was mostly confined to the burghs, encouraging town life; areas of settlement in the midlands and Danish towns were consolidated into shires. Overseas, Athelstan built alliances by marrying four of his half-sisters to various rulers in Western Europe. He also had extensive cultural and religious contacts; as an enthusiastic and discriminating collector of works of art and religious relics, he gave online casino black jack EADWIG (EDWY) (955-59 AD) On the death of Eadred, who had no children, Eadwig was chosen to be king since he was the oldest of the children in the natural line of the House of Wessex. He became king at 16 and displayed some of the tendencies one could expect in one so young, royalty or not. Historians have not treated Eadwig especially well, and it is unfortunate for him that he ran afoul of the influential online casino black jack within his empire, it failed to survive owing to discord between his sons by two different queens - Harold Harefoot (reigned 1035-40) and Harthacnut (reigned 1040-42) - and the factions led by the semi-independent Earls of Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex. HAROLD HAREFOOT (1035-1040) Harold Harefoot was the son of Canute and his first wife, Elfgifu. The brothers began by sharing the kingdom of England