The Henry Project: The Ancestors of King Henry II of England

Eadweard (Edward) "the Elder"

King of the West Saxons, 899-924.
King of the Mercians, ca. 918-924.

Eadweard witnesses a Kentish charter of Ælfred the Great as king in 898 ["Eadweard rex" Cart. Sax., 2: 220 (#576)]. When Ælfred died in October 899, he was succeeded by his son Eadweard (Edward) "the Elder" ["Her gefor Ælfred ... & þa feng Eadweard his sunu to rice." ASC(A) s.a. 901 (orig. 900) ("Here died Alfred ... And then Edward, his son, succeeded to the kingdom." ASC(Eng), 91-2); ASC(E) s.a. 901; "Huic filius successit Eadwardus, cognomento Senior" John Worc., s.a. 901 (1: 117)]. Eadweard was crowned on Whitsunday, 8 June 900 ["Successor equidem tum monarchiæ Eaduuerdus post filius supra memorati regis coronatur ipse stemate regali a primatis electus pentecostes in die, ..." Æthelweard, 50-1]. Eadweard's reign was marked by continued progress against the Danes, in cooperation with his sister Æthelflæd and her husband Æthelred, leader of the Mercians. When Æthelflæd died in 918, her daughter Ælfwynn was deprived of control in Mercia [ASC(C) s.a. 918, 919 (Mercian Register)].When Eadweard died in 924 [see below], he was succeeded by his son Æthelstan, perhaps after a short reign by his son Ælfweard [see below]. Eadweard's nickname of "the Elder" is not contemporary, but was assigned later to distinguish him from the two other Anglo-Saxon kings of that name. [For the chronology of Eadweard's reign, see Angus (1938); Wainwright (1945); Vaughan (1954)]

Date of birth: say ca. 872.
Place of birth: Unknown.
Eadweard was the second surviving child of a marriage which occurred in 868, according to Asser [Asser, c. 29 (pp. 23-4)]. Thus, the given estimate should not be off by much.

Date of death: 17 July 924.
Place of death: Farndon, Mercia.
Place of burial: Winchester.
Eadweard's date of death is given as 17 July by the Liber Vitae of Hyde [Lib. Vit. Hyde, 6], and by a fragment of an English calendar of the beginning of the twelfth century from St. Évroul [Robinson (1923), 32, n. 1]. As for the year, arguments have been given in favor of both 924 and 925. Stubbs concluded that 924 was the correct year [Intro. to Mem. Dunstan, lxxiv]. Plummer noted the problem, but did not reach a definite conclusion [notes to ASC 2: 132-3]. Both were hindered by their incorrect belief that king Æthelstan died on 27 October 940. Beaven established the correct date of Æthelstan's death as 27 October 939, and argued for 925 as the date of death of Eadweard [Beaven (1917)]. Robinson argued for 924 as the date, and his arguments have received wide acceptance [Robinson (1923), 27-36]. At first glance, the versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle appear to split down the middle between 924 and 925, with C and D giving 924, A and F giving 925, and E giving both 924 and 925. However, the Parker (A) Chronicle originally said 924 ["Her Eadweard cing forþferde, & Æþelstan his sunu feng to rice." ASC(A) s.a. 925 (orig. 924); similarly ASC(E) s.a. 924, ASC(F) s.a. 925; on the changes that were made to the Parker Chronicle, see Vaughan (1954)]. Independently, the Mercian Register, represented by manuscript C (and more distantly by D), which appears to have a correct chronology on those occasions in which it can be checked [see Wainwright (1945)], also gives 924 ["Her Eadweard cing gefor on Myrcum æt Fearndune. & Ælfwerd his sunu swiðe hraðe þæs géfór. æt Oxnaforda. & hira lic lið æt Wintanceastre." ASC(C) s.a. 924 ("Here King Edward died at Farndon in Mercia; and very soon after that his son Ælfweard died at Oxford; and their bodies lie at Winchester." ASC(Eng), 105); similarly in ASC(D) s.a. 924 (see below under Ælfweard)]. Thus, since F was copied from A after the date had been changed to 925, and E has little weight (giving both dates), the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle favors 924. Arguing in favor of 925, Beaven noted that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle attributes a reign of 14 years and 10 weeks to Æthelstan ["& Æþelstan cyning rixade .xiiii. gear & .x. wucan." ASC(A) s.a. 941 (orig. 940); ASC(D) s.a. 940; Beaven (1917), 522]. A similar period is given several manuscripts of the West Saxon regnal list, in which one manuscript gives 14 years, 10 weeks, one gives 14 years, 7 weeks, and two manuscripts give the rather precise period of 14 years, 7 weeks, and 3 days [Dumville (1986), 29-30]. Counting back seven weeks and three days from Æthelstan's date of death (27 October 939) calculates out to 5 September, which (including the fourteen years) is only one day off from 4 September 925, the date given for the consecration of Æthelstan as king in a dubious charter [Cart. Sax. 2: 317 (#641)]. However, as noted by Robinson, several charters of Æthelstan having regnal dates argue strongly in favor of 17 July 924 as Eadweard's date of death [Robinson (1923), 33-6]. Two charters of 929 state that Æthelstan was in his sixth year, placing his accession no later than 924 [Cart. Sax. 2: 344 (#665), 345 (#666)]. Several charters of Æthelstan indicate an accession of no later than 17 July 925, two of them indicating no later than 26 January 925 [year 6, 5 Apr. 930: Cart. Sax. 2: 349 (#669); y. 6, 29 Apr. 930: Crawford Charters, 6 (#4), Cart. Sax. 3: 681 (#1343); y. 7, 23 March 931: ibid., 2: 359 (#674); y. 7, 21 June 931: ibid., 2: 361 (#675); y. 9, 26 Jan. 933: ibid., 2: 393 (#695), 395 (#696); y. 10, 28 May 934: ibid., 2: 403 (#702)]. Other charters tend to indicate that he was not yet reigning late in 924 [y. 1, 4 Sep. 925 (consecration day): ibid., 2: 317 (#641); y. 7, 12 Nov. 931: ibid., 2: 364 (#677); y. 8, 30 Aug. 932: ibid., 2: 379 (#689); y. 8, 24 Dec. 932: ibid., 2: 384 (#691), 387 (#692)]. Although these charters might not all be genuine, they seem remarkably consistent. Not counting the two charters without an exact date, these charters would, taken together, indicate a date of accession for Æthelstan between 25 December 924 and 26 January 925. Not included above were several possibly misdated charters [e.g., Cart. Sax. 2: 400 (#700), 402 (#701), 406 (#706), 423 (#716), 427 (#719)]. In addition, there are two charters (both listed as dubious by Kemble) which do not fall into the above picture. A charter of 16 April 928 is said to be in the third year of Æthelstan, which would apparently imply that he began to reign no earlier that 17 April 925 ["Ego Adel[s]tanus donifluo Dei gubernamine rex Anglorum . Anno dominicæ incarnationis .DCCCC.XXVIII. mei haut dubium regiminis tercio . Indictione .I. epacta . XXVI . XVI . K'l Mai luna .XXI." Cart. Sax. 2: 340 (#663)]. Here, we have the strange insertion of "haut dubium" ("not at all doubtful", "there is no doubt"), suggested by Robinson to refer to a time sometime in 925 when Æthelstan's claim to be king was put beyond all question [Robinson (1923), 35]. In fact, Æthelstan's coronation apparently did not occur until 4 September 925. Perhaps this charter was dated by his coronation, as well as another charter, from 930, dated both by his fifth year and his third year in Northumbria [Cart. Sax. 2: 346-7 (#667)]. Nevertheless, as indicated above, there are enough charters to clearly indicate that Æthelstan had become king before 17 July 925. Given the indications from two apparently independent sources that Eadweard died on 17 July, we can safely date his death on 17 July 924.

