Elfrida (c. 947-1000, also Alfrida, Ælfthryth or Elfthryth) was the second wife and Queen consort of King Edgar of England (reigned 959-975). She was the daughter of Earl Ordgar, Alderman of Devon. Elfrida was married at an unknown date to Ethelbald, Alderman of the East Angles. Events Births Deaths Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, Toltec ruler Categories: 947 ... // Events World Population 300 million. ... King George V of the United Kingdom and his consort, Queen Mary A queen consort is the wife and consort of a reigning king. ... King Edgar or Eadgar I ( 942 – July 8, 975) was the younger son of King Edmund I of England. ... Events October 1 - Edwy, king of England dies and is succeeded by his brother Edgar. ... Events Coronation of King Edward the Martyr Births Deaths July 8 Edgar of England Categories: 975 ... An Earl or Jarl was an Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian title, meaning chieftain and it referred especially to chieftains set to rule a territory in a kings stead. ... An alderman is a member of a municipal legislative body in a town or city with many jurisdictions. ... The inner harbour, Brixham, south Devon, at low tide Devon is a large county in South West England, bordering on Cornwall to the west, Dorset and Somerset to the east. ...

Ethelbald was later killed after being struck by a spear while hunting with King Edgar. Rumors at the time alleged that in order to obtain the hand of Elfrida, Edgar had deliberately slain Ethelbald.

Following her marriage to Edgar in 964, Elfrida bore a son, Ethelred (Ethelred the Unready), in 968. She was crowned queen alongside her husband at Bath Abbey on May 11, 973, making her the second Saxon queen to actually be crowned with the title (the first having been Ethelwulf's second wife Judith). King Edgar died in 975. Events Nicephorus II begins campaign to recapture Cilicia. ... Ethelred the Unready (c. ... Events Births Emperor Kazan of Japan Ethelred II of England Romanus Argyrus, later Romanus III of the Eastern Roman Empire. ... May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... Events Edgar of England is crowned king by Saint Dunstan Births September 15 - Al_Biruni, mathematician († 1048) Abu al-Ala al-Maarri, poet Deaths May 7 - Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor Categories: 973 ... Events Coronation of King Edward the Martyr Births Deaths July 8 Edgar of England Categories: 975 ...

Elfrida was alleged to have been a party to the murder of her step-son Edward the Martyr at her residence in Corfe Castle on March 18, 978. This was to place her son Ethelred on the throne as King. Elfrida believed her son's claim to the throne was superior to her step-son's because both Ethelred's parents had been crowned and consecrated. Henry of Huntingdon relates: King Edward the Martyr or Eadweard II (c. ... Corfe Castle from the south Corfe village and castle Corfe Castle, in Dorset, England, is a small village and ruined castle situated in a gap in the Purbeck Hills five miles south of Wareham. ... March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ... Events Badìa Fiorentina, an abbey in Italy, is founded by Willa, Margravine of Tuscany. ...

"[Edward] was treasonably slain by his own family... it is reported that his stepmother, that is the mother of King Ethelred, stabbed him with a dagger while she was in the act of offering him a cup to drink."

That Elfrida had her henchmen commit the murder for her is a more likely scenario. In 1970 an examination was performed on remains believed to be Edward's, which had been unearthed in 1931 in the ruins of Shaftesbury Abbey. The examination suggested that the young man had been stabbed in the back while riding his horse and had been dragged along the ground by the terrified animal with his foot caught in a stirrup. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Following the murder, Elfrida became a nun at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Mary and St. Melor (near Amesbury, Salisbury, England). She later founded the Benedictine Monastery at Wherwell, in 986. She died on November 17, 1000. Events March 2 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks End of the reign of Emperor Kazan of Japan Emperor Ichijo ascends to the throne of Japan Explorer Bjarni Herjólfsson becomes the first inhabitant of the Old World to sight North America Births Deaths March 2 - Lothair, King of... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece. ... // Events World Population 300 million. ...

Children of Elfrida

• Edmund (died in early childhood, date unknown)
• Ethelred (commonly known as Ethelred the Unready)

Ethelred the Unready (c. ...

References

• Palgrave, Sir Francis (1876). History of the Anglo-Saxons Chapter XIII
• Lacey, Robert and Danziger, Danny (2000). The Year 1000: What Life was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia article on Edward the Martyr's murder
• Article on the founding of the Abbey of Amesbury