| What can we tell from the names given | | | | tooth; King Harald Blatand was a 10th century |
| historical characters? Well, Harold Bluetooth | | | | Danish king whose name translated into |
| didn't have a blue tooth, but William the | | | | English means blue tooth. So, it wasn't a |
| Bastard, technically, was. But, what of | | | | physical description - only a family name. |
| Ethelred? Ethelred II, The Unready was king | | | | His father was Grom the Old, though we don't |
| of England between 968 to 1016. When he was | | | | know if it was because of his age of |
| seven years old, his father, King Edgar, | | | | sagacity, and his son was Sweyn Forkbeard |
| died, and his half-brother, Edward II (the | | | | although there's no solid evidence that he |
| Martyr), became king. At ten, after Edward | | | | had a forked beard.Was Ivan the Terrible so |
| was murdered, Ethelred succeeded him to the | | | | terrible? Probably not in the way we use |
| thrown.In 1013, because of Viking invasions, | | | | terrible as a pejorative that indicates being |
| Ethelred fled to Normandy, seeking protection | | | | harsh or fearsome. Ivan's name, in Russian, |
| from his brother-in-law, Robert of Normandy. | | | | was Grozny. The original meaning of that word |
| He married the daughter of Richard I, Duke of | | | | is closer to the English awesome or |
| Normandy whose great-nephew, William (the | | | | formidable. Maybe Ivan the Fearsome was what |
| Bastard) of Normandy, used this relationship | | | | the people had in mind after his impressive |
| as the basis of his claim to the throne of | | | | success in battle and not because of how he |
| England in 1066.But why was he called The | | | | treated his subjects. Still, we can't ignore |
| Unready? Turns out it doesn't mean that he | | | | his shortcomings. Toward the end of his |
| was ill-prepared. Unready derives from the | | | | reign, his personal militia terrorized the |
| Anglo-Saxon word unraede which means lacking | | | | country, and he was known to have tortured |
| counsel. The people felt that Ethelred wasn't | | | | and executed thousands of his subject. So, |
| able to make any decisions on his own. He | | | | however you translate it, maybe he was pretty |
| relied heavily on the Witan council which | | | | terrible after all.On the other hand, I think |
| wasn't all that good an idea. So, his reign | | | | the names Jack the Ripper, Typhoid Mary, and |
| was plagued by poor advice, and it didn't | | | | Vlad the Impailer pretty much say it all.Bill |
| help that he was suspected of being involved | | | | Moore is the author of Write Rite Right. This |
| in his brother Edward's murder.Speaking of | | | | compendium of homophones, homonyms, and |
| William the Bastard, which he was, having | | | | frequently misapplied words is a necessary |
| been born out of wedlock, he was the | | | | resource for anyone who writes for others to |
| illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy | | | | read. (Available on backoftheroom.com, |
| and the daughter of a tanner. Ordinarily, | | | | amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com) |
| that would have been the end of it, but when | | | | |
| his father died, William was recognized as | | | | Bill works with businesses, focusing on |
| the heir to the title, which was a rather | | | | organizational development and corporate |
| important exception to the general rule that | | | | training with emphasis on communications and |
| bastards can't succeed - to the title, that | | | | product presentation. He helps his clients |
| is. At 15, he was knighted, and in 1066, he | | | | sharpen communication and selling skills and |
| became William I or William the Conqueror - a | | | | reach targeted audiences effectively. |
| step up from being a Bastard.About this blue | | | | |