Father: Ælfred "the Great", d. 26 October 899, king of Wessex.

Mother: Ealhswith, d. 5 December 902×3, daughter of Æthelred Mucil, ealdorman of the Gaini.

Spouses (and concubine):

(1) Ecgwynn.
Hrotsvith of Gandersheim states that king Æthelstan's mother was of low birth ["Altera sed generis mulier satis inferioris." Gesta Oddonis, line 82, MGH SS 4: 321]. John of Worcester and William of Malmesbury state that she was of high birth [FlW a. 901; Lib. Monast. Hyde, 111-2."Ex muliere nobilissima Ecgwyna ..." John Worc., s.a. 901 (1: 117); "... Ecgwyn, foemina nobilissima, ..." ibid., 1: 274; "... ex Egwinna illustri foemina ..." Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 126 (1: 136-7)], but then William relates a fanciful story that makes her a daughter of a shepherd ["opilionis filia" Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 139 (1: 155)].

(2) m. bef. 901, Ælfflæd, d. 918, daughter of ealdorman Æthelhelm.
Ælfflæd appears in a charter of Eadweard in 901 ["Eadward rex. Ealhswið mater regis. Elffled conjux regis." Cart. Sax. 2: 234 (#589)]. The death of Ælfflæd is noted by Annales Cambriae, two years after the death of Anarawd ap Rhodri Mawr ["Aelfled regina obiit." AC s.a 917 ("Edfled", B; "Edelflet", C)]. Since Anarawd appears to have died in 916 [CS s.a 915=916], the death of Ælfflæd most probably occurred in 918 rather than 917. [The date 917 is editorial, and has no manuscript authority.] Based on a statement of Hrotsvith of Gandersheim, it has been suggested that Ælfflæd was a descendant of king Osweald of Bernicia (d. 642) [see below under her daughter Eadgyth]. Ælflæd's father Æthelhelm has sometimes been identified as the known son of king Æthelred I of that name, but there appears to be nothing to support this beyond the coincidence of the name.

(3) Eadgifu, d. aft. 966, daughter of Sigehelm, ealdorman of Kent.

Children:
["Siquidem Eadgyfu nominata est Eadwerdi filia, filii Ælfredi supra scripti regis, quæ et abmatertera tua ipsa in matrimonium Galliarum ad partes minori Karulo mittitur regi. Eadhild etiam in coniugium mittitur Hugoni filio Hrodbyrhti. Alias vero duas Ædestanus rex tali ratione misit ad Oddonem, ut quæ ab eis placuisset sibi in matrimonium elegisset; cui uisa melior Eadgyde, ex qua tu principium tenes natiuitatis. Alteram etiam subiunxit cuipiam regi iuxta Iupitereos montes, de cuius prole nulla nobis notitia extat, tam pro extenso spatio, quam per obruptionem quodam modo temporum; ..." Æthelweard, Prologue, 2] See the detailed discussion in the Commentary section.

By Ecgwynn:

Æthelstan, d. 27 October 939, king of Wessex and Mercia (king of England) 924×5-939.
According to most of his charters which show a regnal year, Æthelstan appears to have dated his reign from a point which started somewhere between 25 December 924 and 26 January 925 [see above under Eadweard's date of death]. Since Eadweard had died the previous July, this suggests a longer than average succession period, which may have included a short reign in Wessex by Æthelstan's brother Ælfweard [Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 139 (1: 156); see below under Ælfweard]. According to a dubious charter, Æthelstan was crowned on 4 September 925 [Cart. Sax. 2: 317 (#641)]. He died on 27 October 939 and was succeeded by his brother Eadmund ["Her Æþelstan cyning forðferde on .vi. kl. Nov. ymbe .xl. wintra butan anre niht þæs þe Ælfred cyning forþferde; & Eadmund æþeling feng to rice. & he wæs þa .xviii. wintre. & Æþelstan cyning rixade .xiiii. gear & .x. wucan." ASC(A) s.a. 941 (orig. 940) (".xli." altered to ".xl.") ("Here King Athelstan passed away on 27 October, 40 years all but a day after King Alfred passed away. And the ætheling Edmund succeeded to the kingdom; and he was then 18 years old. King Athelstan ruled 14 years and 10 weeks." ASC(Eng), 110); "Her Æðelstan cyning forðferde. & feng Ædmund to rice his broðor." ASC(E) s.a. 940; "Strenuus et gloriosus rex Anglorum Æthelstanus, decimo sexto regni sui anno, indictione XIV., vi. kal. Novembris, feria IV., apud Glawornam e vita decessit, et ad Maidulfi urbem delatus, honorifice est tumulatus; cui frater suus Eadmundus, XVIIIº. ætatis suæ anno, in regnum successit." John Worc., s.a. 940 (1: 132-3); "27 [Oct.] Obitus Æþelstani regis." Lib. Vit. Hyde, 272; AU s.a. 938=939; on 939 as the year of Æthelstan's death, see Beaven (1917); Vaughan (1954)].

