[17] Æthelred was much older than Æthelflæd and they had one known child, a daughter called Ælfwynn. How Ãthelflæd and her family shaped England, episode of Anglo-Saxon Portraits on Ãthelflæd. It was on to this tumultuous stage that Ãthelflæd stepped. Aethelflaed was succeeded by her daughter Aelfwyn, whom Aethelflaed had made a joint ruler with her. Aethelflaed became the effective ruler of Mercia some years before the death (911) of her husband, Aethelred, ealdorman of the Mercians. He praised her as âworthy of a manâs nameâ and âmore illustrious than Caesarâ. [28], Æthelred's health probably declined at some stage in the decade after Alfred died in 899, and Æthelflæd may have become the de facto ruler of Mercia by 902. [7] Brief details of her actions were preserved in a pro-Mercian version of the Chronicle known as the Mercian Register or the Annals of Æthelflæd; although it is now lost, elements were incorporated into several surviving versions of the Chronicle. Edward, who already controlled Wessex, seized the kingdom of Mercia from Aelfwyn, took her captive, and thus solidified his control over most of England. In early 918, Æthelflæd gained possession of Leicester without opposition and most of the local Danish army submitted to her. She is mentioned in Alfredâs will, where he leaves her an estate plus 100 pounds, while her husband is bequeathed a precious sword. You have successfully linked your account! In the mid-880s, Alfred sealed the strategic alliance between the surviving English kingdoms by marrying Æthelflæd to Æthelred. [19] In the view of Ian Walker: "He was a royal ealdorman whose power base lay in the south-west of Mercia in the former kingdom of the Hwicce around Gloucester". There is a wealth of evidence to support the contention that Mercia was a force to be reckoned with in the Anglo-Saxon period. [26], At the end of the ninth century, Æthelred and Æthelflæd fortified Worcester, with the permission of King Alfred and at the request of Bishop Werferth, described in the charter as "their friend". Æthelstan, the eldest son of Edward the Elder and future king of England, was brought up in their court and, in the view of Martin Ryan, certainly joined their campaigns against the Vikings. Why do we not know more about Ãthelflæd? Ãthelflæd took advantage of a tradition that granted women in Mercia greater rights. They returned with the remains of the royal Northumbrian saint, Oswald, which were translated to the new Gloucester minster. The tide is turning. [15] They are mentioned in Alfred's will, which probably dates to the 880s. Celtic visions of Æthelred and Æthelflæd as king and queen certainly offer a different, and equally valid, contemporary take on the complex politics of this transition to a new English state. [86], This article was submitted to WikiJournal of Humanities for external academic peer review in 2018 (reviewer reports). Æthelred was the lord of Mercia and the husband of Æthelflæd . Æthelflæd benefited from a Mercian tradition of queenly importance, and was able to play a key role in the history of the early tenth century as Lady of the Mercians, which would not have been possible in Wessex. © Carnival Film & Television Limited 2016 | a division of NBCUniversal International Studios | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy The Vikingsâ purpose was to conquer the kingdoms completely, yet the battle of Edington in 878 stemmed the tide and a tentative alliance was drawn up, splitting the country in two between English-ruled territory and lands administered by the Danes (the Danelaw). Then, over more than a decade, a coalition of Norse warriors took land in all the major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms â except Wessex, which had so far managed to defy them. After her death, west Mercian coin reverses were again the same as those on coins produced in Wessex. [52][d], In 917 invasions by three Viking armies failed as Æthelflæd sent an army which captured Derby and the territory around it. Aethelflaed became a hunted refugee, along … But it also contains, especially for our period, much genuine historical information which seems to have its roots in a contemporary narrative. Thereafter the two kingdoms became allies, which was to be an important factor in English resistance to the Vikings. [21], Compared to the rest of England, much of English Mercia —Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire —was unusually stable in the Viking age. In 913 she built forts at Tamworth to guard against the Danes in Leicester, and in Stafford to cover access from the Trent Valley. [81] Ryan believes that the Mercian rulers "had a considerable but ultimately subordinate share of royal authority".