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(Top)
 


1 Æthelwulf  



1.1  Support Comments by Cas Liber on comprehensiveness and prose  





1.2  Comments by GermanJoe  





1.3  Comments from FunkMonk  





1.4  Comments from Dank  





1.5  Comments from Mike Christie  





1.6  Comments from Nortonius  





1.7  Source review  





1.8  Query for reviewers  
















Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Æthelwulf/archive1







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< Wikipedia:Featured article candidates

The article was promotedbyGraham Beards via FACBot (talk) 06:33, 31 October 2015 [1].


Æthelwulf[edit]

Nominator(s): Dudley Miles (talk) 21:59, 12 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

King Æthelwulf of Wessex was the father of Alfred the Great, and one of the most successful and important Anglo-Saxon kings. The article has gone through thorough peer and A Class reviews. Dudley Miles (talk) 21:59, 12 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Image check - all OK

Support Comments by Cas Liber on comprehensiveness and prose[edit]

Taking a look now.....Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 22:41, 12 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Æthelwulf was first recorded in 825. - comes across as fairly abrupt and needs some context. Maybe semicolon to next sentence?
destroying the long Mercian ascendancy over southern England. - "destroying" is a funny verb here (I keep thinking it should be with solid things...)...I'd go with "shattering", "disrupting", or even "ending"
"silver penny" - can this be linked somewhere?
Should Liber Vitae be italicised?
Æthelwulf's reputation among historians was low in the twentieth century. - I'd say either "poor reputation" or "low regard or esteem" - but not "low reputation"
I prefer the existing wording. "Poor reputation" to me suggests someone untrustworthy, which does not apply to Æthelwulf. Maybe see what other editors think? Dudley Miles (talk) 13:27, 13 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, fair enough - a minor style issue anyway and not a deal-breaker. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 11:26, 14 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

These are all minor and easiy fixable - looks on target for the bronze star...Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:08, 13 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks Cas. Dudley Miles (talk) 11:55, 14 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by GermanJoe[edit]

Only two for now (more later)

Many thanks Joe and Cas for your help. Dudley Miles (talk) 13:27, 13 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Some more minor points:

Support - very interesting article, detailed and thoroughly sourced. Some parts like the "Decimation Charters" cover complex sub-topics (at least for a layman like me). but the article does it best to present the information as clearly as possible. Suggestion: in the long run, when more analysis or details become available, information and research about those charters could be split and covered in a more specialized stand-alone article about those documents. GermanJoe (talk) 14:33, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Joe. I will have a think about your suggestion. Dudley Miles (talk) 14:50, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Support – I took part in the peer review, and the article was in fine shape then. It has subsequently been polished and expanded further and certainly commands my support for promotion to FA. It seems to me to meet all the FA criteria handsomely. Two tiny queries: St. Bertin gets a full stop but St Peter, St Paul and St Neot don't; and "where it is less then the tenth part" is in a quote, but I'm just checking that the source has "then" as opposed to "than". That's my lot. A fine article: revisiting it has been a pleasure. Tim riley talk 14:21, 13 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

  • Thanks Tim, very helpful as always. I have deleted the stop - I don't know why I put it in as I was taught that there should be no stop when the last letter in the abbreviation is the last letter in the word being abbreviated. As to "then", I do not now have access to the source but I am sure it is correct. I have added a comma after "less" to make it clearer. Dudley Miles (talk) 15:20, 13 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from FunkMonk[edit]

Done thanks. Dudley Miles (talk) 19:15, 13 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Linked. Dudley Miles (talk) 22:39, 16 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I have linked debasement and numismatist. There is no suitable link for decimation (which is unfamiliar in its sense here to almost all native English speakers), but I have explained it. Dudley Miles (talk) 22:39, 16 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I have moved the charter image. It is not one of the decimation charters, but that probably does not matter. Dudley Miles (talk) 22:39, 16 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry yes I did. Thanks for the further input. Dudley Miles (talk) 22:39, 16 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Many thanks FunkMonk. Dudley Miles (talk) 10:37, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Dank[edit]