By Ecgwynn or Ælfflæd:

NN (Eadgyth?), d. Pollesbury, 15 July;
m. 925×6, Sitric (Sigtryggr), d. 927, king of Dublin and York.
["Her Æþelstan cyning & Sihtric Norðhymbra cyng heo gesamnodon æt Tameweorðþige. iii. k. Februarius. & Æþelstan his sweostor him forgeaf." ASC(D) s.a. 925 ("Here King Athelstan and Sihtric, king of Northumbria, assembled at Tamworth on 30 January, and Athelstan gave him his sister." ASC(Eng), 105); "Strenuus et gloriosus rex Anglorum Æthelstanus sororem suam, cum magno honore et gloria, Northhymbrorum regi Sihtrico, Danica stirpe progenito, in matrimonium dedit." John Worc., s.a. 925 (1: 130); ibid., 1: 117, 274; Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 126 (1: 136)] Since ASC(D) and John Worc. place the death of Sitric in the next year after the marriage (s.a. 926) and he actually died in 927 [AU s.a. 926=927], the marriage might belong to 926. Roger of Wendover states that she remained a virgin and lived in Pollesbury until her death on 15 July of an unknown year ["Ethelstanus, rex Anglorum, Eathgitam, sororem suam, Sithrico Danica natione progenito, Northanhumbrorum regi, matrimonio honorifice copulavit; ... Sancta itaque puella, virginitate sibi reservata, apud Pollesberiam ... usque ad finem vitæ suæ ...perseveravit; transiit autem post laudibilis vitæ cursum ex hoc mundo ibidem idibus Julii, ..." Rog. Wendover, s.a. 925 (1: 386); thanks to Todd Farmerie for pointing out this reference]. She is called Eadgyth by Ralph de Diceto ("Eadchida"), Roger of Wendover, and the Book of Hyde [see the Commentary section below]. The main reason for doubting the name (other than the late sources) would be that Eadweard already had another well documented daughter named Eadgyth.

By Ælfflæd:

Ælfweard, d. prob. August 924, king of Wessex?
Ælfweard survived his father for only a short period, only sixteen days according to the Worcester manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ["Her Eadweard cyning gefor on Myrcum æt Farndune. & Ælfweard his sunu swyþe hraðe þæs gefor ymbe .xvi. dagas æt Oxanforda. & hyra lic lið æt Wintanceastre." ASC(D) s.a. 924 ("Here King Edward died at Farndon in Mercia; and very soon, 16 days after, his son Ælfweard died at Oxford; and their bodies lie at Winchester." ASC(Eng), 105); "Non multo post filius ejus Ælfwardus apud Oxenfordam decessit, et sepultus est ubi et pater illius." John Worc., s.a. 924 (1: 130)]. He is evidently the son called Æthelweard by William of Malmesbury [see below]. Ælfweard is included as king in a regnal list in the twelfth century manuscript Textus Roffensis, which has him surviving for four weeks ["Ða feng Ælfwerd Eadwardes sunu to & heold .iiii. wucan." Dumville (1986), 29]. A reign by Ælfweard is also suggested by a passage in the Hyde Register ["Quem etiam egregium patrem duo pignora filiorum .Aeðeluuerdus. scilicet atque .Aelfuuerdus. haud dispari gloria . in sepulterae consortio secuti sunt . quorum unus clito . alter uero regalibus infulis redimitus. inmatura ambo morte preuenti sunt." Lib. Vit. Hyde, 6]. Birch suggested that the phrase "regalibus infulis redimitus" may mean that Ælfweard had been associated with his father as king [Lib. Vit. Hyde, x]. The Book of Hyde has a passage about a supposed son of Eadweard by Ecgwynn named "Elfredus" who was said to be crowned during his father's lifetime but did not long survive [Lib. Monast. Hyde, 113; see the Commentary section below under Ælfred]. If there is any truth to this story, it is probably a garbled tale about Ælfweard. [See also Plummer, ASC 2: 121; Williams (1978), 149-151]

Eadwine, d. 933, under-king?
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that he died at sea in 933 ["Her adranc Ædwinw æðeling onsæ." ASC(E) s.a. 933]. Simeon of Durham states that this was at the order of Æthelstan ["Rex Ethelstanus jussit Eadwinum fratrem suum submergi in mare." Sim. Durh., Hist.Regum, c. 83, s.a. 933 (2: 93); similarly, c. 107 (2: 124)]. William of Malmesbury makes Æthelstan indirectly at fault in Eadwine's drowning [Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 139 (1: 156)]. Folcwine, a near contemporary who has the most detailed account of Eadwine, confirms that Eadwine (whom he calls "rex") was a brother of Æthelstan, states that his body washed up in Flanders and was buried at Saint-Bertin [Folcwine, Gesta Abbatum S. Bertini Sithiensium, c. 107, MGH SS 13: 629]. John of Worcester makes Eadwine a son of Eadweard by Eadgifu [John Worc., 1: 117, 274]. Plummer explains Folcwine's description of Eadwine as "rex" by suggesting that he was under-king of Kent [Plummer, notes to ASC, 2: 137-8].

Eadflæd, fl. 937, nun, bur. Wilton.
[Wm. Malmes., c. 126 (1: 137) (see below); R. Diceto, Abbreviationes Chronicorum, s.a. 900 (1: 140-1)] She is named in a charter of Æthelstan dated 937 ["Quapropter ego Æþelstanus . nodante Dei gratia basileos Anglorum et et eque totius Britannie ... pro redemptione piaculorum meorum necnon et germanitatis méé . Eadflede ..." Cart. Sax. 2: 420-1 (#714, AD937)].

Eadgifu (Ottogeba), d. after 951;
m. (1) Charles III "the Simple", b. (posthumously) 17 September 879, d. 7 October 929, king of France 898-922;
m. (2) 951, Heribert "vetulus" ("the old"), d. 980×4, abbot of Saint-Médard de Soissons; count of Omois;
[Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 926, 36 (see below under Eadhild); "Siquidem Eadgyfu nominata est Eadwerdi filia, filii Ælfredi supra scripti regis, quæ et abmatertera tua ipsa in matrimonium Galliarum ad partes minori Karulo mittitur regi." Æthelweard, Prologue, 2; Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 112 (1: 116), c. 126 (1: 136-7); John Worc., s.a. 901 (1: 117); 1: 274] Eadgifu was still living in 951, when she was remarried to count Heribert (son of Heribert II of Vermandois) ["Ottogeba regina, mater Ludowici regis, egressa Lauduno, conducentibus se quibusdam tam Herberti quam Adalberti, fratris ipsius, hominibus, ad Heribertum proficiscitur; qui suscipiens eam, ducit in conjugem." Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 951, 132].

