Wulfthryth of Wessex
| Wulfthryth of Wessex | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort of Wessex | |
| Born | fl. 868 |
| Spouse | Æthelred of Wessex |
| Issue | Æthelhelm Æthelwold |
| House | House of Wessex |
Wulfthryth of Wessex (fl. 868) was a queen consort of the kingdom of Wessex, the wife of King Æthelred. Her name is sometimes Latinized as Wulfrida or Wilfrida.
Little is known of Wulfthryth. She witnessed a charter of 868, in which she has the title of regina ("queen").[1] The charter appears in the Codex Wintoniensis, but Wulfthryth is otherwise unrecorded in primary sources.[2] Stephanie Hollis notes that 868 was the year of Alfred's marriage to a Mercian and that "Wulfthryth's name looks Mercian".[3]
Wulfthryth is considered to be the likely mother of Æthelhelm (c. 865 – c. 890) and of Æthelwold (died 902), the leader of Æthelwold's Revolt.[4]
Notes
- ^ Janet L. Nelson, 'Reconstructing a royal family: reflections on Alfred', in Ian N. Wood, Niels Lund (eds.), People and Places in Northern Europe, 500-1600: Essays in Honour of Peter Hayes Sawyer (Boydell & Brewer, 1991) p. 55
- ^ Florence Elizabeth Harmer, Select English Historical Documents of the Ninth and Tenth Centuries (Cambridge University Press, 1914), p. 102
- ^ Stephanie Hollis, Anglo-Saxon Women and the Church: Sharing a Common Fate (1992), p. 215 (footnote)
- ^ N. J. Higham, D. H. Hill, Edward the Elder: 899-924 (2013), p. 35