Ethel Fled's Role in the Mercien Empire

Ethel Fled ruled alongside her husband until his death in 911 and that is when she became the sole leader of the Mercien people. Ethelred according to some sources appears to have suffered from a long illness preceding his death possibly as a result of battle wounds at an earlier time so these may have rendered him unfit for office. The 10th century was a time of much political turbulence as well as intense and ongoing surges of Viking attacks, now Mercien. By the end of Athleflad's reign what we see is that there were no fewer than 11 Midlands towns founded or reconstructed with multiple burs constructed reclaimed or rebuilt along expanding Mercien borders.