Æthelhild, a lay sister, bur. Wilton.
[Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 126 (1: 137) (see below); R. Diceto, Abbreviationes Chronicorum, s.a. 900 (1: 140-1, see below)] David Kelley has suggested that Æthelhild was married to a certain Ælfsige [Kelley (1989), 85; see also Wood (2004), 452]. A certain Ælfsige and Æthelhild appear as parents of an Ælfwine who received a grant from bishop Æthelwold of Winchester in 975×8 ["Ælfwinum filium Ælfsige et Æðelhildam matrem ipsius" Codex Dipl. Sax. 6: 206 (#1347); see also "Æþelhild coniunx Ælfsini comitis" Lib. Vit. Hyde, 58; Searle (1899), 395]. However, no convincing reason was offered why the Æthelhild who was wife of Ælfsige should be identified with the Æthelhild who was daughter of Eadweard the Elder.

Eadhild, d. bef. 937;
m. 926, Hugues "le Grand", d. 16×17 June 956, duke of the Franks.
["Hugo, filius Rotberti, filiam Eadwardi regis Anglorum, sororem conjugis Karoli, duxit uxorem." Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 926, 36; "Eadhild etiam in coniugium mittitur Hugoni filio Hrodbyrhti." Æthelweard, Prologue, 2] Eadhild was presumably deceased by 937, when Hugues married again.

Eadgyth, d. 26 January 946;
m. 930, Otto I "the Great", b. 23 November 912, d. 7 May 973, king of Germany, 936-973; king of Italy, 961-973; emperor, 962-973.
["Otto filius regis Heinrici Edgid filiam regis Anglorum duxit uxorem." Regino, Chronicon (continuation), s.a. 930, 158; "Nam rex dedit filio suo Oddoni coniugem filiam Ethmundi regis Anglorum, sororem Adalstani, quae genuit ei filium nomine Liudulfum, virum magnum, meritoque omnibus populis carum, filiam quoque nomine Liudgardam, quae nupserat Conrado Francorum duci." Widukind, i, 37, MGH SS 3: 434; "Edmundus rex Transmarinus defungitur, uxor quoque regis Othonis, soror ipsius Edmundi, decessit." Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 946, 101; "domna Edgid regina obiit, quae maximo regis omniumque suorum planctu Magedeburg sepelitur." Regino, Chronicon (continuation), s.a. 947, MGH SS 1: 620; "Ille annus notabilis casu calamitoso totius populi, de morte scilicet beatae memoriae Edidis reginae, cuius dies extrema septimo Kal. Februar. celebrata est cum gemitu et lacrimis omnium Saxoniam. ... Reliquit filium nomine Liudulfum, omni virtute animi et corporis ea aetate nulli mortali secundum; filiam quoque nomine Liudgardam, quae nupserat Conrado duci. Sepulta est autem in civitate Magathaburg in basilica nova latere aquilonali ad orientem." Widukind, ii, 41, MGH SS 3: 449; for the date of death, see further in Dümmler (1876) 146, n. 3] Thietmar of Merseburg mistakenly makes Eadgyth a daughter of Eadmund ["Otto, coniugem suam Editham, Ethmundi regis Anglorum filiam" Thietmar, Chron., ii, 1, MGH SS 3: 744]. Liudprand makes "Otgith" a daughter of an unnamed brother of Æthelstan ["Duxerat idem rex Otto ante regni susceptionem ex Anglorum gente nobilissima regis Hadelstani fratris filiam sibi uxorem, nomine Otgith; ..." Liudprand, Antapodosis, iv, 17, Dümmler (1877), 88]. Widukind makes Otto's wife incorrectly a daughter of "Ethmundus" but correctly a sister of Æthelstan ["Nam rex dedit filio suo Oddoni coniugem filiam Ethmundi regis Anglorum, sororem Adalstani, ..." Widukind, i, 37, MGH SS 3: 434]. Hrotsvith of Gandersheim indicates that Eadgyth was a descendant of king Osweald, probably Osweald of Bernicia (d. 642), but does not give any line of descent ["Germen sanctorum quam producebat avorum; / Hanc tradunt ergo natam de stirpe beata / Oswaldi regis, laudem cuius canit orbis, / Se quia subdiderat morti pro nomine Christi." Gesta Oddonis, lines 94-97, MGH SS 4: 321]. It has been suggested that this was through her mother Ælflæd [Dümmler (1876), 11; Hlawitschka (2006), 86], but a connection has also been suggested with Oslac, maternal granfthaer of Eadgyth's grandfather Ælfred [Nelson (1991), 52-3; see the page of Oslac].

Ælfgifu or Ealdgyth (Adiva);
m. NN, a prince near the Alps.
(see the Commentary section)
In 929 or soon before, king Æthelstan sent two of his sisters to king Heinrich I of Germany with the purpose that one of them should marry his son Otto. Of the two girls, Otto ended up marrying Eadgyth (see above). The other girl is called Adiva by Hrotsvith von Gandersheim ["Necnon germanam secum transmisit Adivam, ..." Gesta Oddonis, line 112, MGH SS 4: 321]. According to the chronicler Æthelweard, she married a king by the Jupiter Mountains ["Alteram etiam subiunxit cuipiam regi iuxta Iupitereos montes, de cuius prole nulla nobis notitia extat, ..." Æthelweard, Prologue, 2, see above]. William of Malmesbury states that she married a duke by the Alpes, which appears to be essentially the same information (except for the title) ["... Edgitham et Elfgivam idem germanus misit Henrico Alamannorum imperatori, quarum secundam Othoni filio ille locavit, alteram cuidam duci juxta Alpes. Wm. Malmes. Gesta Regum, c. 126 (1: 137), see below for a fuller quote; "... Henricus, qui misit ad Athelstanum regem Anglorum pro duabus sororibus suis Aldgitha et Edgitha; quarum posteriorem filio suo Othoni collocavit, alteram cuidam duci juxta Alpes nuptum dedit." ibid., c. 112 (1: 117)]. As can be seen from the above accounts, there is some doubt about her name. Æthelweard does not give her name. In his main account on the children of Eadweard, William of Malmesbury erroneously gives her the name of Otto's wife Eadgyth. Assuming the error secundam for primam, it seems likely that he meant to say her name was Ælfgifu. However, at another place he calls her Ealdgyth (this time getting the name of Otto's wife right). Much ink has been used speculating on the identity of this Alpine son-in-law of Eadweard, and numerous candidates have been put forward, none of whom can be accepted with a great deal of confidence. See the Commentary section for more details.

By Eadgifu:

Eadburh, fl. 939, nun at Winchester.
[Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 126 (1: 137) (see below); c. 217 (1: 268-9); John Worc. 1: 117, 274] She was granted land in Hampshire by her brother Æthelstan in 939 ["... ego Æþelstanus ... pro germanitatis nostræ conglutinata propinquitate in sempiternam hereditatem . nomine Eadburge ..." Cart. Sax. 2: 459 (#742)]

Eadmund I, b. ca. 922, d. 26 May 946, king of Wessex and Mercia, 939-946;
m. (1) St. Ælfgifu, d. 18 May ca. 944;
m. (2) Æthelflæd, of Domerham, daughter of Ælfgar, ealdorman of the Wilsætas.

Eadred, d. 23 November 955, king of Wessex and Mercia, 946-955.
Eadred succeeded on the assassination of his brother Eadmund in 946, and was consecrated king at Kingston on 16 August ["Her Eadmund cyning forðferde, ... & þa feng Eadred æþeling his broþor to rice" ASC(A,D) s.a. 946; ASC(E) s.a. 948; "Mox proximus hæres Edredus, fratri succedens, regnum naturale suscepit, et XVII. kal. Septembris, die Dominica, in Cingestune a S. Odone Dorubernensi archiepiscopo rex est consecratus." John Worc., s.a. 946 (1: 134); Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 146 (1: 162)]. He died on 23 November 955, and was succeeded by his nephew Eadwig ["Her forþferde Eadred cining, on Sce. Clementes mæssedæg ón Frome, & he rixsade teoþe healf gear; & þa feng Eadwig to rice. Eadmundes sunu cinges." ASC(A) s.a. 955; ASC(D,E) s.a. 955; John Worc., s.a. 955 (1: 136)].

Supposed additional child by Eadgifu (existence uncertain):

Eadgifu (a supposed second daughter of this name)
said to have m. Louis, prince of Aquitaine (otherwise unknown).
She is mentioned by William of Malmesbury as a daughter of Eadweard and Eadgifu [Wm. Malmes. Gesta Regum, c. 126 (1: 136-7), c. 135 (1: 149-150)]. Her name invites doubt because there was already a well documented daughter named Eadgifu (wife of Charles the Simple, above), and because it was not common at that time for a child to be named after a parent. Further doubt is invited by the fact that no Louis of Aquitaine ("de genere Caroli magni superstes" according to William) is known from other records. Richard suggests that this Eadgifu is a confusion of the other Eadgifu, mother of Louis IV [Richard (1903), 2: 475]. Suggested identifications will be discussed below in the Commentary section.

Commentary

The Wives and Children of Eadweard the Elder

Several of the children of Eadweard the Elder are documented by good tenth century evidence. This includes the three sons who reigned, Æthelstan, Eadmund, and Eadred, and the three daughters who made high profile marriages on the continent, Eadgifu wife of Charles le Simple, Eadhild wife of Hugues le Grand, and Eadgyth wife of Otto the Great. In addition, Ælfweard and Eadwine and the daughter who married Sitric (who, however, appears only in the Worcester manuscript) appear in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (and Eadwine also in Folcwine, a near contemporary continental source), and Eadflæd and Eadburh appear in charters (cited above). Also, the daughter who married a prince near the Alps is well enough documented in tenth century sources, even if the identity of her husband is not (see below for more on this). The only early evidence for the mothers of these children comes from charters, where Eadgifu appears as the mother of Eadmund and Eadred [940: "Ego Eadmundus rex Anglorum ... Ego Eadgifu ejusdem regis mater ..." Cart. Sax. 2: 492 (#763); 947: "Ego Eadredus rex Anglorum ... Ego Eadgifu ejusdem regis mater ..." ibid. 2: 585 (#820)].

A number of details are added by the Anglo-Norman chroniclers of the twelfth century, and by other even later sources. While there is no reason to doubt that this information has generally come from earlier sources, there are enough contradictions that the reliability of the information is not always clear. What follows are extracts from some of these sources.

William of Malmesbury

The most important twelfth century account of the wives and children of Eadweard is that of William of Malmesbury. His main account lists each wife along with her children ["Rex, quia multas filias habebat, dedit Edgifam Carolo regi Francorum, filio Lodowici filii Caroli Calvi, cujus filiam, ut sæpe dixi, Ethelwulfus rex Roma rediens acceperat: et quia se occasio ingessit, uxores ejus et liberos nominatim persequi non indignum ducet benignus auditor. Primogenitum Ethelstanum habuit ex Egwinna illustri foemina; et filiam, cujus nomen scriptum non in promptu habeo: hanc ipse frater Sihtricio Northanhimbrorum regi nuptum dedit. Secundus filius Edwardi fuit Ethelwardus ex / Elfleda filia Ethelmi comitis, litteris apprime institutus, multumque Elfredum avum vultu et moribus præferens, sed cita post genitorem morte subtractus. Ex eadem uxore habuit Edwinum, cujus interitus quæ opinio, sit, posterius non constanter sed titubanter efferam. Tulit quoque ex illa sex filias, Edfledam, Edgivam, Ethelhildam, Ethildam, Edgitham, Elfgivam; prima et tertia cælibatum Deo voventes, Edfleda in sacrato, Ethelhilda in laico tegmine, terrenarum nuptiarum voluptatem fastidiere: jacent ambæ Wiltoniæ, juxta matrem tumulatæ. Edgifam dedit pater Carolo regi, ut dixi; Ethildam frater Ethelstanus Hugoni, Edgitham et Elfgivam idem germanus misit Henrico Alamannorum imperatori, quarum secundam Othoni filio ille locavit, alteram cuidam duci juxta Alpes. Suscepit etiam ex tertia uxore, Edgiva vocabulo, filios duos, Edmundum et Edredum qui ambo post Ethelstanum regnarunt: filias duas, Edburgam et Edgivam. Edburga, sacrata Christo virgo, Wintoniæ quiescit: Edgivam, speciositatis eximiæ mulierem, conjunxit frater Ethelstanus Lodowico Aquitanorum principi." Wm. Malmes. Gesta Regum, c. 126 (1: 136-7)]. Statements made elsewhere in his work do not always agree completely with this account. The names of the two daughters sent to Heinrich of Germany are given differently on one occasion ["Huic [Conrado] successit filius Henricus, qui misit ad Athelstanum regem Anglorum pro duabus sororibus suis Aldgitha et Edgitha; quarum posteriorem filio suo Othoni collocavit, alteram cuidam duci juxta Alpes nuptum dedit." ibid., c. 112 (1: 117)]. Four of Æthelstan's sisters who married on the continent are mentioned on one occasion (with data agreeing with the main account), but he slips by calling the wife of Baldwin of Flanders a daughter of Eadweard (she was in fact a sister) ["Quare perpenso consilio, quod [Ethelstanus] quatuor sorores haberet, in quibus præter ætatis discrimen nihil de formæ gratia dissideret, duas postulanti Cæsari misit, quas ille quomodo nuptum locaverit, jam sermo præoccupavit. Tertiam legitima copula sortitus est comparem Lodowicus Aquitanorum princeps, de genere Caroli magni superstes. Quartam, in qua omne coagulum pulchitrudinis, quod ceteræ / pro parte habent, naturaliter confluxerat, Hugo rex Francorum per nuntios a germano expetiit. Princeps hujusce legationis fuit Adulfus, filius Baldewini comitis Flandriæ, ex filia regis Edwardi Ethelswitha." ibid., c. 135 (1: 149-150)]. Here, William errs in making Hugues Capet a son-in-law of Eadweard instead of Hugues le Grand. In discussing the daughter Eadburh, William contradicts himself slighly by stating that Eadweard's wife Eadgifu had "many" daughters, having previously given her only two ["Edwardus senior, ..., suscepit ex uxore Edgiva filias multas; inter quas et Edburgam, ..." ibid., c. 217 (1: 268)]. William twice refers to an "Elwardus" as a son of Eadweard whose death immediately followed the father, but it seems evident that this son (Ælfweard) is the same as the "Ethelwardus" of William's main account [ibid., c. 131 (1: 141), c. 139 (1: 156)].

