Ælfwynn
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__NOTOC__ Ælfwynn was the ruler of
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
as the 'Second Lady of the Mercians' for a few months in 918, following her mother's death on 12 June 918. She was the daughter of Æthelred and
Æthelflæd Æthelflæd ( – 12 June 918) ruled as Lady of the Mercians in the English Midlands from 911 until her death in 918. She was the eldest child of Alfred the Great, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and his wife Ealhswith. Æthelflæd ...
, the rulers of Mercia. Her accession was the only example of rule passing from one woman to another in the early medieval period in the British Isles. Manuscript C of the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...
'' (ASC C) states: "Here also the daughter of Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, was deprived of all control in Mercia, and was led into
Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...
three weeks before
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
; she was called Ælfwynn." ASC C dates Æthelflæd's death as 12 June 918 and Ælfwynn's deposition to December 919, but most historians revise the deposition to 918. George Molyneux gives the period of Ælfwynn's power as "six or eighteen months". ASC C is the only version of the ''Chronicle'' to mention Ælfwynn. Other versions reflect a West Saxon view point and ASC A states that Edward took power in Mercia immediately after Æthelflæd's death, but ASC C includes entries from a lost version called the 'Mercian Chronicle'.


Life

Ælfwynn's parents may have married as early as 882 and not later than 887. According to
William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...
, Ælfwynn was the only child of Æthelflæd and Æthelred. The date of her birth is not recorded, but it is presumed that she was born soon after her parents' marriage, perhaps around 888. William's account states that her birth was a difficult one, and that this led her mother to abstain from further sexual relations. Ælfwynn's father spent much of the decade after her birth on campaign with his father-in-law King Alfred and brother-in-law Edward Ætheling (later King
Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (870s?17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousi ...
). By 902 his health was poor and Æthelflæd was from then onwards the effective ruler of Mercia. William of Malmesbury states that Alfred sent his eldest grandson,
Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ; ; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern histori ...
son of Edward, to be educated at the court of Æthelflæd. William's panegyric on Æthelstan claims that he received a first-class education in Mercia, and it is thought likely that Ælfwynn would have been equally well educated. The first contemporary written evidence of Ælfwynn is dated to around 904, a
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
(S 1280) recording the lease of land by Æthelred and Æthelflæd for the traditional three lives—those of Æthelred, Æthelflæd and Ælfwynn—in and around Worcester from Bishop Waerferth and the monks and clerics of
Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England cathedral in Worcester, England, Worcester, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Worcester and is the Mother Church# ...
. Ælfwynn did not witness this charter, but she may have witnessed charter S 225 of circa 915, concerning lands around Farnborough, and she is very probably the Ælfwynn who witnessed S 367 of circa 903 relating to lands in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
.


Reign

Ælfwynn's mother died on 12 June 918. Unlike her mother, Ælfwynn may have lacked broad support. No opposition to Edward's decision to remove her from power and send her to Wessex in December 918 is recorded by the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' or elsewhere. It could be considered that Ælfwynn was the last ruler of Mercia, but that kingdom was not entirely absorbed into the kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, later the
kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...
, until much later. Her cousin Æthelstan was ruler of Mercia only before becoming king of the Anglo-Saxons, and so too was King
Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...
ruler of the Mercians under his elder brother King Eadwig.


Later life

There is no certain record of Ælfwynn after her removal from power. In Maggie Bailey's view, she probably entered holy orders. It is possible that she is the religious woman named Ælfwynn who is the beneficiary of charter S 535 dated 948 in the reign of King Eadred. Shashi Jayakumar suggests that she may have been the
Ælfwynn __NOTOC__ Ælfwynn was the ruler of Mercia as the 'Second Lady of the Mercians' for a few months in 918, following her mother's death on 12 June 918. She was the daughter of Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, Æthelred and Æthelflæd, the rulers ...
who was wife of
Æthelstan Half-King Æthelstan Half-King (fl. 932 – 956) was an Ealdorman of East Anglia who served five kings of England, including Edgar, King of England, Edgar, who was brought up by Æthelstan's wife Ælfwynn, wife of Æthelstan Half-King, Ælfwynn, following ...
and foster-mother of the future King Edgar. Caradoc's ''History of Wales'' preserves a tradition that Ælfwynn was deposed on a pretense of secretly planning to marry a Danish king, but this is described by Michael Livingston as "historically unlikely"., citing Laura Hibbard Loomis, ''Medieval Romance in England'', p. 110


See also

* Kings of Mercia family tree


References


Sources

* * * * * *


Further reading

* * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aelfwynn, Lady of the Mercians 10th-century English people Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Year of death unknown Place of death unknown 10th-century English women Mercian people 10th-century monarchs in Europe