Ethelwulf

Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex 839–56 and father of Alfred the Great and Ethelred I. Before succeeding his father, Egbert, to the throne of Wessex, Ethelwulf had been sub-king of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Essex. He had mixed success against the great Danish armies of the mid-9th century: at first he was defeated at sea 842, but recovered to rout the Danes at Aclea 851. In 855 he made a pilgrimage to Rome and on his return married a Frankish princess. Ethelred succeeded him on his death as Ethelred had succeeded his father, and this established the West Saxon tradition of succession from father to son.

Ethelwulf (died 858)

British king of Wessex and Kent. He was the son of Egbert the Great and succeeded to the throne in 839. His reign was occupied with fending off constant raids by the Danes. In 851 Ethelwulf won a notable victory over them at Aclea. Ethelwulf was an unambitious ruler; in 855 he went on a prolonged pilgrimage to Rome and in 856 granted Wessex to his son Ethelbald, while himself retaining Kent and the southeast until his death.