Comparing William's main account with the earlier sources, Æthelstan, Sitric's wife, Eadwine, Eadflæd, Eadgifu, Eadhild, Eadmund, Eadred, and Eadburh all appear in agreement with the earlier sources. So does Ælfweard, assuming that he is the same as Æthelweard. The same is true for Otto's wife and the wife of the Alpine prince, except for the confusion of names. Since we know that Otto's wife was named Eadgyth, we may suppose that William's main account accidently switched Eadgyth and Ælfgifu (say by accidently writing secundam in stead of primam), and this would leave Ælfgifu [c. 126] or Ealdgyth [c. 112] as the name (according to William) of the wife of the Alpine prince [called Adiva by Hrotsvith von Gandersheim: "Necnon germanam secum transmisit Adivam, ..." Gesta Oddonis, line 112, MGH SS 4: 321; see below]. Of the children listed by William, this leaves Æthelhild and the second Eadgifu undocumented in the earlier sources. Since the list of children given by William seems to stand up fairly well, there does not seem to be any reason to doubt Æthelhild's existence (she is also mentioned by Ralph de Diceto, see below). With the second Eadgifu, who seems to appear only in sources depending directly or indirectly on William, there is the problem that her husband Louis of Aquitaine is also an otherwise unknown figure. This supposed marriage will be discussed further below.

John of Worcester

John of Worcester gives a list of Eadweard's children in the body of his chronicle and then repeats the same list in his genealogical summary ["Ex muliere nobilissima Ecgwyna filium suum primogenitum Æthelstanum, ex regina autem sua Eadgiva filios tres Eadwinum, Eadmundum, Eadredum, filiamque, Deo devotissimam virginem, Eadburgam, tresque insuper habuit filias; quarum unam Otto, Romanorum imperator octogesimus nonus, alteram vero in conjugem habuit rex Occidentalium Francorum Karolus; ... tertiam autem filiam in uxorem habuit rex Northanhymbrorum Sihtricus." John Worc., s.a. 901 (1: 117), copied verbatim in Sim. Durh., Historia Regum, c. 103 (2: 121); also in Rog. Hoveden 1: 51; "... Eadwardus successit; cui regina sua Eadgiva tres filios, Eadwinum, Eadmundum, Eadredum, et sanctam Eadburgam, ac tres alias peperit filias, quarum unam in conjugem habuit Otto imperator Romanorum, alteram Karolus rex Occidentalium Francorum, tertiam Sihtricus rex Northhymbrorum. Æthelstanum autem filium primogenitum de Ecgwyn, foemina nobilissima, habuit." John Worc., 1: 274] Although John does not include Ælfweard when he is listing Eadweard's children, he gives Ælfweard's obituary at the appropriate place [ibid., s.a. 924 (1: 130)]. Ailred of Rievaulx gives the same list of children, and apparently used John or Simeon as a source [PL 195: 723]. John evidently had less information than William of Malmesbury on Eadweard's children, as he lists fewer children. In the original version of this page, I had interpreted John as stating that the married daughters were by Eadgifu, and noted that these three daughters were almost certainly not the children of Eadgifu. However, the statement now seems more ambiguous to me, and it might be that John was leaving the mother(s) of these three daughters unstated. The most notable difference between John of Worcester and the other accounts is that he doesn't mention the second marriage to Ælflæd. This is changed in the Bury St. Edmunds manuscript of John of Worcester's history, where an interpolation gives the second marriage to Alfleda, daughter of Ethelmus comitis, with children Ethelward, Eduuin, Eadgyua (m. Otto), Eadhilda (m. Charles), St. Eadgytha (m. Shtric), and Ealfgifa (m. Hugh) [John Worc. (Darlington & McGurk, eds.), Appendix B, s.a. 901; information courtesy of Todd Farmerie].

Ralph de Diceto

Ralph de Diceto also gives an account of the wives and children of Eadweard ["Huic etiam regina sua Alfleda duos filios peperit Hathelstanum et Ædwinum, et sex filias, quarum Eadfleda et Æthelhilda sanctimoniales apud Wiltonam requiescunt; Eadivam vero habuit conjugem Otto Romanorum imperator; Eadhildam autem Karolus simplex rex Francorum; sanctam Eadchidam Sithricus rex Northanhymbrorum; Hugo magnus filius Roberti ducis Parisiensium duxit quartam, id est, Ealfgifam. Regina vero sua Ediva peperit Eadmundum et Ædredum et Sanctam Eadburgam, quæ apud Wintoniam requiescit." R. Diceto, Abbreviationes Chronicorum, s.a. 900 (1: 140-1)]. In contradiction to William, Ralph makes Æthelstan and Sitric's wife children of Ælflæd instead of Ecgwynn, certainly incorrectly in the case of Æthelstan. In addition, he also gives a name to Sitric's wife (Eadchida, Eadgyth?), but supplies incorrect (and mostly interchanged) names for the wives of Otto (Eadiva, Eadgifu?, instead of Eadgyth), Charles (Eadhild instead of Eadgifu), and Hugues (Ælfgifu instead of Eadhild).

