NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile

Agatha was the wife of Edward the Exile (heir to the throne of England) and mother of Edgar Ætheling, Saint Margaret of Scotland and Cristina of England. Edward the Exile (1016- February 1057), son of King Edmund Ironside and of Ealdgyth, gained the name of Exile from his life spent mostly far from the England of his forefathers. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification - by Athelstan AD927 Area - Total 130,395 kmÂ² (1st in UK) 50,346 sq mi - Water (%) Population... Edgar Ã†theling[1], also known as Edgar the Outlaw, (c. ... Stained glass window image of Saint Margaret of Scotland in the small chapel at Edinburgh Castle Saint Margaret of Scotland, also known by her Anglo-Saxon name Margaret Ã†theling (c. ... Cristina, daughter of Edward the Exile and Agatha, was the sister of Edgar Ã†theling and Saint Margaret of Scotland, born in the 1040s. ...

Life

Nothing is known of her early life, and what speculation has appeared is inextricably linked to the contentious issue of Agatha's paternity, one of the unresolved questions of medieval genealogy. She came to England with her husband and children in 1057, but she was widowed within weeks of arriving. In 1067, following the Norman conquest of England, she fled with her children to Scotland, finding refuge under Malcolm III, who would become her son-in-law. Her later fate, as well as the date of her death, are not recorded. Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ... Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman conquest of England was the conquest of the Kingdom of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen of the UK Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification - by... MÃ¡el Coluim mac Donnchada (anglicised Malcolm III) (1030x1038â€“13 November 1093) was King of Scots. ...

Medieval sources

Agatha's origin is alluded to in numerous surviving medieval sources, but the information they provide is sometimes imprecise, often contradictory, and occasionally outright impossible. The earliest surviving source, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, along with Florence of Worcester's Chronicon ex chronicis and Regalis prosapia Anglorum, Simon of Durham and Ailred of Rievaulx. These describe Agatha as a kinswoman of "Emperor Henry" (thaes ceseres maga, filia germani imperatoris Henrici). Among later sources of dubious credibility, Ailred calls her daughter of emperor Henry, as does the Chronicle of Melrose Abbey, and Matthew of Paris calls her the emperor's sister (soror Henrici imperatoris Romani). Geoffrey Gaimar in Lestoire des Engles states that she was daughter of the Hungarian king and queen (Li reis sa fille), although he places the marriage at a time when Edward is thought still to have been in Kiev, while Orderic Vitalis in Historiae Ecclesiasticae is more specific, naming her father as king Solomon (filiam Salomonis Regis Hunorum), actually a contemporary of Agatha's children. William of Malmesbury in De Gestis Regis Anglorum states that Agatha's sister was a Queen of Hungary (reginae sororem) and is echoed in this by Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, while less precisely, Ailred says of Margaret that she was derived from English and Hungarian royal blood (de semine regio Anglorum et Hungariorum extitit oriunda). Finally, Roger of Howden and the anonymous Leges Edwardi Confessoris indicate that while Edward was a guest of Kievan "king Malesclodus" he married a woman of noble birth (nobili progenio), Leges adding that the mother of St. Margaret was of Russian royal blood (ex genere et sanguine regum Rugorum).^[1] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals narrating the history of the English and their settlement in Britain. ... Florence of Worcester (died July 7, 1118) was a 12th century English chronicler. ... Aelred of Hexham, Abbot of Rievaulx, hence also known as Ailred of Rievaulx (b. ... For the British newspaper columnist and MP, see Matthew Parris. ... Geoffrey Gaimar (flourished 1140?), chronicler, translated the chronicle of Geoffrey of Monmouth into Old French verse for the wife of his patron, Ralph Fitz-Gilbert, and added a continuation dealing with the Saxon Kings. ... This is a list of all rulers of Hungary since Árpád. ... Map of the the extent of Kievan Rus through the 11th century. ... Orderic Vitalis (1075 â€“ c. ... Solomon of Hungary (1053-1074) was the King of Hungary between 1063 and 1074. ... William of Malmesbury (c. ... Alberic of Trois-Fontaines ( Aubri (Aubry) de Trois-Fontaines; Latin, Albericus Trium Fontanum) (d. ... Roger of Hoveden, or Howden (fl. ...

