Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LV17-P85

Notes:

This is the mother of Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini.
Unfortunately her name and that of her husband are not known.
She was likely Mercian of the Gaini Tribe.

Family/Spouse: of Mercia, Earl Hugh. Hugh was born in 795 in Lincolnshire, England; died in 825 in Lincolnshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Ealdorman of the Gaini
• Appointments / Titles: The Great
• House: Gaini
• Nickname: Mucel
• FSID: M8X5-64Z

Notes:

This is ÆTHELRED MUCEL, EALDORMAN OF GAINAS and is not the same as Æthelred I, King of Wessex or Aethelred, "the Pious" of Wessex.
They lived during the same time period and knew each other. Æthelred Mucel was an Ealdorman in Mercia and the father in law of Alfred the Great. Where as Æthelred I was Alfred the Great's older brother and was King of Wessex, it was Æthelred I who died in 871. Æthelred Mucel continued to live until sometime after 895.
They are TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE!
----------------------------------------------------
Æthelred Mucel was an Anglo-Saxon Ealdorman of the Gaini Tribe of Mercia. The Gaini inhabited the area of Modern day England that became known as Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, named after them. His date of birth and parentage is not know with certainty. It is likely he was born about 825.

Æthelred married Eadburh, 'from the royal stock of the king of the Mercians' believed to be descended from King Cenwulf of Mercia. Together they had two known children:
- Æthelwulf, Ealdorman of Mercia died 901
- Ealhswith, married Alfred the Great in 868 and was the mother of generations of English Kings.

Æthelred Mucel is known to have been alive in 895 when he witnessed a charter. The date and circumstances of his death and burial are not known, however, it was sometime after 895. He was survived by his wife Eadburh, who was later described as a 'chaste widow'

Through his daughter Ealhswith, Æthelred Mucel was the grandfather of King Edward the Elder and Æthelflæd Lady of Mercia, often considered Queen of Mercia.

**********************************************
ÆTHELRED "Mucel" (-885 or after). "Mucel dux" subscribed a charter of King Æthelred I dated 868. Ealdorman of the Gainas in Mercia. m EADBURGA, daughter of [CENWULF King of Mercia & his wife Elfrida]. Asser records that Alfred's mother-in-law "Edburga of the royal line of Mercia…was a venerable lady and after the decease of her husband, she remained many years a widow, even till her own death." According to Weir, she was perhaps the daughter of Cenwulf King of Mercia. The primary source on which this is based has not yet been identified, and the chronology is not favourable considering King Cenwulf's death in 821. Æthelred & his wife had two children:
a) ÆTHELWULF (-903). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the death in 903 of "ealdorman Æthelwulf the brother of Ealswith, the mother of King Edward." Ealdorman.
b) EALHSWITH ([848/53]-904). Asser records the marriage in 868 of Alfred and "a noble Mercian lady, daughter of Athelred surnamed Mucil earl of the Gaini…[and] Edburga of the royal line of Mercia." Roger of Hoveden records the names of her parents, specifying that her mother was related to the kings of Mercia. Her birth date is estimated from her having given birth to her first child in 869. "Ealhswith mater regis" subscribed a charter of King Edward dated 901. She founded the convent of St Mary's at Winchester, and became a nun there after her husband died. m (868) ALFRED of Wessex, son of ÆTHELWULF King of Wessex & his [first] wife Osburga (Wantage, Berkshire 849[157]-26 Oct 899, bur Winchester Cathedral, transferred to Hyde Abbey, Winchester, later called the New Minster). He succeeded in 871 as ALFRED King of Wessex.

geni.com
Æthelred
Also Known As: ""Ealdorman of the Gainas""
Birthdate: circa 825
Birthplace: Mercia, England
Death: circa 895
Mercia, Lincolnshire, England
Immediate Family:
Husband of Ædburh
Father of Æthelwulf and Ealhswith
Occupation: Earl of the Gaini, of Gainsborough & of Lincolnshire, Lord de Gainsborough, graaf Mercia/Eadburth

Æthelred married of Mercia, Eadburh in 868 in Kingdom of Mercia, England. Eadburh (daughter of of Mercia, King Wigmind and of Mercia, Queen Elfleda) was born in 822 in York, Yorkshire, England; died in 895 in Wantage, Oxfordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Gaini tribe of Mercia
• FSID: L83F-5Z6
• Religion: Catholic - Saint Elswith
• Appointments / Titles: Between 23 Apr 871 and 26 Oct 899, Kingdom of Wessex (England); Queen Consort of Wessex

Notes:

Ealhswith

Queen consort of Wessex

Reign 23 April 871 – 26 October 899
Died 902
Burial New Minster, Winchester
Spouse Alfred, King of Wessex
Issue
Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians
Edward, King of England
Æthelgifu
Æthelweard of Wessex
Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders
Father Æthelred Mucel
Mother Eadburh

Ealhswith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ealhswith or Ealswitha (died 5 December 902) was the wife of King Alfred the Great. Her father was a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini, which is thought to be an old Mercian tribal group. Her mother was Eadburh, a member of the Mercian royal family, and according to the historian Cyril Hart she was a descendant of King Coenwulf of Mercia.[1]

Life
She was married to Alfred in 868. His elder brother Æthelred was then king, and Alfred was regarded as heir apparent.[2][3] The Danes occupied the Mercian town of Nottingham in that year, and the marriage was probably connected with an alliance between Wessex and Mercia.[4] Alfred became king on his brother's death in 871. Ealhswith is very obscure in contemporary sources. She did not witness any known charters, and Asser did not even mention her name in his life of King Alfred. In accordance with ninth century West Saxon custom, she was not given the title of queen. According to King Alfred, this was because of the infamous conduct of a former queen of Wessex called Eadburh, who had accidentally poisoned her husband.[5]

Alfred left his wife three important symbolic estates in his will, Edington in Wiltshire, the site of one important victory over the Vikings, Lambourn in Berkshire, which was near another, and Wantage, his birthplace. These were all part of his bookland, and they stayed in royal possession after her death.[3] It was probably after Alfred's death in 899 that Ealhswith founded the convent of St Mary's Abbey, Winchester, known as the Nunnaminster. She died on 5 December 902, and was buried in her son Edward's new Benedictine abbey, the New Minster, Winchester. She is commemorated in two early tenth century manuscripts as "the true and dear lady of the English".[3]

Ealhswith had a brother called Æthelwulf,[3] who was ealdorman of western and possibly central Mercia under his niece's husband, Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, in the 890s.[6] He died in 901.[7]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ealhswith.

Children
Alfred and Ealhswith had five children who survived to adulthood.[3]
Æthelflæd (d. 918), Lady of the Mercians, married Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians
Edward the Elder (d. 924), King of the Anglo-Saxons
Æthelgifu, made abbess of her foundation at Shaftesbury by her father
Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders (d. 929), married Baldwin II, Count of Flanders
Æthelweard (d. c.920)

References
1. Keynes & Lapidge, Asser, pp. 77; 240-41; Hart, Æthelstan, p. 116 n.
2. Keynes & Lapidge, Asser, p. 77
3. Costambeys, Ealhswith
4. Williams, Ealhswith
5. Keynes & Lapidge Asser, pp. 71-72, 235-236
6. Hart, Æthelstan, p. 116
7. PASE, Æthelwulf 21 (http://pase.ac.uk/jsp/pdb?dosp=PAGE_CHANGE&N=1)

Sources
Costambeys, Marios (2004). "Ealhswith (d. 902), consort of Alfred, king of the West Saxons". Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/39226. Retrieved
25 October 2012. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
Hart, Cyril (1973). "Athelstan 'Half King' and his family". Anglo-Saxon England. Cambridge University
Press. 2: 115–144. ISBN 0 521 20218 3. doi:10.1017/s0263675100000375.
Keynes, Simon; Lapidge, Michael, eds. (1983). Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred & Other
Contemporary Sources. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0-14-04440-94.
Williams, Ann (1991). "Ealhswith wife of King Alfred d. 902". In Ann Williams, Alfred P. Smyth and D.
P. Kirby eds. A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain. Seaby. ISBN 1 85264 0472.
External links
Ealhswith 1 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Ealhswith at Find a Grave
St. Mary's Abbey
Preceded by
Wulfthryth?
Consort of the King of Wessex
871–899
Succeeded by
Ecgwynn or Ælfflæd
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ealhswith&oldid=784388793"
Categories: 9th-century English people 10th-century English people 9th-century women
10th-century women Anglo-Saxon royal consorts English Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns
902 deaths Alfred the Great House of Wessex
This page was last edited on 8 June 2017, at 01:46.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
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trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

In accordance with ninth century West Saxon custom, she was not given the title of queen, and did not witness any known charters.

Buried:
Originally buried next to her husband and children at New Minster in 905, the whole family was moved to Hyde Abbey in 1110, where they were interred before the high altar.

Eathswith married of Wessex, King Alfred in 868 in Kingdom of Wessex (England). Alfred (son of of Wessex, King Æthelwulf and of Wessex, Queen Consort Osburh) was born in 849 in Wantage, Berkshire, England; died on 26 Oct 899 in Winchester Castle, Winchester, Hampshire, England; was buried in 1100 in Hyde Abbey (now lost), Winchester, Hampshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: King of the Anglo-Saxons
• House: House of Wessex
• Nickname: The Elder
• FSID: LCDM-N61
• Appointments / Titles: Between 26 Oct 899 and 17 Jul 924; King of Anglo-Saxons

Notes:

Edward the Elder

King of the Anglo-Saxons
Reign 26 October 899 – 17 July 924
Coronation 8 June 900 Kingston upon Thames or Winchester
Predecessor Alfred the Great
Successor Æthelstan
Born c. 874
Died 17 July 924 Farndon, Cheshire, England
Burial New Minster, Winchester, later translated to Hyde Abbey

Spouse
Ecgwynn
Ælfflæd
Eadgifu
Issue
Æthelstan, King of England
Daughter, wife of Sitric Cáech
Eadgifu
Ælfweard, King of Wessex?
Eadgyth
Eadhild
Ælfgifu of Wessex
Eadflæd of Wessex
Eadhild of Wessex
Edwin of Wessex
Edmund, King of England
Eadred, King of England
Saint Eadburh of Winchester
House Wessex
Father Alfred, King of Wessex
Mother Ealhswith
Religion Catholicism (pre-reformation)

