Edward the Elder Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (c. 874 – 17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æthelwold, who had a strong claim to the throne as the son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor, Æthelred. Alfred had succeeded Æthelred as king of Wessex in 871, and almost faced defeat against the Danish Vikings until his decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 878. After the
Æthelweard (son of Alfred) charters from the Malmesbury archive, in which Athelstan is made to endow the abbey in memory of his "cousins" ("patruelia") Æthelweard, Ælfwine and Æthelwine. If Ælfwine and Æthelwine died childless, their deaths would have brought an end to Æthelweard's direct descent. Æthelweard (son of Alfred) Æthelweard (d. 920 or 922) was the younger son of King Alfred the Great and Ealhswith. He was born about 880. That he was Alfred's younger son by Ealhswith is stated by Asser in his biography of the king ( 893). Asser also provides valuable detail on the boy's upbringing. Whereas his brother Edward and