[65]. His relics had languished in Viking-held Bardney in Lincolnshire, but Ãthelflæd managed to return them to Mercia. In Mercia, Alfred's sister Æthelswith had been the wife of King Burgred of Mercia; she had witnessed charters as queen and had made grants jointly with her husband and in her own name. Her father fought against the Vikings when Ivar the Boneless led the northerners into Mercia… He may have been misinformed about the position but it is also possible that the tombs were moved from their prestigious position next to the saint, when the couple became less known over time or when tenth-century kings acted to minimise the honour paid to their Mercian predecessors. The only recorded event took place in 916, when she sent an expedition to avenge the murder of a Mercian abbot and his companions; her men destroyed the royal crannog of Brycheiniog on Llangorse Lake and captured the queen and thirty-three of her companions. Her caution was rewarded when in that same year, 907, the Wirral Vikings attacked Chester but failed to breach its walls. Lady Aethelflaed has been one of the main characters in The Last Kingdom story since her introduction in the first season and the ‘Lady of Mercia’ remains incredibly popular with fans. Aethelflaed is strong, brave and intelligent; she has a mind as thoughtful as her father’s and a will as strong as her mother’s. By the time of her birth, the Great Heathen Army had already come to East Anglia and conquered them, as well as Northumbria. Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians (c. 870 – 12 June 918) ruled Mercia in the English Midlands from 911 until her death. Three Viking kings were reported to have been killed, and as a result, the image of Ãthelflæd, warrior queen, bearing three royal swords was born. [63], The choice of burial place was symbolic. Ãthelflædâs reputation as a canny ruler extended, not only through the English-speaking world, but over the waters, reaching the ears of her Viking foes. They then moved on Mercia, where they spent the winter of 867–868. There are only a handful of warrior women from the past who have captured imaginations for centuries. Theirs was an entirely political union, designed to strengthen the two kingdoms against Danish and Norwegian incursions in the north. But her reputation has suffered from bad publicity, or rather from a conspiracy of silence among her West Saxon contemporaries. [56] In the Three Fragments, Æthelflæd also formed a defensive alliance with the Scots and the Strathclyde British, a claim accepted by Clarkson. Yet Michael Wood has argued that âwithout her England might never have happenedâ. [75] Alex Woolf concurs[76] and Pauline Stafford describes Æthelflæd as "the last Mercian queen", referred to in charters in such terms as "by the gift of Christ's mercy ruling the government of the Mercians". Victoria Thompson argues that if Æthelflæd had chosen Edward's royal mausoleum in Winchester as the burial place for her husband and herself, that would have emphasised Mercia's subordinate status, whereas a traditional Mercian royal burial place such as Repton would have been a provocative declaration of independence; Gloucester, near the border with Wessex, was a compromise between the two. [39] The Mercian rulers built a new minster in Gloucester and, although the building was small, it was embellished on a grand scale, with rich sculpture. We’re first introduced to Aethelflaed, the future iron lady of Mercia, in the first season of Netflix’s The Last Kingdom. [49], When Æthelred died, Edward took control of the Mercian towns of London and Oxford and their hinterlands, which Alfred had put under Mercian control. Edward did not conquer the Viking Kingdom of York in southern Northumbria. Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians (c. 870 – 12 June 918) ruled Mercia in the English Midlands from 911 until her death. The accession of a female ruler in Mercia is described by the historian Ian Walker as "one of the most unique events in early medieval history". In 883 he made a grant with the consent of King Alfred, thus acknowledging Alfred's lordship. [25] In 901 Æthelflæd and Æthelred gave land and a golden chalice weighing thirty mancuses to the shrine of Saint Mildburg at Much Wenlock church. In 896 a meeting of the Mercian witan was held in the royal hall at Kingsholm, just outside the town. He argues that King Edward was anxious not to encourage Mercian separatism and did not wish to publicise his sister's accomplishments, in case she became a symbol of Mercian claims. [2] In 874 the Vikings expelled King Burgred and Ceolwulf became the last King of Mercia with their support. Historians disagree whether Mercia was an independent kingdom under Æthelred and Æthelflæd but they agree that Æthelflæd was a great ruler who played an important part in the conquest of the Danelaw. Æthelflæd grew up in a world divided. Read more about the real history behind The Last Kingdom here. Aelfwyn is not known to have married and may have gone to a convent. At about the age of nine she received a different kind of education, in the harsh realities of her turbulent times. In Nick Higham's view, medieval and modern writers have been so captivated by her that Edward's reputation has suffered unfairly in comparison. So why do we not know more about the Lady of the Mercians, and is it finally her time to shine? You're now subscribed to our newsletter. She was the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and his wife Ealhswith. [3] The situation was transformed the following year when Alfred won a decisive victory over the Danes at the Battle of Edington. She may also have translated the relics of the martyred Northumbrian prince Ealhmund from Derby to Shrewsbury. [44], Mercia had a long tradition of venerating royal saints and this