Æthelswith Wessex Queen Consort Mercia 838-888

Paternal Family Tree: Wessex

In or before 838 [her father] King Æthelwulf of Wessex and [her mother] Osburgh Queen Consort Wessex were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Wessex. He the son of [her grandfather] King Egbert of Wessex [aged 64].

Around 838 Æthelswith Wessex Queen Consort Mercia was born to King Æthelwulf of Wessex and Osburgh Queen Consort Wessex.

In 839 [her brother] King Æthelstan of Kent was appointed King of Kent by his father King Æthelwulf of Wessex.

In 839 [her grandfather] King Egbert of Wessex [aged 66] died. His son [her father] Æthelwulf succeeded King Wessex.

In 852 [her brother] King Æthelstan of Kent died. He may have been buried at Winchester Old Minster.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 853. This year [her future husband] Burhred, King of Mercia, with his council, besought [her father] King Ethelwulf to assist him to subdue North-Wales. He did so; and with an army marched over Mercia into North-Wales, and made all the inhabitants subject to him. The same year King Ethelwulf sent his son [her brother] Alfred to Rome [aged 4]; and Leo, who was then pope, consecrated him king, and adopted him as his spiritual son. The same year also Elchere with the men of Kent, and Huda with the men of Surrey, fought in the Isle of Thanet [Map] with the heathen army, and soon obtained the victory; but there were many men slain and drowned on either hand, and both the aldermen killed. Burhred, the Mercian king, about this time received in marriage the daughter [aged 15] of Ethelwulf, king of the West-Saxons.

Assers Life of Alfred 853. 853. 9. Other Events of 853.24 That same year also, Ealdorman Ealhere with the men of Kent, and Huda with the men of Surrey, fought bravely and resolutely against an army of the heathen in the island which is called Tenet [Map]25 in the Saxon tongue, but Ruim in the Welsh language. At first the Christians were victorious. The battle lasted a long time; many fell on both sides, and were drowned in the water; and both the ealdormen were there slain. In the same year also, after Easter, [her father] Æthelwulf, King of the West Saxons, gave his daughter [aged 15] to [her future husband] Burgred, King of the Mercians, as his queen, and the marriage was celebrated in princely wise at the royal vill of Chippenham [Map].

Note 24. Based upon the Chronicle.

Note 25. Thanet [Map].

Around May 853 King Burgred of Mercia and Æthelswith Wessex Queen Consort Mercia [aged 15] were married at Chippenham, Wiltshire [Map]. She by marriage Queen Consort Mercia. She the daughter of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and Osburgh Queen Consort Wessex.

In 856 [her father] King Æthelwulf of Wessex and [her step-mother] Judith Carolingian Queen Consort Wessex [aged 12] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Wessex. She the daughter of Charles "Bald" I King West Francia [aged 32] and Ermentrude Orléans Queen Consort West Francia. He the son of [her grandfather] King Egbert of Wessex.

Around 858 [her brother] King Æthelbald of Wessex and [her step-mother] Judith Carolingian Queen Consort Wessex [aged 14] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Wessex. She the daughter of Charles "Bald" I King West Francia [aged 34] and Ermentrude Orléans Queen Consort West Francia. He the son of [her father] King Æthelwulf of Wessex and [her mother] Osburgh Queen Consort Wessex.

On 13th January 858 [her father] King Æthelwulf of Wessex died. His son [her brother] Æthelbald succeeded King Wessex.

Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans

Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.

Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.

In 868 [her brother] King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex [aged 19] and [her sister-in-law] 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 [her father] King Æthelwulf of Wessex and [her mother] Osburgh Queen Consort Wessex.

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

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

Around 22nd March 871 Halfdan Ragnarsson defeated the Wessex army led by [her brother] King Æthelred of Wessex [aged 24] and King Alfred "The Great" of Wessex [aged 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] King Æthelred of Wessex [aged 24] died possibly as a result of wounds received at the Battle of Merton which took place a month earlier.

Around 875 [her husband] King Burgred of Mercia died.

In 888 Æthelswith Wessex Queen Consort Mercia [aged 50] died at Pavia [Map].

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 888. This year Alderman Beeke conducted the alms of the West-Saxons and of King Alfred to Rome; but Queen Ethelswith [aged 50], who was the sister of King Alfred, died on the way to Rome; and her body lies at Pavia [Map]. The same year also Ethered, Archbishop of Canterbury and Alderman Ethelwold, died in one month.

Royal Ancestors of Æthelswith Wessex Queen Consort Mercia 838-888

Kings Wessex: Daughter of King Æthelwulf of Wessex

Ancestors of Æthelswith Wessex Queen Consort Mercia 838-888

Great x 4 Grandfather: Ingild Wessex 3 x Great Grandson of Ceawlin King Wessex

Great x 3 Grandfather: Eoppa Wessex 4 x Great Grandson of Ceawlin King Wessex

Great x 2 Grandfather: Eafa Wessex 5 x Great Grandson of Ceawlin King Wessex

Great x 1 Grandfather: Ealmund King of Kent 6 x Great Grandson of Ceawlin King Wessex

Grandfather: King Egbert of Wessex 7 x Great Grandson of Ceawlin King Wessex

father: King Æthelwulf of Wessex son of King Egbert of Wessex

Æthelswith Wessex Queen Consort Mercia daughter of King Æthelwulf of Wessex

Grandfather: Oslac

mother: Osburgh Queen Consort Wessex