German theories

While various sources repeat the claims that Agatha was daughter or sister of either Emperor Henry, it seems unlikely that such a sibling or daughter would have been ignored by the German chroniclers.

The description of Agatha as a blood relative of "Emperor Henry" may be applicable to a niece of either Henry II or Henry III, Holy Roman Emperors (although Florence, in Regalis prosapia Anglorum specifies Henry III). Early attempts at reconstructing the relationship focussed on the former. Georgio Pray (1764, Annales Regum Hungariae), O.F. Suhm (1777, Gestichte Dänmarks, Norwegen und Holsteins) and Istvan Katona (1779, Historia Critica Regum Hungariae) each suggested that Agatha was daughter of Henry II's brother Bruno of Augsburg (an ecclesiastic described as beatae memoriae, with no known issue), while Daniel Cornides (1778, Regum Hungariae) tried to harmonize the German and Hungarian claims, making Agatha daughter of Henry II's sister Giselle of Bavaria, wife of Stephen I of Hungary.^[2] This solution remained popular among scholars through a good part of 20th century. Saint Henry II of Germany (972 â€“ 13 July 1024), was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty. ... Henry III, from a miniature of 1040 Henry III (October 29, 1017 â€“ October 5, 1056), called the Black, was a member of the Salian (sometimes Franconian) dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors. ... Bruno or Brun (died 1029) was the son of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria (the Wrangler or Quarrelsome) and Gisela of Burgundy. ... Giselle or Gizella of Bavaria (c. ... Stephen the Great raising the double cross: equestrian sculpture by Alajos StrÃ³bl, 1906, crowns the Fishermens Bastion, Budapest. ...

Although it's tempting to view St. Margaret as a granddaughter of another famous saint, Stephen of Hungary, this popular solution fails to explain why Stephen's death triggered a dynastic crisis in Hungary. If St. Stephen and Giselle were indeed Agatha's parents, her offspring should have succeeded to the Hungarian crown and the dynastic strife could have been averted. Actually, there is no indication in Hungarian sources that any of Stephen's children outlived him. Likewise, all of the solutions involving Henry II would seem to make Agatha much older than her husband, and prohibitively old at the time of the birth of her son, Edgar.

Based on a more strict translation of the Latin description used by Florence and others as well as the supposition that Henry III was the Emperor designated in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, prominent genealogist Szabolcs de Vajay popularized another idea first suggested in 1939.^[3]. He hypothesized that Agatha was the daughter of Henry III's elder (uterine) half-brother, Liudolf, Margrave of West Friesland. This theory was endorsed in the academic mainstream for thirty years until René Jetté proposed a Kievan solution to the problem,^[4] since which time opinion has been divided. Henry III, from a miniature of 1040 Henry III (October 29, 1017 â€“ October 5, 1056), called the Black, was a member of the Salian (sometimes Franconian) dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors. ...

Kievan theory

Jetté pointed out that William of Malmesbury in De Gestis Regis Anglorum and several later chronicles unambigously state that Agatha's sister was a Queen of Hungary. From what we know about the biography of Edward the Exile, he loyally supported Andrew I of Hungary, following him from Kiev to Hungary in 1046 and staying at his court for many years. Andrew's wife and queen was Anastasia, a daughter of Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev by Ingigerd of Sweden. Following Jetté's logic, Edward's wife was another daughter of Yaroslav. William of Malmesbury (c. ... Andrew I (born c. ... Location Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted. ... // Events First contact between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuks. ... Yaroslav I the Wise (978?-1054) (Christian name: Yury, or George) was thrice prince of Novgorod and Kiev, uniting the two principalities for a time under his rule. ... Location Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted. ... Ingegerd Olofsdotter, born 1001 in Sigtuna, Sweden, was the daughter of Swedish King Olof Skötkonung. ...

This theory accords with the seemingly incongruous statements of Geoffrey Gaimar and Roger of Howden that, while living in Kiev, Edward took a nativeborn wife "of noble parentage" or that his father-in-law was a "Russian king".^[5] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (836x590, 53 KB)Daughters of Yaroslav the Wise. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (836x590, 53 KB)Daughters of Yaroslav the Wise. ... Geoffrey Gaimar (flourished 1140?), chronicler, translated the chronicle of Geoffrey of Monmouth into Old French verse for the wife of his patron, Ralph Fitz-Gilbert, and added a continuation dealing with the Saxon Kings. ... Roger of Hoveden, or Howden (fl. ...

