Fractured History Tales
On this day in 1002... King Ethelred II, also known as Ethelred the Unready, ordered the murder of all Danish people living in England. He had been fighting with the Danes since 991, the beginning of his reign, and I guess he had just had enough. Seems a bit extreme to me. He ended up having to run away, to Normandy, in 1013, when Sweyn Haraldsson (yes, he was a Dane) whooped his ass in response to the massacre (and just because he could) and conquered England. But not for long. Ethelred returned to England in 1014 when Haraldsson died, only to die two years later in London.
Ethelred is also famous for taking a dump in the baptismal font when he was a baby. Most believe this is not a true story. But it's funny so I'm going to go right on believing it.
Ethelred married, thirdly, Emma of Normandy, whose big brother Robert helped him when Sweyn kicked his ass outta England. When the Bastard (no, not Ethelred, William) wanted to be King of England, he claimed his right by way of Ethelred being his great-Uncle.
Don't think I would have gone about bragging a familial connection to this guy. But then I've never wanted to be King of England. For what it's worth, I think William's military ability meant more in the long run, anyway.
Ethelred's reign is responsible for the foundations of the grand jury system we know today.
This is also the anniversary of the birth of an ex-boyfriend and current friend who is turning 50 today.
8 comments:
Hi Laura,
It's also Whoopi Goldberg's birthday. She's 51.
Today in History
In keeping with the theme of historical plate techtonics . . .
Eugene Debs and Emma Goldman meet up one night after an IWW rally and decide to show a little union comradeship at the boarding house.
The next morning, a union member sees Goldman sneaking out of Debs’ room. He knocks on the door and Debs answers.
“Gene, are you alright,” the union guy asks.
“Never better,” Debs replies. “Why do you ask?”
“Well,” the union guy says, “I saw you were gettin’ a little Wobbly.”
Happy Birthday Whoopi :)
FE... LOL!
You DO have a way with anniversaries.....grin.
A warped mind is a terrible thing to waste Michael :)
hmm, I dont even know what to say!
U know a lot of shit dont you..haha
do u have the voo-doo doll out in celbration of the ex?
:)
No, Bossy, he's become a good friend. Voodoo dolls are just for the republicans, I mean, really evil people in my life.
:)
amen to that girl..amen indeed:)
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