Edward the Elder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edward the Elder (Old English: Eadweard cyning; c. 874 – 17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-
Saxons from 899 until his death. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great.
He captured the eastern Midlands and East Anglia from the Danes in 917 and became ruler of Mercia
in 918 upon the death of Æthelflæd, his sister.
All but two of his charters give his title as "Anglorum Saxonum rex" ("king of the Anglo-Saxons"), a
title first used by his father, Alfred.[1] According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle the Kings of Scotland
and Strathclyde and the rulers of Northumbria "chose [Edward] as father and lord" in 920, a claim
dismissed by most modern historians.[2] Edward's cognomen "the Elder" was first used in Wulfstan's
Life of St Æthelwold (c. 996) to distinguish him from the later King Edward the Martyr.
Contents
1 Background
2 Childhood
3 Ætheling
4 Æthelwold's revolt
5 King of the Anglo-Saxons
6 Conquest of the southern Danelaw
7 Coinage
8 Church
9 Learning
10 Law and administration
11 Later life
12 Reputation
13 Marriages and children
14 Genealogy
15 Notes
16 Citations
17 Bibliography
18 Further reading
19 External links
Background
Mercia was the dominant kingdom in southern England in the eighth century and maintained its
position until it suffered a decisive defeat by Wessex at the Battle of Ellandun in 825. Thereafter the
two kingdoms became allies, which was to be an important factor in English resistance to the
Vikings.[3] In 865 the Danish Viking Great Heathen Army landed in East Anglia and used this as a
starting point for an invasion. The East Anglians were forced to buy peace and the following year the
Vikings invaded Northumbria, where they appointed a puppet king in 867. They then moved on
Mercia, where they spent the winter of 867–868. King Burgred of Mercia was joined by King Æthelred
of Wessex and his brother, the future King Alfred, for a combined attack on the Vikings, who refused
an engagement; in the end the Mercians bought peace with them. The following year, the Danes
conquered East Anglia, and in 874 they expelled King Burgred and Ceolwulf became the last King of
Mercia with their support. In 877 the Vikings partitioned Mercia, taking the eastern regions for
themselves and allowing Ceolwulf to keep the western ones. The situation was transformed the
following year when Alfred won a decisive victory over the Danes at the Battle of Edington. He was
thus able to prevent the Vikings from taking Wessex and western Mercia, although they still occupied
Northumbria, East Anglia and eastern Mercia.[4]
Childhood
Alfred the Great married his Mercian queen Ealhswith in 868. Her father was Æthelred Mucel,
Ealdorman of the Gaini, and her mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal family. Alfred and Ealhswith had five children who survived
childhood. Their first child was Æthelflæd, who married Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians and ruled as Lady of the Mercians after his death. Edward was
next, and the second daughter, Æthelgifu, became abbess of Shaftesbury. The third daughter, Ælfthryth, married Baldwin, Count of Flanders, and the
youngest child, Æthelweard, was given a scholarly education, including learning Latin. This would usually suggest that he was intended for the church,
but it is unlikely in Æthelweard's case as he had sons. There were also an unknown number of children who died young. Neither part of Edward's name,
which means 'protector of wealth', had been used previously by the West Saxon royal house, and Barbara Yorke suggests that he may have been named
after his maternal grandmother Eadburh, reflecting the West Saxon policy of strengthening links with Mercia.[5]
Æthelflæd was probably born about a year after her parents' marriage, and Edward was brought up with his youngest sister, Ælfthryth. Yorke argues that
he was therefore probably nearer in age to Ælfthryth than Æthelflæd. However, he led troops in battle in 893, and he must have been of marriagable age
in that year as his oldest son Æthelstan was born about 894, so Edward was probably born in the mid-870s.[6] According to Asser in his Life of King
Alfred, Edward and Ælfthryth were educated at court by male and female tutors, and read ecclesiastical and secular works in English, such as the Psalms
See list
A page from the will of Alfred the
Great, which left the bulk of his estate
to Edward
Coin of Edward the Elder
and Old English poems. They were taught the courtly qualities of gentleness and humility, and Asser wrote that
they were obedient to their father and friendly to visitors. This is the only known case of an Anglo-Saxon prince
and princess receiving the same upbringing.[7]
Ætheling
As a son of a king, Edward was an ætheling, a prince of the royal house who was eligible for kingship. However,
even though he had the advantage of being the eldest son of the reigning king, his accession was not assured, as
he had cousins who had a strong claim to the throne. Æthelhelm and Æthelwold were sons of Æthelred, Alfred's
older brother and predecessor as king. More is known about Edward's childhood than about that of other Anglo-
Saxon princes, providing information about the training of a prince in a period of Carolingian influence, and
Yorke suggest that this may have been due to Alfred's efforts to portray his son as the most throneworthy
ætheling.[8]
Æthelhelm is only recorded in Alfred's will of the mid-880s, and probably died at some time in the next decade,
but Æthelwold is listed above Edward in the only charter where he appears, probably indicating a higher status.
Æthelwold may also have had an advantage because his mother Wulfthryth witnessed a charter as queen, whereas
Edward's mother Ealhswith never had a higher status than king's wife. However, Alfred was in a position to give
his own son considerable advantages. In his will, only left a handful of estates to his brother's sons, and the bulk
of his property to Edward, including all his booklands in Kent. In a Kentish charter of 898 Edward witnessed as
rex Saxonum, suggesting that Alfred may have followed the strategy adopted by his grandfather Egbert of
strengthening his son's claim to succeed to the West Saxon throne by declaring him King of Kent.[9] Alfred also
advanced men who could be depended on to support his plans for his succession, such as his brother-in-law, a
Mercian ealdorman called Æthelwulf, his son-in-law Æthelred, and a relative called Osferth, who may have been
Alfred's illegitimate son. Once Edward grew up Alfred was able to give him military commands and experience
of royal business. Edward frequently witnessed Alfred's charters, suggesting that he often accompanied his father
on royal peregrinations.[10]
In 893 Edward defeated the Vikings in the Battle of Farnham, although he was unable to follow up his victory as his troops period of service and expired
and he had to release them. The situation was saved by the arrival of troops from London led by his brother-in-law, Æthelred. The English defeated
renewed Viking attacks in 893 to 896, and in Richard Abels' view, the glory belonged to Æthelred and Edward.[11] Yorke argues that although Alfred
packed the witan with members whose interests lay in the continuation of Alfred's line, that may not have been sufficient to ensure Edward's accession, if
he had not displayed his fitness for kingship.[12] However, Janet Nelson suggests that there was conflict between Alfred and Edward in the 890s. She
points out that the contemporary Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, produced under court auspices in the 890s, does not mention Edward's military successes.
These are only known from the late tenth century chronicle of Æthelweard, such as his account of the Battle of Farnham, in which in Nelson's view
"Edward's military prowess, and popularity with a following of young warriors, are highlighted". Towards the end of his life Alfred invested his young
grandson Æthelstan in a ceremony which historians see as designation as eventual successor to the kingship. Nelson argues that while this may have been
proposed by Edward to support the accession of his own son, on the other hand it may have been intended by Alfred as part of a scheme to divide the
kingdom between his son and grandson. Æthelstan was sent to be brought up in Mercia Æthelflæd and Æthelred, but it is not known whether this was
Alfred's idea or Edward's. Alfred's wife Ealhswith is ignored in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in her husband's lifetime, but emerges from obscurity when
her son accedes. This may be because she supported her son against her husband.[13]
In about 893 Edward had married Ecgwynn, who bore him two children, the future King Æthelstan and a daughter who married Sitric, a Viking King of
York. An opponent of Æthelstan claimed that his mother was a concubine of low birth, but the earliest life of the nobly born Saint Dunstan suggests that
he was a relative of hers, and William of Malmesbury described her as an illustris femina. She may have died by 899, as around the time of Alfred's death
Edward took Ælfflæd as his second wife. She was the daughter of Ealdorman Æthelhelm, probably of Wiltshire.[14]
Æthelwold's revolt
Alfred died on 26 October 899 and Edward succeeded to the throne, but Æthelwold immediately disputed the
succession.[15] He seized the royal estates of Wimborne, symbolically important as the place where his father
was buried, and Christchurch. Edward marched with his army to the nearby Iron Age hillfort at Badbury
Rings. Æthelwold declared that he would live or die at Wimborne, but then left in the night and rode to
Northumbria, where the Danes accepted him as king.[16] Edward was crowned on 8 June 900 at Kingston upon
Thames or Winchester.[a]
In 901, Æthelwold came with a fleet to Essex, and the following year he persuaded the East Anglian Danes to
invade and harry English Mercia and northern Wessex. Edward retaliated by ravaging East Anglia, but when
he retreated the men of Kent disobeyed the order to retire, and were intercepted by the Danish army. The two sides met at the Battle of the Holme
(perhaps Holme in Huntingdonshire) on 13 December 902. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Danes "kept the place of slaughter", meaning
that they won the battle, but they suffered heavy losses, including Æthelwold and a King Eohric, possibly of the East Anglian Danes. Kentish losses
included Sigehelm, ealdorman of Kent and father of Edward's third wife, Eadgifu. Æthelwold's death ended the threat to Edward's throne.[18]
King of the Anglo-Saxons
In London in 886 Alfred had received the formal submission of "all the English people that were not under subjection to the Danes", and thereafter he
adopted the title "King of the Anglo-Saxons". This is seen by Simon Keynes as "the invention of a wholly new and distinctive polity", covering both
West Saxons and Mercians, which was inherited by Edward with the support of Mercians at the West Saxon court, of whom the most important was
Plegmund, Archbishop of Canterbury. In 903 Edward issued three charters at a meeting attended by the Mercian leaders and their daughter Ælfwynn.
The charters all contain a statement that Æthelred and Æthelflæd "then held rulership and power over the race of the Mercians, under the aforesaid
king".[19] This view of Edward's status is accepted by Martin Ryan, who states that Æthelred and Æthelflæd had "a considerable but ultimately
subordinate share of royal authority" in English Mercia.[20] Other historians disagree. Pauline Stafford describes Æthelflæd as "the last Mercian
queen",[21] while in Charles Insley's view Mercia kept its independence until Æthelflæd's death in 918.[22] Michael Davidson contrasts the 903 charters
with one of 901 in which the Mercian rulers were "by grace of God, holding, governing and defending the monarchy of the Mercians". Davidson
comments that "the evidence for Mercian subordination is decidedly mixed. Ultimately, the ideology of the 'Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons' may have
been less successful in achieving the absorption of Mercia and more something which I would see as a murky political coup."[23] The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle was compiled at the West Saxon court from the 890s, and the entries for the late ninth and early tenth centuries are seen by historians as
reflecting the West Saxon viewpoint; Davidson observes that "Alfred and Edward possessed skilled 'spin doctors'".[24] However, some versions of the
Chronicle incorporate part of a lost Mercian Register, which gives a Mercian perspective and details of Æthelfæd's campaign against the Vikings.[20]
The standard of Anglo-Saxon learning declined severely in the ninth century, particularly in Wessex, and Mercian scholars such as Plegmund played a
prominent part in the revival of learning initiated by Alfred. Mercians were prominent at the courts of Alfred and Edward, and the Mercian dialect and
scholarship commanded West Saxon respect.[25] The only large scale embroideries which were certainly made in Anglo-Saxon England date to Edward's
reign. They are a stole, a maniple and a possible girdle found in the tomb of St Cuthbert. They were donated by Æthelstan in 934, but inscriptions on the
embroideries show that they were commissioned by Edward's second wife, Ælflæd, as a gift to Frithestan, Bishop of Winchester. They probably did not
reach their intended destination because Æthelstan was on bad terms with Winchester.[26]
In the late ninth and early tenth centuries connection with the West Saxon royal house was seen as prestigious by continental rulers. In the mid-890s
Alfred had married his daughter Ælfthryth to Baldwin II of Flanders, and in 919 Edward married his daughter Eadgifu to Charles the Simple, King of
West Francia. In 925, after Edward's death, another daughter Eadgyth married Otto, the future King of Germany and (after Eadgyth's death) Holy Roman
Emperor.[27]
Conquest of the southern Danelaw
No battles are recorded between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danish Vikings for several years after the Battle of the Holme, but in 906 Edward agreed
peace with the East Anglian and Northumbrian Danes, suggesting that there had been conflict. According to one version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle he
made peace "of necessity", suggesting he was forced to buy them off.[15] He encouraged Englishmen to purchase land in Danish territory, and two
charters survive relating to estates in Bedfordshire and Derbyshire.[28] In 909, Edward sent an army to harass Northumbria. In the following year, the
Northumbrian Vikings retaliated by raiding Mercia, but on their way home they were met by a combined Mercian and West Saxon army at the Battle of
Tettenhall, where the Northumbrians suffered a disastrous defeat. From that point, they never ventured south of the River Humber, and Edward and his
Mercian allies were able to concentrate on conquering the southern Danelaw in East Anglia and the Five Boroughs of Viking east Mercia: Derby,
Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford.[15] In 911 Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, died, and Edward took control of the Mercian lands around
London and Oxford. Æthelred was succeeded as ruler by his widow Æthelflæd as Lady of the Mercians, and she had probably been acting as ruler for
several years as Æthelred seems to have been incapacitated in later life.[29]
Edward and Æthelflæd then began the construction of fortresses to guard against Viking attacks and protect territory captured from them. In November
911 he constructed a fort on the north bank of the River Lea at Hertford to guard against attack by the Danes of Bedford and Cambridge. In 912 he
marched with his army to Maldon in Essex, and ordered the building of an earth fortification, and this together with another fort south of the Lea at
Hertford protected London from attack, and encouraged many English living under Danish rule in Essex to submit to him instead. In 913 there was a
pause in his activities, although Æthelflæd continued her fortress building in Mercia. In 914 a Viking army sailed from Brittany and ravaged the Severn
estuary. It was defeated by a Mercian army, and Edward kept an army on the south side of the estuary which twice repelled attempts to invade Wessex. In
the autumn the Vikings moved on to Ireland. In November 914 Edward built two forts at Buckingham, and many Danes at Bedford and Northampton
submitted to him, while others left England with Earl Thurketil, reducing the number of Viking armies in the midlands. In 916 Edward built a fortress at
Maldon as another defence against the Danes of Colchester.[30]
The decisive year in the war was 917. In April Edward built a fort at Towcester as a defence against the Danes of Northampton, and another at an
unidentified place called Wigingamere. The Danes launched unsuccessful attacks on Towcester, Bedford and Wigingamere, while Æthelflæd captured
Derby, showing the value of the English defensive measures, which was aided by disunity and a lack of coordination among the Viking armies. The
Danes had built their own fortress at Tempsford, but at the end of the summer the English stormed it and killed the last Danish king of East Anglia. The
English then took Colchester, although they did not try to hold it. The Danes retaliated by sending a large army to lay siege to Maldon, but the garrison
held out until it was relieved and the retreating army was heavily defeated. Edward then returned to Towcester and reinforced its fort with a stone wall,
and the Danes of nearby Northampton submitted to him. The armies of Cambridge and East Anglia also submitted, and by the end of the year the only
Danish armies still holding out were those of four of the Five Boroughs, Leicester, Stamford, Nottingham, and Lincoln.[31]
In early 918, Æthelflæd secured the submission of Leicester without a fight, and the Danes of Northumbrian York offered her their allegiance, probably
for protection against Norse (Norwegian) Vikings who had invaded Northumbria from Ireland, but she died on 12 June before she could take up the
proposal. The same offer is not known to have been made to Edward, and the Norse Vikings took York in 919. Æthelflæd was succeeded by her daughter
Ælfwynn, but the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that in December 918 she "was deprived of all authority in Mercia and taken into Wessex". Mercia then
came under Edward's direct rule. Stamford had surrendered to Edward before Æthelflæd's death, and Nottingham did the same shortly afterwards.
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 918, "all the people who had settled in Mercia, both Danish and English, submitted to him". This would
mean that he ruled all England south of the Humber, but it is not clear whether Lincoln was an exception, as coins of Viking York in the early 920s were
probably minted at Lincoln.[32] Some Danish jarls were allowed to keep their estates, although Edward probably also rewarded his supporters with land,
and some he kept in his own hands. Coin evidence suggests that his authority was stronger in the East Midlands than in East Anglia.[33]
Coinage
The principal currency was the silver penny, some of which had a stylised portrait of the king. Royal coins had "EADVVEARD REX" on the obverse
and the name of the moneyer of the reverse. The place of issue is not shown, but in Æthelstan's reign the location was shown, allowing the location of
many moneyers of Edward's reign to be established. There were mints in Bath, Canterbury, Chester, Chichester, Derby, Exeter, Hereford, London,
Oxford, Shaftesbury, Shrewsbury, Southampton, Stafford, Wallingford, Wareham, Winchester and probably other towns. No coins were struck in the
name of Æthelred or Æthelflæd, but from around 910 mints in English Mercia produced coins with an unusual decorative design on the reverse. This
ceased before 920, and probably represents Æthelflæd's way of distinguishing her coinage from that of her brother. There was also a minor issue of coins
in the name of Plegmund, Archbishop of Canterbury. There was a dramatic increase in the number of moneyers over Edward's reign, with less than 25 in
the south in the first ten years rising to 67 in the last ten years, around 5 in English Mercia rising to 23, plus 27 in the re-conquered Danelaw.[34]
Church
In 908, Plegmund conveyed the alms of the English king and people to the Pope, the first visit to Rome by an Archbishop of Canterbury for almost a
century, and the journey may have been to seek papal approval for a proposed re-organisation of the West Saxon sees.[35] When Edward came to the
throne Wessex had two dioceses, Winchester, held by Denewulf, and Sherborne, held by Asser.[36] In 908 Denewulf died and was replaced the following
year by Frithestan; soon afterwards Winchester was divided into two sees, with the creation of the diocese of Ramsbury covering Wiltshire and
Berkshire, while Winchester was left with Hampshire and Surrrey. Forged charters date the division to 909, but this may not be correct. Asser died in the
same year, and at some date between 909 and 918 Sherborne was divided into three sees, with Crediton covering Devon and Cornwall, and Wells
covering Somerset, while Sherborne was left with Dorset.[37] The effect of the changes were to strengthen the status of Canterbury compared with
Winchester and Sherborne, but the division may have been related to a change in the function of West Saxon bishops, to become agents of royal
government in shires rather than provinces, assisting in defence and taking part in shire courts.[38]
At the beginning of Edward's reign his mother, Ealhswith, founded the abbey of St Mary for nuns, known as the Nunnaminster, in Winchester.[39]
Edward's daughter Eadburh became a nun there, and she was venerated as a saint and the subject of a hagiography by Osbert of Clare in the twelfth
century.[40] In 901 Edward started building a major monastery for men, probably in accordance of his father's wishes. The monastery was next to
Winchester Cathedral, which became known as the Old Minster, while Edward's foundation was called the New Minster. It was much larger than the Old
Minster, and was probably intended as a royal mausoleum.[41] It acquired relics of the Breton Saint Judoc, which probably arrived in England from
Ponthieu in 901, and the body of one of Alfred's closest advisers, Grimbald, who died in the same year and who was soon venerated as a saint. Edward's
mother died in 902, and he buried her and Alfred there, moving his father's body from the Old Minster. Burials in the early 920s included Edward
himself, his brother Æthelweard, and his son Ælfweard. However, when Æthelstan became king in 924, he did not show any favour to his father's
foundation, probably because Winchester sided against him when the throne was disputed after Edward's death. The only later royal burial at the New
Minster was that of King Eadwig in 959.[42]
Edward's decision not to expand the Old Minster, but rather to overshadow it with a much larger building, suggests animosity towards Bishop Denewulf,
and this was compounded by forcing the Old Minster to cede both land for the new site, and an estate of 70 hides at Beddington to provide an income for
the New Minster. Edward was remembered by the New Minster as a benefactor, and at the Old Minster as rex avidus (greedy king).[43] Alan Thacker
comments:
Edward's method of endowing New Minster was of a piece with his ecclesiastical policy in general. Like his father he gave little to the church —
indeed, judging by the dearth of charters for much of his reign he seems to have given away little at all...More than any other, Edward's kingship
seems to epitomise the new hard-nosed monarchy of Wessex, determined to exploit all its resources, lay and ecclesiastical, for its own benefit.[44]
Patrick Wormald observes: "The thought occurs that neither Alfred nor Edward was greatly beloved at Winchester Cathedral; and one reason for
Edward's moving his father's body into the new family shrine next door was that he was surer of sincere prayers there."[45]
Learning
English scholarship almost collapsed during the ninth century, and Alfred was responsible for its revival during his last decade. It is uncertain how far his
programmes continued during his son's reign. English translations of works in Latin made during Alfred's reign continued to be copied, but few original
works are known. The Anglo-Saxon script known as Anglo-Saxon Square miniscule reached maturity in the 930s, and its earliest phases date to Edward's
reign. The main scholarly and scriptorial centres were the cathedral centres of Canterbury, Winchester and Worcester; monasteries did not make a
significant contribution until Æthelstan's reign.[46]
Law and administration
The only surviving original charter from Edward's reign is a grant by Æthelred and Æthelflæd in 901, and is not a charter of Edward himself.[47] In the
same year a meeting at Southampton was attended by his brother and sons, his household thegns and nearly all bishops, but no ealdormen. It was on this
occasion that the king acquired land from the Bishop of Winchester for the foundation of the New Minster, Winchester. No charters survive for the period
from 910 to the king's death in 924, much to the puzzlement and distress of historians. Charters were usually issued when the king made grants of land,
and it is possible that Edward followed a policy of retaining property which came into his hands in order to help finance his campaigns against the
Vikings.[48]
Clause 3 of the law code called I Edward provides that people convincingly charged with perjury shall not be allowed to clear themselves by oath, but
only by ordeal. This is the start of the continuous history in England of trial by ordeal; it is probably mentioned in the laws of King Ine (688 to 726), but
not in later codes such as those of Alfred.[49] The administrative and legal system in Edward's reign may have depended extensively on written records,
almost none of which survive.[50] Edward was one of the few Anglo-Saxon kings to issue laws about bookland (landed vested in a charter which could be
alienated by the holder, as opposed to folkland, which had to pass to heirs of the body). There was increasing confusion in the period as to what was
really bookland, and Edward urged prompt settlement in bookland/folkland disputes, and laid down that jurisdiction belonged to the king and his
offices.[51]
Later life
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, there was a general submission of rulers in Britain to Edward in 920:
Then [Edward] went from there into the Peak District to Bakewell and ordered a borough to be built in the neighbourhood and manned. And then
the king of the Scots and all the people of the Scots, and Rægnald and the sons of Eadwulf and all who live in Northumbria, both English and
Silver brooch imitating a coin
of Edward the Elder, c. 920,
found in Rome, Italy. British
Museum.
Danish, Norsemen and others, and also the king of the Strathclyde Welsh and all the Strathclyde Welsh, chose him
as father and lord.[52]
This passage was regarded as a straightforward report by most historians until the late twentieth century,[53] and Frank
Stenton observed that "each of the rulers named in this list had something definite to gain from an acknowledgement of
Edward's overlordship".[54] Since the 1980s the 'submission' has been viewed with increasing scepticism, particularly as
the passage in the Chronicle is the only evidence for it, unlike other submissions such as that of 927, for which there is
independent support from literary sources and coins.[55] Alfred Smyth points out that Edward was not in a position to
impose the same conditions on the Scots and the Northumbrians as he could on conquered Vikings, and argued that the
Chronicle presented a treaty between kings as a submission to Wessex.[56] Pauline Stafford observes that the rulers had
met at Bakewell on the border between Mercia and Northumbria, and that meetings on borders were generally
considered to avoid any implication of submission by either side.[57] Davidson points out that the wording "chosen as
father and lord" applied to conquered army groups and burhs, not relations with other kings. In his view:
The idea that this meeting represented a 'submission', while it must remain a possiblity, does however seem
unlikely. The textual context of the chronicler's passage makes his interpretation of the meeting suspect, and ultimately, Edward was in no position
to force the subordination of, or dictate terms to, his fellow kings in Britain.[58]
Edward continued Æthelflæd's policy of founding burhs in the north-west, with ones at Thelwall and Manchester in 919, and Cledematha (Rhuddlan) at
the mouth of the River Clwyd in North Wales in 921.[59]
No charters of Edward dated after 909 have survived, and nothing is known of his relations with the Mercians between 919 and the last year of his life,
when he put down a Mercian and Welsh revolt at Chester. Mercia and the eastern Danelaw were organised into shires at an unknown date in the tenth
century, ignoring traditional boundaries, and historians such as Sean Miller and David Griffiths suggest that Edward's imposition of direct control from
919 is a likely context for a change which ignored Mercian sensibilities. Resentment at the changes, at the imposition of rule by distant Wessex, and at
fiscal demands by Edward's reeves, may have provoked the revolt at Chester. He died at the royal estate of Farndon, twelve miles south of Chester, on 24
July 924, shortly after putting down the revolt, and was buried in the New Minster, Winchester.[60]
Reputation
Post-conquest chroniclers had a high opinion of Edward. John of Worcester described him as "the most invincible King Edward the Elder", who was
generally seen as "inferior to Alfred in book learning", but "equal to him in dignity and power, and superior to him in glory".[61]
Edward is also highly regarded by historians, and he is described by Keynes as "far more than the bellicose bit between Alfred and Æthelstan".[1]
According to Nick Higham: "Edward the Elder is perhaps the most neglected of English kings. He ruled an expanding realm for twenty-five years and
arguably did as much as any other individual to construct a single, south-centred, Anglo-Saxon kingdom, yet posthumously his achievements have been
all but forgotten." In 1999 a conference on his reign was held at the University of Manchester, and the papers given on this occasion were published as a
book in 2001. Prior to this conference, no monographs had been published on Edward's reign, whereas his father has been the subject of numerous
biographies and other studies. A principal reason for the neglect is that very few primary sources for his reign survive, whereas there are many for Alfred.
Edward has also suffered in historians' estimation by comparison with his highly regarded sister, Æthelflæd.[62]
In the view of F. T. Wainwright: "Without detracting from the achievements of Alfred, it is well to remember that it was Edward who reconquered the
Danish Midlands and gave England nearly a century of respite from serious Danish attacks."[63] Higham summarises Edward's legacy as follows:
Under Edward's leadership, the scale of alternative centres of power diminished markedly: the separate court of Mercia was dissolved; the Danish
leaders were in large part brought to heel or expelled; the Welsh princes were constrained from aggression of the borders and even the West Saxon
bishoprics divided. Late Anglo-Saxon England is often described as the most centralised polity in western Europe at the time, with its shires, its
shire-reeves and its systems of regional courts and royal taxation. If so — and the matter remains debatable — much of that centrality derives from
Edward's activities, and he has as good a claim as any other to be considered the architect of medieval England.[64]
Edward's cognomen the Elder was first used in Wulfstan's Life of St Æthelwold at the end of the tenth century, to distinguish him from King Edward the
Martyr.[15]
Marriages and children
Edward had about fourteen children from three marriages.[b]
He first married Ecgwynn around 893.[73] Their children were:
Æthelstan, King of England 924-939[15]
A daughter, perhaps called Edith, married Sihtric Cáech, Viking King of York in 926, who died in 927. Possibly Saint Edith of Polesworth[70]
In c. 900, Edward married Ælfflæd, daughter of Ealdorman Æthelhelm, probably of Wiltshire.[74] Their children were:
Ælfweard, died August 924, a month after his father; possibly King of Wessex for that month[75]
Edwin, drowned at sea 933[76]
Æthelhild, lay sister at Wilton Abbey[77]
Eadgifu (died in or after 951), married Charles the Simple, King of the West Franks, c. 918[78]
Eadflæd, nun at Wilton Abbey[77]
Eadhild, married Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks in 926[79]
Eadgyth (died 946), in 929/30 married Otto I, future King of the East Franks, and (after Eadgyth's death) Holy Roman Emperor[80]
Ælfgifu, married "a prince near the Alps", perhaps Louis, brother of King Rudolph II of Burgundy[81]
Edward married for a third time, about 919, Eadgifu, the daughter of Sigehelm, Ealdorman of Kent.[82] Their children were
Edmund, King of England 939-946[65]
Eadred, King of England 946-955[65]
Eadburh (died c. 952), Benedictine nun at Nunnaminster, Winchester, and saint[83]
Eadgifu, existence uncertain, possibly the same person as Ælfgifu[84]
Genealogy
Ancestors of Edward the Elder
16. Ealhmund of Kent
8. Egbert of Wessex
4. Æthelwulf of Wessex
2. Alfred the Great
10. Oslac
5. Osburga
1. Edward the Elder
6. Æthelred Mucel
3. Ealhswith
7. Eadburh
Notes
a. The twelfth-century chroniclerR alph of Diceto stated that the coronation took place at Kingston, and this is accepted bSyi mon Keynes, but Sarah Foot thinks that
Winchester is more likely.[17]
b. The order in which Edward's children are listed is based on the family tree in FootÆ's thelstan: the First King of England, which shows sons of each wife before
daughters. The daughters are listed in their birth order according to William of Malmesbury's Gesta Regum Anglorum.[65] The earliest primary sources do not
distinguish whether Sihtric's wife was Æthelstan's full or half sist,e rand a tradition recorded at Bury in the early twelfth century makes her a daughter of Edward's
second wife, Ælfflæd.[66] However, she is described as the daughter of Edward and Ecgwynn in William of Malmesbury's twelfth century Deeds of the English Kings,
and Michael Wood's argument that this is partly based on a lost early life of Æthelstan has been generally accepte[d6.6][67] Modern historians follow William of
Malmesbury's testimony in showing her as Æthelstan's full siste."r[68][65][15] William of Malmesbury did not know her name, but some late sources name her as Edith
or Eadgyth, an identification accepted by some historian[s1.5][68][69] She is also identified in late sources with saint Edith of Polesworth, a view accepted by Alan
Thacker, but dismissed as "dubious" by Sarah Foot, who does however think that it is like ltyhat she entered the cloister in widowhood[.70][71][72]
Citations
1. Keynes 2001, p. 57.
2. Davidson 2001, pp. 200-209.
3. Keynes and Lapidge 1983, pp. 11–12.
4. Stenton 1971, pp. 245–257.
5. Yorke 2001, pp. 25–28.
6. Yorke 2001, pp. 25–26; Miller 2004.
7. Yorke 2001, pp. 27–28.
8. Yorke 2001, p. 25.
9. Yorke 2001, pp. 29–32; Keynes and Lapidge
1983, p. 321, n. 66; Æthelhelm, PASE.
10. Yorke 2001, pp. 31–35.
11. Abels 1998, pp. 294–304.
12. Yorke 2001, p. 37.
13. Nelson 1996, pp. 53–54, 63–66.
14. Yorke 2001, pp. 33–34.
15. Miller 2004.
16. Stenton 1971, p. 321; Lavelle 2009, pp. 53, 61.
17. Keynes 2001, p. 48; Foot 2011, p. 74.
18. Stenton 1971, pp. 321–322; Hart 1992, p. 512–
515; Stafford 2004.
19. Keynes 2001, pp. 44–54.
20. Ryan 2013, p. 298.
21. Stafford 2001, p. 45.
22. Insley 2009, p. 330.
23. Davidson 2001, p. 205; Keynes 2001, p. 43.
24. Davidson 2001, pp. 203–204.
25. Gretsch 2001, p. 287.
26. Coatsworth 2001, pp. 292–296.
27. Sharp 2001, pp. 81–86.
28. Abrams 2001, p. 136.
29. Stenton 1971, p. 324, n. 1; Wainwright 1975,
pp. 308–309; Bailey 2001, p. 113.
30. Miller 2004; Stenton 1971, pp. 324–327.
31. Miller 2004; Stenton 1971, pp. 327–329.
32. Miller 2004; Stenton 1971, pp. 329–331.
33. Abrams 2001, pp. 138–139.
34. Lyon 2001, pp. 67–73, 77.
35. Brooks 1984, pp. 210, 213.
36. Rumble 2001, pp. 230–231.
37. Yorke 2004b; Brooks 1984, pp. 212–213.
38. Rumble 2001, p. 243.
39. Rumble 2001, p. 231.
40. Thacker 2001, pp. 259–260.
41. Rumble 2001, pp. 231–234.
42. Miller 2001, pp. xxv–xxix; Thacker 2001,
pp. 253–254.
43. Rumble 2001, pp. 234–237, 244; Thacker 2001,
p. 254.
44. Thacker 2001, p. 254.
45. Wormald 2001, pp. 274–275.
46. Lapidge 1993, pp. 12–16.
47. Lapidge 1993, p. 13.
48. Keynes 2001, pp. 50–51, 55–56.
49. Campbell 2001, p. 14.
50. Campbell 2001, p. 23.
51. Wormald 2001, pp. 264, 276.
52. Davidson 2001, pp. 200–201.
53. Davidson 2001, p. 201.
54. Stenton 1971, p. 334.
55. Davidson 2001, p. 206–207.
56. Smyth 1984, p. 199.
57. Stafford 1989, p. 33.
58. Davidson 2001, pp. 206, 209.
59. Griffiths 2001, p. 168.
60. Miller 2004; Griffiths 2001, pp. 167, 182–183.
61. Keynes 2001, pp. 40–41.
62. Higham 2001a, pp. 1–4.
63. Wainwright 1975, p. 77.
64. Higham 2001b, p. 311.
65. Foot 2011, p. xv.
66. Thacker 2001, p. 257.
67. Foot 2011, pp. 241–258.
68. Williams 1991, pp. xxix,123.
69. Foot 2011, pp. xv,48 (tentatively).
70. Thacker 2001, pp. 257–258.
71. Foot 2011, p. 48.
72. Foot 2010, p. 243.
73. Foot 2011, p. 11.
74. Yorke 2001, p. 33.
75. Foot 2011, p. 17.
76. Foot 2011, p. 21.
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Yorke, Barbara (2001). "Edward as Ætheling". In Higham, Nick; Hill, DavidE. dward the Elder 899–924. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. pp. 25–39.I SBN 0-415-21497-1.
Yorke, Barbara (2004a). "Eadburh [St Eadburh, Eadburga] (921x4–951x3), Benedictine nun". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49419. Retrieved 4 January 2017. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
Yorke, Barbara (2004b). "Frithestan (d. 932/3), bishop of Winchester". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49428.
Retrieved 1 March 2017. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
Further reading
Smyth, Alfred P. (1996-03-14). King Alfred the Great. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-822989-6.
77. Foot 2011, p. 45.
78. Foot 2011, p. 46; Stafford 2011.
79. Foot 2011, p. 18.
80. Stafford 2011.
81. Foot 2011, p. 51.
82. Stafford 2004.
83. Yorke 2004a; Thacker 2001, pp. 259–260.
84. Foot 2011, pp. 50–51; Stafford 2004.
Wikisource has original
works written by or about:
Edward the Elder
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Edward the
Elder.
External links
Edward 2 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
The Laws of King Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder Coinage Regulations
Edward the Elder at Find a Grave
Preceded by
Alfred the Great
King of the Anglo-
Saxons
899–924
Succeeded by
Æthelstan
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edward_the_Elder&oldid=784388160"
Categories: 870s births 924 deaths Anglo-Saxon monarchs 9th-century English monarchs 10th-century English monarchs Christian monarchs
House of Wessex Monarchs of England before 1066
This page was last edited on 8 June 2017, at 01:41.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Family/Spouse: of Kent, Queen Eadgifu. Eadgifu (daughter of Kent, Ealdorman Sigehelm of) was born about 903 in Kent, England; died about 966 in Kingdom of Wessex (England). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Edward married of Wiltshire, Ælfflæd in 899. Ælfflæd was born in 880 in Devon, England; died in 920 in Winchester Castle, Winchester, Hampshire, England; was buried in 920 in Wilton Abbey, Wilton (near Salisbury), Wiltshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: 93HY-N89
• Appointments / Titles: 893, France; Countess consort of Flanders

Notes:

Ælfthryth of Wessex, also known as Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders, and Elftrudis (Elftrude, Elfrida).
She was the youngest daughter of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith, born is Wessex about 877.

Between 893 and 899, Ælfthryth married Baldwin II Count of Flanders (also known as the 2nd Margrave of Flanders)
Together they hey had the following children:
Arnulf I of Flanders (c. 890–964/65); married Adela of Vermandois
Adalulf, Count of Boulogne (c. 890 – 933)
Ealswid
Ermentrud

Ælfthryth died 7 June 929, likely in Bruges, West Flanders (now Belgium)
------------------------------------
“Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial & Medieval Families,” Douglas Richardson (2013):
“BAUDOUIN II the Bald, Count/Marquis of Flanders, 879-918, Count of Artois and Lay-abbot of Saint-Vaast, 892-899, Lay-abbot of Saint-Bertin, 900, Count of Boulogne, 898? -918, Count of Ternois, about 892-918, 2nd and eldest surviving son and heir, born about 863-865. He married in 884 ÆLFTHRYTH (or ELSTRUDE) OF WESSEX, daughter of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, by Ealswith, daughter of Æthelred Mucil, earldorman of the Gaini. She was born about 870. They had two sons, Arnulf (I) [Count/Marquis of Flanders] and Adalolf (or Adolf), and two daughters, Ealhswid and Ermentrude. In 918 his wife, Ælfthryth (or Elstrude), "daughter of the King of the English," gave Liefasham [Levisham], Kent to the Abbey of Mont-Blandin in Gand. BAUDOUIN II, Count/Marquis of Flanders, died in 918, probably 10 Sept. His widow, Ælfthryth (or Elstrude), died 7 June 929. He and his wife were buried in the abbey of Saint-Pierre, Gand.
Histoire des Comtes de Flandre (1698): 12-15. Panckoucke Abrégé Chronologique de l'Histoire de Flandre (1762): 8-12. Galopin Historiae Flandricae (1781): 6-7. Kervyn de Volkaersbeke Les Églises de Gand 2 (1838): 218-220. Chartes & Docs. de l’Abbaye de Saint Pierre an Mont Blandin à Gand (1868): 40-42 (Elstrude, Countess of Flanders, styled "kinswoman" [consanguinea] by Edgar, King of England in charter dated 964). Wauters Table Chronologique des Chartes et Diplômes Imprimés 1 (1866): 320, 331. Études d'Histoire de Moyen Age dédiées à Gabrielle Monad (1896): 155-162. Compte-Rendu des Séances de la Commission Royale d'Histoire 5th Ser. 9 (1898): 142-180 (sub Comtes de Flandre). Bled Regestes des Évêques de Thérouanne, 500-1553 1 (1904): 62. Brandenburg Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen (1935) V 20. Strecker Die Lateinischen Dichter des Deutschen Mittelalters (Monumenta Germaniæ Historica: Die Ottonenzeit 5(1)) (1937): 297-300. Schwennicke Europäische Stammtafeln 2 (1984): 5 (sub Flanders). Winter Descs. of Charlemagne (800-1400) (1987): V.47, VI.45-VI.49.”

