The Lady of the Mercians
First born child of Alfred the Great and Ealhswith of Giani. Born about 869 in the Wessex area of England, and died in 918.
She was the sibling of:
* Aelfthryth who married Baldwin II
* Edward I, the Elder, King of England
* Æthelgifu, Abbess of Shaftesbury
* Æthelweard
By the time she was twenty years old, she was already married to Æthelred, then ealdorman of Mercia, uniting Wessex and Mercia against the Danish vikings. Æthelflæd took a very active part in the leadership, and was titled "Lady of the Mercians" at her husband's death in 911, not a normal status of the day. She was considered a formidable military leader with an uncommon strategy sense.
For the next eight years she allied herself with her brother, Edward, the Elder, the King of Wessex, whose son, Æthelstan, she raised. She had pushed the Danes back to the Humber River and received the promise of loyalty from York, but died just before York was to pay homage. Her daughter, Ælfwynn, was chosen as her heiress, yet Edward would eventually force her to submit to his rule, creating a united kingdom, the start of the current day England.
Æthelflæd died at Tamworth Castle in Tamworth where she rebuilt a city from Roman ruins and established a road system that still exists today. Æthelflæd was buried at St Peter's Church, now St Oswald's priory, in Gloucester.
First born child of Alfred the Great and Ealhswith of Giani. Born about 869 in the Wessex area of England, and died in 918.
She was the sibling of:
* Aelfthryth who married Baldwin II
* Edward I, the Elder, King of England
* Æthelgifu, Abbess of Shaftesbury
* Æthelweard
By the time she was twenty years old, she was already married to Æthelred, then ealdorman of Mercia, uniting Wessex and Mercia against the Danish vikings. Æthelflæd took a very active part in the leadership, and was titled "Lady of the Mercians" at her husband's death in 911, not a normal status of the day. She was considered a formidable military leader with an uncommon strategy sense.
For the next eight years she allied herself with her brother, Edward, the Elder, the King of Wessex, whose son, Æthelstan, she raised. She had pushed the Danes back to the Humber River and received the promise of loyalty from York, but died just before York was to pay homage. Her daughter, Ælfwynn, was chosen as her heiress, yet Edward would eventually force her to submit to his rule, creating a united kingdom, the start of the current day England.
Æthelflæd died at Tamworth Castle in Tamworth where she rebuilt a city from Roman ruins and established a road system that still exists today. Æthelflæd was buried at St Peter's Church, now St Oswald's priory, in Gloucester.
The Lady of the Mercians
First born child of Alfred the Great and Ealhswith of Giani. Born about 869 in the Wessex area of England, and died in 918.
She was the sibling of:
* Aelfthryth who married Baldwin II
* Edward I, the Elder, King of England
* Æthelgifu, Abbess of Shaftesbury
* Æthelweard
By the time she was twenty years old, she was already married to Æthelred, then ealdorman of Mercia, uniting Wessex and Mercia against the Danish vikings. Æthelflæd took a very active part in the leadership, and was titled "Lady of the Mercians" at her husband's death in 911, not a normal status of the day. She was considered a formidable military leader with an uncommon strategy sense.
For the next eight years she allied herself with her brother, Edward, the Elder, the King of Wessex, whose son, Æthelstan, she raised. She had pushed the Danes back to the Humber River and received the promise of loyalty from York, but died just before York was to pay homage. Her daughter, Ælfwynn, was chosen as her heiress, yet Edward would eventually force her to submit to his rule, creating a united kingdom, the start of the current day England.
Æthelflæd died at Tamworth Castle in Tamworth where she rebuilt a city from Roman ruins and established a road system that still exists today. Æthelflæd was buried at St Peter's Church, now St Oswald's priory, in Gloucester.
First born child of Alfred the Great and Ealhswith of Giani. Born about 869 in the Wessex area of England, and died in 918.
She was the sibling of:
* Aelfthryth who married Baldwin II
* Edward I, the Elder, King of England
* Æthelgifu, Abbess of Shaftesbury
* Æthelweard
By the time she was twenty years old, she was already married to Æthelred, then ealdorman of Mercia, uniting Wessex and Mercia against the Danish vikings. Æthelflæd took a very active part in the leadership, and was titled "Lady of the Mercians" at her husband's death in 911, not a normal status of the day. She was considered a formidable military leader with an uncommon strategy sense.
For the next eight years she allied herself with her brother, Edward, the Elder, the King of Wessex, whose son, Æthelstan, she raised. She had pushed the Danes back to the Humber River and received the promise of loyalty from York, but died just before York was to pay homage. Her daughter, Ælfwynn, was chosen as her heiress, yet Edward would eventually force her to submit to his rule, creating a united kingdom, the start of the current day England.
Æthelflæd died at Tamworth Castle in Tamworth where she rebuilt a city from Roman ruins and established a road system that still exists today. Æthelflæd was buried at St Peter's Church, now St Oswald's priory, in Gloucester.