was enthusiastically supported by Æthelred and Æthelflæd. Keynes argues that a new polity was created when Æthelred submitted to Alfred in the 880s, covering Wessex and English (western) Mercia. Many of these cities owe their existence to her efforts. You will shortly receive a receipt for your purchase via email. In the Midlands and the North she came to dominate the political scene. She is one of the few known women who not only held a role within the household as mother and lady – and within the court, as daughter and wife to kings – but also wielded power on the battlefield. To secure power in Anglo-Saxon England, you first needed the support of âealdormenâ (high-ranking royal officials). Her name most likely means “overflowing with nobility” according to scholar Joanna Arman (32). She was exceptional for many reasons. The most famous are Boudicca, her chariot complete with spiked wheels, and the armoured teenager, Joan of Arc. [12][18], Æthelred's descent is unknown. Aethelflaed: who was the warrior queen who crushed the Vikings? While other kingdoms were ravaged by Viking incursions in the ninth century, parts of Mercia, like Worcester, remained strong and affluent. So, while Bernard Cornwell’s novels and the BBC series The Last Kingdom are cavalier with the historical facts, perhaps they are right to give Æthelflæd a major role. [80], Simon Keynes points out that all coins were issued in Edward's name, and while the Mercian rulers were able to issue some charters on their own authority, others acknowledged Edward's lordship. Most historians believe that Æthelred was incapacitated in his last years. Placement next to the saint would have been a prestigious burial location for Æthelred and Æthelflæd. Portrait of Alfred the Great, Samuel Woodforde (1763-1817) As Æthelflæd reached her teens, her father had begun to push the Vikings out of south eastern England and began to reclaim territory for both his own kingdom of Wessex and his northern ally of Mercia. [14] Æthelflæd was thus half-Mercian and the alliance between Wessex and Mercia was sealed by her marriage to Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians. The historian Ann Williams regards this view as partial and distorted, that he was accepted as a true king by the Mercians and by King Alfred. As the rights of lordship had previously belonged fully to the church, this represented the beginning of transfer from episcopal to secular control of the city. After a long wait, ... Alfred's death in the last series means that his children Edward and Aethelflaed have become more prominent. A second series of eight episodes was aired on BBC Two in the UK in March 2017. By 878, most of England was under Danish Viking rule – East Anglia and Northumbria having been conquered, and Mercia partitioned between the English and the Vikings – but in that year Alfred won a crucial victory at the Battle of Edington. Instead, it was the battle of Tettenhall (in modern-day Wolverhampton) eight years earlier in 910 that secured her image as victorious warrior queen. Æthelstan took control of it in 927 but after his death in 939 the kingdom was contested until the expulsion of the last Norse king in 954. [45] Saintly relics were believed to give supernatural legitimacy to rulers' authority, and Æthelflæd was probably responsible for the foundation or re-foundation of Chester Minster and the transfer to it of the remains of the seventh-century Mercian princess Saint Werburgh from Hanbury in Staffordshire. Nothing is known of Aethelflaed’s youth and she only enters the pages of history at the age of 15 or 16 when she was married to Aethelred. In 918 Leicester surrendered without a fight. Æthelflæd agreed and for some time they were peaceful. [12] Ian Walker suggests that Æthelflæd accepted this loss of territory in return for recognition by her brother of her position in Mercia. It is now that she should be remembered as mother, diplomat, warrior and queen. [6], The most important source for history in this period is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle but Æthelflæd is almost ignored in the standard West Saxon version, in what F. T. Wainwright calls "a conspiracy of silence". Æthelflæd was born around 870 at the height of the Viking invasions of England. Æthelwold joined forces with the Vikings when he was unable to get sufficient support in Wessex, and his rebellion only ended with his death in battle in December 902. Back then, in retaliation for Ãthelflæd and Edwardâs successful campaigns in the Danelaw, Viking troops had laid waste to large parts of Mercia, carrying off plunder and destroying the land. There is little information on her childhood, and she first appears in the historical record as a fully grown adult. [54] At the end of the year, the East Anglian Danes submitted to Edward. She is one of the few known women who not only held a role within the household as mother and lady â and within the court, as daughter and wife to kings â but also wielded power on the battlefield. For a start, it could be that her own brother had her largely written out of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle so as not to promote separatism between Wessex and Mercia. The following year, the Vikings conquered East Anglia. [22] Mercian