Ælfthryth married of Flanders, Count Baldwin II in 890. Baldwin (son of of Flanders, Baldwin I and de France, Judith) was born in 864 in French Flanders (Historical), Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died on 10 Sep 918 in Blandijnberg, Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium; was buried on 15 Sep 918 in Abbey of Saint Pierre-Du-Mont Blandin, Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Nickname: The Magnificent
• FSID: LCTX-4Q3
• Appointments / Titles: Between 27 Oct 939 and 26 May 946; King of England

Notes:

Edmund

King of the English
Tenure 27 October 939 – 26 May 946
Coronation c. 29 November 939 probably at Kingston upon Thames[1]
Predecessor Æthelstan
Successor Eadred
Born 921 Wessex, England
Died 26 May 946 (aged 24–25) Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire, England
Burial Glastonbury Abbey
Spouse Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
Æthelflæd of Damerham
Issue Eadwig, King of England
Edgar, King of England
House Wessex
Father Edward, King of Wessex
Mother Eadgifu of Kent
Religion Roman Catholic
Edmund I
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edmund I (Old English: Ēadmund, pronounced [æːɑdmund]; 921 – 26 May
946), called the Elder, the Deed-doer, the Just, or the Magnificent, was King
of the English from 939 until his death. He was a son of Edward the Elder
and half-brother of Æthelstan. Æthelstan died on 27 October 939, and
Edmund succeeded him as king.
Contents
1 Early life and Military threats
2 Louis IV of France
3 Death and succession
4 Ancestry
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links
Early life and Military threats
Edmund came to the throne as the son of Edward the Elder,[2] and therefore
the grandson of Alfred the Great, great-grandson of Æthelwulf of Wessex
and great-great grandson of Egbert of Wessex, who was the first of the house
of Wessex to start dominating the Anglo Saxon realms. However, being born
when his father was already a middle aged man, Edward lost his father when
he was a toddler, in 924, which saw his 30 year old half brother Athelstan
come to the throne. Edmund would grow up in the reign of Athelstan, even
participating in the Battle of Brunanburgh in his adolescence in 937
Athelstan died in the year 939, which saw young Edmund come to the
throne. Shortly after his proclamation as king, he had to face several military
threats. King Olaf III Guthfrithson conquered Northumbria and invaded the
Midlands; when Olaf died in 942, Edmund reconquered the Midlands.[2] In
943, Edmund became the god-father of King Olaf of York. In 944, Edmund
was successful in reconquering Northumbria.[3] In the same year, his ally
Olaf of York lost his throne and left for Dublin in Ireland. Olaf became the
king of Dublin as Amlaíb Cuarán and continued to be allied to his godfather.
In 945, Edmund conquered Strathclyde but ceded the territory to
King Malcolm I of Scotland in exchange for a treaty of mutual military
support.[3] Edmund thus established a policy of safe borders and peaceful
relationships with Scotland. During his reign, the revival of monasteries in
England began.
Louis IV of France
One of Edmund's last political movements of which there is some knowledge is his role in the restoration of Louis IV of
France to the throne. Louis, son of Charles the Simple and Edmund's half-sister Eadgifu, had resided at the West-Saxon court
for some time until 936, when he returned to be crowned King of France. In the summer of 945, he was captured by the
Norsemen of Rouen and subsequently released to Duke Hugh the Great, who held him in custody. The chronicler Richerus
claims that Eadgifu wrote letters both to Edmund and to Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor in which she requested support for her
son. Edmund responded to her plea by sending angry threats to Hugh.[4] Flodoard's Annales, one of Richerus' sources, report:
Silver penny of Edmund I
Coin of King Edmund
Edmund, king of the English, sent messengers to Duke Hugh about the
restoration of King Louis, and the duke accordingly made a public
agreement with his nephews and other leading men of his kingdom. [...]
Hugh, duke of the Franks, allying himself with Hugh the Black, son of
Richard, and the other leading men of the kingdom, restored to the
kingdom King Louis.[5][6]
Death and succession
On 26 May 946, Edmund was murdered by Leofa, an exiled thief, while attending St
Augustine's Day mass in Pucklechurch (South Gloucestershire).[7] John of Worcester
and William of Malmesbury add some lively detail by suggesting that Edmund had
been feasting with his nobles, when he spotted Leofa in the crowd. He attacked
the intruder in person, but in the event, Leofa killed him. Leofa was killed on the
spot by those present.[8] A recent article re-examines Edmund's death and
dismisses the later chronicle accounts as fiction. It suggests the king was the
victim of a political assassination.[9]
Edmund's sister Eadgyth, the wife of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, died earlier
the same year, as Flodoard's Annales for 946 report.[10]
Edmund was succeeded as king by his brother Eadred, king from 946 until 955.
Edmund's sons later ruled England as:
Eadwig, King of England from 955 until 957, king of only Wessex and Kent from 957 until his death on 1 October 959.
Edgar the Peaceful, king of Mercia and Northumbria from 957 until his brother's death in 959, then king of England
from 959 until 975.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Edmund I of England
16. Egbert of Wessex
8. Æthelwulf of Wessex
17. Redburga
4. Alfred the Great
18. Oslac
9. Osburga
2. Edward the Elder
10. Æthelred Mucil
5. Ealhswith
11. Eadburh
1. Edmund I of England
6. Sigehelm, Ealdorman of Kent
3. Eadgifu of Kent
Diagram based on the information found on Wikipedia
See also
Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
Burial places of British royalty
Edmund the Just, fictional king of Narnia
Notes
1. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England, p. 514
2. Edmund I (king of England)," Edmund-I" (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/179333/ )Encyclopædia Britannica
3. David Nash Ford, Edmund the Magnificent, King of the English (AD 921-946, )Early British Kingdoms (http://www.earlybritishkingdom
s.com/adversaries/bios/edmundmag.html.)
4. Richerus, Historiae, Book 2, chapters 49–50. See MGH online (http://mdz10.bib-bvb.de/~db/bsb00000607/images/index.html?id=000006
07&fip=62.251.15.35&no=20&seite=139.)
5. Dorothy Whitelock (tr.), English Historical Documents c. 500–1042. 2nd ed. London, 1979. p. 345.
6. Edmundus, Anglorum rex, legatos ad Hugonem principem pro restitutione Ludowici regis dirigit: et idem princeps proinde conventus
publicos eumnepotibus suis aliisque regni primatibus agit. [...] Hugo, dux Francorum, ascito secum Hugo Nneigro, filio Richardi,
ceterisque regni primatibus Ludowicum regem, [...] in regnum restituit. (FlodoardA,n nales 946.)
Wikisource has original
works written by or about:
Edmund I of England
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Edmund I
of England.
7. "Here King Edmund died on St Augustines’ Day [26 May]. It was widely known how he edned his days, that Liofa stabbed him at
Pucklechurch. And Æthelflæd of Damerham, daughter of Ealdorman Ælfg,a wr as then his queen." Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, MS D, tr.
Michael Swanton.
8. John of Worcester, Chronicon AD 946; William of Malmesbury, Gesta regum, book 2, chapter 144. The description of the circumstances
remained a popular feature in medieval chronicles, such aHs igden's Polychronicon: "But William, libro ij° de Regibus, seyth (says) that
this kyng kepyng a feste at Pulkirchirche, in the feste of seynte Austyn, and seyng a thefe, Leof by name, sytte [th]er amonge hys gestes,
whom he hade made blynde afore for his trespasses –(q uem rex prios propter scelera eliminavera,t whom the King previously due to his
crimes did excile) – , arysede (arrested) from the table, and takenge that man by the heire of the hedde, caste him unto the grownde.
Whiche kynge was sleyn – (sed nebulonis arcano evisceratus est) – with a lyttle knyfe the [th]e man hade in his honde [hand]; and also he
hurte mony men soore with the same knyfe; neverthelesse he was kytte (cut) at the laste into smalle partes by men longyng to the kynge."
Polychronicon, 1527. See Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=2lQJAAAAQAAJ&q=HIGDEN)
9. K. Halloran, A Murder at Pucklechurch: The Death of King Edmund, 26 May 946. Midland Histo, rVyolume 40, Issue 1 (Spring 2015),
pp. 120-129.
10. Edmundus rex Transmarinus defungitur, uxor quoque regis Othonis, soror ipsius Edmundi, decessit. "Edmund, king across the sea, died,
and the wife of King Otto, sister of the same Edmund, died also." (.t rDorothy Whitelock, English Historical Documents c. 500–1042. 2nd
ed. London, 1979. p. 345).
References
Flodoard, Annales, ed. Philippe Lauer, Les Annales de Flodoard. Collection des textes pour servir à l'étude et à
l'enseignement de l'histoire 39. Paris: Picard, 1905.
External links
Edmund 14 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Æthelstan
King of the
English
939–946
Succeeded by
Eadred
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edmund_I&oldid=786351603"
Categories: 921 births 946 deaths Anglo-Saxon monarchs Burials at Glastonbury Abbey
10th-century murdered monarchs 10th-century English monarchs English murder victims Christian monarchs
House of Wessex Monarchs of England before 1066
This page was last edited on 18 June 2017, at 22:34.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using
this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Family/Spouse: of Shaftesbury, Ælfgifu. Ælfgifu was born in 925 in Kingdom of Wessex (England); died in 944 in Kingdom of Wessex (England); was buried in 944 in Kingdom of Wessex (England). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: MT39-VLW
• Life Event: 951, Wilton (near Salisbury), Wiltshire, England; Nun

Notes:

Eadgifu of Wessex
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eadgifu of Wessex

Born 902
Died After 955
Spouse Charles III of France
Herbert III of Omois
Issue Louis IV
House Wessex
Father Edward the Elder
Mother Ælfflæd
Eadgifu or Edgifu (902 – after 955) also known as Edgiva or Ogive (Old English: Ēadgifu) was a daughter[1] of Edward the Elder, King of Wessex and England, and his second wife Ælfflæd. She was born in Wessex.

Contents
1 Marriage to the French King
2 Flight to England
3 Notes
4 References
5 External links
Marriage to the French King
Eadgifu was one of three West Saxon sisters married to Continental rulers: the others were Eadgyth, who married Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor and Eadhild, who married Hugh the Great. Eadgifu became the second wife of Charles, King of the West Franks,[1] whom she married in 919 after the death of his first wife, Frederonne. Eadgifu was mother to Louis IV of France.

Flight to England
In 922 Charles III was deposed and, after being defeated at the Battle of Soissons in 923, he was taken prisoner by Count Herbert II of Vermandois, an ally of the then current king. To protect her son's safety Eadgifu took him to England in 923 to the court of her half-brother, King Æthelstan of England.[2] Because of this, Louis IV of France became known as Louis d'Outremer of France. He stayed there until 936, when he was called back to France to be crowned King. Eadgifu accompanied him.

She retired to a convent in Laon.[3] In 951, Heribert the Old, Count of Omois, abducted and married her, to the great anger of her son.[4]

Eadgifu married de France, Charles in 919. Charles (son of de France, Louis II and de Paris, Adélaïde) was born on 17 Sep 879 in France; died on 7 Oct 929 in Péronne, Somme, Picardie, France; was buried after 7 Oct 929 in Abbey of Saint Fursy, Péronne, Somme, Picardie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: First Count of Flanders
• FSID: LZ1T-YG5

Notes:

Arnulf I (c. 893/899 – 27 March 964), called the Great, was the first Count of Flanders.
Arnulf was the son of margrave Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great. Through his mother he was a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England, and through his father, a descendant of Charlemagne. Presumably Arnulf was named either after Saint Arnulf of Metz, a progenitor of the Carolingian dynasty, or King Arnulf of Carinthia, whom his father supported.

At the death of their father in 918, Arnulf became Count of Flanders while his brother Adeloft or Adelolf succeeded to the County of Boulogne. However, in 933 Adeloft died, and Arnulf took the countship of Boulogne for himself, but later conveyed it to his nephew, Arnulf II. Arnulf titled himself count by the Grace of God.

Arnulf I greatly expanded Flemish rule to the south, taking all or part of Artois, Ponthieu, Amiens, and Ostrevent. He exploited the conflicts between Charles the Simple and Robert I of France, and later those between Louis IV and his barons.

In his southern expansion Arnulf inevitably had conflict with the Normans, who were trying to secure their northern frontier. This led to the 942 murder of the Duke of Normandy, William Longsword, at the hands of Arnulf's men. The Viking threat was receding during the later years of Arnulf's life, and he turned his attentions to the reform of the Flemish government. Count Arnulf died 27 March 964, allegedly murdered by Heluin in revenge for the murder of William Longsword. He was buried in the Church of Saint-Pierre de Gand in Ghent.

Family
The name of Arnulf's first wife is unknown but he had at least one daughter by her:

Name unknown; married Isaac of Cambrai. Their son Arnulf succeeded his father as Count of Cambrai.
In 934 he married Adele of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois. Their children were:

Hildegarde, born c. 934, died 990; she married Dirk II, Count of Holland. It is uncertain whether she is his daughter by his first or second wife.
Liutgard, born in 935, died in 962; married Wichmann IV, Count of Hamaland.
Egbert, died 953.
Baldwin III of Flanders (c. 940 – 962), married Matilda of Saxony († 1008), daughter of Hermann Billung.
Elftrude; married Siegfried, Count of Guînes.
Succession
Arnulf made his eldest son and heir Baldwin III of Flanders co-ruler in 958, but Baldwin died untimely in 962, so Arnulf was succeeded by Baldwin's infant son, Arnulf II of Flanders.

This is for information about a persons life, not just links that tell about them. Links belong in "Sources"

This is from: Arnulf I, Count of Flanders in Wikipedia

Family/Spouse: de Vermandois, Adèle. Adèle (daughter of de Vermandois, Hérbert II and de France, Adela) was born in 910 in Vermandois (Historical), Picardie, France; died on 10 Oct 958 in Brugge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium; was buried after 10 Oct 958 in Abbey of Saint Pierre-Du-Mont Blandin, Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: King of England
• Nickname: The Peaceable
• FSID: 9QDN-T2K

Notes:

Edgar
A contemporary portrayal of King Edgar in the New
Minster Charter.
King of the English
Reign 1 October 959 – 8 July 975
Predecessor Eadwig
Successor Edward
Born 943/944
Died 8 July 975 (aged 31/32)
Winchester, Hampshire
Burial Glastonbury Abbey
Spouse Æthelflæd[1]
Wulfthryth[1]
Ælfthryth
Issue Edward, King of England
Eadgyth[1]
Edmund[2]
Æthelred, King of England
House Wessex
Father Edmund, King of England
Mother Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
Religion Roman Catholic
Edgar the Peaceful
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edgar I (Old English: Ēadgār; c. 943—8 July 975), known as Edgar the Peaceful or the Peaceable,
was King of England from 959 to 975. He was the younger son of King Edmund I and his Queen,
Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury.
Contents
1 Accession
2 Government
3 Benedictine reform
4 Dead Man's Plack
5 Coronation at Bath
6 Death
7 Appearance
8 Ancestry
9 See also
10 Notes
11 Further reading
12 External links
Accession
Edgar was the son of Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury. Upon the death of King Edmund in 946,
Edgar's uncle, Eadred, ruled until 955. Eadred was succeeded by his nephew, Eadwig, the son of
Edmund and Edgar's older brother.
Eadwig was not a popular king, and his reign was marked by conflict with nobles and the Church,
primarily St Dunstan and Archbishop Oda. In 957, the thanes of Mercia and Northumbria changed
their allegiance to Edgar.[3] A conclave of nobles declared Edgar as king of the territory north of the
Thames.[4] Edgar became King of England upon Eadwig's death in October 959, aged just 16
Government
One of Edgar's first actions was to recall Dunstan from exile and have him made Bishop of Worcester
(and subsequently Bishop of London and later, Archbishop of Canterbury). Dunstan remained Edgar's
advisor throughout his reign. While Edgar may not have been a particularly peaceable man, his reign
was peaceful. The Kingdom of England was well established, and Edgar consolidated the political
unity achieved by his predecessors. By the end of his reign, England was sufficiently unified in that it
was unlikely to regress back to a state of division among rival kingships, as it had to an extent under
the reign of Eadred. Blackstone mentions that King Edgar standardised measure throughout the
realm.[5] According to George Molyneaux, Edgar's reign, "far more than the reigns of either Alfred or
Æthelstan, was probably the most pivotal phase in the development of the institutional structures that
were fundamental to royal rule in the eleventh-century kingdom".[6]
Benedictine reform
The Monastic Reform Movement that introduced the Benedictine Rule to England's monastic communities peaked during the era of Dunstan, Æthelwold,
and Oswald (historians continue to debate the extent and significance of this movement).[7]
Dead Man's Plack
In 963, Edgar allegedly killed Earl Æthelwald, his rival in love, near present-day Longparish, Hampshire.[8] The event was commemorated by the Dead
Man's Plack, erected in 1825.[8] In 1875, Edward Augustus Freeman debunked the story as a "tissue of romance" in his book, Historic Essays;[9]
however, his arguments were rebutted by naturalist William Henry Hudson in his 1920 book Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn.[4]
Coronation at Bath
Edgar was crowned at Bath and along with his wife Ælfthryth was anointed, setting a precedent for a coronation of a queen in England itself.[10] Edgar's
coronation did not happen until 973, in an imperial ceremony planned not as the initiation, but as the culmination of his reign (a move that must have
taken a great deal of preliminary diplomacy). This service, devised by Dunstan himself and celebrated with a poem in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, forms
the basis of the present-day British coronation ceremony.
The symbolic coronation was an important step; other kings of Britain came and gave their allegiance to Edgar shortly afterwards at Chester. Six kings in
Britain, including the King of Scots and the King of Strathclyde, pledged their faith that they would be the king's liege-men on sea and land. Later
chroniclers made the kings into eight, all plying the oars of Edgar's state barge on the River Dee.[11] Such embellishments may not be factual, and what
A coin of Edgar, struck in
Winchcombe (c. 973-75).
actually happened is unclear.[12]
Death
Edgar died on 8 July 975 at Winchester, Hampshire. He left behind Edward, who was probably his illegitimate son
by Æthelflæd (not to be confused with the Lady of the Mercians), and Æthelred, the younger, the child of his wife
Ælfthryth. He was succeeded by Edward. Edgar also had a possibly illegitimate daughter by Wulfthryth, who later
became abbess of Wilton. She was joined there by her daughter, Edith of Wilton, who lived there as a nun until her
death. Both women were later regarded as saints.[13][14]
Some see Edgar's death as the beginning of the end of Anglo-Saxon England, followed as it was by three successful
11th century conquests — two Danish and one Norman.
Appearance
"[H]e was extremely small both in stature and bulk..."[15]
Ancestry
Ancestors of Edgar the Peaceful
16. Æthelwulf of Wessex
8. Alfred the Great
17. Osburga
4. Edward the Elder
18. Æthelred Mucel
9. Ealhswith
19. Eadburh
2. Edmund I of England
10. Sigehelm, Ealdorman of Kent
5. Eadgifu of Kent
1. Edgar
3. Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
7. Wynflaed
See also
House of Wessex family tree
Notes
1. Pauline Stafford, Queen Emma & Queen Edith, Blackwell 2001, pp. 324-325
2. Stafford, op. cit., p. 91
3. "Edgar the Peaceful (c943 - 975) - King of England", BBC, January 13, 200 (5http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/%C3%A2%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD%C
3%AF%C2%BF%C2BDplain/A2982387)
4. Hudson, William Henry (1920). Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19691/19691-h/19691-h.htm).
5. Blackstone, "Of the King's Prerogative" Bk. 1, Ch. 7 (http://www.lonang.com/exlibris/blackstone/bla-107.htm)
6. Molyneaux, George (2015). The Formation of the English Kingdom in the eTnth Century. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 193I. SBN 978-0-19-871791-1.
7. Lehmberg, Stanford (2013). A History of the Peoples of the British Isles: Form Prehistoric Times to 1688. Routledge. p. 29. ISBN 1134415281.
8. "Deadman's Plack Monument - Longparish - Hampshire - England ("http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-139701-deadman-s-plack-monument-longparhis).
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
9. Freeman, Edward Augustus (1875).H istoric Essays (https://archive.org/details/historicalessays00free.) MacMillan & Co. pp. 10–25.
10. Honeycutt, Lois (2003). Matilda of Scotland: a Study in Medieval Queenship. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. p. 35.
11. Huscroft, R (2013). The Norman Conquest: A New Introduction. Routledge. p. 21. ISBN 1317866274.
12. Scragg, D. G. (2008), Edgar, King of the English, 959-975: New Interpertations, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, p. 121,I SBN 1843833999, "Precisely what happened at
Chester has been irretrievably obscured by the embellishments of twelfth-century historia"ns
Wikisource has original
works written by or about:
Edgar of England
13. Yorke, Barbara (2004). "Wulfthryth (St Wulfthryth) (d. c.1000), abbess of Wilton" (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/49423/?back=,8463,49423,8482,49423,848
2). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49423 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F49423) . Retrieved
17 November 2012. (subscription or UK public library membership (https://global.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/freeodnb/libraries/) required)
14. Williams, Ann (2004). "Edgar (called Edgar Pacificus) (943/4–975) "(http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8463?docPos=1.) Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8463 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F8463). Retrieved 16 May 2012.(subscription or UK public
library membership (https://global.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/freeodnb/libraries/) required)
15. From the Gesta Regum Anglorum of William of Malmesbury (c.1080–1143)
Further reading
Scragg, Donald (ed.). Edgar, King of the English, 959–975: New Interpretations. Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies.
Manchester: Boydell Press, 2008. ISBN 1-84383-399-9. Contents (external link).
Keynes, Simon. "England, c. 900–1016." In The New Cambridge Medieval History III. c.900–c.1024, ed. Timothy Reuter. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1999. 456-84.
Sobecki, Sebastian. "Edgar's Archipelago." In The Sea and Englishness in the Middle Ages: Maritime Narratives, Identity and Culture, ed.
Sobecki. Cambridge: Brewer, 2011. 1-30.
External links
Edgar 11 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Medieval Sourcebook: Anglo-Saxon Dooms: laws of King Edgar, a fragment
Edgar the Peaceful at Find a Grave
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Eadwig
King of the English
959–975
Succeeded by
Edward the
Martyr
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edgar_the_Peaceful&oldid=784565550"
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Edgar married of England, Ælfthryth in 964 in Kingdom of Wessex (England). Ælfthryth (daughter of of Devon, Ordgar) was born in 947 in Devon, England; died on 17 Nov 1000 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Carolingian
• FSID: 9S9W-MPL
• Appointments / Titles: Between 936 and 954; King of West Francia

Notes:

Louis IV , called d'Outremer or Transmarinus (both meaning "from overseas"), reigned as king of West Francia from 936 to 954. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he was the only son of king Charles the Simple and his second wife Eadgifu of Wessex, daughter of King Edward the Elder of Wessex.His reign is mostly known thanks to the Annals of Flodoard and the later Historiae of Richerus.

Louis was born in the heartlands of West Francia's Carolingian lands between Laon and Reims in 920 or 921. From his father's first marriage with Frederuna (d. 917) he had six half-sisters. He was the only male heir to the throne.

