Page "Æthelred the Unready" Paragraph 3

The story of Æthelred's notorious nickname, " Æthelred the Unready ", from Old English Æþelræd Unræd, goes a long way toward explaining how his reputation has declined through history.

His first name, composed of the elements æðele, meaning " noble ", and ræd, meaning " counsel " or " advice ", is typical of the compound names of those who belonged to the royal House of Wessex, and it characteristically alliterates with the names of his ancestors, like Æthelwulf (" noble-wolf "), Ælfred (" elf-counsel "), Edward (" rich-protection "), and Edgar (" rich-spear ").

His nickname Unræd is usually translated into present-day English as " The Unready ", though, because the present-day meaning of " unready " no longer resembles its ancient counterpart, this translation disguises the meaning of the Old English term.

Bosworth-Toller's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary defines the noun unræd in various ways, though it seems always to have been used pejoratively.

Generally, it means " evil counsel ", " bad plan ", " folly ".

Bosworth-Toller do not record it as describing a person directly ; it most often describes decisions and deeds, and once refers to the nature of Satan's deceit ( see Fall of Man ).

The element ræd in unræd is the element in Æthelred's name which means " counsel ".

Thus Æþelræd Unræd is a pun meaning " Noble counsel, No counsel ".

The nickname has alternatively been taken adjectivally as " ill-advised ", " ill-prepared ", " indecisive ", thus " Æthelred the ill-advised ".