Lady Ealhswith of Mercia

Ealhswith was known as the wife of King Ælfred (Alfred the Great) and the mother of the warrior Queen Æthelflæda, but she was more than simply a wife and a mother.

 

Ealhswith was the daughter of Æthelred, Ealdorman of the Gaini; the Gaini was an old tribal group that was absorbed into the English Kingdom of Mercia. Her mother was named Ædburh and was a member of the Mercian royal family. By the time of Ealhswith’s birth, Mercia had shrunk considerably in size, with a lot of the Kingdom being absorbed by Wessex and another portion of the Kingdom becoming Danish Mercia in Danelaw, which was ruled by the Danes who had settled there.

 

In 868, Ealhswith married Ælfred of Wessex, making a good match for the æthling due to her prominent family and royal connections. The wedding was celebrated during the campaign against the Vikings led by Ælfred and King Burghred of Mercia and was witnessed by many. Feasts lasted throughout the day and all through the night as well. It is very possible that her wedding was the first time that Ealhswith met her husband, Ælfred; if this is the case, there were bad signs for the marriage, as Ælfred suffered the start of an illness that would plague him intermittently for the next 20 years of his life.

 

There is no surviving evidence of the state of her marriage, so it is unfortunately impossible to tell if Ealhswith was happy. What is known is that Asser, a contemporary, described her as ‘an excellent wife’, so it is possible she had a reasonably happy marriage.

 

When Ælfred became King in 871, Ealhswith was by his side as his consort, however, despite her royal family connections and the prominent, though apolitical, role she exercised in Ælfred’s court, she was not coronated or titled “Queen”. Throughout her life as Ælfred’s consort, she was styled as the “True Lady of the English.”

 

In January 878, in order to evade capture by the Vikings, Ealhswith went into exile with her husband and children, staying on the Isle of Athelney for half of the year. During this time the Viking leader, Guthrum, declared that Ælfred had forfeited his crown. Ealhswith’s exile did not last too long, however, and Ælfred was able to defeat Guthrum later in the year 878, allowing the family to return to Wessex in triumph and safety.

 

As with most consorts in the Anglo-Saxon times, Ealhswith was known for her piety and it is possible that, being offered no political role, she devoted hr energies to the church. This is evident in the fact that her daughter, Æthelgifu, was appointed Abbess at Shaftesbury. Further evidence is seen in Ealhswith’s founding of the Convent of St. Mary at Winchester (Nunnaminster) in her widowhood.

 

Ealhswith had five children who survived to adulthood. One would succeed his father as King, one would become a Medieval Boudicca for Mercia, known as the Lady of the Mercians, and another who, as we have just learned, became an Abbess. Ealhswith’s youngest daughter, Ælfthryth, would become a Countess, after her marriage to Comte Baudouin II de Flandre (Count Baldwin II of Flanders), who you may remember as the son of a previous English consort, Judith de Flandre.

 

It is possible that Ealhswith was allowed involvement in the upbringing of her children, though it is not known for certain. Eadweard and Æthelflæda were raised at court under the care of tutors and nurses and it is said that they were a credit to their parents, suggesting that even the daughters were offered a good education. Ælfred had insisted, in fact, that his children would receive the benefit of a similar education to that which he had received under his own mother’s guidance. The other children were not raised at court, but they still received an education befitting their royal status.

 

Ealhswith had a successful marriage with Ælfred for over 30 years, until Ælfred died in 899. Evidence of the good nature of the marriage can be seen from Ælfred’s will, in which he left to Ealhswith 3 estates and a share of the £400 that was to be divided between herself and her daughters. I have never been very good with maths, but according to an online calculator, that £400 would be roughly £290,000 in today’s money. The estates she was given were Lambourn, Wantage (where Ælfred was born) and Edington (the site of a great victory against the Vikings). The sites given to Ealhswith in Ælfred’s will do suggest a happy marriage due to the significance of them.

 

After her husband’s death, Ealhswith often visited the court of her son, Eadweard the Elder, and even witnessed a charter in 901. It has been suggested that she became a nun in her widowhood and, given her pious nature, this would not be outside of the realms of possibility. However, she did not have long in her widowhood.

 

Ealhswith died on 5th December 902 and was buried, significantly, in the New Minster at Winchester, beside her husband. This is yet another indication that she was able to enjoy a reasonably happy marriage, as it was very rare for Anglo-Saxon Queens to be buried alongside their spouses.

 

And so ends the tale of Ealhswith. As far as Anglo-Saxon Queens of England go, her tale is not so full of woe as others and the evidence does suggest that she led a reasonably happy life. She may not have been allowed the title of Queen, but Ealhswith left behind a strong legacy in her children and I am honoured to be able to share the story of yet another forgotten woman in history.