# Athelstane of Coningsburgh — Ivanhoe character guide

> Athelstane of Coningsburgh in Ivanhoe by Walter Scott.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Athelstane, Athelstane the Unready, noble Athelstane

**First appearance:** 0006-iii

## Snapshot

A Saxon noble of royal descent, slow of wit and heavy of body, whose claim to England's old throne makes him a pawn in Norman schemes and a rival for Rowena's hand.

## Who they are

Athelstane of Coningsburgh carries the blood of Saxon kings in a frame better suited to feasting than ruling. Prince John's court dismisses him as a Saxon ox, yet his lineage makes him a threat to Norman ambition and a complication for Cedric's hopes of Saxon restoration. His descent from the tournament's fallen figures, and his stubborn presence at the novel's political center, keep the question of England's true inheritance alive.

## In the story

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/vii)

Slow to react to Prince John's insulting order; described as sluggish and indecisive, earning the nickname 'the Unready'.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/viii)

Declines to joust today, preferring to wait for the melee, which Cedric sees as a lack of patriotic spirit.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/ix)

Shows rare signs of animation, toasting the Disinherited Knight with a goblet of muscadine.

### [Chapter XIV: The Banquet at Ashby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xiv)

Athelstane accompanies Cedric and drinks to the toast, showing his Saxon allegiance.

### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xviii)

Shown as slow and irresolute, more concerned with hospitality and omens than with action.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xix)

Captured without being able to draw his weapon; shows hostility toward Isaac.

### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxi)

Imprisoned with Cedric, he focuses on food and issues a challenge to Front-de-Boeuf, though his appetite overshadows his defiance.

### [XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxvi)

Imprisoned alongside Cedric; stoically accepts his fate and urges Cedric to escape.

### [Chapter XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxvii)

Athelstane negotiates a ransom for himself and his companions, but refuses to abandon Lady Rowena or Wamba, asserting his noble Saxon lineage.

### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxxii)

Mourned by Cedric as the last sprout of the sainted Confessor, believed dead.

### [XLI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xli)

Deceased; his funeral is being held at Coningsburgh Castle, with a black banner and a white horse banner displayed.

### [XLII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xlii)

Athelstane appears alive, having survived the siege, and renounces his claim to the throne.

### [Chapter XLIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xliv)

Declares his resolution never to pursue Rowena, and engages in a conflict with the clergy over the Abbot of Saint Edmund's.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/endnotes)

Referenced in the context of Saxon nobility and the term 'nidering'.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/characters/athelstane
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/characters