Lady Æthelflæd of Essex

The second consort of King Eadmund the Magnificent was Æthelflæd. She is mostly known to us today as Æthelflæd of Damerham, which is possibly an association from her unknown mother's side, as her father was Ealdorman Ælfgar of Essex. She had one brother, though it is thought that he died young, as his name is not recorded, Æthelflæd also had a sister, Ælfflæd, who married a man named Byrhtnoth. It is believed that Æthelflæd's brother died young not only because his name is not recorded, but also due to the fact that upon her father's death, the title of Ealdorman of Essex passed on to Ælfflæd's husband, Byrhtnoth. Prior to this, both Æthelflæd and her sister appeared to be her father's sole heiresses; this is indicated by the immense wealth they shared and their possession of several key estates.

 

At some point in 946, Æthelflæd made a marriage of her own, to King Eadmund of the English. The precise date of the wedding is not recorded, but either way the marriage certainly did not last long, possibly only a matter of weeks. Æthelflæd had, as far as we know, no political power and as with Eadmund's first wife, was entirely overshadowed by her mother-in-law in the history books. Had her marriage lasted longer, it is entirely possible that she may have had children by the King and quite possibly, had the mood taken Eadmund, been consecrated as Queen and wielded some type of power. This is, of course, highly unlikely given that Eadmund did not offer such privileges to his first wife and his mother would likely not have been willing to give up what power she was able to wield at that time. Still, due to the King's untimely death, Æthelflæd would never know what her life would have been like as his consort.

On the night of the 26th May 946, Æthelflæd and her husband were staying in Gloucestershire, at the royal manor of Pucklechurch, when a thief by the name of Liofa, broke in. The King's steward caught the man in the act and was attacked before King Eadmund rushed to his aid. Unfortunately for the King, Liofa stabbed him as he tried to intervene and help his steward. The King did not survive.

 

Æthelflæd was left a wealthy widow and, as she was most likely still in her early twenties at this time, she would have been a sought-after bride. However, there is no compelling evidence to suggest that she ever remarried, despite appearing to live for some years after King Eadmund's death; certainly there is no evidence of any surviving children.

Æthelflæd and her family were generous patrons of Ely Cathedral and their records do suggest that she did in fact remarry at some point after she was widowed. This marriage was to the Ealdorman of Southern Mercia, a man by the name of Æthelstan, and quite possibly Æthelstan Rota (Æthelstan the Red). This theory, however, has been disputed. Nevertheless, Æthelstan was known at the court of King Eadwig and King Eadgar, the two sons of the late King Eadmund, and frequently witnessed charters in both reigns. If the records at Ely Cathedral are to be believed and Æthelflæd had indeed married Æthelstan Rota, this would make sense as to how he was so prominent at the court of the two men who would have been his step-sons. It is not known whether Æthelflæd even met the boys who became her step-sons, let alone if she had a good relationship with them, but if she had then this could be an explanation for Æthelstan's role in their courts. Especially since Lady Eadgifu of Kent, King Eadmund's mother, was not afforded the same prominence and influence at the court of her grandsons as she was at her sons' courts.

In addition, the Life of Saint Dunstan makes record of a vision of a certain nobleman named Æthelstan within the chronicle. Whether this man is supposed to be Æthelstan Rota or Æthelstan Half-King, (the influential Ealdorman of East Anglia and adopted father of the future King Eadgar) is unknown. However, Dunstan was said to have been providing, with his vision, almost an omen of King Eadmund's death and the troublesome times ahead.

 

Æthelflæd would live on for at least another 30-40 years after the death of King Eadmund, as shown by a will she drafted in around the year 975. The will indicates that she left some lands to the King, who at the time of her death would have been either King Eadgar the Peaceful or the young King Eadweard the Martyr; the lands she left to the King were most likely her dower lands. She also left extensive bequests to members of her family, as well as gifts and estate to religious foundations, including Ely, Glastonbury and Canterbury.

This is the last we see Æthelflæd in the records and her death date is not recorded.

It is possible that Æthelflæd led a good life as the wife of Æthelstan Rota of Southern Mercia, until his death in around 970, or that she never remarried as some theorists suggest and lived the rest of her long life in peace and prosperity on her dower lands.

 

It would make sense for the records of Ely Cathedral to be correct and for the Æthelflæd who wed Æthelstan Rota, after King Eadmund's death, to be this Æthelflæd, what with her strong familial links to Ely Cathedral and her high eligibility as a bride after she was left a young and wealthy widow. The Æthelflæd who married Æthelstan grew to be an influential, though often overlooked, figure and Æthelstan's rise to prominence during the reign of King Eadwig, as Lady Eadgifu of Kent lost her prominence, could very well have been an impact of Æthelflæd's own making.

After King Eadmund died, the throne passed to his brother, Ædred, who ruled for just under a decade. He did not marry and allowed his mother, Lady Eadgifu, great power at his court. When the throne passed to Eadmund's eldest son, Eadwig, upon his death, Eadgifu lost her power and influence, and Æthelstan rose in esteem. I have mentioned that it is not known whether Æthelflæd ever knew her step-sons, but it would make complete sense if she had met and had a good relationship with both of them, as her husband was a prominent figure during their reigns. Eadwig and Eadgar's own mother, Ælfgifu, had died while they were still very young, so it is entirely possible that in her short time as their father's second wife, Æthelflæd had made an impression of the future Kings and became like a surrogate mother figure to them, similar to how, almost 1,000 years later, Katherine Parr would act as such for a young Princess Elizabeth, who would go on to become one of the longest-reigning monarchs in England's history.

Of course, this is all pure speculation on my part, but there is no evidence to disprove this theory and it would make sense, if Æthelflæd had remarried after the death of King Eadmund, to Æthelstan Rota.

Whatever her life was like during this decades-long gap in her story, I hope I have given you some idea of the woman she was.