scholarship had high prestige at the courts of Alfred and Edward. She ensured her daughter, Ãlfwynn, would succeed her, but also fostered her brotherâs son, who would become the great unifier of England, King Ãthelstan. The eldest child of King Alfred the Great, she helped her brother Edward the Elder, king of the West Saxons (reigned 899–924), in conquering the Danish armies occupying eastern England. Wainwright argues that he probably sent his oldest son Æthelstan to be brought up in Mercia, to make him more acceptable to the Mercians as king; Æthelflæd does not appear to have tried to find a husband for her daughter, who must have been nearly thirty by 918. Æthelflæd witnessed charters of Æthelred in 888, 889 and 896. "[77] According to Charles Insley, The assumption that Mercia was in some sort of limbo in this period, subordinate to Wessex and waiting to be incorporated into "England" cannot be sustained ... Æthelred's death in 911 changed little, for his formidable wife carried on as sole ruler of Mercia until her death in 918. The great Viking terror: how Norse warriors conquered the Anglo-Saxons, 10 things you (probably) didnât know about the Anglo-Saxons, Viking women: raiders, traders and settlers. Tim Clarkson's biography has a detailed discussion of Æthelflæd' burhs. A few months later, the leading men of Danish-ruled York offered to pledge their loyalty to Æthelflæd, probably to secure her support against Norse raiders from Ireland, but she died on 12 June 918, before she could take advantage of the offer. Defences were built before 914 at Hereford, and probably Shrewsbury and two other fortresses, at Scergeat and Weardbyrig, which have not been located. The version of record as reviewed is: "Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians" (PDF), WikiJournal of Humanities, 1 (1): 1, 2018, doi:10.15347/WJH/2018.001, ISSN 2639-5347, Wikidata Q59649817.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}, This article is about the Lady of the Mercians. [c] According to the Three Fragments, the Norse (Norwegian) Vikings were expelled from Dublin and then made an abortive attack on Wales. [35] After Æthelflæd's death, Edward encountered fierce resistance to his efforts to consolidate his control of the north-west and he died there in 924, shortly after suppressing a local rebellion. In 917 her troops reconquered the Viking city of Derby, a critical victory as this had been one of the âFive Boroughs of the Danelawâ. The Last Kingdom season 5 theories Season five will consist of another 10 episodes on Netflix, based on books nine and ten of The Saxon Stories: Warriors of the Storm and The Flame Bearer. In 904 Bishop Werferth granted a lease of land in the city to Æthelred and Æthelflæd, to be held for the duration of their lives and that of their daughter Ælfwynn. Æthelflæd erscheint hier als eine der Hauptpersonen in der zweiten Staffel, wobei einige der dargestellten Ereignisse (z. About Tomatometer. [41] Simon Keynes describes the town as "the main seat of their power" and Carolyn Heighway believes that the foundation of the church was probably a family and dynastic enterprise, encouraged by Alfred and supported by Edward and Bishop Werferth. In 914 a Mercian army drawn from Gloucester and Hereford repelled a Viking invasion from Brittany, and the Iron Age Eddisbury hill fort was repaired to protect against invasion from Northumbria or Cheshire, while Warwick was fortified as further protection against the Leicester Danes. [23] Worcester was able to preserve considerable intellectual and liturgical continuity and, with Gloucester, became the centre of a Mercian revival under Æthelred and Æthelflæd that extended into the more unstable areas of Staffordshire and Cheshire. Read on to learn what Dreymon himself has to say about their relationship in the new season. In 903 a Mercian ealdorman "petitioned King Edward, and also Æthelred and Æthelflæd, who then held rulership and power over the race of the Mercians under the aforesaid king". In January 878 Viking invaders swooped down on the palace at Chippenham in Wiltshire where Alfred and his family were staying. In The Last Kingdom, he is depicted as abusive to Lady Aethelflaed, although this may not have been the case in real life. The marriage may have taken place earlier, perhaps when he submitted to Alfred following the recovery of London in 886. [12] According to the Mercian Register, Æthelflæd was buried in the east porticus. As a wife, however, Ãthelflædâs story is all too familiar in terms of royal dynastic marriages. In 909 Edward sent a West Saxon and Mercian force to the northern Danelaw, where it raided for five weeks. Historians consider this unlikely, but she may have sent a contingent to the battle. The East Anglians were forced to buy peace and the following year the Vikings invaded Northumbria, where they appointed a puppet king in 867. The Last Kingdom is a British historical fiction television series based on Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Stories series of novels. Wainwright sees Æthelflæd as willingly accepting a subordinate role in a partnership with her brother and agreeing to his plan of unification of Wessex and Mercia under his rule.
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