Biography of Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England -902

Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England was born to [her father] Æthelred Mucel Mercia Earldorman Gaini and [her mother] Eadburh of Mercia.

Assers Life of Alfred 868. 868. 29. Alfred marries.⁶⁷ In the year of our Lord's incarnation 868, which was the twentieth of King Alfred's life, the aforesaid revered King Alfred, then occupying only the rank of viceroy (secundarii), betrothed⁶⁸ and espoused a noble Mercian lady⁶⁹, daughter of [her father] Æthelred, surnamed Mucill, Ealdorman of the Gaini.⁷⁰ The mother of this lady was named [her mother] Eadburh, of the royal line of Mercia, whom I often saw with my own eyes a few years before her death. She was a venerable lady, and after the decease of her husband remained many years a chaste widow, even till her own death.

Note 67. Original.

Note 68. 'Subarravit, formed from sub and arrha, represents literally the English verb wed, which refers to the giving of security upon the engagement of marriage.... [It] is glossed by beweddian in Napier's Old English Glosses' (Stevenson).

Note 69. William of Malmesbury calls her Æthelswith.

Note 70. Of the Gaini nothing is known.

In 868 King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex (age 19) and Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England were married at Gainsborough [Map]. She the daughter of Æthelred Mucel Mercia Earldorman Gaini and Eadburh of Mercia. He the son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and Osburgh Queen Consort Wessex.

Around 870 [her daughter] Æthelflæd Lady of the Mercians was born to [her husband] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex (age 21) and Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England. She married in or before 887 Æthelred Earldorman of Mercia and had issue.

In 871 [her brother-in-law] King Æthelred of Wessex (age 24) was buried at Wimborne Minster, Dorset [Map]. [her husband] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex (age 22) succeeded King of England. Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England by marriage Queen Consort England.

Battle of Reading

On 4th January 871 [her brother-in-law] King Æthelred of Wessex (age 24) and [her husband] Alfred the Great's (age 22) army attacked, but were repulsed by, the Viking army at Battle of Reading. Æthelwulf Mercia Earldorman Berkshire (age 46) was killed.

Battle of Ashdown

On 8th January 871 [her husband] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex (age 22) defeated the Viking army led by Halfdan Ragnarsson at the Battle of Ashdown in Berkshire. Bagsecg Viking was killed.

Battle of Merton

Around 22nd March 871 Halfdan Ragnarsson defeated the Wessex army led by [her brother-in-law] King Æthelred of Wessex (age 24) and [her husband] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex (age 22) at the Battle of Merton. The location of 'Marton' is not known; suggestions include Marden, Wiltshire in Wiltshire and Winterborne St Martin, Dorset. Bishop Heahmund of Wessex was killed.

On 23rd April 871 [her brother-in-law] King Æthelred of Wessex (age 24) died possibly as a result of wounds received at the Battle of Merton which took place a month earlier.

Around 874 [her son] King Edward "Elder" of the Anglo Saxons was born to [her husband] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex (age 25) and Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England. He married (1) 893 Ecgwynn Unknown Queen Consort Anglo Saxons and had issue (2) 900 Aelfflaed Wiltshire Queen Anglo Saxons, daughter of Æthelhelm Earldorman Wiltshire, and had issue (3) 919 Eadgifu Kent Queen Anglo Saxons and had issue.

In or before 887 [her son-in-law] Æthelred Earldorman of Mercia and [her daughter] Æthelflæd Lady of the Mercians (age 16) were married. She the daughter of [her husband] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex (age 37) and Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England.

In 888 [her sister-in-law] Æthelswith Wessex Queen Consort Mercia (age 50) died at Pavia [Map].

Around 893 [her son] King Edward "Elder" of the Anglo Saxons (age 19) and [her daughter-in-law] Ecgwynn Unknown Queen Consort Anglo Saxons were married. He the son of [her husband] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex (age 44) and Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England.

Death of King Alfred the Great

On 26th October 899 [her husband] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex (age 50) died at Winchester, Hampshire [Map]. He was buried at Hyde Abbey [Map]. His son [her son] Edward (age 25) succeeded King Anglo Saxons. [her daughter-in-law] Ecgwynn Unknown Queen Consort Anglo Saxons by marriage Queen Consort Anglo Saxons.

Around 900 [her son] King Edward "Elder" of the Anglo Saxons (age 26) and [her daughter-in-law] Aelfflaed Wiltshire Queen Anglo Saxons (age 30) were married. She the daughter of Æthelhelm Earldorman Wiltshire. He the son of [her former husband] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex and Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England.

All About History Books

The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.

In 901 [her brother] Æthelwulf Mercia Earldorman Gaini died.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 902. Collation. This year Elswitha died.

On 5th December 902 Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England died.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 903. This year died [her brother] Alderman Ethelwulf, the brother of Elhswitha, mother of King Edward; and Virgilius abbot of the Scots; and Grimbald the mass-priest; on the eighth day of July. This same year was consecrated the new minster at Winchester, on St. Judoc's advent.

In 1110 Hyde Abbey [Map] was consecrated. The bodies of [her former husband] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex, his wife Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England, and their son [her son] King Edward "Elder" of the Anglo Saxons were carried in state through Winchester to be interred before the high altar. Their royal presence made Hyde Abbey a popular pilgrimage destination.

[her daughter] Aelfthryth Wessex Margrave Flanders was born to King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex and Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England. She married Baldwin "Bald" II Margrave Flanders, son of Baldwin "Iron Arm" I Margrave Flanders and Judith Carolingian Queen Consort Wessex, and had issue.

[her son] Æthelweard Wessex was born to King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex and Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England.

[her daughter] Æthelgifu Wessex Abbess Shaftesbury was born to King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex and Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England.

Biography of Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England -902

Royal Descendants of Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England -902Number after indicates the number of unique routes of descent. Descendants of Kings and Queens not included.

Royal Descendants of Æalhswith of Mercia Queen Consort of England -902
Number after indicates the number of unique routes of descent. Descendants of Kings and Queens not included.