Roger of Wendover

Roger of Wendover also provides a list which does not seem to come directly from the others ["Ex concubina nomine Egwynna filium suum primogenitum Ethelstanum suscepit; ex secunda regina sua, nomine Alfleda, Elfelmi comitis filia, duos filios Ethelwardum et Eadwinum generavit; peperitque ei insuper sex filias, quarum Eadfleda sanctimonialis cum sorore Ethelhilda apud Wiltoniam requiescit, cæteræ vero quatuor nuptiis traditæ referuntur, quarum prima, id est Eggiva, Othoni Romanorum imperatori copulata est; alteram, id est Eadhildam, Carolus rex Francorum, tertiam Siricius rex Northanhumbrorum, id est sanctam Edgitham, quartam, id est Algivam, Hugo filius ducis Roberti habuerunt sibi matrimonio copulatas. Ex conjuge quoque Edgitha idem rex genuit Eadmundum et Eadredum." Rog. Wendover, s.a. 901, 1: 368-9]. The names of the daughters of Ælflæd are shown in the same order (and with the same interchanging) as Ralph de Diceto, but there are differences in the other children.

Book of Hyde

The Book of Hyde has an account of Eadweard's children which mainly follows William of Malmesbury, but also includes a supposed additional son Ælfred who ruled with his father ["Iste gloriosus Edwardus duas habuit uxores, et unam concubinam. Ex concubina, Egwynna nomine, genuit Athelstanum, qui post ipsum regnavit, et Elfredum, et Edgytham, quæ nupsit Sirichio regi Northanhymbrorum, quæ requiescit Tamworthæ, et pro sancta colitur. ... Ex prima uxore sua, videlicet Elfelmi comitis [filia], nomine Elfleda, genuit duos filios, videlicet Ethelwardum, virum in literatura instructum, qui tum non diu vixit, et Edwynum; et sex filias, scilicet, Elfledam sanctam, et Deo dicatam, quæ apud Romesayam requiescit; Edginam, quam dedit Karolo, regi Francorum, filio Lodowyci, filii Karoli Calvi; Etheltildam, Deo dicatam, quæ Wyltoniæ requiescit; Ethyldam, quam dedit pater Hugoni Capet, regi Occidentalium Francorum; Edgitham et Elgimam misit Henrico, Alemannorum imperatori maritandas, quarum secundam ille locavit filio sui Othoni, alteram cuidam duci juxta Alpes. Ex uxore secunda, Edgiva nomine, genuit Edwardus duos filios, Edmundum et Edredum, qui ambo post Athelstanum regnaverunt; et duas filias, sanctam Edburgam, Deo dicatam, [quæ] in monasterio monalium Wyntoniæ requiescit; et Edgivam, quæ nupsit Aquitannorum principi Lodowyco." Lib. Monast. Hyde, 111-3; also, a recapitulation of the sons at pp. 113-4]. For Ælfred, see below. A name (Eadgyth) is provided for Sitric's wife and she is called a saint. Also different are the names given to some of the other daughters. Thus, William of Malmesbury's Edfleda, buried at Wilton, is replaced by the Book of Hyde's Elfleda, buried at Romsey, Ethelhilda is called Etheltilda, the wife of Charles is called Edgina, and one of the daughters sent to Heinrich is called Elgima. Except for Ælfflæd (Elfleda), who is given by some as a distinct daughter from Eadflæd, these differences need not concern us [see under Ælfflæd below]. The Book of Hyde (Liber Monasterii de Hyda: a Chronicle and Chartulary of Hyde Abbey, Winchester, 455-1023, Rolls Series 45, London, 1866) is a different manuscript from that source which is sometimes called the Hyde Register (Liber Vitae: Register and Martyrology of New Minister and Hyde Abbey Winchester, London, 1892). The latter source has no list of the children of Eadweard, but has certain individual notes on his children.

Pseudo-Ingulph

Pseudo-Ingulph's history of the monastery of Croyland mentions the marriages of four sisters of Æthelstan, evidently taken from William of Malmesbury ["Duae sorores seniores imperatori Henrico commendantur; quarum primam Othoni suo filio, secundam cuidam sui palatii magno principi copulavit. Tertiam sororem Hugo rex Francorum suo filio suscepit. Quartam, quae omnium sororum iunior erat et speciosissima, Ludovicus princeps Aquitaniae in uxorem duxit." Pseudo-Ingulph, Hist. monast. Croyland., MGH SS 10: 460n.]. The main difference here is the mistake that a daughter is married to a son of Hugues Capet. This source has no independent value.

Table of Eadweard's children in various sources

The following table compares the lists of Eadweard's children which appear in Æthelweard, William of Malmesbury, John of Worcester, Ralph de Diceto, Roger of Wendover, and the Book of Hyde. John of Worcester lists the children in two places, in the main text of his history and in his genealogical appendix, giving the same information in both places. The other sources have one main place where the list of children (in Æthelweard's case, daughters) is given. The information from these lists is given in black in the table below. Information in red is additional (or conflicting) information which appears elsewhere in the same source. In the column for John of Worcester, information in green are the interpolations in the Bury St. Edmunds manuscript of that history. There are four sections on the table, one for sons, one for unmarried daughters, and two for married daughters. Since these sources interchange the names of the married daughters with respect to each other, each married daughter is listed twice, sorted once by name, and once by husband's name (with the confusion between Hugues le Grand and Hugues Capet ignored). The numbers in parentheses show to which marriage the author attributes the child, Ecgwynn (1), Ælflæd (2), or Eadgifu (3).

From the comparisons given on this table, it appears that the Book of Hyde used William of Malmesbury as its main source, but also had at least one other source. The accounts of Ralph de Diceto and Roger of Wendover are similar, and probably go back to a common source, with Roger having accidently omitted Eadburh, and with Ralph having made a more serious mistake on Æthelstan. There was obviously confusion about the names of the daughters, which may explain why John of Worcester does not try to name them. As noted in the following comments, some of the children given in these sources can be removed from the list.

Falsely attributed children:

Ælfred. (probably a mistake for Ælfweard)
The Book of Hyde mentions a supposed son by Ecgwynn who was crowned in his father's lifetime ["Inclitus igitur ac devotissimus rex Edwardus, dictus Senior, sex habuit filios, quorum quatuor extiterunt sceptrigeri. Ex nobili foemina, Egwyna nomine, Athelstanum habuit et Elfredum. Elfredus, quem pater præ cæteris paternali amore dilexit, ipsomet sceptrigerante, exemplo beati David regis, qui Domino super omnia gratias egit eo quod meruit seipso superstite filium suum in solio paterno residentem videre, inunctus in regem ac coronatus est. Sed idem Elfredus non multo post superfuit. Moriebatur enim antequam pater suus naturæ functus sit munere." Lib. Monast. Hyde, 113]. He does not appear in any of the earlier sources, and is probably a mistake for Ælfweard. As was pointed out by Todd Farmerie, there is a charter supposedly signed by an "Elfred, filius regis" which may explain the Book of Hyde's error [Lib. Monast. Hyde, 114-6; also #S366, Sawyer (1968), 161; Cart. Sax. 2: 251 (#598); probably a mistake for Ælfweard, cf. Lib. Monast. Hyde, 98-101; #S365, Sawyer (1968), 161; Cart. Sax. 2: 249 (#597)].