  • Yes, it's complicated. Æthelwulf is not known to have appointed another King of Kent after Æthelstan died until he went on pilgrimage, so he seems to have given his surviving sons even less power until his absence from Wessex changed the whole situation and he had to give more. Maybe it is best just to replace "his son" with "Æthelstan", in spite of the repetition? Dudley Miles (talk) 18:17, 16 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Looks good. - Dank (push to talk) 12:54, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Mike Christie[edit]

Support. I commented at the peer review and I think the article is in fine shape, and easily worthy of featured status. A couple of minor points that don't affect my support:

-- Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 08:47, 15 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Nortonius[edit]

Support I too was involved in the earlier reviews, and likewise I have some minor comments to make that don't affect my support – I'm a bit pushed for time right now, but I am looking and making notes so here's this for now, more later: having discussed the points listed below I can only say that I think this article deals with its complex subject in an exemplary fashion.

In the lead:

Yes I can imagine! It's just that in this instance the rule seems silly, as the redirect didn't already exist. As I said, ignore this point at your pleasure! Nortonius (talk) 15:30, 17 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Done.
  • Changed. Personally, I see no objection as a marriage then would have been a political alliance by the father, but I see that historians generally prefer your wording.
I do get the (presumably) political aspect of the marriage but I prefer the accuracy of the changed version, thanks for doing that. I don't see why it couldn't say "Æthelswith was married to King Burgred" – I think it would also fit, and remove any suggestion that romance played a part – heaven forbid! ;o) Nortonius (talk) 15:30, 17 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
How do you know that romance did not play a part? Dudley Miles (talk) 10:44, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't – it's just that I think to modern eyes "X married Y" carries a presumption of romance and happy families. We can't know either way. Whereas to my eyes "X was married to Y", albeit wordier, is a simpler statement of fact in that it presumes nothing at all. Of course YMMV. Nortonius (talk) 13:51, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I have done a completely unscientific survey of the articles on the Norman kings (excluding William II) and "married" and "was married" seem to be used randomly, with one or two "father married his daughter to", and a majority for "x married y". I do not see the implication you find in the expression. Dudley Miles (talk) 20:45, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That's fine, I'll settle for your unscientific survey! Nortonius (talk) 21:27, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Background:

  • He has a brief entry in ODNB by Kelly, who describes him as a "very obscure figure", and speculates that he may have been a relative of Beornwulf as both their names started with B. I do not think there is anything which can usefully be said about him which is relevant to Æthelwulf. Dudley Miles (talk) 17:04, 17 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Fair enough. I just think ending the sentence with merely "a sub-king of Kent, Baldred" looks a bit, well, bald – but no biggie. Nortonius (talk) 15:42, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
True, but the same applies to many other people mentioned, and explaining them all would bloat the article with details not specifically relevant to Æthelwulf. I think it is better to rely on the link for people who want to know more. Dudley Miles (talk) 20:45, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Again, that's fine. Nortonius (talk) 21:27, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Family:

Early life:

  • Repetition deleted.
  • This is a difficult one on a subject I know nothing about. It is from a leading Anglo-Saxonist, Richard Abels, in 1998, and Anglo-Saxon fatalism is discussed elsewhere, for example at [3]. The notion of wyrd, fate, is discussed in Pratt's The Political Thought of King Alfred the Great, which I will have to read some day. I do not think we know enough to say that it did not affect Edward and Æthelstan. It certainly did not prevent them acting effectively, but then the fatalism of their pagan forebears did not either. Dudley Miles (talk) 19:10, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Then, if in doubt, I would leave it out, or put it in a footnote: "acting effectively" is what I had in mind regarding Edward and Æthelstan, and is what seems most pertinent here; and the notion seems to me at any rate more appropriate for a broader article on Anglo-Saxon kingship than for this bio. Nortonius (talk) 19:34, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
OK I have taken it out. I think it is an interesting point but speculative as worded. Dudley Miles (talk) 21:58, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

King of Wessex:

Viking threat:

Coinage:

I did wonder myself – one can be "in the middle of [doing] something", which obviously is primarily chronological (or sequential), but it's a bit colloquial (Cambridge Dictionaries Online has it under "idioms"[6]) and every other dictionary definition I've seen is locative. Remember though that I'm insisting on nothing here! Nortonius (talk) 19:23, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Mike Christie can you help with this? I do not have access to the source now. Dudley Miles (talk) 19:10, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
    Per the source "Cant" was always on the reverse. I think Nortonius's phrasing is an improvement, but it's also a bit closer to the source -- this is one of those cases where it's very hard to paraphrase far from the original wording. What the source says is "A new non-portrait coinage was issued with DOR¯B¯, for either Dorobernia (Canterbury) or Dorobrevia (Rochester), in the obverse field and CANT (Kent) in the reverse ...". Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 12:09, 22 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Duh, silly me – "Cant" for Kent, not Canterbury! Well, I did say I was confused... Agreed re the difficulty in paraphrasing, I wonder if something like the following would be adequately varied: "the obverse was marked with "Dor¯b¯", which could represent both Dorobernia (Canterbury) and Dorobrevia (Rochester), while the reverse was marked with "Cant" (Kent)." Although I'm sure Dudley will have his own thoughts on that. Nortonius (talk) 12:27, 22 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Actually it looks like the confusion is my fault -- the confusion of Kent and Canterbury is in the current text, and I believe I wrote that sentence; must have been a moment of inattention on my part. Sorry about that. How about just switching "Canterbury" to "Kent" in the existing sentence? Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 13:23, 22 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes I think it would then make perfect sense! Nortonius (talk) 13:29, 22 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe you or Mike could make the correction as you understand the problem? I might get it wrong. Dudley Miles (talk) 19:17, 22 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Done. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 20:56, 22 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Done. Dudley Miles (talk) 21:58, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Decimation charters:

Per your complaint below (with which I completely agree), could you justify capitalising here, instead of the scare quotes? If not then stay with the scare quotes by all means, it's just that I've been told off for using too many of them myself in the past. Nortonius (talk) 11:48, 22 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I would agree in preferring capitalisation to quotes but is it against Wikipedia rules? Dank can you advise? on this - also on "one of the most perplexing problems", and Liber Vitae below. Dudley Miles (talk) 19:17, 22 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
If Decimation is "unfamiliar in its sense here to almost all native English speakers", then either capitalize it as a proper noun (if your sources support capitalization), or don't use it. I'd rewrite "... one of the most perplexing problems in ninth-century diplomatic" as one of the "most perplexing problems" in the study of ninth-century charters. No opinion on Liber Vitae. - Dank (push to talk) 02:35, 23 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks Dan. I have changed to capitalisation, and also deleted "diplomatic" as you suggest. Dudley Miles (talk) 17:28, 23 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry – I suspect I was just getting a sense of déjà vu there having looked at the article so closely, looking again today it looks fine to me. Nortonius (talk) 11:48, 22 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Done. (There is far too much ugly hyphenation in Wikipedia and not enough helpful capitalisation!)
  • Added.

Pilgrimage to Rome and later life:

  • Well on that one I agree with what I understand to be Wikipedia practice. I think italics are a helpful signal to the reader that a book or manuscript is being referred to.
It just occurred to me that "Liber Vitae" need not be capitalised, as a liber vitae is a type of book, of which the one from Brescia is just another example. That would shut me up – but just as you like! Nortonius (talk) 18:07, 23 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
  • Done - and "south-eastern provinces" deleted as it seems superfluous with the revised wording.Dudley Miles (talk)

King Æthelwulf's ring:

Well it's still a fairly trivial matter, and again it's up to you; but as I see it Webster confirms that the ring is of the 9th century; Nelson agrees and emphasises that successful kingship in the 9th century encompassed Æthelwulf's gift of a ring "to a brawny follower"; and Wilson reminds us that it was ever thus among the Anglo-Saxons in England. A successful Anglo-Saxon king had to be a "good lord", pagan or otherwise, and the giving of rings and other treasure was an essential practice. In his preface to Gregory's Dialogues Bishop Wulfsige of Sherborne, Asser's predecessor, described Alfred the Great as a "ring-giver", and "the greatest treasure-giver of all the kings he has ever heard tell of".[7] I honestly don't see the conflict. Nortonius (talk) 11:43, 23 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Well she did say ninth, but I agree it would still as true if she had said sixth, so I have taken out "whereas". I have made the Wilson comment a separate sentence as I am not sure it is right to use a comma when there is a colon in the middle of the Nelson quote, Dudley Miles (talk) 17:28, 23 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Historiography:

