c. 968-1016. King of England from 978. The
son of King Edgar, he became king after the
murder of his half-brother, Edward the
Martyr. He tried to buy off the Danish
raiders by paying Danegeld. In 1002, he
ordered the massacre of the Danish settlers,
provoking an invasion by Sweyn I of Denmark.
War with Sweyn and Sweyn's son, Canute,
occupied the rest of Ethelred's reign. He was
nicknamed the `Unready' because of his
apparent lack of foresight.