ETHELBALD. 232 ETHER. Saxon King, at the battle of Burford in 754. 'He was probably killed by his own guards. ETHELBALD, or ETHELBALD (?-860). A king of the West Saxons. He was the son of Ethehvulf (q.v.l and a brother of Alfred the Great. He is said by Asser to have formed a conspiracy to seize his father's throne in 835, and to have dispossessed him of Wessex. After Ethehvulf 's death (858 J Ethelbald married his young stepmother, Judith. His reign was peace- ful and uneventful. t ETH'ELBERT, or ^THELBERHT (e.552- 616). King of Kent from 500 to GIG. After the death of Ceawlin, King of the West Saxons, in 593, Ethelbert established his supremacy over all the English south of the Huniber. and was ac- knowledged as Bretwalda. Ethelbert married Bertha, daughter of Charibert, King of the Franks, who was a Christian, and who stipulated that his daughter should be allowed to practice her own religion. The conversion of Ethelbert was effected by Saint Augustine (q.v.) in 507. After his conversion and baptism, he founded the bishopric of Rochester, and in concert with his nephew, Saeberht, King of Essex, who also had been converted, erected the Church of Saint Paul in London. He died February 24, 616. Ethel- bert is also known as the author of the first writ- ten Saxon laws. Consult Haddan and Stubbs, Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents Relating to Great Britain and Ireland (Oxford, 1869-71). ETHELBERT, or ETHELBERT (?-866). King of Wessex and of Kent. He was the third son of Ethehvulf, King of the West Saxons, and about 8.V> became under king of Kent, succeeding to the throne of Wessex in 860. During Ethel- bert 's reign the southern coasts of England were ravaged by the Danes and by pirates from Gaul. Winchester being sacked by the former. ETH'ELRED, or iETHELRED, I. ( ?-871). A king of the West Saxons and of the men of Kent. He succeeded his brother Ethelbert in 866. His reign was greatly disturbed by the invasions of the Northmen, who now began to found king- doms instead of making merely piratical forays. Many indecisive battles were fought by Ethel- red, aided by his brother Alfred the Great (q.v.). ETHELRED, or ETHELRED, II. (c.968- 1016). King of the English from 978 to 1016, known as the Unready. He was the son of Edgar and Elfrida. In the beginning of his reign he showed himself by no means slothful or incapable, the surname 'Unready' referring to his lack of rede or counsel. His reign was marked by almost continuous warfare with the Northmen. In 980 the Danes began to plunder the coasts: in 991 they forced Ethelred to pur- chase peace, and in 99-1. aided by Olaf. King of Norway, they laid siege to London. The city was saved, however, through the valor of its inhab- itants. The Danes then attacked the southern coasts, but they were hindered by the defect ion of Olaf, who embraced Christianity and became Ethelred's ally. In the last three years of the tenth century the Danes ravaged Kent. Sussex, and Wessex. In 1000 the Vnglo-Saxon King in- vaded oi ■ i : i r i . ) and was disastrously defeated; but he i li a treaty with Duke Richard II. and married his sifter Emma. In the spring he con- cluded a treaty with the Danes; but, on the pre- text that they wen plotting trea< herj , he ordered, in 1002, the murder of all the Danes in England on the same da}' — November 13th. Among the victims was probably Gunhild, sister of Sweyn, King of Denmark. Sweyn was swift in his re- venge, and for four years his army ravaged in England almost at pleasure. In 1007 Ethelred bought peace for a large sum of money. In 1009 he collected a large fleet, but it was almost wholly destroyed by a storm; the Danes renewed their ravages and the English suffered many defeats, until another peace was purchased for money in 1012. The next year Sweyn, with the largest fleet he had ever collected, sailed up the Humber and marched toward London; but he met with such strong resistance that he gave up the plan of attacking the city and turned off to Bath, where he was proclaimed King of England by the people, who were weary of Ethelred's incompe- tency and exactions. London soon acknowledged Sweyn, and Ethelred fled to Normandy. Sweyn died in the spring of 1014, and Ethelred was re- called on promising to rule better in the future. In the same year he defeated Canute ( q.v. ) , son of Sweyn, but in 1015 Canute returned from Denmark, ravaged a large territory, and was about to attack London when Ethelred died. Consult Freeman, Tlw Norman Conquest, vol. i. (Oxford, 1870). ETHELRE'DA, Saixt (?-679). A princess of East Anglia, canonized for her saintly virtue. She was born at Exning, or Oxning, Suffolk. She was twice married, but each time refused to con- sider the marriage as more than nominal. She finally became a nun and abbess of Ely, where she died. June 23, 679. Her name was popularly abbreviated or corrupted into Saint Audrey. ETH'ELWULF, or iETHEIWULP ( ?- 858 ) . King of the West Saxons and of the men of Kent. He was the son of Egbert (q.v. ). whom he succeeded about 839. During his reign the Danes repeatedly attacked the coasts of Wessex and Kent, but Ethehvulf left the defense usually to his officers. In 855 Ethehvulf made a journey to Rome, where he remained about a year. On his homeward journey he married Judith, daugh- ter of Charles the Bald of France. On arriving in England he found that his son Ethelbald (q.v.) had usurped the throne of Wessex. Ethehvulf made no attempt to recover the crown, but re- mained content with the kingship of Kent which his son left to him. The youngest of his five chil- dren was Alfred the Great (q.v.). ETHER (Lat. (ether, Gk. aWjp, aithcr. upper air. from atSav, aithein, to glow. Skt. idh. to kindle). It may be regarded as proved thai the sensation light is due to wave-motion, and that all the thermal effects attributed to 'radiation' are due to the absorption of waves. A train of waves is the advance into a medium of a periodic disturbance; and therefore a medium is required for the waves which produce luminous and thermal effects. This medium is called the iuminiferous ether.' or. more simply, 'the ether.' 'The medium which was imagined by Faraday as a necessary part of his theory of electric and magnetic actions has also been identified by Maxwell with the ether. The fad that ll ther is distinct from ordinary matter as known to us is shown by the transmission of radiation through interstellar space and through vacua, as well as by the magnitude of the velocity of such waves :i x 10 10 centimeters, or about 186.- 000 mile-, per second — which is greater than
