England during the 950s-980s was witnessing a period of general peace. The ruling k,ing Edgar who had emerged as ruler from the lineage of Wessex kings dating back to Alfred the Great, died in the mid 970s to be replaced by Edward the Martyr, who himself would only rule for 3 years before his murder.
Upon Edward's passing, Æthelred, later given the title the Unready came to the kinship of England in 979 and by political ineptitude, weak leadership and general incompetence utterly shattered the relatively long peace of the thirty years before. Today, he is most remembered for the St. Brice's Day Massacre of 1002, a subject we explore in this video as well as the build up of the disastrous king's time in power.
