Eleven centuries after his coronation, King Æthelstan is finally beginning to receive the recognition many historians believe he has long deserved. A new biography, published on the 1,100th anniversary of his rise to the throne in 925 CE, sets out to restore his place in history as the first true king of England and to explain why his name has faded from public memory despite his remarkable achievements.

Frontispiece of Bede’s Life of St Cuthbert, showing King Æthelstan (924–39) presenting a copy of the book to the saint himself. Public domain

The story of England is often told through a handful of familiar milestones—the Norman Conquest of 1066 or the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215. Yet the years 925 and 927, when Æthelstan took the crown and united the kingdom, rarely find their way into classrooms or public debate. The new book, The First King of England, argues that this neglect is both unfair and misleading. Without Æthelstan’s victories and reforms, later chapters of English history would have looked very different.

Plans are underway to commemorate the anniversary with a permanent tribute. Historians have suggested that a statue or plaque might be placed at Westminster, Malmesbury (where he was buried), or Eamont Bridge, the site where other rulers acknowledged his supremacy in 927. Advocates also want his reign to appear more prominently in school curriculums, shifting attention away from the stories of defeat and conquest toward the moment when England was first forged.

Why, then, has his reputation suffered? The answer lies partly in how history was written. Alfred the Great had a devoted biographer to secure his fame, while after Æthelstan’s death in 939, chroniclers chose instead to celebrate later rulers such as King Edgar. The propaganda of the tenth century effectively buried his memory, and subsequent generations often dismissed him as a transitional figure rather than a founder.

A sixteenth-century painting in Beverley Minster in the East Riding of Yorkshire of Æthelstan with Saint John of Beverley. Credit: Dylan Moore / Painting: Beverley Minster / CC BY-SA 2.0

The evidence tells another story. Æthelstan proved himself on the battlefield, defeating Viking armies and expanding his rule to Northumbria in 927, which for the first time created a realm resembling modern England. His influence extended beyond his borders: he compelled Welsh and Scottish leaders to attend his councils, ᴀssemblies that drew vast numbers of nobles and warriors. The scale of these gatherings is reflected in surviving charters, many of which are preserved in the British Library.

His greatest triumph came in 937 at the Battle of Brunanburh. Facing an alliance of Vikings, Scots, and Strathclyde Welsh determined to dismantle his rule, Æthelstan’s forces secured a crushing victory. Chroniclers from across Britain and Scandinavia recorded the event, and yet today the battle is little known outside academic circles. Many scholars now believe it was fought near present-day Bromborough on the Wirral, a location that makes sense both strategically and linguistically.

Æthelstan in a fifteenth-century stained glᴀss window in All Souls College Chapel, Oxford. Public domain

Beyond military might, Æthelstan reshaped governance. His charters grew from simple land grants into elaborate documents filled with learned Latin and literary flourishes, designed to broadcast royal authority. Surviving law codes show a king deeply engaged with questions of crime and justice, sending directives across the kingdom and receiving reports in return. He even appointed a chief scribe to oversee the production of official documents, ensuring consistency as the royal court moved from place to place. This level of organization was rare in Europe at the time, when many regions were breaking apart under noble uprisings.

Æthelstan also strengthened England’s position on the continent by arranging marriages for his half-sisters into powerful European dynasties. At home, he fostered a revival of learning and religion after decades of Viking disruption. His court welcomed scholars from abroad, and he supported the church with gifts, manuscripts, and patronage. One of the most striking images from his reign survives in a tenth-century manuscript, showing the king bowing before Saint Cuthbert. It is the earliest known portrait of an English monarch and a vivid reminder of the political and spiritual balancing act he performed in newly conquered Northumbria. His name also appears prominently in the Liber Vitae of Durham, a testament to his personal ties with the saint’s community.

Taken together, these achievements show a ruler of vision and resilience. Æthelstan unified warring territories, defended them against powerful enemies, and left behind insтιтutions that endured long after his death. That his reputation later dimmed does not erase the fact that he laid the foundations of the English kingdom. As the anniversary of his coronation reminds us, England’s story did not begin in 1066—it began more than a century earlier, with the king who first made it possible.

More information: University of CambridgeDavid Woodman, The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom is published by Princeton University Press on 2nd September 2025 (ISBN:9780691249490)