Ealhswith
| Ealhswith | |
|---|---|
| Wife of Alfred the Great | |
 | |
| Tenure | 23 April 871 – 26 October 899 |
| Born | c. 852 Mercia |
| Died | 5 December 905 (aged 53) |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Alfred the Great |
| Issue | Æthelflæd Edward the Elder Æthelgifu Æthelweard Ælfthryth |
| House | House of Wessex |
| Father | Æthelred Mucil |
| Mother | Eadburh |
| Occupation | Nun |
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Ealhswith or Ealswitha (born c. 852 in Mercia – died 905) was the daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucil, Ealdorman of the Gaini. She was married in 868 to Alfred the Great, before he became king of Wessex.[1] In accordance with ninth century West Saxon custom, she was not given the title of queen. [2]
Life
Ealswith was the daughter of Æthelred and his wife Eadburh. She was related to the royal house of Mercia through her mother.[3]
After Alfred's death in 899, Ealhswith became a nun. She died on 5 December 905, and is buried in St. Mary's Abbey, Winchester, Hampshire.[4]
Elswitha Hall in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, built in the 18th Century, is named after her.
Children
The children of Alfred and Ealhswith included[5]:
- Æthelflæd (ca 869–918), Lady of the Mercians. Married Æthelred, Ealdorman of western Mercia in 889
- Eadmund, Asser mentions Eadmund as a son of Alfred
- Edward the Elder (ca 872–924), King of Wessex
- Elfreda, The book of Hydes mentions Elfreda as a daughter. She is not mentioned by Asser
- Æthelgifu (?–896) Nun at Shaftesbury Abbey, Dorset, elected Abbess in 888
- Ælfthryth (877–929) Married Baldwin II, Count of Flanders
- Æthelweard (Ethelward the Atheling) (880–920)
See also
References
- ^ Asser's Life of King Alfred, p. 77, in Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge eds., Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources, Penguin, 1983
- ^ Keynes & Lapidge eds., op. cit., pp. 71, 235-236
- ^ Giles, J. A. (trans.) (2000) Asser, Annals of the Reign of Alfred the Great (In parentheses Publications, Cambridge, Ontario), p. 11, via Medieval Lands [1]
- ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, A, 905 [904], C, 902, and D, 905. Online version: [2]
- ^ Medieval Lands