Thousand

A thousand years ago Ethelred 'The Unready' was King of the English. Not of England, you understand, because it didn't exist as a political entity (a bit like now), but then most countries didn't, so it wasn't as though we were all that far down any league tables (unlike now).

Apparently Ethelred wasn't all that Unready, which is all very well, but he certainly didn't have an easy time of it. His reign was disrupted because no-one could quite decide who had the right to rule outright. The 'country' was divided, with some favouring Ethelred, and other Canute, he of the holding-back-the-sea experiment and general all-round Danish bloke.

After Ethel died a power-sharing agreement was set up between Canute and Edmond Ironside, Ethelred's son, after Edmund's claim for the crown turned out not to be backed by his party. Did I say party? I meant counsellors. Eventually Edmund agreed that whichever ruler died first should cede their territories to the other. The ink probably wasn't dry before he snuffed it. Conspiracy theories abound.

Why am I writing this down? No idea. Can't see any parallels around the dangers of power sharing.

Hmm. Edmund was very popular in London but outside the city the people wanted a different ruler. Some things never change.

technical entry for May 4