After the dethronement and capture of his faher, Charles the Simple, in 923, following his defeat at the Battle of Soissons, queen Eadgifu and her infant son took refuge in Wessex (for this he received the nickname of d'Outremer) at the court of her father King Edward, and after Edward's death, of her brother King Æthelstan. Young Louis was raised in the Anglo-Saxon court until his teens.

Louis became the heir to the western branch of the Carolingian dynasty after the death of his captive father in 929, and in 936, at the age of 15, was recalled from Wessex by the powerful Hugh the Great, Margrave of Neustria, to succeed the Robertian king Rudolph who had died.

Once he took the throne, Louis wanted to free himself from the tutelage of Hugh the Great, who, with his title of Duke of the Franks was the second most powerful man after the King.

In 945, following the death of William I Longsword, Duke of Normandy, Louis tried to conquer his lands, but was kidnapped by the men of Hugh the Great.

The Synod of Ingelheim in 948 allowed the excommunication of Hugh the Great and released Louis from his long tutelage. From 950 Louis gradually imposed his rule in the northeast of the kingdom, building many alliances (especially with the Counts of Vermandois) and under the protection of the Ottonian kingdom of East Francia.

Louis IV was crowned King by Artald, Archbishop of Rheims on Sunday, 19 June 936, probably at the Abbey of Notre-Dame and Saint-Jean in Laon, perhaps at the request of the King since it was a symbolic Carolingian town and he was probably born there.

In 939 Louis IV married Gerberga of Saxony, the widow of Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine. They were parents to eight children:
-Lothair of France (941–986)
-Matilda b. about 943; married Conrad of Burgundy
-Hildegarde b. about 944
-Carloman b. about 945
-Louis b. about 948
-Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine (953–993)
-Alberade b. before 953
-Henry b. about 953

Louis IV died on September 10, 954, after falling from a horse, some records report he died from tuberculosis.

Louis married von Sachsen, Queen of France Gerberga in 939 in France. Gerberga (daughter of of Sachsen, Heinrich I and von Ringelheim, Saint Mathilde) was born on 10 Jun 913 in Nordhausen, Vogtlandkreis, Sachsen, Germany; was christened on 4 Aug 914 in Markneukirchen, Vogtlandkreis, Sachsen, Germany; died on 5 May 984 in Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; was buried on 22 May 984 in Reims Cathedral, Champagne-Ardenne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Countess of Friesland
• FSID: G98Z-6RZ

Notes:

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_van_Vlaanderen

Hildegard married of Friesland, Dietrich II in 950. Dietrich (son of of Friesland, Count Dietrich I) was born in Egmond-Binnen, Egmond, Noord-Holland, Netherlands; died on 6 May 988 in Egmond-Binnen, Egmond, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: King
• Appointments / Titles: King of England
• Nickname: The Unready
• FSID: LT75-86P

Notes:

Æthelred

King of the English
Reign 18 March 978 – 1013 (first time)
Predecessor Edward the Martyr
Successor Sweyn Forkbeard
Reign 1014 – 23 April 1016 (second time)
Predecessor Sweyn Forkbeard
Successor Edmund Ironside
Born c. 966
Died 23 April 1016 (aged about 50) London, England
Burial Old St Paul's Cathedral, London, now lost

Spouse Ælfgifu of York
Emma of Normandy
Issue
Detail Æthelstan
Ecgberht
Edmund, King of England
Eadred
Eadwig

Æthelred the Unready
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Æthelred II, also dubbed the Unready (Old English:
Æþelræd (Old English pronunciation: [æðelræːd])),[1] (c. 966 –
23 April 1016) was King of the English (978–1013 and
1014–1016). He was the son of King Edgar the Peaceful and
Queen Ælfthryth and was around 12 years old when his halfbrother
Edward the Martyr was murdered on 18 March 978.
Although Æthelred was not personally suspected of
participation, the murder was committed at Corfe Castle by
his attendants, making it more difficult for the new king to
rally the nation against the military raids by Danes,
especially as the legend of St Edward the Martyr grew.
From 991 onwards, Æthelred paid tribute, or Danegeld, to
the Danish king. In 1002, Æthelred ordered what became
known as the St. Brice's Day massacre of Danish settlers. In
1013, King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark invaded England,
as a result of which Æthelred fled to Normandy in 1013 and was replaced by Sweyn. He would return as king, however, after Sweyn's death in 1014.

Æthelred's nickname, "the Unready" renders Old English unræd "bad counsel, folly", more accurately (but more rarely) rendered "the Rede-less".

Æthelred's first name, composed of the elements æðele
"noble", and ræd "counsel, advice",[2] is typical of the
compound names of those who belonged to the royal House
of Wessex, and it characteristically alliterates with the names
of his ancestors, like Æthelwulf ("noble-wolf"), Ælfred ("elfcounsel"),
Eadweard ("rich-protection"), and Eadgar ("richspear").[
3]

The story of Æthelred's notorious nickname, Old English
Unræd, goes a long way toward explaining how his
reputation has declined through history. It is usually
translated into present-day English as "The Unready" (less
often, though less confusingly, as "The Redeless").[4] The
Anglo-Saxon noun unræd means "evil counsel", "bad plan",
or "folly".[2] It most often describes decisions and deeds, and once refers to the nature of Satan's deceit. The
element ræd in unræd is the element in Æthelred's name which means "counsel". Thus Æþelræd Unræd is a
pun meaning "Noble counsel, No counsel". The nickname has alternatively been taken adjectivally as "illadvised",
"ill-prepared", "indecisive", thus "Æthelred the ill-advised".
Because the nickname was first recorded in the 1180s, more than 150 years after Æthelred's death, it is doubtful
that it carries any implications for how the king was seen by his contemporaries or near contemporaries.[5]
Early life
Sir Frank Stenton remarked that "much that has brought condemnation
of historians on King Æthelred may well be due in the last resort to the
circumstances under which he became king."[6] Æthelred's father, King
Edgar, had died suddenly in July 975, leaving two young sons behind.
The elder, Edward (later Edward the Martyr), was probably
illegitimate,[7] and was "still a youth on the verge of manhood" in
975.[8] The younger son was Æthelred, whose mother, Ælfthryth, Edgar
had married in 964. Ælfthryth was the daughter of Ordgar, ealdorman of
Devon, and widow of Æthelwold, Ealdorman of East Anglia. At the
time of his father's death, Æthelred could have been no more than 10
years old. As the elder of Edgar's sons, Edward – reportedly a young
man given to frequent violent outbursts – probably would have naturally
succeeded to the throne of England despite his young age, had not he
"offended many important persons by his intolerable violence of speech
and behaviour."[8] In any case, a number of English nobles took to
opposing Edward's succession and to defending Æthelred's claim to the throne; Æthelred was, after all, the son
of Edgar's last, living wife, and no rumour of illegitimacy is known to have plagued Æthelred's birth, as it
might have his elder brother's.[9] Both boys, Æthelred certainly, were too young to have played any significant
part in the political manoeuvring which followed Edgar's death. It was the brothers' supporters, and not the
brothers themselves, who were responsible for the turmoil which accompanied the choice of a successor to the
throne. Æthelred's cause was led by his mother and included Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia and Bishop
Æthelwold of Winchester,[10] while Edward's claim was supported by Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury
and Oswald, the Archbishop of York[11] among other noblemen, notably Æthelwine, Ealdorman of East Anglia,
and Byrhtnoth, ealdorman of Essex. In the end, Edward's supporters proved the more powerful and persuasive,
and he was crowned king at Kingston upon Thames before the year was out.
Edward reigned for only three years before he was murdered by members of his brother's household.[12]
Though little is known about Edward's short reign, it is known that it was marked by political turmoil. Edgar
had made extensive grants of land to monasteries which pursued the new monastic ideals of ecclesiastical
reform, but these disrupted aristocratic families' traditional patronage. The end of his firm rule saw a reversal of
this policy, with aristocrats recovering their lost properties or seizing new ones. This was opposed by Dunstan,
but according to Cyril Hart, "The presence of supporters of church reform on both sides indicates that the
conflict between them depended as much on issues of land ownership and local power as on ecclesiastical
legitimacy. Adherents of both Edward and Æthelred can be seen appropriating, or recovering, monastic
lands."[7] Nevertheless, favour for Edward must have been strong among the monastic communities. When
Edward was killed at Æthelred's estate at Corfe Castle in Dorset in March 978, the job of recording the event,
as well as reactions to it, fell to monastic writers. Stenton offers a summary of the earliest account of Edward's
murder, which comes from a work praising the life of St Oswald: "On the surface his [Edward's] relations with
Æthelred his half-brother and Ælfthryth his stepmother were friendly, and he was visiting them informally
when he was killed. [Æthelred's] retainers came out to meet him with ostentatious signs of respect, and then,
before he had dismounted, surrounded him, seized his hands, and stabbed him. ... So far as can be seen the
murder was planned and carried out by Æthelred's household men in order that their young master might
become king. There is nothing to support the allegation, which first appears in writing more than a century
later, that Queen Ælfthryth had plotted her stepson's death. No one was punished for a part in the crime, and
Æthelred, who was crowned a month after the murder, began to reign in an atmosphere of suspicion which
destroyed the prestige of the crown. It was never fully restored in his lifetime."[13] Nevertheless, at first, the
outlook of the new king's officers and counsellors seems in no way to have been bleak. According to one
chronicler, the coronation of Æthelred took place with much rejoicing by the councillors of the English
people.[14] Simon Keynes notes that "Byrhtferth of Ramsey states similarly that when Æthelred was
consecrated king, by Archbishop Dunstan and Archbishop Oswald, 'there was great joy at his consecration’,
and describes the king in this connection as 'a young man in respect of years, elegant in his manners, with an
attractive face and handsome appearance'."[14] Æthelred could not have been older than 13 years of age in this
year.
During these early years, Æthelred was developing a close relationship to Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester,
one who had supported his unsuccessful claim to the throne. When Æthelwold died, on 1 August 984, Æthelred
deeply lamented the loss, and he wrote later in a charter from 993 that the event had deprived the country of
one "whose industry and pastoral care administered not only to my interest but also to that of all inhabitants of
the country."[14]
Conflict with the Danes
England had experienced a period of peace after the reconquest of the Danelaw in the mid-10th century by
King Edgar, Æthelred's father. However, beginning in 980, when Æthelred could not have been more than 14
years old, small companies of Danish adventurers carried out a series of coastline raids against England.
Hampshire, Thanet and Cheshire were attacked in 980, Devon and Cornwall in 981, and Dorset in 982. A
period of six years then passed before, in 988, another coastal attack is recorded as having taken place to the
south-west, though here a famous battle was fought between the invaders and the thegns of Devon. Stenton
notes that, though this series of isolated raids had no lasting effect on England itself, "their chief historical
importance is that they brought England for the first time into diplomatic contact with Normandy."[15] During
this period, the Normans, who remembered their origins as a Scandinavian people, were well-disposed to their
Danish cousins who, occasionally returning from a raid on England, sought port in Normandy. This led to grave
tension between the English and Norman courts, and word of their enmity eventually reached Pope John XV.
The pope was disposed to dissolve their hostility towards each other, and took steps to engineer a peace
between England and Normandy, which was ratified in Rouen in 991.
Battle of Maldon
Silver penny of Aethelred II
However, in August of that same year, a sizeable Danish fleet began a sustained campaign in the south-east of
England. It arrived off Folkestone, in Kent, and made its way around the south-east coast and up the River
Blackwater, coming eventually to its estuary and occupying Northey Island.[14] About 2 kilometres (1 mile)
west of Northey lies the coastal town of Maldon, where Byrhtnoth, ealdorman of Essex, was stationed with a
company of thegns. The battle that followed between English and Danes is immortalised by the Old English
poem The Battle of Maldon, which describes the doomed but heroic attempt of Byrhtnoth to defend the coast of
Essex against overwhelming odds. Stenton summarises the events of the poem: "For access to the mainland
they (the Danes) depended on a causeway, flooded at high tide, which led from Northey to the flats along the
southern margin of the estuary. Before they (the Danes) had left their camp on the island[,] Byrhtnoth, with his
retainers and a force of local militia, had taken possession of the landward end of the causeway. Refusing a
demand for tribute, shouted across the water while the tide was high, Byrhtnoth drew up his men along the
bank, and waited for the ebb. As the water fell the raiders began to stream out along the causeway. But three of
Byrthnoth's retainers held it against them, and at last they asked to be allowed to cross unhindered and fight on
equal terms on the mainland. With what even those who admired him most called 'over-courage', Byrhtnoth
agreed to this; the pirates rushed through the falling tide, and battle was joined. Its issue was decided by
Byrhtnoth's fall. Many even of his own men immediately took to flight and the English ranks were broken.
What gives enduring interest to the battle is the superb courage with which a group of Byrhtnoth's thegns,
knowing that the fight was lost, deliberately gave themselves to death in order that they might avenge their
lord."[16] This was the first of a series of crushing defeats felt by the English: beaten first by Danish raiders, and
later by organised Danish armies.
England begins tributes
In 991, Æthelred was around 24 years old. In the aftermath of Maldon,
it was decided that the English should grant the tribute to the Danes that
they desired, and so a gafol of £10,000 was paid them for their peace.
Yet it was presumably the Danish fleet that had beaten Byrhtnoth at
Maldon that continued to ravage the English coast from 991 to 993. In
994, the Danish fleet, which had swollen in ranks since 991, turned up
the Thames estuary and headed toward London. The battle fought there
was inconclusive. It was about this time that Æthelred met with the
leaders of the fleet, foremost among them Olaf Tryggvason, and
arranged an uneasy accord. A treaty was signed between Æthelred and
Olaf that provided for seemingly civilised arrangements between the
then-settled Danish companies and the English government, such as
regulation settlement disputes and trade. But the treaty also stipulated
that the ravaging and slaughter of the previous year would be forgotten,
and ended abruptly by stating that £22,000 of gold and silver had been
paid to the raiders as the price of peace.[17] In 994, Olaf Tryggvason,
already a baptised Christian, was confirmed as Christian in a ceremony at Andover; King Æthelred stood as his
sponsor. After receiving gifts, Olaf promised "that he would never come back to England in hostility."[14] Olaf
then left England for Norway and never returned, though "other component parts of the Viking force appear to
have decided to stay in England, for it is apparent from the treaty that some had chosen to enter into King
Æthelred's service as mercenaries, based presumably on the Isle of Wight."[14]
Renewed Danish raids
In 997, Danish raids began again. According to Keynes, "there is no suggestion that this was a new fleet or
army, and presumably the mercenary force created in 994 from the residue of the raiding army of 991 had
turned on those whom it had been hired to protect."[14] It harried Cornwall, Devon, western Somerset and south
Wales in 997, Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex in 998. In 999, it raided Kent, and, in 1000, it left England for
Normandy, perhaps because the English had refused in this latest wave of attacks to acquiesce to the Danish
demands for gafol or tribute, which would come to be known as Danegeld, 'Dane-payment'. This sudden relief
from attack Æthelred used to gather his thoughts, resources, and armies: the fleet's departure in 1000 "allowed
Æthelred to carry out a devastation of Strathclyde, the motive for which is part of the lost history of the
north."[18]
In 1001, a Danish fleet – perhaps the same fleet from 1000 – returned and ravaged west Sussex. During its
movements, the fleet regularly returned to its base in the Isle of Wight. There was later an attempted attack in
the south of Devon, though the English mounted a successful defence at Exeter. Nevertheless, Æthelred must
have felt at a loss, and, in the Spring of 1002, the English bought a truce for £24,000. Æthelred's frequent
payments of immense Danegelds are often held up as exemplary of the incompetency of his government and
his own short-sightedness. However, Keynes points out that such payments had been practice for at least a
century, and had been adopted by Alfred the Great, Charles the Bald and many others. Indeed, in some cases it
"may have seemed the best available way of protecting the people against loss of life, shelter, livestock and
crops. Though undeniably burdensome, it constituted a measure for which the king could rely on widespread
support."[14]
St. Brice's Day massacr e of 1002
Æthelred ordered the massacre of all Danish men in England to take place on 13 November 1002, St Brice's
Day. No order of this kind could be carried out in more than a third of England, where the Danes were too
strong, but Gunhilde, sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, was said to have been among the victims. It
is likely that a wish to avenge her was a principal motive for Sweyn's invasion of western England the
following year.[19] By 1004 Sweyn was in East Anglia, where he sacked Norwich. In this year, a nobleman of
East Anglia, Ulfcytel Snillingr met Sweyn in force, and made an impression on the until-then rampant Danish
expedition. Though Ulfcytel was eventually defeated, outside Thetford, he caused the Danes heavy losses and
was nearly able to destroy their ships. The Danish army left England for Denmark in 1005, perhaps because of
their injuries sustained in East Anglia, perhaps from the very severe famine which afflicted the continent and
the British Isles in that year.[14]
An expedition the following year was bought off in early 1007 by tribute money of £36,000, and for the next
two years England was free from attack. In 1008, the government created a new fleet of warships, organised on
a national scale, but this was weakened when one of its commanders took to piracy, and the king and his
council decided not to risk it in a general action. In Stenton's view: "The history of England in the next
generation was really determined between 1009 and 1012...the ignominious collapse of the English defence
caused a loss of morale which was irreparable." The Danish army of 1009, led by Thorkell the Tall and his
brother Hemming, was the most formidable force to invade England since Æthelred became king. It harried
England until it was bought off by £48,000 in April 1012.[20]
Invasion of 1013
Sweyn then launched an invasion in 1013 intending to crown himself king of England, during which he proved
himself to be a general greater than any other Viking leader of his generation. By the end of 1013 English
resistance had collapsed and Sweyn had conquered the country, forcing Æthelred into exile in Normandy. But
the situation changed suddenly when Sweyn died on 3 February 1014. The crews of the Danish ships in the
Trent that had supported Sweyn immediately swore their allegiance to Sweyn's son Cnut the Great, but leading
English noblemen sent a deputation to Æthelred to negotiate his restoration to the throne. He was required to
declare his loyalty to them, to bring in reforms regarding everything that they disliked and to forgive all that
had been said and done against him in his previous reign. The terms of this agreement are of great
constitutional interest in early English History as they are the first recorded pact between a King and his
subjects and are also widely regarded as showing that many English noblemen had submitted to Sweyn simply
because of their distrust of Æthelred.[21] According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:
they [the counsellors] said that no lord was dearer to them than their natural (gecynde) lord, if he would
govern them more justly than he did before. Then the king sent his son Edward hither with his
messengers and bade them greet all his people and said that he would be a gracious (hold) lord to them,
A charter of Æthelred's in 1003 to
his follower, Æthelred.
and reform all the things which they hated; and all the things which had been said and done against him
should be forgiven on condition that they all unanimously turned to him (to him gecyrdon) without
treachery. And complete friendship was then established with oath and pledge (mid worde and mid
wædde) on both sides, and they pronounced every Danish king an exile from England forever.[22]
Æthelred then launched an expedition against Cnut and his allies, the men of the Kingdom of Lindsey. Cnut's
army had not completed its preparations and, in April 1014, he decided to withdraw from England without a
fight leaving his Lindsey allies to suffer Æthelred's revenge. In August 1015, he returned to find a complex and
volatile situation unfolding in England. Æthelred's son, Edmund Ironside, had revolted against his father and
established himself in the Danelaw, which was angry at Cnut and Æthelred for the ravaging of Lindsey and was
prepared to support Edmund in any uprising against both of them.
Death and burial
Over the next few months Cnut conquered most of England, while Edmund rejoined Æthelred to defend
London when Æthelred died on 23 April 1016. The subsequent war between Edmund and Cnut ended in a
decisive victory for Cnut at the Battle of Ashingdon on 18 October 1016. Edmund's reputation as a warrior was
such that Cnut nevertheless agreed to divide England, Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the whole of the
country beyond the Thames. However, Edmund died on 30 November and Cnut became king of the whole
country.[23]
Æthelred was buried in Old St Paul's Cathedral, London. The tomb and his monument were destroyed along
with the cathedral in the Great Fire of London in 1666.[24] A modern monument in the crypt lists his among the
important graves lost.
Legislation
Æthelred's government produced extensive legislation, which he
"ruthlessly enforced."[25] Records of at least six legal codes survive from
his reign, covering a range of topics.[26] Notably, one of the members of his
council (known as the Witan) was Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York, a wellknown
homilist. The three latest codes from Æthelred's reign seemed to
have been drafted by Wulfstan.[27] These codes are extensively concerned
with ecclesiastical affairs. They also exhibit the characteristics of
Wulfstan's highly rhetorical style. Wulfstan went on to draft codes for King
Cnut, and recycled there many of the laws which were used in Æthelred's
codes.[28]
Despite the failure of his government in the face of the Danish threat,
Æthelred's reign was not without some important institutional achievements. The quality of the coinage, a good
indicator of the prevailing economic conditions, significantly improved during his reign due to his numerous
coinage reform laws.[29]
Legacy
Later perspectives of Æthelred have been less than flattering. Numerous legends and anecdotes have sprung up
to explain his shortcomings, often elaborating abusively on his character and failures. One such anecdote is
given by William of Malmesbury (lived c. 1080–c. 1143), who reports that Æthelred had defecated in the
baptismal font as a child, which led St. Dunstan to prophesy that the English monarchy would be overthrown
during his reign. This story is, however, a fabrication, and a similar story is told of the Byzantine Emperor
Constantine Copronymus, another mediaeval monarch who was unpopular among certain of his subjects.
Efforts to rehabilitate Æthelred's reputation have gained momentum since about 1980. Chief among the
rehabilitators has been Simon Keynes, who has often argued that our poor impression of Æthelred is almost
entirely based upon after-the-fact accounts of, and later accretions to, the narrative of events during Æthelred's
long and complex reign. Chief among the culprits is in fact one of the most important sources for the history of
the period, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which, as it reports events with a retrospect of 15 years, cannot help but
interpret events with the eventual English defeat a foregone conclusion. Yet, as virtually no strictly
contemporary narrative account of the events of Æthelred's reign exists, historians are forced to rely on what
evidence there is. Keynes and others thus draw attention to some of the inevitable snares of investigating the
history of a man whom later popular opinion has utterly damned. Recent cautious assessments of Æthelred's
reign have more often uncovered reasons to doubt, rather than uphold, Æthelred's later infamy. Though the
failures of his government will always put Æthelred's reign in the shadow of the reigns of kings Edgar,
Aethelstan, and Alfred, historians' current impression of Æthelred's personal character is certainly not as
unflattering as it once was: "Æthelred's misfortune as a ruler was owed not so much to any supposed defects of
his imagined character, as to a combination of circumstances which anyone would have found difficult to
control."[30]
Origin of the jury
Æthelred has been credited with the formation of a local investigative body made up of twelve thegns who
were charged with publishing the names of any notorious or wicked men in their respective districts. Because
the members of these bodies were under solemn oath to act in accordance with the law and their own good
consciences, they have been seen by some legal historians as the prototype for the English Grand Jury.[31]
Æthelred makes provision for such a body in a law code he enacted at Wantage in 997, which states:
þæt man habbe gemot on ælcum wæpentace; & gan ut þa yldestan XII þegnas & se gerefa mid, &
swerian on þam haligdome, þe heom man on hand sylle, þæt hig nellan nænne sacleasan man
forsecgean ne nænne sacne forhelan. & niman þonne þa tihtbysian men, þe mid þam gerefan
habbað, & heora ælc sylle VI healfmarc wedd, healf landrican & healf wæpentake.[32]
that there shall be an assembly in every wapentake,[33] and in that assembly shall go forth the
twelve eldest thegns and the reeve along with them, and let them swear on holy relics, which shall
be placed in their hands, that they will never knowingly accuse an innocent man nor conceal a
guilty man. And thereafter let them seize those notorious [lit. "charge-laden"] men, who have
business with the reeve, and let each of them give a security of 6 half-marks, half of which shall go
to the lord of that district, and half to the wapentake.
But the wording here suggests that Æthelred was perhaps revamping or re-confirming a custom which had
already existed. He may actually have been expanding an established English custom for use among the Danish
citizens in the North (the Danelaw). Previously, King Edgar had legislated along similar lines in his
Whitbordesstan code:
ic wille, þæt ælc mon sy under borge ge binnan burgum ge buton burgum. & gewitnes sy geset to
ælcere byrig & to ælcum hundrode. To ælcere byrig XXXVI syn gecorone to gewitnesse; to smalum
burgum & to ælcum hundrode XII, buton ge ma willan. & ælc mon mid heora gewitnysse bigcge &
sylle ælc þara ceapa, þe he bigcge oððe sylle aþer oððe burge oððe on wæpengetace. & heora ælc,
þonne hine man ærest to gewitnysse gecysð, sylle þæne að, þæt he næfre, ne for feo ne for lufe ne
for ege, ne ætsace nanes þara þinga, þe he to gewitnysse wæs, & nan oðer þingc on gewitnysse ne
cyðe buton þæt an, þæt he geseah oððe gehyrde. & swa geæþdera manna syn on ælcum ceape
twegen oððe þry to gewitnysse.[34]
It is my wish that each person be in surety, both within settled areas and without. And 'witnessing'
shall be established in each city and each hundred. To each city let there be 36 chosen for
witnessing; to small towns and to each hundred let there be 12, unless they desire more. And
everybody shall purchase and sell their goods in the presence a witness, whether he is buying or
selling something, whether in a city or a wapentake. And each of them, when they first choose to
become a witness, shall give an oath that he will never, neither for wealth nor love nor fear, deny
any of those things which he will be a witness to, and will not, in his capacity as a witness, make
known any thing except that which he saw and heard. And let there be either two or three of these
sworn witnesses at every sale of goods.
The 'legend' of an Anglo-Saxon origin to the jury was first challenged seriously by Heinrich Brunner in 1872,
who claimed that evidence of the jury was only seen for the first time during the reign of Henry II, some 200
years after the end of the Anglo-Saxon period, and that the practice had originated with the Franks, who in turn
had influenced the Normans, who thence introduced it to England.[35] Since Brunner's thesis, the origin of the
English jury has been much disputed. Throughout the 20th century, legal historians disagreed about whether the
practice was English in origin, or was introduced, directly or indirectly, from either Scandinavia or Francia.[31]
Recently, the legal historians Patrick Wormald and Michael Macnair have reasserted arguments in favour of
finding in practices current during the Anglo-Saxon period traces of the Angevin practice of conducting
inquests using bodies of sworn, private witnesses. Wormald has gone as far as to present evidence suggesting
that the English practice outlined in Æthelred's Wantage code is at least as old as, if not older than, 975, and
ultimately traces it back to a Carolingian model (something Brinner had done).[36] However, no scholarly
consensus has yet been reached.
Appearance and character
"[A] youth of graceful manners, handsome countenance and fine person..."[37] as well as "[A] tall, handsome
man, elegant in manners, beautiful in countenance and interesting in his deportment."[38]
Marriages and issue
Æthelred married first Ælfgifu, daughter of Thored, earl of Northumbria, in about 985.[14] Their known
children are:
Æthelstan Ætheling (died 1014)
Ecgberht Ætheling (died c. 1005)[39]
Edmund Ironside (died 1016)
Eadred Ætheling (died before 1013)
Eadwig Ætheling (executed by Cnut 1017)
Edgar Ætheling (died c. 1008)[39]
Eadgyth or Edith (married Eadric Streona)
Ælfgifu (married Uchtred the Bold, ealdorman of Northumbria)
Wulfhilda (married Ulfcytel Snillingr)
Abbess of Wherwell Abbey
In 1002 Æthelred married Emma of Normandy, sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. Their children were:
Edward the Confessor (died 1066)
Ælfred Ætheling (died 1036–7)
Goda of England (married 1. Drogo of Mantes and 2. Eustace II, Count of Boulogne)
All of Æthelred's sons were named after predecessors of Æthelred on the throne.[40]
Ancestry
Ancestors of Æthelred the Unready
16. Alfred the Great
8. Edward the Elder
17. Ealhswith
4. Edmund I of England
18. Sigehelm, Ealdorman of Kent
9. Edgiva of Kent
2. Edgar the Peaceful
5. Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
1. Æthelred the Unready
6. Ordgar
3. Ælfthryth, Queen of England
See also
House of Wessex family tree
Burial places of British royalty
Cultural depictions of Æthelred the Unready
Notes
1. Different spellings of this king’s name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or
"Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the originaOl ld English form Æþelræd.
2. Bosworth-Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, with Supplement. p.1124
3. Schröder, Deutsche Namenkunde.
4. "Ethelred the Redeless" e.g. in Thomas HodgkinT, he History of England from the Earliest Times to the Norman
Conquest, Volume 1 (1808), p. 373 (https://books.google.ch/books?id=wUkNAAAAIAAJ&pg=AP373). While rede
"counsel" survived into modern English, the negativeu nrede appears to fall out of use by the 15th century; c.fR ichard
the Redeless, a 15th-century poem in reference toR ichard II of England.
5. Keynes, "The Declining Reputation of King Æthelred the Unready", pp. 240–1. For this king's forebear of the same
name, see Æthelred of Wessex.
6. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 374.
7. Hart, Cyril (2007). "Edward the Martyr" (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8515). Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
8. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 372.
9. Miller, "Edward the Martyr."
10. Higham, The Death of Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 7–8; Stafford, Unification and Conquest, p. 58.
11. Phillips, "St Edward the Martyr."
12. Keynes, The Diplomas of King Æthelred 'the Unready' 978-1016, p. 166.
13. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 373.
14. Keynes, "Æthelred II (c. 966x8–1016)."
15. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 375.
References
16. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 376–77.
17. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 377–78.
18. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 379.
19. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 380.
20. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 381–4.
21. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 384–6.
22. Williams, Æthelred, p. 123
23. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 386–393.
24. The Burial of King Æthelred the Unready at St. Paul's, Simon Keynes, The English and Their Legacy, 900-1200: Essays
in Honour of Ann Williams, ed. David Roffe, (Boydell Press, 2012), 129.
25. Wormald, "Æthelred the Lawmaker", p. 49.
26. Liebermann, ed., Die Gesetze der Angelsaschen, pp. 216–70.
27. Wormald, "Wulfstan (d. 1023)."
28. Wormald, The Making of English Law, pp. 356–60.
29. "Ethelred II". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009.
30. Keynes, "A Tale of Two Kings", p. 217.
31. Turner, "The Origins of the Medieval English Jury"p, assim.
32. "III Æthelred" 3.1–3.2, in Liebermann, ed.,D ie Gesetze, pp. 228–32.
33. Note that this terms specifies the north and north-eastern territories in England which were at the time glaerly governed
according to Danish custom; no mention is made of the law's application to thheu ndreds, the southern and English
equivalent of the Danish wapentake.
34. "IV Edgar" 3–6.2, in Liebermann, ed.,D ie Gesetze, pp. 206–14.
35. Turner, "The Origins of the Medieval English Jury", pp. 1–2; Wormald, The Making of English Law, pp. 4–26,
especially pp. 7–8 and 17–18.
36. Wormald, "Neighbors, Courts, and Kings", pp. 598–99, et passim.
37. The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester
38. The Gunnlaugr Saga of Gunnlaugr the Scald
39. M. K. Lawson, Edmund II, Oxford Online DNB, 2004 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8502)
40. Frank Barlow, Edward the Confessor, Yale University Press: London, 1997, p. 28 and family tree in endpap.er
Bosworth, J., & Toller, T. N., eds., An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1882–98); with Supplement (1908–21) .
Gilbride, M.B. "A Hollow Crown review". Medieval Mysteries.com "Reviews of Outstanding Historical Novels set in
the Medieval Period". Retrieved 9 May 2012.
Godsell, Andrew "Ethelred the Unready" in "History For All" magazine September 2000, republished in "Legends of
British History" (2008)
Hart, Cyril, "Edward the Martyr", in C. Matthew, B. Harrison, & L. Goldman (eds.),O xford Dictionary of National
Biography (2007), http://www.oxforddnb.com [accessed 9 November 2008].
Higham, Nick, The Death of Anglo-Saxon England (1997), ISBN 0-7509-2469-1.
Keynes, Simon, "The Declining Reputation of King Æthelred the Unready", in David Hill (ed.E),t helred the Unready:
Papers from the Millenary Conference, British Archaeological Reports, British Series 59 (1978), pp. 227–53.
Keynes, Simon, "A Tale of Two Kings: Alfred the Great and Æthelred the Unready"T, ransactions of the Royal
Historical Society, Fifth Series 36 (1986), pp. 195–217.
Keynes, Simon, "Æthelred II (c. 966x8–1016)", in C. Matthew, B. Harrison, & L. Goldman (eds.),O xford Dictionary of
National Biography (2004), http://www.oxforddnb.com [accessed 12 June 2008].
Liebermann, Felix, ed., Die Gesetze der Angelsaschen, vol. 1 (1903).
Miller,Sean, "Edward the Martyr", in M. Lapidge, J. Bla,i rS. Keynes, & D. Scragg (eds.),T he Blackwell Encyclopædia
of Anglo-Saxon England (1999), p. 163. ISBN 0-631-22492-0.
Phillips, G. E., Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Edward the Martyr". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert
Appleton Company.
Schröder, Edward, Deutsche Namenkunde: Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Kunde deutsche Personen- und Ortsnam e(n1944).
Stafford, Pauline, Unification and Conquest: A Political and Social History of England in thee Tnth and Eleventh
Centuries (1989), ISBN 0-7131-6532-4.
Skinner, Patricia, ed, Challenging the Boundaries of Medieval History: The Legacy of iTmothy Reuter (2009), ISBN
978-2-503-52359-0.
Stenton, F. M. (1971). Anglo-Saxon England. The Oxford History of England.2 (3rd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
ISBN 0192801392.
Turner, Ralph V. (1968). "The Origins of the Medieval English Jury: Frankish, English, or Scandinavian?"T. he Journal
of British Studies. 7 (2): 1–10. JSTOR 175292. doi:10.1086/385549.
Wikisource has the text of
the 1911 Encyclopædia
Britannica article Æthelred
II..
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Æthelred.
Further reading
Cubitt, Catherine (2012). "The politics of remorse: penance and
royal piety in the reign of Æthelred the Unready". Historical
Research. 85 (228): 179–192. doi:10.1111/j.1468-
2281.2011.00571.x.
Hart, Cyril, ed. and tr. (2006). Chronicles of the Reign of
Æthelred the Unready: An Edition and Translation of the Old
English and Latin Annals. The Early Chronicles of England 1.
Keynes, Simon (1980). The Diplomas of King Æthelred ‘the
Unready’ 978–1016. New York: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0521227186.
Lavelle, Ryan (2008). Aethelred II: King of the English 978–1016 (New ed.). Stroud, Gloucestershire:
The History Press. ISBN 9780752446783.
External links
Æthelred 32 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Miller, Sean. "Æthelred the Unready". Anglo-Saxons.net. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
Documentary – The Making of England: Aethelred the Unready
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Edward the Martyr
King of the English
978–1013
Succeeded by
Sweyn Forkbeard
Preceded by
Sweyn Forkbeard
King of the English
1014–1016
Succeeded by
Edmund Ironside
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Æthelred_the_Unready&oldid=785907428"
Categories: Monarchs of England before 1066 Medieval child rulers 968 births 1016 deaths
11th-century English monarchs 10th-century English monarchs Christian monarchs House of Wessex
Burials at St Paul's Cathedral
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Williams, Ann, Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King (2003), ISBN 1-85285-382-4.
Wormald, Patrick, The Making of English Law – King Alfred to the Twelfth Century, vol. 1: Legislation and its Limits
(1999).
Wormald, Patrick (1999). "Neighbors, Courts ,and Kings: Reflections on Michael Macnair's Vicini". Law and History
Review. 17 (3): 597–601. JSTOR 744383. doi:10.2307/744383.
Wormald, Patrick, "Wulfstan (d. 1023)", in C. Matthew, B. Harrison, & L. Goldman (eds.),O xford Dictionary of
National Biography (2004), http://www.oxforddnb.com [accessed 12 June 2008].

