Æthelburg (also Æthelburh or Ethelburga) (ca. 673–740) was Queen of Wessex by marriage to King
Ine of Wessex
Ine, also rendered Ini or Ina, ( la, Inus; c. AD 670 – after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecesso ...
. Perhaps most famed for her act in 722, when she destroyed the stronghold of
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
(which had been built by Ine) in an attempt to find the rebel
Ealdbert.
Life
Æthelburg was born circa 673. She was the wife of King
Ine of Wessex
Ine, also rendered Ini or Ina, ( la, Inus; c. AD 670 – after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecesso ...
. Æthelburg is considered by some historians to be one of the few Anglo-Saxon women warriors.
In 722, Æthelburg burned down the city of
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
, a city built by Ine.
Æthelburg's exact motivations for burning down the city are not clear, but she was either trying to find the rebel
Ealdbert or she was trying to prevent Taunton from being taken by the rebels. In 726 Æthelburg went on a pilgrimage to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
with her husband King
Ine of Wessex
Ine, also rendered Ini or Ina, ( la, Inus; c. AD 670 – after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecesso ...
who had abdicated the throne, he left no clear heir. Both Æthelburg and King Ine died in Rome.
Legacy
Æthelburg is a featured figure on
Judy Chicago
Judy Chicago (born Judith Sylvia Cohen; July 20, 1939) is an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer known for her large collaborative art installation pieces about birth and creation images, which examine the role of women in history ...
's installation piece ''
The Dinner Party
''The Dinner Party'' is an installation artwork by feminist artist Judy Chicago. Widely regarded as the first epic feminist artwork, it functions as a symbolic history of women in civilization. There are 39 elaborate place settings on a triang ...
'', being represented as one of the 999 names on the ''
Heritage Floor.
In ''The Dinner Party'' the character Æthelburg is actually a combination of Æthelburg of Wessex and
Æthelburg of Kent, which she is often confused with.
[Chicago, 105.][ Eckenstein, Lina, 1963. Woman under monasticism; chapters on saint-lore and convent life between 500 and 1500. (New York: Russell & Russell), 84.]
See also
*
House of Wessex family tree
This is a list of monarchs of Wessex until AD 886. For later monarchs, see the List of English monarchs. While the details of the later monarchs are confirmed by a number of sources, the earlier ones are in many cases obscure.
The names are give ...
References
Bibliography
*Chicago, Judy. ''The Dinner Party: From Creation to Preservation''. London: Merrell (2007).
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelburg
8th-century English people
Anglo-Saxon royal consorts
Women in medieval European warfare
Year of birth unknown
Place of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Place of death unknown
History of Taunton
House of Wessex
8th-century English women