Ethelfleda
Ethelfleda (alternative spelling
Aethelfled,
Æthelfleda or
Æthelflæd) (
872/
879?-
918) was the eldest daughter of King
Alfred the Great of
Wessex and his wife
Ealhswith. She was born around AD 872. She married Aethelred or Ethelred, later the
ealdorman or
earl of
Mercia, in about 886, and had one daughter, Aelfwynn.
During the 800s and early 900s the
Danes overran most of the
English Kingdoms such as
Northumbria, Eastern
Mercia,
East Anglia etc.
Alfred and his descendants reconquered these lands from the
Danes by
937[Hill, Paul, The Age of Athelstan, Tempus Publishing, 2004. (ISBN 0752425668)]. The aid given him in this by Mercia had to be acknowledged. Instead of making the dominion of Wessex over Mercia seem like a
conquest, Alfred married Ethelfleda to Aethelred of Mercia and gave his son-in-law the title Eolderman or
Earl of Mercia, thus allowing some ongoing autonomy. Since much of Western Mercia was never under the control of the Danes, and remained strong, this was a prudent move. Further prudence prevailed when the kingdoms were finally absorbed; they were not absorbed into Wessex or greater Wessex but into England. The term
Anglo-Saxon thus reflects King Alfred's diplomatic integration of the Mercians
Angles and the Saxons.
Ethelfleda married at the age of 15, and while travelling to Mercia for her wedding her band was attacked by the Danes in an attempt to kill her and so sabotage the alliance between Wessex and Mercia. Though half her company perished in the first attack, Ethelfleda used an old trench as a fortress, and defeated the Danes. While her husband was alive, she signed agreements, leading some to think that she was the real leader. On her husband's death in 911 after the
Battle of Tettenhall, she was elevated to the status of "Lady of the Mercians". This title was not a nominal position; she was a formidable military leader and tactician. Ethelfleda ruled for approximately eight years (according to the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) from the newly fortified capital at
Stafford, it is likely that the
English county of
Staffordshire first came into being during her reign. She fortified her existing borders and re-took Derby. She died at
Tamworth in 918, and was buried at St Peter's Church (now St Oswald's priory) in
Gloucester. She was joint lady of the Mercians along with her young daughter
Aelfwynn. She was succeeded as ruler of Mercia by her brother, King
Edward the Elder of Wessex.
The succession of
Edward the Elder finalised the union of the two kingdoms of
Wessex and
Mercia and gives some insight into the emergence of a unified
England.
The dominion of Mercia descended to Ethelfleda's daughter and heiress,
Aelfwynn (A.D. 920). Chroniclers have noticed the right of Aelfwynn so precisely as to leave no doubt concerning her claim; and this fact is of considerable value in showing that, contrary to the practice of other
Teutonic nations, the sovereign authority amongst the Anglo-Saxons might descend to a female; or, according to the Anglo-Saxon expression, which the French have adopted, "fall to the spindle side".
In this instance, however, the weaker heir was compelled to yield to a more powerful opponent, and one from whom no enmity could have been feared. Aelfwynn was conducted as a captive into Mercia by her uncle Edward, who was engaged in successful warfare against the Danes; and we do not hear anything more concerning her in history. She seems to have lived the rest of her life in a nunnery.
Reference :
History of the Anglo-Saxons by Sir Francis Palgrave (1876) (Paperback edition on Senate) page 164.
* Ian W. Walker.
Mercia and the Making of England (2001)
*http://www.geocities.com/pamela_berkman/alfred.html
