Ealhswith
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Ealhswith or Ealswitha (died 5 December 902) was the wife of King Alfred the Great. She was the mother of King Edward the Elder who succeeded King Alfred to the Anglo-Saxon throne. Her father was a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini, which is thought to be an old Mercian tribal group. Her mother was Eadburh, a member of the Mercian royal family and her lineage was one of the primary reasons for Alfred taking Ealhswith as his wife. She founded the nunnery of Nunnaminster.
Key facts
- Royalty.consort
- yes
- Royalty.father
- Æthelred Mucel
- Royalty.mother
- Eadburh
- Royalty.death_date
- 5 December 902
- Royalty.burial_place
- New Minster, Winchester
via Wikipedia infobox
~7 min read
Encyclopedic overview
8 sectionsContents
- Descent
- Life
- Patron
- Children
- See also
- References
- Sources
- External links
Ealhswith or Ealswitha (died 5 December 902) was the wife of King Alfred the Great. She was the mother of King Edward the Elder who succeeded King Alfred to the Anglo-Saxon throne. Her father was a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini, which is thought to be an old Mercian tribal group. Her mother was Eadburh, a member of the Mercian royal family and her lineage was one of the primary reasons for Alfred taking Ealhswith as his wife. She founded the nunnery of Nunnaminster.
==Descent== A charter of 897 (S 1442) discusses the responsibilities of Ealhswith's brother Æthelwulf towards the monastery of Winchcombe, and Barbara Yorke argues that as this monastery was claimed as a possession by the family of Ceolwulf and Coenwulf, brothers who were both kings of Mercia, Ealhswith was probably a member of this family. Richard Abels goes further, stating that she was descended from King Coenwulf.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Ealhswith” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.