2617: Æthelred the Unready Feb 13, 2022

The epithet of Æthelred the Unready, one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England, is a mistranslation. First of all, it is from the Old English 'unræd' which means 'poorly advised', from 'ræd' (council), that no longer has any cognates in English but is related to the German 'Rat' (council). Moreover, it is a pun, because Æthelred means 'noble council'. He happened to face lots of treason in his life, but it nevertheless ill-remembered for making lots of concessions to Viking pirates, despite having made lots of provisions in fact.