Jetté's theory seems to be supported by an onomastic argument.^[6] Among the medieval royalty, Agatha's rare Greek name is first recorded in the Macedonian dynasty of Byzantium; it was also one of the most frequent feminine names in the Kievan Rurikid dynasty.^[7] After Anna of Byzantium married Yaroslav's father, he took the Christian name of the reigning emperor, Basil II, while some members of his family were named after other members of the imperial dynasty. Agatha could have been one of these.^[8] Onomastics (Onomatology) is the study of proper names of all kinds and the origins of names. ... Basil I the Macedonian (Î’Î±ÏƒÎ¯Î»ÎµÎ¹Î¿Ï‚ Î‘) (811 - 886, ruled 867 - 886) - married Michael IIIs widow; died in hunting accident Leo VI the Wise (Î›ÎÏ‰Î½ Î£Î¤ Î¿ Î£Î¿Ï†ÏŒÏ‚) (866 - 912, ruled 886 - 912) â€“ likely either son of Basil I or Michael III; Alexander III (Î‘Î»ÎÎ¾Î±Î½Î´ÏÎ¿Ï‚ Î“ Ï„Î¿Ï… Î’Ï…Î¶Î±Î½Ï„Î¯Î¿Ï…) (870 - 913, ruled 912 - 913) â€“ son of Basil I, regent for nephew... Byzantine Empire (native Greek name: - Basileia tÅn RomaiÅn) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Rurik Dynasty ... Until his baptism, Vladimir I of Kiev (c. ... Painting of Basil II, from an 11th century manuscript. ...

The names of Agatha's immediate descendants — Margaret, Cristina, David, Alexander — were likewise extraordinary for Anglo-Saxon Britain. They may provide a clue to Agatha's origin. The names Margaret and Cristina are today associated with Sweden, the native country of Yaroslav's wife Ingigerd.^[9] The name of Margaret's son, David, obviously echoes that of Solomon, the son and heir of Andrew I.^[10] Furthermore, the first Russian saint (canonized ca. 1073) was Yaroslav's brother Gleb, whose Christian name was David. King David I (or DabÃd mac MaÃl Choluim; also known as Saint David I or David I the Saint) (1084 â€“ May 24, 1153), was King of Scotland from 1124 until his death, and the youngest son of Malcolm Canmore and of Saint Margaret (sister of Edgar Ã†theling). ... Alexander I (Alasdair mac MaÃl Coluim) (c. ... Solomon of Hungary (1053-1074) was the King of Hungary between 1063 and 1074. ... A medieval Russian icon of Boris and Gleb Boris and Gleb, Christian names Roman and David, were the first Russian saints. ...

The name of Margaret's another son, Alexander, may point to a variety of traditions, both occidental and oriental: the biography of Alexander the Great was one of the most popular books in 11th-century Kiev. Alexander the Great (Greek: [1], Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC â€” June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336â€“323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history, conquering most of the known world before his death; he is frequently included in a...

Bulgarian theory

One inference from the Kievan theory is that Edgar Atheling and St. Margaret were, through their mother, first cousins of Philip I of France. The connection is too notable to be omitted from contemporary sources, yet we have no indication that medieval chroniclers were aware of it. The argumentum ex silentio lead critics of the Kievan theory to search for alternative explanations. Philip I (French: Philippe Ier) (May 23, 1052 â€“ July 29, 1108) was King of France from 1060 to 1108. ...

One of the latest theories was proposed by Ian Mladjov.^[11] Dismissing the Kievan theory as untenable, he speculates that Agatha was daughter of Gavril Radomir, Tsar of Bulgaria by his wife, a Hungarian princess, in turn the daughter of Géza. This hypothesis would have Agatha born in Hungary after her parents divorced, her mother being pregnant when she left Bulgaria after a brief marriage to Gavril. The argument revolves around the tenuous idea that Gavril's own mother was also named Agatha^[12]. Gavril Radomir was the ruler of Bulgaria from October 1014 to August or September 1015. ... Géza of Hungary (born around 940-945, died in 997) (possibly Gyécsa in Old Hungarian, Gejza in Slovak), was the fejedelem (ruling prince) of the Magyars from c. ...

