GUTHRUM (GODRUM). — King of East Anglia. In English annals he is first mentioned in the year 875 as one of three Danish kings who invaded the British Isles.
Defeated at Edington in 878 by Alfred, he retired to Aller in Somerset. There he was converted to Christianity, taking the name Aethelstan. Some historians identify him with Gormr. Around his name numerous legends have grown up in the Scandinavian countries, some of which suggest that his conversion was a sham.
BIBL.: K. Norgate, s. V. in Dictionary of National Biography, VIII, pp. 827-28.