Family/Spouse: of York, Queen Consort Ælfgifu. Ælfgifu (daughter of of York, Ealdorman Thored) was born in 968 in Kingdom of Wessex (England); died in 1002 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Duke of Lower Lorraine, Duke of Brabant
• Appointments / Titles: Prince of France, Duc de Basse-Lotharingie
• House: Carolingian
• Nickname: The Gross
• FSID: LZLQ-664

Charles married de Troyes, Adelaide in 969 in Normandy, France. Adelaide (daughter of de Lothiers, Godefroi and von Sachsen, Mathilde Billung) was born in 953 in Troyes, Aube, Champagne-Ardenne, France; died on 18 Oct 989 in Moselle, Lorraine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Carolingian
• FSID: KND9-P91

Notes:

Matilda of France - member of the Carolingian dynasty.

Daughter of King Louis IV of France (920/921–954), ruler of West Francia, and his wife, Gerberga of Saxony (d. about 984), sister of the East Frankish king Otto I. At the time of her birth, Carolingian rule had already weakened: King Louis attempted to stabilize his reign by marrying an East Frankish princess, while he fought with the reluctant dukes of Normandy and with the forces of his Robertian rival Hugh the Great.

When Matilda's brother, 13-year-old Lothair ascended the French throne in 954, Gerberga acted as regent.

In 964 Matilda was married to Conrad, the Welf ruler of the Kingdom of Burgundy, who strongly relied on the support of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Matilda's maternal uncle and husband of Conrad's sister Adelaide. As her dowry, the young queen brought her husband the city of Vienne, which her brother Lothair had ceded to her.

Matilda was outlived by her husband, she probably died after 981. She is buried in Vienne Cathedral

Mathilde married von Hochburgund, Conrad III in 955 in Germany. Conrad (son of von Hochburgund, King Rudolph II and von Schwaben, Bertha) was born in 925 in Franche-Comté, France; died on 19 Oct 993 in Wien, Wien, Wien, Austria; was buried on 19 Oct 993 in Wien, Wien, Wien, Austria. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: 9WMP-NNQ

Notes:

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/HOLLAND.htm#Arnulfdied993

a)         ARNULF ([Gent] [950/55]-killed in battle Winkel, West-Friesland 18 Sep 993, bur Egmond).  The Annales Egmundani name "Arnulfus filius eius [=Theoderici II comitis]" when recording that he succeeded his father[261].  The Chronologia Johannes de Beke names (in order) "Arnulfum comitem, Egbertum Treverensem archiepiscopum ac Arlindam puellam" as the children of Count Dirk II & his wife[262].  "Arnulfi comitum" subscribed a charter dated 29 Jun [955/64], signing directly after "Theoderici comitis"[263].  "Theoderico comite et Arnulfo filio eius, Folberto advocato…Ingelberto advocato…" signed the charter dated 26 Oct 970 under which "Mathelgodus et uxor sua Ingelswindis" donated "hereditatem sue possessionis in loco…Wessingim…Siringim…in pago Bracbantensi" to Saint-Pierre de Gand[264].  "…Hecberto et Arnulfo filiis ipsius Theoderici…" signed the charter dated 2 Oct 974 under which "Theodericus comes et uxor sua Hildegardis" donated "in villa Haleftra in pago Mempesco sita" to Saint-Pierre de Gand[265].  "Arnulpho filio Theoderici comitis" is named in a charter dated 30 Sep 975, subscribed by "Arnulfi filii eorum [Theoderici et Hildegardis]"[266].  "Theodericus comes et uxor sua Hildegardis" and "Hecberto et Arnulfo filiis ipsius Theoderici" are named in a charter dated Oct [967/79][267].  "Arnulfus filius Theoderici comitis et Arnulfus filius Hildwini" donated "in pago Taruennensis…in Rumingehim et in Keremberg, in pago Flandrensi…in Uckesham et super Gersta" to Saint-Pierre de Gand, at the request of "Everardi et filii eius Baldwini nepotis sui", by charter dated 4 Mar 981, signed by "Arnulfi junioris…marchysi, Theoderici comitis…Ingelberti advocati…"[268].  "…Theoderico comite, Arnulfo comite…" signed the charter dated 1 Apr 988 under which "Baldwinus marchysus cum matre sua Susanna" donated "villam Aflingehem…jacentem in pago Tornacinse" to Saint-Pierre de Gand, after the death of "Arnulfi marchysi"[269].  He succeeded his father in 988 as ARNULF Count of Holland.  "Arnulfi comitum" subscribed a charter dated 20 May 988[270], the first charter included in the compilation which he signed without his father.  He was killed in battle against the Frisians[271], although this is doubted by de Boer & Cordfunke who suggest that he was killed at the mouth of the river Rhine as the quarrels with the West Frisians started much later[272].  The Chronologia Johannes de Beke records the death in battle "Winckel apud pagum Westfrisie…993 XIV Kal Oct" of "Arnulfus comes" and his burial at Egmond[273].  m (Betrothed 980) LIUTGARD de Luxembourg, daughter of SIEGFRIED Count [of Luxembourg] & his wife Hedwig --- ([965/70]-14 May, after 1005, bur Egmond).  The Annales Egmundani name "Lutgarda comitissa" as wife of "Arnulphus comes tertius [Hollandensium]" but do not give her origin, specifying in a later passage that they were "legally" betrothed in 980 at "coram rege Ottone"[274].  Her origin is indicated by Thietmar who names "the queen's sister Liudgard", recording that "the king attacked the Frisians with a fleet…to placate [her] fury", dated to [May/Jun] 1005 from the context of the text[275].  Her origin is confirmed by the necrology of Ranshofen which records the death "III Id May" of "Liukart com soror Chunigundis imperatricis"[276].  The Chronologia Johannes de Beke records that the wife of "Arnulfus tercius comes Hollandie" was "Lutgardim, filiam Theophani…imperatoris Grecorum et sororum Theophane imperatoris"[277], but this is clearly inconsistent with all other primary sources consulted.  "Theodericus comes cum matre sua Lietgarda" donated "alodum suum situm secus fluvium Scaldum in pago Gandensi seu Tornacensi in vulla Rucga" to Saint-Pierre de Gand, for the soul of "patris sui Arnulfi", by charter dated 20 Sep 995[278].  The Chronologia Johannes de Beke records the death "II Id Mai" of "Lutgardis…sua collateralis" and her burial at Egmond[279].  Beke's Egmondsch Necrologium records the death "pridie Id Mai" of "Lutgairdis uxor eius [Arnulfi comitis] filia regis Grecorum"[280].  According to the Preface of Vitæ Heinrici et Cunegundis Imperatores, "Liukart comitissa, soror Chunigundis imperatricis, obiit II Non Iulii"[281], but this date is inconsistent with other primary sources.  Count Arnulf & his wife had [three] children

Arnulf married Luxembourg, Liutgard of in May 980. Liutgard (daughter of of Luxemburg, Siegfried I and of Nordgau, Hedwig) was born in 955 in Cleves, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany; died on 14 May 1005 in Egmond-Binnen, Egmond, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: King
• Nickname: Ironsides
• FSID: LJKD-Q1Q
• Appointments / Titles: Apr 1016, Old St Paul's Cathedral, London, London, England; King of England

Notes:

