Ethelwulf, the Second King of England.
Ethelwulf, the elder surviving son of Egbert, succeeded his father in 836. Till he became a King, he had been only a priest, or, at most, only bishop of Winchester. He obtained, however, a dispensation from Pope Gregory IV. and assumed a secular life.
In the first year of his reign, the Danes landed at Southampton, in Hampshire, but were routed with great slaughter. In 837, however, they made a second descent upon Portland, in Dorsetshire, and succeeded in their attempt.
In 838, they made another descent about Romney, in Kent, with such success, and great slaughter, that they over-ran the country.
In short, they made fresh visits for several years afterwards successively, for the sake of plunder only, without the least intention of making a settlement in the kingdom.
Ethelwulf, however, in 852, assembled a numerous army, with the assistance of his brother Athelstan, met them at Okely, in Surry
[sic]
; and there, after a desperate engagement, proved so victorious, that the slaughter of their enemies was almost incredible.
In 855, Ethelwulf went to Rome, in order to pay a visit to the Pope in person; and, on receiving his benediction, he not only gratified the vanity of the papal see by his devotion, but satisfied likewise its most avaricious expectations by his royal bounty.
In 857, after having reigned one and twenty years, he divided his kingdom between his two eldest sons, Ethelbald and Ethelbert, and soon after died, and was buried at Winchester.