Eadhild (died 937) was an English princess, the second wife of Hugh, duke of the Franks. She was a daughter of

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (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 cousin ...

, king of the Anglo-Saxons and his second wife

Ælfflæd Ælfflæd is a name of Anglo-Saxon England meaning Ælf (Elf) and flæd (beauty). It may refer to: * Saint Ælfflæd of Whitby (654–714) * Ælfflæd of Mercia, daughter of Offa, wife of King Æthelred I of Northumbria * Ælfflæd, wife of Edwar ...

. In 926 Edward's son, king

Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was List of monarchs of Wessex, King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and List of English monarchs, King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. ...

, received an embassy from his cousin,

Adelolf, Count of Boulogne Adelolf, Count of BoulogneHis name is variously spelled Adelulf, Adalulf, Adalolf, and, in French, Adalolphe; in Latin, Adalolphus. (died 933), was a younger brother of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders and was given the County of Boulogne by his fat ...

, on behalf of Hugh, and Æthelstan agreed to give his half-sister, Eadhild, in marriage in return for an enormous quantity of gifts and relics. According to

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) 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 ...

, these included spices, jewels, many swift horses, an elaborate onyx vase, a crown of solid gold, the sword of

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...

's lance and a piece of the

Crown of Thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the inst ...

. Eadhild's full sister,

Eadgifu The name Eadgifu, sometimes Latinized as ''Ediva'' or ''Edgiva'', may refer to: * Eadgifu of Kent (died c. 966), third wife of king Edward the Elder, King of Wessex * Eadgifu of Wessex (902 – after 955), wife of King Charles the Simple * Eadgifu ...

, was the wife of the deposed king of the West Franks,

Charles the Simple Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a me ...

. Hugh was a potential rival for the Frankish throne, and Eadgifu may have promoted the marriage in order to sever a dangerous link between Hugh and Count Herbert of Vermandois. Eadhild died childless in 937.Ortenberg, p. 228; Freeman, p. 234

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External links

* 937 deaths 10th-century English people 10th-century English women Year of birth unknown House of Wessex English princesses Daughters of kings {{Europe-royal-stub