Edmund

Reign 23 April – 30 November 1016
Predecessor Æthelred the Unready
Successor Cnut the Great
Died 30 November 1016
Oxford or London, England
Burial Glastonbury Abbey
Spouse Ealdgyth
Issue Edward the Exile
Edmund
House Wessex
Father Æthelred the Unready
Mother Ælfgifu of York
Religion Catholicism
Edmund Ironside
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edmund II (died 30 November 1016), usually known as
Edmund Ironside, was King of England from 23 April to 30
November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the
Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign
was marred by a war he had inherited from his father, his
cognomen "Ironside" was given to him "because of his
valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut the
Great.[1]
Edmund was not expected to be King of England; however,
by 1014 two elder brothers had died, making him the oldest
male heir. His father, Æthelred, was usurped by Sweyn
Forkbeard in that same year, but Sweyn died shortly
thereafter, paving the way for Æthelred and his family to
return to the throne, which they did but not without
opposition. In the process they forced Sweyn's son, Cnut,
back to Denmark, where he assembled an invasion force to
re-conquer England. It would not arrive for another year.
After regaining the throne, the royal family set about
strengthening its hold on the country with the assistance of
Eadric Streona (Edmund's brother-in-law). People who had
sided with the Danes in 1014 were punished, and some were
killed. In one case, two brothers, Morcar and Sigeferth, were
killed and their possessions, along with Sigferth's wife, were
taken by Edmund. Edmund unofficially became the Earl of
the East Midlands and took Ealdgyth for his wife.
Cnut returned to England in August 1015. Over the next few
months, Cnut pillaged most of England. Edmund joined
Æthelred to defend London, but he died on 23 April 1016,
making Edmund King. It was not until the summer of 1016
that any serious fighting was done: Edmund fought five
battles against the Danes, ending in his defeat on 18 October
at the Battle of Assandun, after which they agreed to divide
the kingdom, Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the rest of the
country. Edmund died shortly afterwards on 30 November, leaving two sons, Edward and Edmund; however,
Cnut became the king of all England, and exiled remaining members of the royal family.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Warrior prince
3 King of England
4 Death
5 Reputation
6 Descendants
7 Ancestry
8 In culture
9 See also
10 Citations
11 Sources
12 External links
Early life
The exact date of Edmund's birth is unclear, but it could have been no later than 993 when he was a signatory to
charters along with his two elder brothers. He was the third of the six sons of King Æthelred the Unready and
his first wife, Ælfgifu, who was probably the daughter of Earl Thored of Northumbria. His elder brothers were
Æthelstan (died 1014) and Egbert (died c. 1005), and younger ones, Eadred, Eadwig and Edgar.[1] He had four
sisters, Eadgyth (or Edith), Ælfgifu, Wulfhilda, and the Abbess of Wherwell Abbey. His mother died around
1000,[2] after which his father remarried, this time to Emma of Normandy, who had two sons, Edward the
Confessor and Alfred and a daughter Goda.
Æthelstan and Edmund were close, and they probably felt threatened by Emma's ambitions for her sons.[3] The
Life of Edward the Confessor, written fifty years later, claimed that when Emma was pregnant with him, all
Englishmen promised that if the child was a boy they would accept him as king.[1] However that claim may just
be propaganda.
Warrior prince
When Sweyn Forkbeard seized the throne at the end of 1013 and Æthelred fled to Normandy, the brothers do
not appear to have followed him, but stayed in England. Æthelstan died in June 1014 and left Edmund a sword
which had belonged to king Offa of Mercia.[1] His will also reflected the close relationship between the
brothers and the nobility of the east midlands.[4]
Sweyn died in February 1014, and the Five Boroughs accepted his son Cnut, who married a kinswoman of
Sigeferth and Morcar, as king. However, Æthelred returned to England and launched a surprise attack which
defeated the Vikings and forced Cnut to flee England. In 1015 Sigeferth and Morcar came to an assembly in
Oxford, probably hoping for a royal pardon, but they were murdered by Eadric Streona. King Æthelred then
ordered that Sigeferth's widow, Ealdgyth, be seized and brought to Malmesbury Abbey, but Edmund seized and
married her in defiance of his father, probably to consolidate his power base in the east midlands.[5] He then
received the submission of the people of the Five Boroughs. At the same time, Cnut launched a new invasion of
England. In late 1015 Edmund raised an army, possibly assisted by his wife's and mother's links with the
midlands and the north, but the Mercians under Eadric Streona joined the West Saxons in submitting to Cnut. In
early 1016 the army assembled by Edmund dispersed when Æthelred did not appear to lead it, probably due to
illness. Edmund then raised a new army and in conjunction with Earl Uhtred of Northumbria ravaged Eadric
Streona's Mercian territories, but when Cnut occupied Northumbria Uhtred submitted to him, only to be killed
by Cnut. Edmund went to London.[1]
King of England
Æthelred died on 23 April 1016, and the citizens and councillors in London chose Edmund as king and
probably crowned him. He then mounted a last-ditch effort to revive the defence of England. While the Danes
laid siege to London, Edmund headed for Wessex, where the people submitted to him and he gathered an army.
He fought inconclusive battles against the Danes and their English supporters at Penselwood in Somerset and
Sherston in Wiltshire. He then raised the siege of London and defeated the Danes near Brentford. They renewed
the siege while Edmund went to Wessex to raise further troops, returning to again relieve London, defeat the
Danes at Otford, and pursue Cnut into Kent. Eadric Streona now went over to Edmund, but at the decisive
Battle of Assandun on 18 October, Eadric and his men fled and Cnut decisively defeated Edmund. There may
have been one further battle in the Forest of Dean, after which the two kings negotiated a peace dividing the
country between them. Edmund received Wessex while Cnut took Mercia and probably Northumbria.[1]
Death
On 30 November 1016, Edmund died. The location of his death is uncertain though it is generally accepted that
it occurred in London, rather than in Oxford where Henry of Huntingdon claimed it to be in his sordid version
of events, which included Edmund’s murder by suffering multiple stab wounds whilst on a privy, while tending
to a call of nature.[6] Geoffrey Gaimar states a similar occurrence with the weapon being a crossbow, but with a
number of other medieval chroniclers including the Encomium Emmae Reginae not mentioning murder, it is
thought Edmund’s cause of death may possibly have been caused by wounds received in battle or by some
disease, but it is certainly a possibility that he was murdered.
Edmund was buried near his grandfather Edgar at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, however the abbey was
destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, any remains of a monument or crypt
would have been plundered and the location of his remains is unclear.
Reputation
In the view of M. K. Lawson, the intensity of Edmund's struggle against the Danes in 1016 is only matched by
Alfred the Great's in 871, and contrasts with Æthelred's failure. Edmund's success in raising one army after
another suggests that there was little wrong with the organs of government under competent leadership. He was
"probably a highly determined, skilled and indeed inspiring leader of men". Cnut visited his tomb on the
anniversary of his death and laid a cloak decorated with peacocks on it to assist in his salvation, peacocks
symbolising resurrection.[1]
Descendants
Edmund had two children by Ealdgyth, Edward the Exile and Edmund. According to John of Worcester, Cnut
sent them to the king of Sweden where he probably hoped they would be murdered, but the Swedish king
instead forwarded them, together with his daughter, on to Kiev. It has more recently been alleged that the two
sons were sent to Poland and subsequently from there to Hungary.[7] The two boys eventually ended up in
Hungary where Edmund died but Edward prospered. Edward "the Exile" returned to England in 1057 only to
die within a few days of his arrival.[8] His son Edgar the Ætheling was briefly proclaimed king after the Battle
of Hastings in 1066, but later submitted to William the Conqueror. Edgar would live a long and eventful life;
fighting in rebellion against William the Conqueror from 1067-1075; fighting alongside the Conqueror's son
Robert of Normandy in campaigns in Sicily (1085-1087); and accompanying Robert on the First Crusade
(1099-1103). He eventually died in England in 1126.
In 1070 Edward the Exile's daughter, Margaret, became Queen consort to Malcolm III of Scotland. Through her
and her decedents, Edmund is the direct ancestor of every subsequent Scottish monarch, every English monarch
from Henry II onward, and every monarch of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom, down to the present.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Edmund Ironside
Edward the Elder
Edmund I
Eadgifu of Kent
Edgar the Peaceful
Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
Wynflaed
Æthelred the Unready
Ordgar
Ælfthryth
Edmund Ironside
Gunnar
Thored
Ælfgifu of York
In culture
Edmund Ironside is an Elizabethan play about him, which some critics believe to be a very early work by
William Shakespeare.
Edmund is played by John Horn in the 1970 television movie The Ceremony of Innocence.
Edmund is one of the main characters in Justin Hill's novel Shieldwall (2011), first in the Conquest
Trilogy.
See also
House of Wessex family tree
Citations
1. M. K. Lawson, Edmund II, Oxford Online DNB, 2004 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8502?docPos=1)
2. Simon Keynes, Æthelred the Unready, Oxford Online DNB, 2009 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8915/?back
=,8502)
3. Ryan Lavelle, Aethelred II: King of the English, The History Press, 2008, pp. 172-173
4. Lavelle, op. cit., p. 172
5. Lavelle, op. cit., pp. 169-172
6. Henry of Huntingdon 2002, p. 15.
7. MichaelAnne Guido and John P. Ravilious, "From Theophanu to St. Magraret of Scotland: A study of Agatha's
ancestry", Foundations, vol. 4(2012), pp. 81-121.
8. M. K. Lawson, Edward Ætheling, Oxford Online DNB, 200 4(http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/37387/?back=,85
02)
Sources
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Clemoes, Peter. The Anglo-Saxons: Studies Presented to Bruce Dickins, 1959
Henry of Huntingdon History of the English People 1000 - 1154
External links
Edmund 24 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Æthelred the Unready
King of the English
1016
Succeeded by
Cnut the Great
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edmund_Ironside&oldid=781380892"
Categories: Monarchs of England before 1066 10th-century births 1016 deaths
Burials at Glastonbury Abbey 10th-century English people 11th-century English monarchs
Christian monarchs House of Wessex
This page was last edited on 20 May 2017, at 22:01.
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Edmund married of England, Queen Ældgyth between Jun and Aug 1015 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. Ældgyth was born in 986 in Kingdom of Wessex (England); died in 1024 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Countess of Lorraine
• Appointments / Titles: Duchess of Brabant
• Appointments / Titles: Duchess of Louvain
• FSID: LDSS-KKV

Notes:

BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/FRANCONIA.htm#dauHeribertdiedafter985MFriedrichMoselga, as of 10/21/2014

GERBERGA ([975/80]-after 1036). Thietmar names "Ottone germano sui", referring to Gerberga wife of Heinrich von Schweinfurt, whose captivity is recorded in the preceding paragraph, an earlier paragraph referring to "Heriberti comitis filio Ottone" which appears to refer to the same Otto[333]. An alternative possibility is that Gerberga was the daughter of Otto Graf von Grabfeld (see below), the solution chosen by Europäische Stammtafeln[334], but this assumes that the two references to "Otto" in Thietmar were to different individuals. It is also less likely chronologically as it would appear that Otto Graf von Grabfeld was several decades older than Otto Graf von Hammerstein. Her birth date range is estimated on the basis of her daughter Eilika having given birth to her first child in [1020]. Thietmar states that Gerberga and her children were guarded by her husband's brother Bukko during their rebellion against Heinrich II King of Germany in 1003[335].

m (before 1003) HEINRICH von Schweinfurt Graf im Nordgau, son of Graf BERNHARD & his wife Eilika von Walbeck ([970/75][336]-18 Sep 1017, bur Schweinfurt).

Family/Spouse: of Leuven, Graaf Lambert I. Lambert (son of of Hainaut, Raginar III and van Leuven, Countess Adele) was born in 952 in Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium; was christened in 952 in Verberie, Oise, Picardie, France; died on 12 Sep 1015 in Florennes, Namur, Belgium; was buried after 12 Sep 1015 in Nivelles, Brabant Wallon, Belgium. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: GDZ6-3JS

Berthe married de Blois, Odo I in 983 in Bourgogne, France. Odo was born in 950 in Marmoutier, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France; died on 12 Mar 995 in Touraine, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France; was buried after 12 Mar 995 in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Countess of Ponthieu de Normandie
• FSID: L28D-TJH

Notes:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudouin_II_de_Boulogne

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enguerrand_Ier_de_Ponthieu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelina_of_Holland

Adelina married de Boulogne, Baudouin II in 1003 in Artois, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. Baudouin (son of de Boulogne, Arnulf III and de Desvres, Adeline) was born in 990 in Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; died in 1033 in Abbey of Samer-aux-Bois, Ognolles, Oise, Picardie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: England; Prince of England
• FSID: K24W-VR4

Notes:

Edward the Exile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edward the Exile, the Outlaw, the Confessor (1016 – late August 1057), also called Edward Ætheling, was the son of King Edmund Ironside and of Ealdgyth. He spent most of his life in exile following the defeat of his father by Canute the Great.

Exile
After the Danish conquest of England in 1016, Canute had Edward, said to be only a few months old, and his brother, Edmund, sent to the Swedish court of Olof Skötkonung (who was either Canute's half-brother or stepbrother), supposedly with instructions to have the children murdered. Instead, the two boys were secretly sent either to Kiev, where Olof's daughter Ingigerd was the Queen, or to Poland, where Canute's uncle Bolesław I Chrobry was duke. Later Edward made his way to Hungary, probably in the retinue of Ingigerd's son-in-law, András in 1046, whom he supported in his successful bid for the Hungarian throne.

Return
On hearing the news of his being alive, Edward the Confessor recalled him to England in 1056 and made him his heir. Edward offered the last chance of an undisputed succession within the Saxon royal house. News of Edward's existence came at a time when the old Anglo-Saxon monarchy, restored after a long period of Danish domination, was heading for catastrophe. The Confessor, personally devout but politically weak and without children, was unable to make an effective stand against the steady advance of the powerful and ambitious sons of Godwin, Earl of Wessex. From across the Channel William, Duke of Normandy, also had an eye on the succession. Edward the Exile appeared at just the right time. Approved by both king and by the Witan, the Council of the Realm, he offered a way out of the impasse, a counter both to the Godwinsons and to William, and one with a legitimacy that could not be readily challenged.

Edward, who had been in the custody of Henry III, the Holy Roman Emperor, finally came back to England at the end of August 1057. But he died within two days of his arrival. The exact cause of Edward's death remains unclear, but he had many powerful enemies, and there is a strong possibility that he was murdered, although by whom is not known with any certainty. It is known, though, that his access to the king was blocked soon after his arrival in England for some unexplained reason, at a time when the Godwinsons, in the person of Harold, were once again in the ascendant. This turn of events left the throne of England to be disputed by Earl Harold and Duke William, ultimately leading to the Norman Conquest of England. He was buried in Old St Paul's Cathedral.

Family
Edward's wife was named Agatha, whose origins are disputed. Their children were:

Edgar Ætheling (c. 1051 - c. 1126) - Elected King of England after the Battle of Hastings but submitted to William the Conqueror.
Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045 - 16 November 1093) - Married King Malcolm III of Scotland.
Cristina (c. 1057 - c. 1093) - Abbess at Romsey Abbey.
Edward's grandchild Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England, continuing the Anglo-Saxon line into the post-Conquest English monarchy.

Ancestors
Edward the Exile was a direct descendant of a line of Wessex kings dating back, at least on the pages of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, to the arrival of Cerdic of Wessex in 495AD, and from Alfred the Great in the English monarchs family tree. Of his more immediate ancestors, all four of Edward's male-line ancestors shown in the diagram below were Kings of England before Cnut the Great took the crown and sent Edward into exile.

Edward married Aetheling, Princess of England Agatha on 13 Jul 1040 in London, London, England. Agatha was born on 13 Jul 1024 in Esztergom, Komarom-Esztergom, Hungary; died on 13 Jul 1066 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England; was buried after 13 Jul 1066. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; Countess of Boulogne
• Appointments / Titles: Countess of Hennegau
• FSID: LZG2-MSS

Notes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_of_Boulogne
https://www.geni.com/people/Mathilde-de-Louvain-Countess-of-Boulogne/6000000008640434825
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/163079542/maud-of_boulogne

“Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial & Medieval Families,” Douglas Richardson (2013):
“EUSTACHE I a l'Oeil, Count of Boulogne, son and heir of Baldwin, Count of Boulogne, by his wife, Adelvie de Gant, born about 995. He married MATHILDE (or MAHAUT) OF LOUVAIN, daughter of Lambert I, Count of Louvain, by Gerberge, daughter of Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine. She was born about 993. They had three sons, Eustache (II) [Count of Boulogne], Lambert [Count of Lens], and Godfrey (or Geoffrey) [Bishop of Paris, Arch-Chancellor of France], and one daughter, Gerberge (wife of Friedrich II, Duke of Lower Lorraine). EUSTACHE I, Count of Boulogne, died about 1049.
L'Art de Vérifier les Dates 2 (1784): 760-767 (sub Comtes de Boulogne). Delisle Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France 11 (1876): 205-206 (Ex Genealogia de qua ortis est Carolus Magnus), 346 (Ex Genealogia Comitum Bononiensium), 370 (Ex Genealogia B. Arnulphi Metensis Episcopi); 374 (Genealogix ex Chronicis Hainoniensibus); 13 (1869): 585 (Ex Genealogia Caroli Magni qua Namurcensium Comitum et Boloniens), 647-648 (Ex Genealogia B. Amulphi). Monumenta Germaniae Historica 9 (1925): 300-301; 14 (1925): 621. Sellers De Carpentier Allied Ancestry (1928): 185-187. Brandenburg Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen (1935): IX 69. Schwennicke Europäische Stammtafeln 1 (1980): 95 (sub Hainault, Brabant); 3(4) (1989): 621 (sub Boulogne). Winter Descs. of Charlemagne (800-1400) (1987): IX.69, XI.461j, X.124-X.127.
Children of Eustache I of Boulogne, by Mathilde of Louvain:
i. EUSTACHE II, Count of Boulogne [see below].
ii. LAMBERT OF BOULOGNE, Count of Lens, married ALICE OF NORMANDY, Countess of Aumale [see AUMALE 1].”

Family/Spouse: de Boulogne, Eustace I. Eustace (son of de Boulogne, Baudouin II and of Holland, Adelina) was born on 11 Aug 989 in Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; was christened in 1010; died on 4 Oct 1049 in Neuville, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; was buried after 4 Oct 1049 in Samer, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Beauvais, Tours and Troyes
• FSID: GDZ6-MW9

Notes:

"Odo quickly married a second wife, Ermengarde, DAUGHTER OF WILLIAM IV of Auvergne."

By his second wife, Ermengarde of Auvergne, Odo had three children:

Theobald III, who inherited the county of Blois and most of his other possessions.
Stephen II, who inherited the counties of Meaux and Troyes in Champagne.
Bertha, who married first Alan III, Duke of Brittany, and second Hugh IV, Count of Maine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_II,_Count_of_Blois

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudes_II_de_Blois#Mariages_et_descendance
"Il épouse en secondes noces ERMENGARDE D'AUVERGNE, fille du comte GUILLAUME IV D'AUVERGNE, dont il eut quatre enfants."

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ermengarda_d%27Alvernia --
"Secondo la Genealogiae comes Flandriae era figlia del Conte d'Alvernia, Guglielmo IV e della moglie Humberge (o Ermengarda)."

!!

Odo married d'Auvergne, Ermengarde in 1003. Ermengarde (daughter of d'Auvergne, WIlliam IV and d'Auvergne, Humberge) was born in 970 in Auvergne, France; died on 12 Mar 1042 in Aquitaine, France; was buried after 12 Mar 1042 in Épernay, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Count of Boulogne
• Appointments / Titles: Count of Lens-despite accounts of Lens passing to Baldwin V of Flanders circa 1036 it was still held by Eustace I and was passed to his son Lambert at his death
• House: Founder of House of Boulogne branch of House of Flanders
• FSID: M1VS-25N
• Appointments / Titles: 1024, Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; Count of Boulogne-Eustace succeeded his father as count of Boulogne in 1024

Notes:

“Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial & Medieval Families,” Douglas Richardson (2013):

“EUSTACHE I a l'Oeil,
Count of Boulogne,
son and heir of Baldwin,
Count of Boulogne, by his wife, Adelvie de Gant,
born about 995.

He married MATHILDE (or MAHAUT) OF LOUVAIN,
daughter of Lambert I, Count of Louvain, by Gerberge, daughter of Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine.

She was born about 993.

They had three sons, Eustache (II) [Count of Boulogne],
Lambert [Count of Lens], and
Godfrey (or Geoffrey) [Bishop of Paris, Arch-Chancellor of France], and one daughter,

Gerberge (wife of Friedrich II, Duke of Lower Lorraine).

EUSTACHE I, Count of Boulogne, died about 1049.

L'Art de Vérifier les Dates 2 (1784): 760-767 (sub Comtes de Boulogne).

Delisle Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France 11 (1876): 205-206 (Ex Genealogia de qua ortis est Carolus Magnus), 346 (Ex Genealogia Comitum Bononiensium), 370 (Ex Genealogia B. Arnulphi Metensis Episcopi); 374 (Genealogix ex Chronicis Hainoniensibus); 13 (1869): 585 (Ex Genealogia Caroli Magni qua Namurcensium Comitum et Boloniens), 647-648 (Ex Genealogia B. Amulphi).

Monumenta Germaniae Historica 9 (1925): 300-301; 14 (1925): 621. Sellers De Carpentier Allied Ancestry (1928): 185-187.

Brandenburg Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen (1935): IX 69.

Schwennicke Europäische Stammtafeln 1 (1980): 95 (sub Hainault, Brabant); 3(4) (1989): 621 (sub Boulogne).

Winter Descs. of Charlemagne (800-1400) (1987): IX.69, XI.461j, X.124-X.127.

Children of Eustache I of Boulogne, by Mathilde of Louvain:
i. EUSTACHE II, Count of Boulogne [see below].
ii. LAMBERT OF BOULOGNE, Count of Lens, married ALICE OF NORMANDY, Countess of Aumale [see AUMALE 1].”

Family/Spouse: de Louvain, Matilde. Matilde (daughter of of Leuven, Graaf Lambert I and van Neder-Lotharingen, Lady Gerberga) was born in 1006 in Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium; died in 1049 in Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; was buried in 1049 in Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: England; Princess of England
• Appointments / Titles: Scotland; Queen of Scotland
• Appointments / Titles: Queen of Wessex "The Exile"
• Appointments / Titles: Saint of Hungary
• Nickname: The Pearl of Scotland
• Nickname: The Pearl of Scotland
• FSID: L8M6-YW7
• Appointments / Titles: Between 7 Jan 1071 and 6 Jan 1072; Queen of Scotland

Notes:

Saint Margaret of Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saint Margaret of Scotland
StMargareth edinburgh castle2.jpg
Image of Saint Margaret in a window in St Margaret's Chapel, Edinburgh
Queen Consort of Scotland
Tenure 1070-93
Born c. 1045
Kingdom of Hungary
Died 16 November 1093
Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Kingdom of Scotland
Burial Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Kingdom of Scotland
Spouse King Malcolm III of Scotland
married 1070; widowed 1093
Issue
more... Edmund, Bishop of Dunkeld
Ethelred
King Edgar of Scotland
King Alexander I of Scotland
King David I of Scotland
Queen Matilda of England
Mary, Countess of Boulogne
House Wessex
Father Edward the Exile
Mother Agatha
Saint Margaret
Queen of Scots
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Communion
Canonized 1250 by Pope Innocent IV
Major shrine Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland
Feast
16 November,

10 June (pre-1970 General Roman Calendar)
Attributes reading
Patronage Scotland, Dunfermline, Fife, Shetland, The Queen's Ferry, and Anglo-Scottish relations
Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045 – 16 November 1093), also known as Margaret of Wessex, was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Margaret was sometimes called "The Pearl of Scotland". Born in exile in the Kingdom of Hungary, she was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the shortly reigned and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Margaret and her family returned to the Kingdom of England in 1057, but fled to the Kingdom of Scotland following the Norman conquest of England in 1066. In 1070 Margaret married King Malcolm III of Scotland, becoming Queen of Scots. She was a very pious Roman Catholic, and among many charitable works she established a ferry across the Firth of Forth in Scotland for pilgrims travelling to St Andrews in Fife, which gave the towns of South Queensferry and North Queensferry their names. Margaret was the mother of three kings of Scotland, or four, if Edmund of Scotland, who ruled with his uncle, Donald III, is counted, and of a queen consort of England. According to the Vita S. Margaritae (Scotorum) Reginae (Life of St. Margaret, Queen (of the Scots)), attributed to Turgot of Durham, she died at Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1093, merely days after receiving the news of her husband's death in battle. In 1250 Pope Innocent IV canonized her, and her remains were reinterred in a shrine in Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, Scotland. Her relics were dispersed after the Scottish Reformation and subsequently lost. Mary, Queen of Scots at one time owned her head, which was subsequently preserved by Jesuits in the Scottish College, Douai, France, from where it was subsequently lost during the French Revolution.

Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Return to England
3 Journey to Scotland
4 Progeny
5 Piety
6 Death
7 Veneration
7.1 Canonization and feast day
7.2 Institutions bearing her name
8 Ancestry
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Early life

Margaret from a medieval family tree.
Margaret was the daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile, and granddaughter of Edmund Ironside, king of England. After the Danish conquest of England in 1016, King Canute the Great had the infant Edward exiled to the continent. He was taken first to the court of the Swedish king, Olof Skötkonung, and then to Kiev. As an adult, he travelled to Hungary, where in 1046 he supported the successful bid of King Andrew I for the Hungarian crown. King Andrew I was then also known as "Andrew the Catholic" for his extreme aversion to pagans and great loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church. The provenance of Margaret's mother, Agatha, is legally disputed, but Margaret was born in Hungary c. 1045. Her brother Edgar the Ætheling and sister Cristina were also born in Hungary around this time. Margaret grew up in a very religious environment in the Hungarian court.

Return to England
Still a child, she came to England with the rest of her family when her father, Edward the Exile, was recalled in 1057 as a possible successor to her great-uncle, the childless St. King Edward the Confessor. Whether from natural or sinister causes, her father died immediately after landing, and Margaret continued to reside at the English court where her brother, Edgar Ætheling, was considered a possible successor to the English throne. When Edward the Confessor died in January 1066, Harold Godwinson was selected as king, possibly because Edgar was considered too young. After Harold's defeat at the Battle of Hastings later that year, Edgar was proclaimed King of England, but when the Normans advanced on London, the Witenagemot presented Edgar to William the Conqueror, who took him to Normandy before returning him to England in 1068, when Edgar, Margaret, Cristina, and their mother Agatha fled north to Northumbria, England.

Journey to Scotland
According to tradition, the widowed Agatha decided to leave Northumbria, England with her children and return to the continent. However, a storm drove their ship north to the Kingdom of Scotland in 1068, where they sought the protection of King Malcolm III. The locus where it is believed that they landed is known today as St Margaret's Hope, near the village of North Queensferry, Fife, Scotland. Margaret's arrival in Scotland, after the failed revolt of the Northumbrian earls, has been heavily romanticized, though Symeon of Durham implied that her first meeting of Malcolm III may not have been until 1070, after William the Conqueror's Harrying of the North.

King Malcolm III was a widower with two sons, Donald and Duncan. He would have been attracted to marrying one of the few remaining members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family. The marriage of Malcolm and Margaret occurred in 1070. Subsequently, Malcolm executed several invasions of Northumberland to support the claim of his new brother-in-law Edgar and to increase his own power. These, however, had little effect save the devastation of the County.

Progeny
Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters:

Edward (c. 1071 — 13 November 1093), killed along with his father Malcolm III in the Battle of Alnwick
Edmund of Scotland (c.1071 – post 1097)
Ethelred of Scotland, Abbot of Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland
Edgar of Scotland (c.1074 — 11 January 1107), King of Scotland, regnat 1097-1107
Alexander I of Scotland (c.1078 — 23 April 1124), King of Scotland, regnat 1107-24
Edith of Scotland (c. 1080 – 1 May 1118), also named "Matilda", married King Henry I of England, Queen Consort of England
Mary of Scotland (1082-1116), married Eustace III of Boulogne
David I of Scotland (c.1083 – 24 May 1153), King of Scotland, regnat 1124-53
Piety

Malcolm greeting Margaret at her arrival in Scotland; detail of a mural by Victorian artist William Hole
Margaret's biographer Turgot of Durham, Bishop of St. Andrew's, credits her with having a civilizing influence on her husband Malcolm by reading him narratives from the Bible. She instigated religious reform, striving to conform the worship and practices of the Church in Scotland to those of Rome. This she did on the inspiration and with the guidance of Lanfranc, a future Archbishop of Canterbury. She also worked to conform the practices of the Scottish Church to those of the continental Church, which she experienced in her childhood. Due to these achievements, she was considered an exemplar of the "just ruler", and moreover influenced her husband and children, especially her youngest son, the future King David I of Scotland, to be just and holy rulers.

