Ethelred

Ethelred, the name of two Saxon kings of England. Ethelred I., brother and predecessor of Alfred, spent most of his reign in combating the Danes, and was mortally wounded in fight with them in 871. Ethelred II. (966-1016) - called "the Unready" on account of his indolence of character - was the son of Edgar and Elfrida, who killed her stepson, Edward, in order to put her son on the throne. He was the first to introduce the payment of Danegelt, and his massacre of Sweyn's sister and other Danes led to the establishment of the Danish dynasty in England; while his marriage with Emma of Normandy, and his taking refuge at the Norman Court, was the indirect cause of the Norman conquest.