burhs, encouraging town
life; areas of settlement in the midlands and Danish towns were consolidated into
shires. Overseas, Athelstan built alliances by marrying four of his half-sisters
to various rulers in western Europe. He also had extensive cultural and religious
contacts; as an enthusiastic and discriminating collector of works of art and
religious relics, he gave away much of his collection to his followers and to
churches and bishops in order to retain their support. Athelstan died at the height
of his power and was buried at Malmesbury; a church charter of 934 described him
as 'King of the English, elevated by the right hand of the Almighty ... to the
Throne of the whole Kingdom of Britain'. Athelstan died childless