Æthelred II, known as Æthelred the Unready, was King of the English from 978 to 1013 and again from 1014 until his death in 1016. His epithet comes from the Old English word unræd meaning "poorly advised"; it is a pun on his name, which means "well advised".
The 1000s was a decade of the Julian Calendar which began on January 1, 1000, and ended on December 31, 1009.
The 980s decade ran from January 1, 980, to December 31, 989.
The 990s decade ran from January 1, 990, to December 31, 999.
Year 1002 (MII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Year 994 (CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.
Year 989 (CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
The Battle of Maldon took place on 10 or 11 August 991 AD near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the English against a Viking invasion. The battle ended in an Anglo-Saxon defeat. After the battle Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury and the aldermen of the south-western provinces advised King Æthelred to buy off the Vikings rather than continue the armed struggle. The result was a payment of Danegeld of 10,000 Roman pounds (3,300 kg) of silver.
Hugh Capet was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as the successor of the last Carolingian king, Louis V. Hugh was descended from Charlemagne's son Pepin of Italy through his paternal grandmother, and was also a nephew of Otto the Great.
Robert II, called the Pious or the Wise, was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his father on military matters. His solid education, provided by Gerbert of Aurillac in Reims, allowed him to deal with religious questions of which he quickly became the guarantor. Continuing the political work of his father, after becoming sole ruler in 996, he managed to maintain the alliance with the Duchy of Normandy and the County of Anjou and thus was able to contain the ambitions of Count Odo II of Blois.
Pope John XV was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from August 985 until his death. A Roman by birth, he was the first pope who canonized a saint. The origins of the investiture controversy stem from John XV's pontificate, when the dispute about the deposition of Archbishop Arnulf of Reims soured the relationship between the Capetian kings of France and the Holy See.
Adalberon, or Ascelin, was a French bishop and poet. He was a son of Reginar of Bastogne, and a nephew of Adalberon, Archbishop of Reims.
Lothair, sometimes called Lothair II, III or IV, was the penultimate Carolingian king of West Francia, reigning from 10 September 954 until his death in 986.
Charles was the duke of Lower Lorraine from 977 until his death.
Odo I, Count of Blois, Chartres, Reims, Châteaudun and Omois, lord of Provins, was the son of Theobald I of Blois and Luitgard, daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois. He received the title of count palatine from King Lothair of West Francia.
Arnulf was the illegitimate son of King Lothair of France. He became archbishop of Reims.
Ælfric Cild was a wealthy Anglo-Saxon nobleman from the east Midlands, Ealdorman of Mercia between 983 and 985, and possibly brother-in-law to his predecessor Ælfhere. He was also associated with the monastic reformer Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester, he is also notable for being involved in a number of land transactions for the refounding and endowment of Peterborough Abbey, as well as with Thorney Abbey during the 970s and early 980s.
Events from the 10th century in the Kingdom of England.
"The Battle of Maldon" is the name given to an Old English poem of uncertain date celebrating the real Battle of Maldon of 991, at which an Anglo-Saxon army failed to repulse a Viking raid. Only 325 lines of the poem are extant; both the beginning and the ending are lost.
The Treaty of Rouen was an agreement made between Æthelred II, king of the English and Richard I, Duke of Normandy. The treaty comes down to us in the form of a letter, written in the name of Pope John XV. The agreement between the two rulers was completed on 1 March 991 and is understood to be one of the earliest arbitration treaties in European history.