The weak side of the Bulgarian theory is chronology. The brief alliance of Géza's daughter with Gavril is usually dated to 987. That would make Agatha approximately fifteen years older than her husband, on the most optimistic estimate. At the time of Edgar's birth, her age would exceed 75 years, which is not realistic at all.

Notes and references

^ René Jetté. Is the Mystery of the Origins of Agatha, Wife of Edward the Exile, Finally Solved?, in "New England Historical and Genealogical Register", no. 150 (October 1996): 417-432; Gabriel Ronay, The lost King of England : the East European adventures of Edward the Exile, Woodbridge, Suffolk ; Wolfeboro, N.H., USA : Boydell Press, 1989, ISBN 0851155413, pp. 109-121.
^ Ronay, The lost King of England, pp. 109-121.
^ Jozsef Herzog, Skóciai Szent Margit származásának kérdése [The problem of St Margaret of Scotland's Scottish origins], in "Turul" 53 (1939): 1-42; Szabolcs de Vajay. Agatha, Mother of St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland, in "Duquesne Review", vol. 7, no. 2 (Spring 1962), pp. 71-80.
^ René Jetté, Is the Mystery of the Origins of Agatha, Wife of Edward the Exile, Finally Solved?, in "New England Historical and Genealogical Register", no. 150 (October 1996): 417-432.
^ It has been suggested that Agatha is one of four or five Yaroslav's daughters represented next to him in the famous 11th-century fresco in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. It is known that Yaroslav's other daughters married Henri I of France and Harald III of Norway. At the time of their marriages, both Harald and Andrew were — just like Edward — the landless pretenders to foreign thrones, who found shelter and support in distant but powerful Kiev.
^ Pointedly criticized by John Carmi Parsons in his article Edward the Aetheling's Wife, Agatha, in The Plantagenet Connection, Summer/Winter 2002, pp. 31-54. Donald C. Jackman, A Greco-Roman Onomastic Fund, in "Onomastique et Parente dans l'Occident medieval", Prosographica et Genealogica, Vol. 3 (2000): pp. 14-56, shows several genealogical groupings of individuals in Germany at this time, including Agatha, with seemingly Eastern names. He indicates several possible sources (e.g. the marriages of Emperors Louis the Blind and Otto II to Byzantine brides, as well as that of Vladimir I of Kiev) for the use of these names.
^ А.Ф. Литвина, Ф.Б. Успенский. Выбор имени у русских князей в X-XVI вв.: Династическая история сквозь призму антропонимики. Moscow: Indrik, 2006. ISBN 5857593395. Page 463.
^ According to one theory, Agatha was not a daughter but sister of Yaroslav. Indeed, the last wife of Yaroslav's father, Vladimir I, seems to have been a German princess, who could have been described as "filia germani imperatoris Henrici". It is generally accepted that their daughter Dobronega married Casimir I of Poland about the same year when Edward is thought to have married Agatha (judging by the date when their eldest child was born). If Agatha was Yaroslav's sister (rather than daughter as Jette thought), she would still have close ties to the Hungarian royal family. For instance, one of Yaroslav's sisters was the wife of Ladislas the Bald, a paternal uncle of Andrew I.
^ It has been argued that Ingigerd's original Christian name was Margaret. Whatever the truth, the names Margaret and Cristina were not explicitly recorded in Sweden before the 12th century. For details, see: Ф.Б. Успенский. Скандинавы - Варяги - Русь: Историко-филологические очерки. Moscow, 2002. Pages 60-61.
^ Andrew's second son was actually named David. Current scholarship traces these names to the famous oration of Ilarion of Kiev, in which he likened Vladimir (i.e., grandfather of Andrew's wife) to the victorious David and Yaroslav (i.e., Andrew's father-in-law) to the wise Solomon. The comparison became so popular that later historians assigned to Yaroslav the sobriquet "Wise".
^ Mladjov, Ian. The Bulgarian Descent of HM Simeon II, in Sega: April 13, 2002. See also here.
^ Her father was a Dyrrachian notable, Ioannes Khrysilios.

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