Definition of "ætheling"

An elaborate tariff prescribed in shillings the “wergild” or exact value or worth of every man. An ætheling, or prince, was worth 1500 shillings, a shilling being the value of a cow in Kent, or of a sheep elsewhere; […]

1956, Winston Churchill, The Birth of Britain‎, page 66

Robert himself was credited with an attempt at an invasion of England, and he showed his support of the æthelings not only by giving them an honoured place at his court but by marrying their sister Godgifu to the count of the Vexin.

1976, John Le Patourel, The Norman Empire‎, page 25

The Encomium, composed within five years of the ætheling’s death, depicted the assassination as a martyrdom and portrayed Alfred as an innocent saint.

2014, Nicole Marafioti, The King’s Body: Burial and Succession in Late Anglo-Saxon England, page 128