Ethelfleda (alternative spelling Aethelfled, Æthelfleda or Æthelflæd) (872/879?-918) was the eldest daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex and his wife Ealhswith. She was born around AD 872. She married Aethelred or Ethelred, later the ealdorman or earl of Mercia, in about 886, and had one daughter, Aelfwynn. Events Battle of Hafrsfjord in Norway, Harald Finehair first king of Norway. ... Events Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona, founded the benedictine monastery at Ripoll. ... Events Taebong has been overthrown and Goryeo established in Korean peninsula. ... Alfred (Old English: ÆlfrÄ“d) (c. ... Map of the British Isles circa 802 Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. ... Ealhswith of the Gaini was born c. ... Earl Æthelred (d. ... An Ealdorman, or Alderman, was the prior magistrate of a British shire in A. D. 900 to A. D. 1100. ... For people, see Earl (given name) and Earl (surname). ... The general location of Mercia, along with the other peoples of Britain around the year 600. ...

During the 800s and early 900s the Danes overran most of the English Kingdoms such as Northumbria, Eastern Mercia, East Anglia etc. Alfred and his descendants reconquered these lands from the Danes by 937^[1]. The aid given him in this by Mercia had to be acknowledged. Instead of making the dominion of Wessex over Mercia seem like a conquest, Alfred married Ethelfleda to Aethelred of Mercia and gave his son-in-law the title Eolderman or Earl of Mercia, thus allowing some ongoing autonomy. Since much of Western Mercia was never under the control of the Danes, and remained strong, this was a prudent move. Further prudence prevailed when the kingdoms were finally absorbed; they were not absorbed into Wessex or greater Wessex but into England. The term Anglo-Saxon thus reflects King Alfred's diplomatic integration of the Mercians Angles and the Saxons. A map showing the general locations of the Anglo-Saxon peoples around the year 600 Britain and Ireland around the year 802 Heptarchy (Greek: seven + realm) is a collective name applied to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the south and east of Great Britain during late antiquity and the early... Section from Shepherds map of the British Isles about 802 AD showing the kingdom of Northumbria Northumbria is primarily the name of a petty kingdom of Angles which was formed in Great Britain at the beginning of the 7th century, from two smaller kingdoms of Bernicia and Diera, and... The general location of Mercia, along with the other peoples of Britain around the year 600. ... Norfolk and Suffolk, the core area of East Anglia. ... Alfred (Old English: Ælfrēd) (c. ... The Battle of Brunanburh was a West Saxon victory in 937 by the army of king Athelstan and his brother Edmund over the combined armies of Olaf III Guthfrithson, Viking king of Dublin, Constantine, king of Scotland and King Owain of Strathclyde. ... Conquest may refer to: An invasion Conquest, New York, a town located in Cayuga County, New York Conquest (film) (also called Marie Walewska), a 1937 film starring Greta Garbo and Charles Boyer Conquest (documentary), a documentary series on The History Channel starring Peter Woodward. ... Earl Æthelred (d. ... The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. ... White cliffs of Dover in England White cliffs of Rugen down the Baltic coast from Schleswig The Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the cultural ancestor of Angeln, a modern district located in Schleswig, Germany. ...

Ethelfleda married at the age of 15, and while travelling to Mercia for her wedding her band was attacked by the Danes in an attempt to kill her and so sabotage the alliance between Wessex and Mercia. Though half her company perished in the first attack, Ethelfleda used an old trench as a fortress, and defeated the Danes. While her husband was alive, she signed agreements, leading some to think that she was the real leader. On her husband's death in 911 after the Battle of Tettenhall, she was elevated to the status of "Lady of the Mercians". This title was not a nominal position; she was a formidable military leader and tactician. Ethelfleda ruled for approximately eight years (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) from the newly fortified capital at Stafford, it is likely that the English county of Staffordshire first came into being during her reign. She fortified her existing borders and re-took Derby. She died at Tamworth in 918, and was buried at St Peter's Church (now St Oswald's priory) in Gloucester. She was joint lady of the Mercians along with her young daughter Aelfwynn. She was succeeded as ruler of Mercia by her brother, King Edward the Elder of Wessex. The Battle of Tettenhall was a major battle of 5th August 910, near the end of the Anglo-Saxon period of English history. ... The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons and their settlement in Great Britain. ... Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire in England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. ... Tamworth town centre Tamworth is a historic town and local government district in Staffordshire, UK, located 27 km (17 miles) northeast of Birmingham and 198 km (123 miles) northwest of London. ... Shown within Gloucestershire Geography Status: City (1541) Region: South West England Admin. ... Aelfwynn was the only daughter of Earl Aethelred of Mercia and his wife and successor Ethelfleda. ... Edward the Elder or Eadweard I (c. ...

The succession of Edward the Elder finalised the union of the two kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia and gives some insight into the emergence of a unified England. Edward the Elder or Eadweard I (c. ... Map of the British Isles circa 802 Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. ... The general location of Mercia, along with the other peoples of Britain around the year 600. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ...

The dominion of Mercia descended to Ethelfleda's daughter and heiress, Aelfwynn (A.D. 920). Chroniclers have noticed the right of Aelfwynn so precisely as to leave no doubt concerning her claim; and this fact is of considerable value in showing that, contrary to the practice of other Teutonic nations, the sovereign authority amongst the Anglo-Saxons might descend to a female; or, according to the Anglo-Saxon expression, which the French have adopted, "fall to the spindle side". Aelfwynn was the only daughter of Earl Aethelred of Mercia and his wife and successor Ethelfleda. ... The term Germanic peoples may refer to: the Germanic tribes that in the first millennium were seen as a barbarian threat by the Roman Empire and its successors; the Germanic Christianity that in the second millennium came to dominate much of Northern Europe, politically organized in the Holy Roman Empire...

In this instance, however, the weaker heir was compelled to yield to a more powerful opponent, and one from whom no enmity could have been feared. Aelfwynn was conducted as a captive into Mercia by her uncle Edward, who was engaged in successful warfare against the Danes; and we do not hear anything more concerning her in history. She seems to have lived the rest of her life in a nunnery.

Earl Æthelred (d. ... The general location of Mercia, along with the other peoples of Britain around the year 600. ... Aelfwynn was the only daughter of Earl Aethelred of Mercia and his wife and successor Ethelfleda. ... Edward the Elder or Eadweard I (c. ...

References

1. ^ Hill, Paul, The Age of Athelstan, Tempus Publishing, 2004. (ISBN 0-7524-2566-8)

Reference : History of the Anglo-Saxons by Sir Francis Palgrave (1876) (Paperback edition on Senate) page 164. Paul Hill may refer to: Paul Jennings Hill, an anti-abortion activist executed for murder. ...

Further reading

• Ian W. Walker. Mercia and the Making of England (2001)

External links

• http://www.geocities.com/pamela_berkman/alfred.html

v • d • e

Kings of Mercia

Icel • Cnebba • Cynewald • Créoda • Pybba • Céorl • Penda • Éowa • Péada • Oswiu of Northumbria • Wulfhere • Æþelred I • Cœnred • Céolred • Céolwald • Æþelbald • Béornred • Offa* • Egfriþ • Cœnwulf* • Cynehelm • Céolwulf I* • Béornwulf** • Ludeca • Wigláf • Ecgberht of Wessex • Wigláf (again) • Wigmund • Wigstan • Béorhtwulf • Burgred • Céolwulf II • Æþelred II*** • Æþelflæd*** • Ælfwynn*** * also king of Kent and king of East Anglia ** also king of East Anglia *** deputies for Alfred the Great and Edward the Elder