Nortonius (talk) 14:55, 15 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

No problem! More to come today I expect... Nortonius (talk) 11:48, 22 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I think I have now dealt with all your points Nortonius? Dudley Miles (talk) 17:28, 23 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes you have indeed! With this edit I'm adding one last thought to the point about the "Liber Vitae" that you might consider (but need not!); but mainly I've changed the padding to my support at the top of this section – well done, and I very much appreciate your engagement with the points I raised. Nortonius (talk) 18:07, 23 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks again Nortonius. I have changed Liber Vitae to lower case. I see Nelson had it as Liber vitae - I do not see the logic of that. Dudley Miles (talk) 18:42, 23 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Source review[edit]

- spotchecks not done

Support Have watched this from the ditch for a few months, and made (very) minor ce's along the way. A fine achievement, drawn from broad sources of knowledge. Happy to see this here. Ceoil (talk) 10:12, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks Ceoil. Dudley Miles (talk) 10:34, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Query for reviewers[edit]

GermanJoe has suggested that the discussion of the Decimation Charters should be a separate article. This seems to me a good idea. I could create King Æthelwulf's Decimation Charters with a summary in this article. Do other reviewers agree and, if so, would it be better to make the change now or wait until the review has finished? Dudley Miles (talk) 15:29, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I don't see any reason to wait; its probably better that the review is of the article post spin out. Ceoil (talk) 15:34, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
If you can do it PDQ then I would agree, otherwise I think this article is in fine shape and it would be a shame to risk disrupting the review unnecessarily. Might I suggest "Decimation charters of King Æthelwulf", since the charters would be the subject of the article rather than the king? Just another thought. Nortonius (talk) 15:39, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I wouldn't worry about timing; create the new article first, and once that's done adjust this article to suit. If this article has passed FAC by that time I'm sure you won't be hurting it by trimming just that section, and there's always FAR in the unlikely event that anyone thinks the article has really suffered from the change. I agree with Nortonius on the article name, by the way. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 15:45, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's only a few days in the nomination, so a quick limited re-organization of 1 section would work. Present reviewers will just have to add a small note, that the revised version is still OK afterwards. The less stressful approach for you as editor would probably be to wait until FA-closure - but that's completely up to you. Both approaches should be fine. GermanJoe (talk) 16:12, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks to all. I will start working on it. Dudley Miles (talk) 18:34, 18 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
What is the concern? There doesn't seem to be a size issue. It seems GJ suggested a split only once more detail is added about the charters? FunkMonk (talk) 10:34, 19 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Well an editor commented at A Class that he did not think that a prolonged discussion of different editors' views on the decimation charters was suitable for a biography article, and I assumed that Joe was tactfully saying the same thing. Dudley Miles (talk) 13:42, 19 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
At the moment it's a judgement call, but if you try writing the separate article and discover there's not enough material for a standalone article, then it's clear the material you have should stay here. If you find you can expand it significantly (which I am sure will be the case) there's a better argument for making the current section more concise. I don't think the article is unbalanced as things stand, but I think a sub-article, and some summarization at this article's level, would be a further improvement. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 13:58, 19 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It is possible that I could expand it, but I think the subject is already covered adequately and I would much rather carry on with my current projects than re-visit the decimation charters. If reviewers think the article is OK as it is, I will abandon the separate article. Dudley Miles (talk) 16:42, 19 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I, for one, don't think a split is necessary at this point. If someone wants to make a more detailed sub-article, they should of course be free to do so, but I don't think that should have any consequence for this FAC. FunkMonk (talk) 16:52, 19 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Just to clarify: The suggestion was a suggestion for further development "in the long run" (literally, no tact intended ;) ). So the current acticle version is certainly FA-worthy as is. Sorry, if that side note caused any confusion. GermanJoe (talk) 16:13, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks again to all. I am glad to have clarified that reviewers are not unhappy with the section. Dudley Miles (talk) 16:50, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Featured_article_candidates/Æthelwulf/archive1&oldid=1138476152"





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