Æthelflæd Eneda ('the White Duck'; died in the 960s) was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who was the first wife of

Edgar, King of England Edgar (or Eadgar; 8 July 975), known sometimes as Edgar the Peacemaker or the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. He became king of all England on his brother Eadwig's death. He was the younger son of King Edm ...

, and likely the mother of

Edward the Martyr Edward the Martyr ( – 18 March 978) was King of the English from 8 July 975 until he was killed in 978. He was the eldest son of King Edgar (r. 959–975). On Edgar's death, the succession to the throne was contested between Edward's sup ...

Life

Sources

She is attested by

Eadmer Eadmer or Edmer ( – ) was an English historian, theologian, and ecclesiastic. He is known for being a contemporary biographer of his archbishop and companion, Saint Anselm, in his ''Vita Anselmi'', and for his ''Historia novorum i ...

's ''Life of St Dunstan'', which says that Æthelflæd Eneda, daughter of Ordmær,

ealdorman Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''Collins English Dictionary''. was an office in the Government ...

(''dux'') of the

East Angles The Kingdom of the East Angles (; ), informally known as the Kingdom of East Anglia, was a small independent kingdom of the Angles during the Anglo-Saxon period comprising what are now the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and perhaps ...

, became the lawful wife (''coniunx legitima'') of Edgar while he was king of the

Mercians 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 ...

(between 957 and 959), and died 'a few years later'. Æthelflæd was thought to have been a strong, independent and well educated lady. This is echoed by the twelfth-century chronicle of

John of Worcester John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is now usually held to be the author of the . Works John of Worcester's principal work was the (Latin for "Chronicle from Chronicles") or ...

, which reads: 'He dgarhad previously also had, by Æthelflæd the Fair, called Eneda (the daughter of the ealdorman, Ordmær), Edward, afterwards king and martyr…' The genealogical trees preceding the chronicle call Edgar's first wife 'Eneda, ''femina generosissima''' ('a woman most nobly born'). A twelfth-century benefactor's list of the

New Minster, Winchester The New Minster in Winchester was a royal Benedictine abbey founded in in Winchester in the England, English county of Hampshire. Alfred the Great had intended to build the monastery, but only got around to buying the land. His son, Edward the ...

, names Æthelflæd as the wife of Edgar. She gave land at

Lingfield Lingfield can refer to: * Lingfield, County Durham, England, a village * Lingfield, Surrey, England, a village ** Lingfield Park Racecourse ** Lingfield Cricket Club, prominent in the 18th century ** Lingfield railway station, serving the villag ...

and

Sanderstead Sanderstead is a village and medieval-founded church parish at the southern end of Croydon in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, and formerly in the historic county of Surrey, until 1965. It takes in Purley Downs and S ...

to the minster.

Family

Cyril Hart proposes that Æthelflæd's father could have been Ordmær, the ''vir potens'' ('powerful man') who exchanged land at Hatfield with Edgar's foster-father

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 ...

according to the ''

Liber Eliensis The ''Liber Eliensis'' is a 12th-century English chronicle and history, written in Latin. Composed in three books, it was written at Ely Abbey on the island of Ely in the fenlands of eastern Cambridgeshire. Ely Abbey became the cathedral of ...

''. Hart suggests that the chronicler may have been mistaken about Ordmær's rank as 'no ealdorman or thegn of this name witnesses any of the numerous surviving royal diplomas of the tenth century.' After Æthelflæd married Edgar, he became king of England at the age of sixteen in 959. Their son Edward was born about 962. Since Edgar began relationships with Wulfthryth and Ælfthryth so soon afterwards, marrying Ælfthryth in 964, Cyril Hart speculates that Æthelflæd must have died before then, although the birth dates of their respective children suggest that his 'liaison' with Wulfthryth may have overlapped with his marriage to Æthelflæd.

Legitimacy of her marriage to Edgar

Edgar's subsequent wife Ælfthryth questioned the legitimacy of Edgar's marriage to Æthelflæd in order to present her sons, Edmund and Æthelred, as stronger candidates to the throne. This was a factor in the factional dispute between the supporters of Edward and Æthelred which ended in Edward's murder. Modern historians generally treat Æthelflæd as Edgar's wife, though in some way considered as less legitimate than his marriage to Ælfthryth.Williams (2003), p. 5; see also

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelflaed Eneda Anglo-Saxon women 10th-century births 960s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain