WikiJournal of Humanities, 2018, 1(1):1 doi: 10.15347/wjh/2018.001 Encyclopedic Review Article Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians Dudley Miles ¹* et al Introduction Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians (c. 870 – 12 June 918), ruled Mercia in the English Midlands from 911 until her death. She was the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, king of Anglo-Saxon Wessex, and his wife Ealhswith. Æthelflæd was born around 870 at the height of the Viking invasions of England. By 878 most of England was under Danish Viking rule, East Anglia and Northumbria having been conquered, and Mer- ciapartitioned between the English and the Vikings, but in that year Alfred won a crucial victory at the Bat- tle of Edington. Soon afterwards the English- controlled western half of Mercia came under the rule of Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, who accepted Al- fred's overlordship. Alfred adopted the title King of the Anglo-Saxons, claiming to rule all English people not living in areas under Viking control. In the mid-880s, Alfred sealed the strategic alliance between the surviv- ing English kingdoms by marrying Æthelflæd to Æth- elred. Æthelred played a major role in fighting off renewed Viking attacks in the 890s, together with Æthelflæd's brother, the future King Edward the Elder. Æthelred Figure 1 | Æthelflæd (from The Cartulary and Customs of and Æthelflæd fortified Worcester, gave generous Abingdon Abbey, c. 1220 donations to Mercian churches and built a new minster PD-Art-PD-old-100 in Gloucester. Æthelred's health probably declined early in the next decade, after which it is likely that Alfred had begun building a network of fortified burhs Æthelflæd was mainly responsible for the government and in the 910s Edward and Æthelflæd embarked on a of Mercia. Edward had succeeded as King of the An- programme of extending them. Among the towns glo-Saxons in 899, and in 909 he sent a West Saxon where she built defences were Bridgnorth, Tamworth, and Mercian force to raid the northern Danelaw. They Stafford, Warwick, Chirbury and Runcorn. In 917 she returned with the remains of the royal Northumbrian sent an army to capture Derby, the first of the Five saint, Oswald, which were translated to the new Boroughs of the Danelaw to fall to the English, a victo- Gloucester minster. Æthelred died in 911 and ry described by Tim Clarkson as "her greatest tri- Æthelflæd then ruled Mercia as Lady of the Mercians. umph".[2] In 918 Leicester surrendered without a fight. The accession of a female ruler in Mercia is described Shortly afterwards the Viking leaders of York offered by the historian Ian Walker as "one of the most unique her their loyalty, but she died on 12 June 918 before events in early medieval history".[1] she could take advantage of the offer, and a few months later Edward completed the conquest of Mer- 1 Dudley Miles cia. Æthelflæd was succeeded by her daughter *Author correspondence: [email protected] Ælfwynn, but in December Edward took personal con- Licensed under: CC-BY trol of Mercia and carried Ælfwynn off to Wessex. Received 13-06-2018; accepted 24-10-2018 1 of 9 | WikiJournal of Humanities WikiJournal of Humanities, 2018, 1(1):1 doi: 10.15347/wjh/2018.001 Encyclopedic Review Article Historians disagree whether Mercia was an independ- edging Alfred's lordship.[10] In 886, according Asser, ent kingdom under Æthelred and Æthelflæd but they Alfred "restored" the Mercian town of London and en- agree that Æthelflæd was a great ruler who played an trusted its care to Æthelred.[b] Alfred then received the important part in the conquest of the Danelaw. She submission of all English not under Viking control and was praised by Anglo-Norman chroniclers such as Wil- adopted the title of King of the Anglo-Saxons instead liam of Malmesbury, who described her as "a powerful of his previous title of King of the West Saxons.[12] In accession to [Edward's] party, the delight of his sub- the 890s, Æthelred and Edward, Alfred's son and fu- jects, the dread of his enemies, a woman of enlarged ture successor, fought off more Viking attacks.[13] Al- soul".[3] According to Pauline Stafford, "like ... Eliza- fred died in 899 and Edward's claim to the throne was beth I she became a wonder to later ages".[4] In Nick disputed by Æthelwold, son of Alfred's elder brother, Higham's view, medieval and modern writers have Æthelred I. Æthelwold gained the support of the Vi- been so captivated by her that Edward's reputation has kings, and his rebellion only ended with his death in suffered unfairly in comparison. battle in December 902.[14] Background Sources Mercia was the dominant kingdom in southern Eng- The most important source for history in this period is land in the eighth century and maintained its position the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle but Æthelflæd is almost until it suffered a decisive defeat by Wessex at the Bat- ignored in the standard West Saxon version, in what F. tle of Ellendun in 825. Thereafter the two kingdoms T. Wainwright calls "a conspiracy of silence". He argues became allies, which was to be an important factor in that King Edward was anxious not to encourage Merci- English resistance to the Vikings.[5] an separatism and did not wish to publicise his sister's accomplishments, in case she became a symbol of In 865 the Viking Great Heathen Army landed in East Mercian claims.[15] Brief details of her actions were pre- Anglia and used this as a starting point for an invasion. served in a pro-Mercian version of the Chronicle known The East Anglians were forced to buy peace and the as the Mercian Register or the Annals of Æthelflæd; following year the Vikings invaded Northumbria, although it is now lost, elements were incorporated where they appointed a puppet king in 867. They then into several surviving versions of the Chronicle. The moved on Mercia, where they spent the winter of 867– Register covers the years 902 to 924, and focuses on 868. King Burgred of Mercia was joined by King Æthel- Æthelflæd's actions; Edward is hardly mentioned and red I of Wessex and his brother, the future King Alfred, her husband only twice, on his death and as father of for a combined attack on the Vikings, who refused an their daughter. Information about Æthelflæd's career engagement; in the end the Mercians bought peace is also preserved in the Irish chronicle known as the with them. The following year, the Vikings conquered Fragmentary Annals of Ireland or Three Fragments. Ac- East Anglia.[6] In 874 the Vikings expelled King Burgred cording to Wainwright, it "contains much that is leg- and Ceolwulf became the last King of Mercia with their endary rather than historical. But it also contains, es- support. In 877 the Vikings partitioned Mercia, taking pecially for our period, much genuine historical infor- the eastern regions for themselves and allowing Ceol- mation which seems to have its roots in a contempo- wulf to keep the western ones. He was described by rary narrative."[16] the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as "a foolish king's thegn" who was a puppet of the Vikings. The historian Ann Williams regards this view as partial and distorted, ar- guing that he was accepted as a true king by the Mer- Family cians and by King Alfred.[7] The situation was trans- Æthelflæd was born around 870, the oldest child of formed the following year when Alfred won a decisive King Alfred the Great and his Mercian wife, Ealhswith, victory over the Danes at the Battle of Edington.[8] who was a daughter of Æthelred Mucel, ealdorman of [c] Ceolwulf is not recorded after 879.[a] His successor as the Gaini, one of the tribes of Mercia. Ealhswith's the ruler of the English western half of Mercia, mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal Æthelflæd's husband Æthelred, is first recorded in 881, house, probably a descendant of King Coenwulf (796– [19] when he led an unsuccessful Mercian invasion of the 821). Æthelflæd was thus half-Mercian and the alli- north Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd. In 883 he made a ance between Wessex and Mercia was sealed by her [20] grant with the consent of King Alfred, thus acknowl- marriage to Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians. They 2 of 9 | WikiJournal of Humanities WikiJournal of Humanities, 2018, 1(1):1 doi: 10.15347/wjh/2018.001 Encyclopedic Review Article are mentioned in Alfred's will, which probably dates to Æthelflæd and Æthelred the 880s. Æthelflæd, described only as "my eldest daughter", received an estate and 100 mancuses, while Compared to the rest of England, much of English Æthelred, the only ealdorman to be mentioned by Mercia – Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Hereford- name, received a sword worth 100 mancuses.[21] shire and Shropshire – was unusually stable in the Vi- Æthelflæd was first recorded as Æthelred's wife in a king age. It did not suffer major attacks and it did not charter of 887, when he granted two estates to the see come under great pressure from Wessex.[27] Mercian of Worcester "with the permission and sign-manual of scholarship had high prestige at the courts of Alfred King Alfred" and the attestors included "Æthelflæd and Edward.[28] Worcester was able to preserve con- conjux". The marriage may have taken place earlier, siderable intellectual and liturgical continuity and, with perhaps when he submitted to Alfred following the Gloucester, became the centre of a Mercian revival recovery of London in 886.[22]Æthelred was much older under Æthelred and Æthelflæd that extended into the than Æthelflæd and they had one known child, a more unstable areas of Staffordshire and Cheshire.