Black English Anglo Saxon King Aethelwulf, also spelled Ethelwulf and Æthelwulf the father of King Alfred the Great. He was the King of Wessex from 839 to 858. In 825 his father, King Ecgberht. As ruler of the Saxons from 839 to 856, he allied his kingdom of Wessex with the kingdom of Mercia to empower the invasions by mighty Danish Vikings.