Gunhild of Wessex (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1066–1093) was a younger daughter of

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the C ...

and his first wife,

Edyth Swannesha Edith the Fair ( ang, Ealdgȳð Swann hnesce, "Edyth the Gentle Swan"; c. 1025 – c. 1066), also known as Edith Swanneck,Her first name is also spelled Ealdgyth, Aldgyth, ''Edeva'' or Eddeva, and sometimes appears as ''Ēadgȳð'' and ''Ēadgif ...

, who was most likely the wealthy magnate Edyth the Fair from the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

Life

Gunhild remained in England after her father's death at the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...

in 1066 and received her education at

Wilton Abbey Wilton Abbey was a Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury, probably on the site now occupied by Wilton House. It was active from the early tenth century until 1539. History Foundation Wilton Abbey is first reco ...

. This was a centre of learning, which attracted many high-born women, both English and Norman.

Matilda of Scotland Matilda of Scotland (originally christened Edith, 1080 – 1 May 1118), also known as Good Queen Maud, or Matilda of Blessed Memory, was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy as the first wife of King Henry I. She acted as regent of England ...

was educated here, with her sister

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

. It was also the home of the poet Muriel. According to the ''Vita Wulfstani'', while still living at Wilton as an adult, Gunhild began to go blind.

St Wulfstan Wulfstan ( – 20 January 1095) was Bishop of Worcester from 1062 to 1095. He was the last surviving pre-Conquest bishop. Wulfstan is a saint in the Western Christian churches. Denomination His denomination as Wulfstan II is to indicate tha ...

heard about her while visiting and made the sign of the cross before her eyes, at which she was healed. She once met

Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury, OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also called ( it, Anselmo d'Aosta, link=no) after his birthplace and (french: Anselme du Bec, link=no) after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of th ...

and afterwards wrote to him that she intended to follow a religious life. However, in 1093 she eloped with

Alan the Red Alan Rufus, alternatively Alanus Rufus (Latin), Alan ar Rouz (Breton), Alain le Roux (French) or Alan the Red (c. 1040 – 1093), 1st Lord of Richmond, was a Breton nobleman, kinsman and companion of William the Conqueror (Duke William II of Nor ...

, then in his middle 50s. According to

Danelaw The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...

, Gunhild was the heiress of her mother's claims to some counties, properties which had been acquired by Alan the Red, and it may be for this reason that she attracted Alan's attention. Other possibilities include political reasons, or love: Anselm, in a letter addressed to her at this time, stated that she and Alan the Red loved each other. In his letter to her, Anselm argued that although she had not been consecrated as a nun, she had stated her intention to lead a religious life and so should now return "the nun's habit". She apparently replied that she had stated this intention because she had been promised an abbacy, and that this promise not being fulfilled, she was under no obligation to return. The historian Richard Sharpe has argued that Alan the Red and Gunhild had a daughter named Matilda, who was the wife of

Walter D'Aincourt Walter D'Aincourt (or Walter Deincourt or d'Eyncourt) was a landholder in Derby under King Edward the Confessor in 1065/1066. Later in 1066, he fought for William the Conqueror against Harold Godwinson and was rewarded with a large number of manor ...

. After Alan the Red's death shortly after the elopement in 1093, Gunhild settled with his brother

Alan the Black Alan the Black ( la, Alanus Niger, french: Alain le Noir; died 1098) was the second lord of the Honour of Richmond from 1093 until his death. He was a younger son of Odo, Count of Penthièvre. He succeeded his elder brother, Alan Rufus ("Alan the ...

, who was heir to his brother's vast estates. Anselm wrote to her again to refute her previous arguments and urge her again to return to Wilton. Some say she married Alan the Black, and she may have predeceased him.Honeycutt, p. 24

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunhild Of Wessex Anglo-Norse women Anglo-Saxon women House of Godwin 11th-century English people 11th-century English women English princesses Daughters of kings