"The chroniclers all agree in depicting Queen Margaret as a strong, pure, noble character, who had very great influence over her husband, and through him over Scottish history, especially in its ecclesiastical aspects. Her religion, which was genuine and intense, was of the newest Roman style; and to her are attributed a number of reforms by which the Church [in] Scotland was considerably modified from the insular and primitive type which down to her time it had exhibited. Among those expressly mentioned are a change in the manner of observing Lent, which thenceforward began as elsewhere on Ash Wednesday and not as previously on the following Monday, and the abolition of the old practice of observing Saturday (Sabbath), not Sunday, as the day of rest from labour (see Skene's Celtic Scotland, book ii chap. 8)." The later editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica, however, as an example, the Eleventh Edition, remove Skene's opinion that Scottish Catholics formerly rested from work on Saturday, something for which there is no historical evidence. Skene's Celtic Scotland, vol. ii, chap. 8, pp. 348–350, quotes from a contemporary document regarding Margaret's life, but his source says nothing at all of Saturday Sabbath observance, but rather says St. Margaret exhorted the Scots to cease their tendency "to neglect the due observance of the Lord's day."

She attended to charitable works, serving orphans and the poor every day before she ate and washing the feet of the poor in imitation of Christ. She rose at midnight every night to attend the liturgy. She successfully invited the Benedictine Order to establish a monastery in Dunfermline, Fife in 1072, and established ferries at Queensferry and North Berwick to assist pilgrims journeying from south of the Firth of Forth to St. Andrew's in Fife. She used a cave on the banks of the Tower Burn in Dunfermline as a place of devotion and prayer. St. Margaret's Cave, now covered beneath a municipal car park, is open to the public. Among other deeds, Margaret also instigated the restoration of Iona Abbey in Scotland. She is also known to have interceded for the release of fellow English exiles who had been forced into serfdom by the Norman conquest of England.

Margaret was as pious privately as she was publicly. She spent much of her time in prayer, devotional reading, and ecclesiastical embroidery. This apparently had considerable effect on the more uncouth Malcolm, who was illiterate: he so admired her piety that he had her books decorated in gold and silver. One of these, a pocket gospel book with portraits of the Evangelists, is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England.

Malcolm was apparently largely ignorant of the long-term effects of Margaret's endeavours, not being especially religious himself. He was content for her to pursue her reforms as she desired, which was a testament to the strength of and affection in their marriage.

Death
Her husband Malcolm III, and their eldest son Edward, were killed in the Battle of Alnwick against the English on 13 November 1093. Her son Edgar was left with the task of informing his mother of their deaths. Margaret was not yet 50 years old, but a life of constant austerity and fasting had taken their toll. Already ill, Margaret died on 16 November 1093, three days after the deaths of her husband and eldest son. She was buried before the high altar in Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, Scotland. In 1250, the year of her canonization, her body and that of her husband were exhumed and placed in a new shrine in the Abbey. In 1560 Mary Queen of Scots had Margaret's head removed to Edinburgh Castle as a relic to assist her in childbirth. In 1597 Margaret's head ended up with the Jesuits at the Scottish College, Douai, France, but was lost during the French Revolution. King Philip of Spain had the other remains of Margaret and Malcolm III transferred to the Escorial palace in Madrid, Spain, but their present location has not been discovered.

Veneration

Site of the ruined Shrine of St. Margaret at Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland

St Margaret's Chapel in Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

St Margaret's Church in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Canonization and feast day
Pope Innocent IV canonized St. Margaret in 1250 in recognition of her personal holiness, fidelity to the Roman Catholic Church, work for ecclesiastical reform, and charity. On 19 June 1250, after her canonisation, her remains were transferred to a chapel in the eastern apse of Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, Scotland. In 1693 Pope Innocent XII moved her feast day to 10 June in recognition of the birthdate of the son of James VII of Scotland and II of England. In the revision of the General Roman Calendar in 1969, 16 November became free and the Church transferred her feast day to 16 November, the date of her death, on which it always had been observed in Scotland. However, some traditionalist Catholics continue to celebrate her feast day on 10 June.

She is also venerated as a saint in the Anglican Church.

Institutions bearing her name
Several churches throughout the world are dedicated in honour of St Margaret. One of the oldest is St Margaret's Chapel in Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland, which her son King David I founded. The Chapel was long thought to have been the oratory of Margaret herself, but is now thought to have been established in the 12th century. The oldest edifice in Edinburgh, it was restored in the 19th century and refurbished in the 1990s. Numerous other institutions are named for her as well.
Queen of Scotland

Born in exile in Hungary. Margaret and her family returned to England in 1057, but fled to the Kingdom of Scotland following the Norman conquest of England of 1066. Around 1070 Margaret married Malcolm III of Scotland, becoming his queen consort. She was a pious woman, and among many charitable works she established a ferry across the Firth of Forth for pilgrims traveling to Dunfermline Abbey. Margaret was the mother of three kings of Scotland (or four, if one includes Edmund of Scotland, who ruled Scotland with his uncle, Donald III) and of a queen consort of England. She died at Edinburgh Castle in 1093, just days after receiving the news of her husband's death in battle. In 1250 she was canonized by Pope Innocent IV, and her remains were reinterred in a shrine at Dunfermline Abbey. Her relics were dispersed after the Scottish Reformation and subsequently lost. Per Wikipedia.org

Margaret married of Scotland, Malcolm III in 1070 in Scotland. Malcolm (son of of Scotland, King of Alpa Duncan I and mac Siward, Sybilla Suthen) was born on 1 Apr 1031 in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland; died on 22 Nov 1093 in Alnwick, Northumberland, England; was buried after 22 Nov 1083 in Dunfermline Abbey, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Between 15 Oct and 10 Dec 1066, England; Disputed King of England

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Kingdom of Wessex (England); Princess of Wessex
• Occupation: Abbess of Romsey, Hampshire, England

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Comte de Lens
• FSID: LRHH-9JN
• Military: 1054, Lille, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; slain in battle of Lille at Bataille de Lille, Flanders

Notes:

He was a French nobleman and the son of Eustace I, Count of Bologne and of Maud de Leuven (daughter of Lambert I of Leuven). c. 1053 he married Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale, daughter of Robert I, Duke of Normandy and sister of William the Conqueror. Adelaide was the widow of Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu who died in 1053. c. 1054 Lambert and Adelaide had a daughter, Judith of Lens, although Lambert would scarcely have seen her; he was killed at the battle of Lille in 1054. Lambert was supporting Baldwin V, Count of Flanders against Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor when he was killed in battle. His widow, Adelaide, married thirdly, Odo, Count of Champagne

Lambert married de Normandie, Adélaïde in 1054 in Normandy, France. Adélaïde (daughter of de Normandie, Lord Duke Robert and de Falaise, Herleva) was born on 14 Oct 1026 in Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died on 3 Aug 1090 in Gournay, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried after 3 Aug 1090 in Aumale, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Comte de Blois Meaux et Troyes
• FSID: L51Z-XMG

Notes:

"It is unclear whether the [second/third] wife of Thibaut III Comte de Blois could have been the daughter of Comte Raoul [III]."

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/nfravalver.htm#AdelaideValoisMThibautIIIBlois

THE PARENTAGE OF ADELA IS UNCERTAIN:

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/CENTRAL%20FRANCE.htm#ThibautIIIdied1089B
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/CENTRAL%20FRANCE.htm#_ftnref156

!

Theobald married du Maine, Countess Gersende Berthe in 1045 in France. Gersende (daughter of du Maine, Herbert I and de Preuilly, Paula II) was born on 14 Oct 1024 in France; died on 10 May 1100 in Aquitaine, France; was buried after 10 May 1100 in Aquitaine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Hereditary Mareschal de Normandie
• FSID: L55P-QVF
• Occupation: Hereditary Marshall of the Stable
• Residence: 1050; Sold lands at Vaucelles - to Duchess Matilda for Holy Trinity, Caen

Notes:

Miles the Marshal, and his wife Lesceline, in or after 1059, sold to the Countess Maud (the Conqueror's wife) for her foundation of the Abbey of the Holy Trinity at Caen, whatever they held in the vill of Vaucelles -- now a suburb of Caen -- and in the church and the mill there, for four score pounds. Miles and Leseline gave land at Caen, Vaucelles and Venoix in marriage with their daughter Beatrice to a certain Arfast. Miles sold to Lanfranc, abbot of St. Stephen's, Caen (1066-1070), the land occupied by the channel of the Odon, from the point at which it left the old channel, with both banks, but he died before Lanfranc left Caen for Canterbury in 1070. [Complete Peerage XI:Appendix E:122-3]
____

DE VENOIS.
From Venoix near Caen, Normandy. The barons of Venoix,Verbois or Venois held their fief as hereditary marshals of the stable (master of the horse) of the dukes of Normandy, hence they bore the name of le Marescal or Mareschal of Venois. Milo le Mareschal and Lasceline his wife, were living in 1050, when the duchess Matilda purchased lands at Vancelles from them for Holy Trinity at Caen.
They had issue:
. Ralph le Mareschal and other sons, who came to England at the conquest.
. Robert of Hastings
. Geoffrey the Marshall

Ralph was living in 1086 and had issue:
. Robert,
. Roger le Mareschal, who had lands in Essex,
. Gerald, owner of estates in Sussex, and
. Goisfred, a baron in Hampshire and Wiltshire in 1086 (Domesday). Goisfred was the father of Gilbert ancestor of the Mareschals.

Robert the eldest son, sometimes styled Fitz Ralph, de Hastings, and le Mareschal, was lord of Venoix and the king's sheriff or seneschal at Hastings, where, and at Rye, his descendants long held the revenue in farm from the crown. He had issue William de Hastings who c. 1100 married Juliana, granddaughter and heir of Waleran, a great baron in Essex, living in 1130. With Robert de Venoix his brother, he instituted a suit against his cousin, Gilbert Marescal and his son John, to recover the office of hereditary marshal, which Gilbert or Goisfrid his father had obtained and successfully held, although it could not have been theirs by right of birth. The suit failed, but William in compensation was created dapifer. Hence the celebrated and renowned family of Hastings, who married into the royalty of England and were so famous in history. From this line descended the Hastings, barons of Abergavenny, the marquesses of Hastings, the earls of Pembroke, and earls of Striguil in Ireland, as well as the earls of Huntingdon. This latter great branch of the family still exists in the male line which was ennobled in the person of sir William Hastings, created baron Hastings of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, by king Edward IV, in 1461, under which title he was summoned to parliament. He was one of the most powerful persons in the kingdom and erected at Ashby a magnificent castle, where afterwards Mary queen of Scots was kept in captivity. He possessed tremendous estates, the honours of Pevrel, Belvoir Hagenet, and Huntingdon, the lands of viscount Beaumont, Belvoir castle, with a great part of the possessions of lord Ros, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, which had belonged to the earls of Wiltshire, the castle and rape of Hastings. He was invested with many high offices; was ambassador to France, chamberlain to North Wales, constable of six castles and many more honours, too numerous to mention. Upon the death of king Edward IV, his greatness came to a sudden end, as he was lured to the tower of London by the new protector, Richard, duke of Gloucester, and beheaded forthwith in 1483.

--(Falaise Roll).
http://www.1066.co.nz/Mosaic%20DVD/library/people/venois.htm

Miles married de Venoix, Lesceline in 1035. Lesceline was born in 1022 in Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France; died in 1059 in Venoix, Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: [Atheling]
• Appointments / Titles: Princess
• Appointments / Titles: Queen of England
• Appointments / Titles: Queen of England
• FSID: KHP1-CFX
• Name: Eadgyth "Matilda"Ætheling Dunkeld of Scotland Queen of England
• Name: Eadgyth (Edith)
• Name: Matilda Atheling Canmore
• Name: Matilda of England
• Name: Matilda of Scotland
• Name: Matilda of Scotland
• Name: Matilda of Scotland or Adelya
• Appointments / Titles: Between 11 and 14 Nov 1100; Queen Consort of England
• Birth: Oct 1079, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
• Death: 8 May 1118, Westminster Palace, Westminster, London, England

Notes:

Matilda of Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Edith of Scotland)
Matilda of Scotland
Matylda zena.jpg
Queen consort of England
Tenure 11 November 1100 – 1 May 1118
Coronation 11 November 1100
Born c. 1080
Dunfermline, Scotland
Died 1 May 1118 (aged 38)
Westminster Palace
Burial Westminster Abbey
Spouse Henry I of England
Issue Matilda, Holy Roman Empress
William Adelin
House House of Dunkeld
Father Malcolm III of Scotland
Mother Saint Margaret of Scotland
Matilda of Scotland (c. 1080 – 1 May 1118), originally christened Edith, was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry I.

Matilda was the daughter of the English princess Saint Margaret and the Scottish king Malcolm III. At the age of about six Matilda was sent with her sister to be educated in a convent in southern England, where her aunt Cristina was abbess. It is not clear if she spent much time in Scotland thereafter. In 1093, when she was about 13, she was engaged to an English nobleman when her father and brother Edward were killed in a minor raid into England, and her mother died soon after; her fiance then abandoned the proposed marriage. In Scotland a messy succession conflict followed between Matilda's uncle Donald III, her half-brother Duncan II and brother Edgar until 1097. Matilda's whereabouts during this no doubt difficult period are uncertain.

But after the suspicious death of William II of England in 1100 and accession of his brother Henry I, Matilda's prospects improved. Henry moved quickly to propose to her. It is said that he already knew and admired her, and she may indeed have spent time at the English court. Edgar was now secure on the Scottish throne, offering the prospect of better relations between the two countries, and Matilda also had the considerable advantage of Anglo-Saxon royal blood, which the Norman dynasty largely lacked. There was a difficulty about the marriage; a special church council was called to be satisfied that Matilda had not taken vows as a nun, which her emphatic testimony managed to convince them of.

Matilda and Henry married in late 1100. They had two children who reached adulthood and two more who died young. Matilda led a literary and musical court, but was also pious. She embarked on building projects for the church, and took a role in government when her husband was away; many surviving charters are signed by her. Matilda lived to see her daughter Matilda become Holy Roman Empress but died two years before the drowning of her son William. Henry remarried, but had no further legitimate children, which caused a succession crisis known as The Anarchy. Matilda is buried in Westminster Abbey and was fondly remembered by her subjects as "Matilda the Good Queen" and "Matilda of Blessed Memory". There was an attempt to have her canonized, which was not pursued.

Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Marriage
3 Queen
3.1 Works
4 Death
5 Legacy
6 Issue
7 Appearance and character
8 Notes and sources
9 References
10 External links
Early life
Matilda was born around 1080 in Dunfermline, the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret. She was christened (baptised) Edith, and Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, stood as godfather at the ceremony. The English queen Matilda of Flanders was also present at the baptismal font and served as her godmother. Baby Matilda pulled at Queen Matilda's headdress, which was seen as an omen that the younger Matilda would be queen one day.

The Life of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland was later written for Matilda possibly by Turgot of Durham. It refers to Matilda's childhood and her relationship with her mother. In it, Margaret is described as a strict but loving mother. She did not spare the rod when it came to raising her children in virtue, which the author presupposed was the reason for the good behaviour Matilda and her siblings displayed, and Margaret also stressed the importance of piety.

When she was about six years old, Matilda of Scotland (or Edith as she was then probably still called) and her sister Mary were sent to Romsey Abbey, near Southampton in southern England, where their aunt Cristina was abbess. During her stay at Romsey and, some time before 1093, at Wilton Abbey, both institutions known for learning, the Scottish princess was much sought-after as a bride; refusing proposals from William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, and Alan Rufus, Lord of Richmond. Hériman of Tournai claimed that William Rufus considered marrying her. Her education went beyond the standard feminine pursuits. This was not surprising as her mother was a great lover of books. Her daughters learned English, French, and some Latin, and were sufficiently literate to read St. Augustine and the Bible.

In 1093, her parents betrothed her to Alan Rufus, Lord of Richmond, one of her numerous suitors. However, before the marriage took place, her father entered into a dispute with William Rufus. In response, he marauded the English king's lands where he was surprised by Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria and killed along with his son, Edward. Upon hearing of her husband and son's death, Margaret, already ill, died on 16 November. Edith was now an orphan. She was abandoned by her betrothed who ran off with a daughter of Harold Godwinson, Gunhild of Wessex. However, he died before they could be married.

She had left the monastery by 1093, when Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote to the Bishop of Salisbury ordering that the daughter of the King of Scotland be returned to the monastery that she had left. She did not return to Wilton and until 1100, is largely unaccounted for in chronicles.

Marriage
After William II's death in the New Forest in August 1100, his brother, Henry, immediately seized the royal treasury and crown. His next task was to marry and Henry's choice was Matilda. Because Matilda had spent most of her life in a convent, there was some controversy over whether she was a nun and thus canonically ineligible for marriage. Henry sought permission for the marriage from Archbishop Anselm, who returned to England in September 1100 after a long exile. Professing himself unwilling to decide so weighty a matter on his own, Anselm called a council of bishops in order to determine the canonical legality of the proposed marriage. Matilda testified that she had never taken holy vows, insisting that her parents had sent her and her sister to England for educational purposes, and her aunt Cristina had veiled her to protect her "from the lust of the Normans." Matilda claimed she had pulled the veil off and stamped on it, and her aunt beat and scolded her for this act. The council concluded that Matilda was not a nun, never had been and her parents had not intended that she become one, giving their permission for the marriage.

Matilda and Henry seem to have known one another for some time before their marriage — William of Malmesbury states that Henry had "long been attached" to her, and Orderic Vitalis says that Henry had "long adored" her character. It is possible that Matilda had spent some time at William Rufus's court and that the pair had met there. It is also possible Henry was introduced to his bride by his teacher Bishop Osmund. Whatever the case, it is clear that the two at least knew each other prior to their wedding. Additionally, the chronicler William of Malmesbury suggests that the new king loved his bride.

Matilda's mother was the sister of Edgar the Ætheling, proclaimed but uncrowned King of England after Harold, and, through her mother, Matilda was descended from Edmund Ironside and thus from the royal family of Wessex, which in the 10th century had become the royal family of a united England. This was extremely important because although Henry had been born in England, he needed a bride with ties to the ancient Wessex line to increase his popularity with the English and to reconcile the Normans and Anglo-Saxons. In their children, the two factions would be united, further unifying the new regime. Another benefit was that England and Scotland became politically closer; three of Matilda's brothers became kings of Scotland in succession and were unusually friendly towards England during this period of unbroken peace between the two nations: Alexander married one of Henry I's illegitimate daughters and David lived at Henry's court for some time before his accession.

Matilda had a small dower but it did incorporate some lordship rights. Most of her dower estates were granted from lands previously held by Edith of Wessex. Additionally, Henry made numerous grants on his wife including substantial property in London. Generosity aside, this was a political move in order to win over the unruly Londoners who were vehement supporters of the Wessex kings.

Queen

The seal of Matilda
After Matilda and Henry were married on 11 November 1100 at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, she was crowned as "Matilda," a hallowed Norman name. By courtiers, however, she and her husband were soon nicknamed 'Godric and Godiva'. These two names were typical English names from before The Conquest and mocked their more rustic style, especially when compared to the flamboyance of William II.

She gave birth to a daughter, Matilda, born in February 1102, and a son, William, called "Adelin", in November 1103. As queen, she resided primarily at Westminster, but accompanied her husband on his travels around England, and, circa 1106–1107, probably visited Normandy with him. Matilda was the designated head of Henry's curia and acted as regent during his frequent absences.

During the English investiture controversy (1103-07), she acted as intercessor between her husband and archbishop Anselm. She wrote several letters during Anselm's absence, first asking him for advice and to return, but later increasingly to mediate.

Works
Matilda had great interest in architecture and instigated the building of many Norman-style buildings, including Waltham Abbey and Holy Trinity Aldgate.[16] She also had the first arched bridge in England built, at Stratford-le-Bow, as well as a bathhouse with piped-in water and public lavatories at Queenhithe.[17]

Her court was filled with musicians and poets; she commissioned a monk, possibly Thurgot, to write a biography of her mother, Saint Margaret. She was an active queen and, like her mother, was renowned for her devotion to religion and the poor. William of Malmesbury describes her as attending church barefoot at Lent, and washing the feet and kissing the hands of the sick. Matilda exhibited a particular interest in leprosy, founding at least two leper hospitals, including the institution that later became the parish church of St Giles-in-the-Fields.[18] She also administered extensive dower properties and was known as a patron of the arts, especially music.

She was patroness of the monk Bendeit's version of The Voyage of Saint Brendan, c.1106-1118.[19]

Death
After Matilda died on 1 May 1118 at Westminster Palace, she was buried at Westminster Abbey. The death of her son, William Adelin, in the tragic disaster of the White Ship (November 1120) and Henry's failure to produce a legitimate son from his second marriage led to the succession crisis of The Anarchy.

Legacy
After her death, she was remembered by her subjects as "Matilda the Good Queen" and "Matilda of Blessed Memory", and for a time sainthood was sought for her, though she was never canonized. Matilda is also thought to be the identity of the "Fair Lady" mentioned at the end of each verse in the nursery rhyme London Bridge Is Falling Down. The post-Norman conquest English monarchs to the present day are related to the Anglo-Saxon House of Wessex monarchs via Matilda of Scotland as she was the great-granddaughter of King Edmund Ironside, see House of Wessex family tree.

Issue
Matilda and Henry had issue

Euphemia (July/August 1101), died young
Matilda of England (c. February 1102 – 10 September 1167), Holy Roman Empress, Countess consort of Anjou, called Lady of the English
William Adelin, (5 August 1103 – 25 November 1120), sometimes called Duke of Normandy, who married Matilda (d.1154), daughter of Fulk V, Count of Anjou.
Elizabeth (August/September 1104), died young
Appearance and character
"It causes pleasure to see the queen whom no woman equals in beauty of body or face, hiding her body, nevertheless, in a veil of loose clothing. Here alone, with new modesty, wishes to conceal it, but what gleams with its own light cannot be hidden and the sun, penetrating his clouds, hurls his rays." She also had "fluent, honeyed speech." From a poem of Marbodius of Rennes.

Notes and sources
Jump up ^ She is known to have been given the name "Edith" (the Old English Eadgyth, meaning "Fortune-Battle") at birth, and was baptised under that name. She is known to have been crowned under a name favoured by the Normans, "Matilda" (from the Germanic Mahthilda, meaning "Might-Battle"), and was referred to as such throughout her husband's reign. It is unclear, however, when her name was changed, or why. Accordingly, her later name is used in this article. Historians generally refer to her as "Matilda of Scotland"; in popular usage, she is referred to equally as "Matilda" or "Edith".
Jump up ^ Though Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror and Henry's mother, was descended from Alfred the Great
Jump up ^ Huneycutt, Lois (2003). Matilda of Scotland: a Study in Medieval Queenship. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. p. 10.
Jump up ^ "The Life of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland". Retrieved 14 March 2011.
Jump up ^ Hollister 2001:128.
Jump up ^ Hilton, Lisa (2010). Queen Consort. New York City, New York: Pegasus Books LLC. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-60598-105-5.
Jump up ^ Hilton, Lisa (2010). Queen Consort. pp. 42–43.
Jump up ^ Hilton, Lisa (2010). Queen Consort. p. 43.
Jump up ^ Hilton, Lisa (2010). Queen Consort. p. 45.
Jump up ^ Hilton, Lisa (2010). Queen Consort. pp. 44–45.
Jump up ^ Hollister 2001:126.
Jump up ^ Hilton, Lisa (2010). Queen Consort. pp. 46–47.
Jump up ^ Huneycutt. Matilda of Scotland: a Study in Medieval Queenship. p. 73.
Jump up ^ Hilton, Lisa (2010). Queen Consort. p. 50.
Jump up ^ Huneycutt. Matilda of Scotland: a Study in Medieval Queenship. p. 76.
Jump up ^ Hilton, Lisa (2010). Queen Consort. p. 53.
Jump up ^ Hilton, Lisa (2010). Queen Consort. p. 63.
Jump up ^ Hilton, Lisa (2010). Queen Consort. pp. 47–48.
Jump up ^ closed access publication – behind paywall Ritchie, R.L.G. (1950). The Date of the "Voyage of St Brendan". Medium Ævum. Oxford, UK: Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature. 19: 64–66. doi:10.2307/43626381. ISSN 0025-8385. JSTOR 43626381. OCLC 6733541455. (Registration required (help)).

Matilda married Beauclerc, King of England Henry ILondon, London, England. Henry (son of Beauclerc, King of England William and of Flanders, Matilda) was born in Sep 1068 in Selby, Yorkshire, England; was christened on 12 Aug 1100 in Selby, Yorkshire, England; died on 8 Dec 1135 in London, London, England; was buried on 4 Jan 1136 in Reading Abbey, Reading, Berkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: House of Dunkeld
• FSID: L8WY-WD4
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1124 and 1153; King of Scotland
• Appointments / Titles: 25 Apr 1124, Scotland; King

Notes:

“Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial & Medieval Families,” Douglas Richardson (2013):
“DAVID I, King of Scots, youngest son by his father's 2nd marriage, probably born about 1085. He married before Midsummer 1113 MAUD OF NORTHUMBERLAND, widow of Simon de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton (living 8 August 1111) [see BEAUCHAMP 3], and daughter and co-heiress of Waltheof, Earl of Northumberland, by Judith, daughter of Lambert, Count of Lens [see BEAUCHAMP 2 for her ancestry]. She was born about 1072 (aged 18 in 1090). They had two sons, Malcolm and Henry [Earl of Northumberland], and two daughters, Clarice and Hodierne. David was recognized as Earl of Huntingdon to the exclusion of his step-son, Simon; the earldom of Northampton reverted to the crown. As Earl of Huntingdon, he made various grants to St. Andrew's, Northampton. In 1113 he founded an abbey at Selkirk, afterwards removed to Kelso, and gave it land at Hardingstone and Northampton. He founded another abbey at Jedworth in 1118. He succeeded his brother, Alexander I, as King of Scotland 25 April 1124. In 1127 he joined in the Barons' recognition of Empress Maud to succeed her father on the throne of England. When Stephen seized the crown, David took arms against him. His wife, Queen Maud, died 1130 or 1131, and was buried at Scone. About 1132 he gave the church of Tottenham, Middlesex to the canons of the church of Holy Trinity, London. In 1136 King David I resigned the earldom of Huntingdon to his son, Henry, who did homage to Stephen. David was defeated at the Battle of Standard 22 August 1138. DAVID I, King of Scots, died at Carilie 24 May 1153; and was buried at Dunfermline, Fife.
[References match those with his wife’s entry.]
Children of King David I, by Maud of Northumberland:
i. MALCOLM OF SCOTLAND, said to have been strangled when aged two. Scots Peerage 1 (1904): 3-5 (sub Kings of Scotland). Dunbar Scottish Kings (1906): 58-70.
ii. HENRY OF SCOTLAND, Earl of Northumberland [see next].
iii. CLARICE OF SCOTLAND, died unmarried. Scots Peerage 1 (1904): 3-5 (sub Kings of Scotland). Dunbar Scottish Kings (1906): 58-70. Tanner Fams., Friends, & Allies (2004): 313 (Scotland ped.).
iv. HODIERNE OF SCOTLAND, died unmarried. Scots Peerage 1 (1904): 3-5 (sub Kings of Scotland). Dunbar Scottish Kings (1906): 58-70. Tanner Fams., Friends, & Allies (2004): 313 (Scotland ped.).“
______________________
Scottish Monarch and Saint. Son of Malcolm III Canmore and Saint Margaret of Scotland. He succeeded his brother Alexander in 1124. David accelerated the process, begun by his mother, of introducing the Roman Catholic church into Scotland, displacing the Celtic church. He founded many abbeys, including Melrose, Holyrood, Paisley, and Dryburgh. He also introduced the orders of the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller into Scotland. He married his queen, Matilda in 1114. They had 2 sons and 2 daughters, all of whom pre-deceased their father. At the time of David's death at the old age of 73, Scotland stretched further south than ever before or since. Though never formally canonized, David is recognized on both Catholic and Protestant calendars. His feast day is May 24. He was succeeded by his grandson, William I "The Lion."
Bio by: Kristen Conrad

David married of Huntingdon, Matilda in 1113 in Scotland. Matilda (daughter of Siwardsson, Waltheof of Northumbria and of Lens, Countess of Lens Judith) was born on 2 Jul 1072 in Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire, England; was christened in 1080 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland; died on 23 Apr 1131 in Old Scone, Perthshire, Scotland; was buried after 23 Apr 1131 in Scone Abbey, Old Scone, Perthshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LDSS-ZMD

Notes:

“Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial & Medieval Families,” Douglas Richardson (2013):
“JUDITH OF LENS, born about 1054. She married after January 1070 WALTHEOF, Earl of Northumberland, lord of Potton, Bedfordshire, Waltharnstow, Essex, Conington, Leighton Bromswold, Little Catford, and Sawtry, Huntingdonshire, Barnack, East Farndon, Fotheringay, Harringworth, and Lilford, Northamptonshire, etc., son and heir of Siward, Earl of Northumberland, by Ælfflaed, daughter of Earl Ealdred. They had two daughters, Maud [Queen of Scotland] and Alice. He was still young at the death of his father in 1055. He was active against the Norman in the northern counties and especially at York in 1069. In 1070 he made his peace with King William the Conqueror. He occurs as one of the witnesses to King William's charter to Wells dated 1068. He was present at the marriage of Ralph de Wader at Exning, Cambridgeshire, where the guests entered into a conspiracy against the king. In this he was to some slight extent implicated, but acting on the advise of Archbishop Lanfranc, he crossed over to Normandy to the king, and disclosed the matter to him. The conspiracy having been crushed, the king kept Waltheof with him. But he was accused by his wife, Judith, of more than a mere knowledge of the plot. After a year's deliberation, during which he was imprisoned at Winchester, Waltheof was executed at Winchester, Hampshire 31 May 1075 (or 1076). Two weeks afterwards the king allowed his body to be removed to Croyland Abbey, Lincolnshire, where the abbot buried him in the chapterhouse; his remains were subsequently translated into the church near the altar. At an unknown date, Judith was granted the manor of Elstow, Bedfordshire by her uncle, King William the Conqueror. Sometime prior to 1086, she founded a nunnery at Elstow and endowed it with the vill. She was living in 1086, and presumably died about 1090.

Wharton Anglia Sacra (1691): 159 (Chronicon Sanctæ Crucis Edinburgensis sub A.D. 1076: "Walthevus Comes decollatus est."). Lysons Environs of London 1(2) (1811): 699-700. Dugdale Monasticon Anglicanum 5 (1825): 522-523. Palgrave Docs. & Recs. illus. the Hist. of Scotland 1 (1837): 100-101 xxx (Cronica Canonicorum Beate Marie Huntingdon: "David qui regnavit et duxit Matildam Comitissam Huntingd' neptem Willelmi Regis Anglorum filiam Ivette que fuit filia Lamberti de Louns Comitis."). Col. Top. et Gen. 6 (1840): 261-265. Edwards Liber Monasterii de Hyda (Rolls Ser. 45) (1866): 294-295 (Judith [of Lens], wife of Earl Waltheof, styled "king's kinswoman" [consanguineam regis] [i.e., kinswoman of King William the Conqueror]). Freeman Hist. of the Norman Conquest of England 4 (1871): 813-815 (re. connection of Earl Waltheof with conspiracy of Ralph). Remarks & Colls. of Thomas Hearne 3 (Oxford Hist. Soc.) (1889): 104 (ped. chart). Searle Ingulf & the Historia Croylandensis (1894): 104-110 (biog. of Earl Waltheof, the martyr). Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 8 (1901): 525-526. Rutland Mag. & County Hist. Rec. 3 (1908): 97-106, 129-137. VCH Bedford 2 (1908): 237-242; 3 (1912): 280-281, 296-305. Pubs. of Bedfordshire Hist. Rec. Soc. 9 (1925): 23-34. VCH Northampton 3 (1930): 227-231. VCH Huntingdon 3 (1936): 86-92, 144-151, 203-212. Arch. Aeliana 30 (1952): 200-201. Giles Vita et Passio Waldevi comitis in Original Lives of Anglo-Saxons and others who lived before the Conquest (Caxton Soc. 16) (1954): 1-30. Offler Durham Episcopal Charters 1071-1152 (1968): 2, 5, 6, 16n, 27, 30-31, 39-47. VCH Essex 6 (1973): 253-263. VCH Cambridge 6 (1978): 177-182. Winter Descs. of Charlemagne (800-1400) (1987): XI.227, XII.398-XII.399. Schwennicke Europaische Stammtafeln 3(4) (1989): 621 (sub Boulogne). Bower Scotichronicon 3 (1995): 64-65 & 126-127 (instances of Judith, wife of Earl Waltheof, styled "niece" [neptis] of King William the Conqueror). Van Houts Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigny 2 (1995): 270-273 (Deeds of the Norman Dukes: "Waltheof had three daughters by his wife [Judith], a daughter of the countess of Aumâle, who was a uterine sister of William the elder, king of the English. Simon de Senlis married another of Earl Waltheof’s daughters and received with her the earldom of Huntingdon. He had by her a son called Simon. After the death of Earl Simon, David, brother of secundae Maud, queen of the English, married his widow, by whom he had one son. After the death of his brothers Duncan and Alexander, kings of Scots, he became king. Another of Waltheof’s daughters, Judith [recte Alice], married Rodolf de Toeny, as we have already mentioned. The third daughter [recte granddaughter] was married by Robert Fitz Richard, as we have also mentioned above."). William The English & the Norman Conquest (1995). Tanner Fams., Friends, & Allies (2004): 290 (chart).
Children of Judith of Lens, by Waltheof of Northumberland:
i. MAUD OF NORTHUMBERLAND [see next].
ii. ALICE OF NORTHUMBERLAND, married RALPH DE TONY, of Flamstead, Hertfordshire [see TONY 3].”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Judith was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale and Lambert II, Count of Lens.
In 1070, Judith married Earl Waltheof of Huntingdon and Northumbria. They had three children. Their eldest daughter, Maud, brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband, David I of Scotland. Their daughter, Adelise, married Raoul III de Conches whose sister, Godehilde, married Baldwin I of Jerusalem.

In 1075, Waltheof joined the Revolt of the Earls against William. It was the last serious act of resistance against the Norman conquest of England. Judith betrayed Waltheof to her uncle, who had Waltheof beheaded on 31 May 1076. After Waltheof's execution Judith was betrothed by William to Simon I of St. Liz, 1st Earl of Northampton. Judith refused to marry Simon and she fled the country to avoid William's anger. William then temporarily confiscated all of Judith's English estates. Simon, later, married, as his second wife, Judith's daughter, Maud, as her first husband.
Judith founded Elstow Abbey in Bedfordshire around 1078. She also founded churches at Kempston and Hitchin.
She had land-holdings in 10 counties in the Midlands and East Anglia. Her holdings included land at:
• Earls Barton, Northamptonshire
• Great Doddington, Northamptonshire
• Grendon, Northamptonshire
• Merton, Oxfordshire
• Piddington, Oxfordshire
• Potton, Bedfordshire

"Countess Judith of Lens was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale and Lambert II, Count of Lens."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_of_Lens

[NB: Information sourced from Wikipedia is subject to change by third-parties. Follow the URL(s) noted above to review the latest content.]

. In 1070, Judith married Earl Waltheof of Huntingdon and Northumbria. They had three children - Maud de Lens aka Matilda (1074-1130), Judith (1075-1137) and Adelese aka Alice (c1075/6-1126). Their eldest daughter, Maud, brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband, David I of Scotland. Their daughter, Adelise, married Raoul III de Conches whose sister, Godehilde, married Baldwin I of Jerusalem.

In 1075, Waltheof joined the Revolt of the Earls against William. It was the last serious act of resistance against the Norman conquest of England. Some sources claim that Judith betrayed Waltheof to the bishop of Winchester, who informed her uncle, the king. Other sources say that Waltheof was innocent and that it was he who notified the bishop and king of the plot. Waltheof was beheaded on 31 May 1076 at St. Giles Hill, near Winchester.

After Waltheof's execution, Judith was betrothed by William to Simon I of St. Liz, 1st Earl of Northampton by her uncle, William. Judith refused to marry Simon and fled the country to avoid William's anger. He then (temporarily) confiscated all Judith's English estates. Simon married Judith's daughter, Maud, in or before 1090.
The parish of Sawtry Judith in Huntingdonshire is named after the Countess

Judith married Siwardsson, Waltheof of Northumbria in 1070. Waltheof (son of Digri, Siward Earl of Northumbria and of Bamburgh, Ælfflæd) was born in 1050 in Wallsend, Northumberland, England; died on 31 May 1076 in St Giles Hill, Hampshire, England; was buried after 31 May 1076 in Crowland Abbey, Crowland, Lincolnshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France; Comte de Blois
• Appointments / Titles: Comte de Châteaudun, Meaux et seigneur de Sancerre, Saint-Florentin, Provins, Montereau, Vertus, Oulchy-le-Château, Château-Thierry, Châtillon-sur-Marne et Montfélix
• Appointments / Titles: Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France; Count
• FSID: LCP1-19Y

Notes:

Comte de Blois, Châteaudun, Chartres, Meaux
Champagne Count of Blois Brie and Chartres

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thibaud_III_de_Blois#Mariages

"This Gersende / Gundrade is said to be the mother of Etienne II de Blois, who marries Adèle de Normandie (Adèle de Blois), daughter of William the Conqueror, hence the succession of the Counts of Champagne, Blois and Sancerre, as well as the lords of Sully (and the kings of England during the reign of Stephen). However this thesis is controversial, because the reason for the repudiation of Gersende in 1048 seems to be the fact that she did not give a 'child to her husband. Étienne II de Blois, according to this hypothesis, would therefore rather come from the second marriage of Thibaud III. "

`

Étienne married de Normandie, Adèle in 1080 in Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. Adèle (daughter of Beauclerc, King of England William and of Flanders, Matilda) was born in 1065 in Normandy, France; died on 8 Mar 1137 in Marcigny, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France; was buried after 8 Mar 1137 in Abbey of Holy Trinity, Caen, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: M1GS-KQP
• Occupation: Hereditary Marshall of the Stable
• Appointments / Titles: 1070; Hereditary Mareschal de Normandie
• Appointments / Titles: 1086, Wiltshire, England; Lord and tenant-in-chief of Draicote
• Residence: 1086; Owner of estates in Hants and Wilts

Notes:

Geoffrey the Marshal, son and heir [of Miles], succeeded his father in or before 1070, and with his (unnamed) brother or brothers sold to St. Stephen's, Caen, a strip of cultivated land situated between the 2 branches of the Odon at Venoix and a tenant there. He gave abbot William (1070-79) the land in which the monks had made a channel of the Odon and the claim derived from it. In 1086 he held land in chief at East Worldham, Hants, as Geoffrey the Marshal, and as Geoffrey he held lands at Draycot, Wilts. His wife's name is unknown, but he is presumably father or grandfather of Robert de Venoix, who unsuccessfully claimed the office of Master Marshal against Gilbert the Marshal under Henry I. [Complete Peerage XI:Appendix E:123]

Son of Goisfrid De Bec and Lesceline (surname unknown). He had 2 wives: (No Name) and Aline Pipard - who was mother of his two sons. He was father of Gilbert (Fitz-Geoffrey) "The Marshal" Fitzrobert and Ilbert ou Gilbert "The Marshall". He was full-brothe

Family/Spouse: Pipard, Aline. Aline (daughter of Pipard, John) was born in 1060 in Normandy, France; died in 1105 in Pembrokeshire, Wales. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Burial: Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London, England
• Appointments / Titles: Empress
• Appointments / Titles: Queen of England
• FSID: LRRR-5KK
• Birth: 1102, Oxfordshire, England
• Birth: 7 Feb 1102, Winchester, Hampshire, England
• Birth: 14 Feb 1102, London, London, England
• Appointments / Titles: Between 14 Jan 1114 and 30 May 1125; German Queen
• Appointments / Titles: Between 14 Jan 1114 and 30 May 1125; Holy Roman Empress
• Appointments / Titles: Between 14 Jan 1114 and 30 May 1125; Queen of Italy
• Appointments / Titles: Between 8 Jan 1126 and 7 Jan 1127; declared heiress-presumptive, throne disputed with Stephen of Blois
• Appointments / Titles: Between 14 Apr 1141 and 7 Jan 1149; Lady of the English (disputed)
• Death: 1167, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France
• Death: 1167, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France
• Death: 10 Sep 1167, Cathédral Notre-Dame de Rouen, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France
• Death: 17 Sep 1167, Cathédral Notre-Dame de Rouen, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France

Notes:

READ ONLY -- HENRY II IS LOCKED.

Empress Matilda (c. 7 February 1102 – 10 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was the claimant to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as a child when she married the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. She travelled with her husband into Italy in 1116, was controversially crowned in St. Peter's Basilica, and acted as the imperial regent in Italy. Matilda and Henry had no children, and when he died in 1125, the crown was claimed by Lothair II, one of his political enemies.

Meanwhile, Matilda's younger brother, William Adelin, died in the White Ship disaster of 1120, leaving England facing a potential succession crisis. On Henry V's death, Matilda was recalled to Normandy by her father, who arranged for her to marry Geoffrey of Anjou to form an alliance to protect his southern borders. Henry I had no further legitimate children and nominated Matilda as his heir, making his court swear an oath of loyalty to her and her successors, but the decision was not popular in the Anglo-Norman court. Henry died in 1135 but Matilda and Geoffrey faced opposition from the Norman barons and were unable to pursue their claims. The throne was instead taken by Matilda's cousin Stephen of Blois, who enjoyed the backing of the English Church. Stephen took steps to solidify his new regime, but faced threats both from neighbouring powers and from opponents within his kingdom.

In 1139 Matilda crossed to England to take the kingdom by force, supported by her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, and her uncle, King David I of Scotland, while Geoffrey focused on conquering Normandy. Matilda's forces captured Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, but the Empress's attempt to be crowned at Westminster collapsed in the face of bitter opposition from the London crowds. As a result of this retreat, Matilda was never formally declared Queen of England, and was instead titled the Lady of the English. Robert was captured following the Rout of Winchester in 1141, and Matilda agreed to exchange him for Stephen. Matilda became trapped in Oxford Castle by Stephen's forces that winter, and was forced to escape across the frozen River Isis at night to avoid capture. The war degenerated into a stalemate, with Matilda controlling much of the south-west of England, and Stephen the south-east and the Midlands. Large parts of the rest of the country were in the hands of local, independent barons.

Matilda returned to Normandy, now in the hands of her husband, in 1148, leaving her eldest son to continue the campaign in England; he eventually succeeded to the throne as Henry II in 1154. She settled her court near Rouen and for the rest of her life concerned herself with the administration of Normandy, acting on Henry's behalf when necessary. Particularly in the early years of her son's reign, she provided political advice and attempted to mediate during the Becket controversy. She worked extensively with the Church, founding Cistercian monasteries, and was known for her piety. She was buried under the high altar at Bec Abbey after her death in 1167.

Family/Spouse: Plantagenet, Duke Geoffrey V. Geoffrey (son of of Anjou, Fulk V and du Maine, Countess Ermentrude) was born on 31 Aug 1113 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France; died on 14 Sep 1151 in Château-du-Loir, Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France; was buried after 14 Sep 1151 in St Julian Church, Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Nickname: Maud
• FSID: L8M6-YWJ
• Appointments / Titles: Between 2 Jul 1072 and 1113, Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire, England; 2nd Countess
• Appointments / Titles: 1124, Scotland; Queen

Notes:

Maud, or Matilda, was the queen consort of King David I of Scotland. She was the great-niece of William the Conqueror and the granddaughter of Siward, Earl of Northumbria. Her parents were Waltheof, the Anglo-Saxon Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton, and his Norman wife Judith of Lens. Her father was the last of the major Anglo-Saxon earls to remain powerful after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Her mother was William the Conqueror's niece. Through her ancestors, the Counts of Boulogne, Maud also was a descendant of Alfred the Great and Charles the Bald, and a cousin of Godfrey of Bouillon.

Maud married Simon de Senlis (or St Liz) in about 1090. Earlier, her great-uncle William the Conqueror had tried to get Maud's mother, Judith, to marry Simon. Simon received the honour of Huntingdon (whose lands stretched across much of eastern England) probably in right of his wife from William Rufus before the end of the year 1090. Maud and Simon had three known children: Matilda of St Liz (Maud), who married first, Robert Fitz Richard of Tonbridge, and second, Saer De Quincy; Simon of St Liz; and Saint Waltheof of Melrose.

Maud's first husband Simon died sometime after 1111, and Maud next married David, the brother-in-law of Henry I of England, in 1113. Through this marriage, David gained control over Maud's vast estates in England to add to his own lands in Cumbria and Strathclyde. David and Maud had four children (two sons and two daughters): Malcolm, who died young; Henry; Claricia, who never married; and Hodierna, who also never married.

In 1124, David became King of Scots. Maud's two sons by different fathers, Simon and Henry, would later vie for the Earldom of Huntingdon.

Maud died in 1130 or 1131 and was buried at Scone Abbey in Perthshire, but she appears in a charter of dubious origin dated 1147.

Maud of Huntingdon appears as a character in Elizabeth Chadwick's novel "The Winter Mantle" (2003), as well as Alan Moore's novel "Voice of the Fire" (1995) and Nigel Tranter's novel "David the Prince" (1980).

Matilda married of Scotland, King David I in 1113 in Scotland. David (son of of Scotland, Malcolm III and Aetheling, Queen of Scotland and Saint Margaret) was born on 31 Dec 1080 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland; was christened in 1124 in Scotland; died on 24 May 1153 in Carlisle, Cumberland, England; was buried on 24 May 1153 in Dunfermline Abbey, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Matilda married de Senlis, Earl Simon in 1087. Simon (son of de Senlis, Lord Laudri and de Senlis, Ermengarde) was born in 1068 in Normandy, France; died in 1111 in La Charité, Nièvre, Bourgogne, France; was buried in 1111 in La Prieuré de La Charité-sur-Loire, Nièvre, Bourgogne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Nickname: Guillaume
• FSID: LZD1-94T
• Alternate Birth: 1087, Chartres, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1102 and 1107, Blois, Loir-et-Cher, Centre, France; Count of Blois
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1102 and 1107, Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France; Count of Chartres
• Appointments / Titles: 1104, Sully, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France; Count of Sully

Notes:

William de Blois (William the Simple) was Count of Blois and Count of Chartres from 1102 to 1107, and Count of Sully. He was the eldest son of Stephen-Henry, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy, daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders.

He was the older brother of Theobald II, Count of Champagne, King Stephen of England and Henry, Bishop of Winchester.

William was the eldest legitimate male heir of William the Conqueror, after the death of Henry I, but he was not considered as a candidate for the English crown.

William was at first groomed to inherit the comptal throne, and was designated count shortly before his father's departure on his second crusade in 1102. Many historians believed William had a mental deficient, but this has never been substantiated. His mother found him obstreperous and unfit for wide ranging comptal duties. He did once assault and threaten to kill the Bishop of Chartres over a jurisdictional dispute. So, when her second son Theobald came of age, around 1107, Adela elevated him to the position of count of Blois-Chartres, and William retired to his wife's lands in Sully.

In 1104, William married Agnes of Sully, the heiress to the lordship of Sully-sur-Loire, a woman of admirable beauty attached to the court of William's mother. The marriage of William and Agnes was a happy one and several children were born.

Their children included:
Margaret (c. 1105 - 1145). She married Henry, Count of Eu, Lord of Hastings, about 1122.
Henry de Sully, Abbot of Fécamp (d. 1189)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103820601/william-de_blois

WIlliam married de Sully, Agnes in 1104 in Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. Agnes (daughter of de Sully, Gilles II and de Bourges, Eldeberge) was born in 1085 in Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France; died on 8 Mar 1137 in Saône-et-Loire, Franche-Comté, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: KN44-S54

Notes:

Margaret: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshal_(Marshal_of_England)

"The name of Gilbert’s wife is not known."
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL1.htm#JohnFitzGilbertMarshaldied1165

Family/Spouse: Giffard, Gilbert. Gilbert (son of Gifford, Robert and Conversana, Sybil) was born in 1065 in Tonbridge, Kent, England; died in 1130 in Winterborne Monkton, Dorset, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]