Æthelweard. (existence as a son distinct from Ælfweard unclear)
The appearance of a son of this name in William of Malmesbury's main list of the children of Eadweard [Secundus filius Edwardi fuit Ethelwardus ex Elfleda filia Ethelmi comitis, litteris apprime institutus, multumque Elfredum avum vultu et moribus præferens, sed cita post genitorem morte subtractus." Wm. Malmes. Gesta Regum, c. 126 (1: 136-7)] is apparently intended to be the same person as Ælfweard, who appears elsewhere in the same work [ibid., c. 131 (1: 141), c. 139 (1: 156)]. Of more concern is the appearance of Æthelweard and Ælweard as distinct sons in the Hyde Register ["... duo pignora filiorum .Aeðeluuerdus. scilicet atque .Aelfuuerdus. ..." Lib. Vit. Hyde, 6]. Nevertheless, it seems likely that this supposed son Æthelweard is either a confusion with Eadweard's brother Æthelweard or with his son Ælfweard. In fact, the appearance of Eadweard's brother Æthelweard in charters seems to invite confusion, as he is called filius regis in some charters of Eadweard [Cart. Sax. 2: 241-2 (#594), 244 (#595), 247 (#596), 249 (#597), 251 (#598), 253 (#600), 257 (#602), 261 (#604), 271 (#611), 273 (#612), 275 (#613)] and frater regis in others [ibid., 285 (#620), 289 (#621), 293 (#623), 295 (#624), 298 (#625), 303 (#628)]. Since the filius regis Æthelweard never appears in the same charter as the frater regis Æthelweard, we are undoubtedly seeing the same man here, with his appearances as filius regis to be interpreted as "son of the [former] king [Ælfred]."

Ælfwine. (in fact a nephew)
Ælfwine appears immediately after Ælfweard in an eleventh century list of sons of kings in the Liber Vitae of New Minster or Hyde Abbey ["Ælfwine filius Eadwerdi regis." Lib. Vit. Hyde, 14]. However, such a son is otherwise unknown, and the Ælfwine on this list is more probably a mistake for Eadweard's nephew Ælfwine son of Æthelweard, who was killed at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937 ["... Elwinum et Ethelwinum filios patrui sui Ethelwerdi, quos in bello contra Analafum amiserat, ..." Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 135 (1: 151); "... ego Ethelstanus, rex Anglorum, ... pro animabus patruelium meorum, filiorum Ethelwerdi clitonis, videlicet Elfwiniet Ethelwini, ..." Cart. Sax. 2: 426 (#719)].

Ælfthryth (Ælfþryð, Elftrude) of Wessex, said to have d. 7 June 929. (in fact a sister)
m. Baldwin II, d. 918, count/marquis of Flanders, 879-918.
Annales Elnonenses err in stating that Baldwin's wife "Helfeth" and Ogiva, wife of Charles the Simple, were daughters of king Adelwardus of the English ["Balduinus, nepos Caroli Calvi, et Carolus, filius Ludowici, uxores duxerunt filias Adelwardi regis Anglorum, Carolus Ogivam, Balduinus sororem eius Helfeth nomine." Ann. Elnonenses, Grierson (1937), 149]. The same mistake is made on one occasion by William of Malmesbury [see above].

Ælfflæd (Elfleda), d. ca. 963, nun. (no reason to believe she was distinct from Eadflæd)
Ælfflæd is given as a daughter distinct from Eadflæd by Weir, who states that "Elfleda" became a nun at Winchester, died there ca. 963, and was buried at Wilton Abbey, Wiltshire [Weir (1989), 13]. As noted above, the Book of Hyde lists Ælfflæd as a daughter of Eadweard, and states that she was buried at Romsey. This burial may have been taken from William of Malmesbury's Gesta Pontificum, where William states that a virgin Elfleda was buried at Romsey, but that he did not know her history [Wm. Malmes., Gesta Pont., c. 78 (p. 175)]. Thus, there does not seem to be any reason to believe that Ælfflæd had any existence distinct from Eadflæd.

The "King near the Jupiter Mountains" and "Louis of Aquitaine"

Two sons-in-law of Eadweard have been the subject of much speculation. One, the king near the Jupiter Mountains (or duke near the Alps), appears in tenth century records, and his existence as a son-in-law of Eadweard can at least be considered certain, even if his identity is unclear. The other, an otherwise unknown prince Louis of Aquitaine, appears only in records of the twelfth century and later, and the possibility must be considered that he did not exist, or that he was the same person as the king near the Jupiter Mountains. A further complication is that the secondary sources, in mentioning supposed daughters and sons-in-law of Eadweard, often without evidence, do not always make it clear whether a claimed son-in-law is supposed to be the same as the king near the Jupiter Mountains or Louis of Aquitaine.

In 929, when king Heinrich I of Germany was negotiating to marry his son Otto to one of Eadweard's daughters, Eadweard actually sent two of his daughters to Germany. Of these two girls, the elder Eadgyth ended up marrying Otto, later the emperor Otto I, known as "the Great". The younger daughter was called "Adiva" by Hrotsvith von Gandersheim (tenth century), who does not tell us of her fate ["Necnon germanam secum transmisit Adivam, ..." Gesta Oddonis, line 112, MGH SS 4: 321]. Writing late in the tenth century, the chronicler Æthelweard, in the prologue to his work addressed to his cousin Mathilde in Germany, states that Otto chose to marry Eadgyth, and that the other daughter, whose name is not given, was married to a certain king near the Jupiter Mountains ["Alias vero duas Ædestanus rex tali ratione misit ad Oddonem, ut quæ ab eis placuisset sibi in matrimonium elegisset; cui uisa melior Eadgyde, ex qua tu principium tenes natiuitatis. Alteram etiam subiunxit cuipiam regi iuxta Iupitereos montes, de cuius prole nulla nobis notitia extat, tam pro extenso spatio, quam per obruptionem quodam modo temporum; ..." Æthelweard, Prologue, 2]. A. Campbell, the editor of Æthelweard's chronicle, translated this as "a certain king near the Alps." Poole and Hlawitschka interpreted this as mons Jovis, the Great St. Bernhard [Poole (1911), 313; Hlawitschka (1976), 54]. Referring to the same marriage, William of Malmesbury twice refers to the husband as a certain dux near the Alps. As noted above, he appears to use the names "Elfgiva" and "Aldgitha" for her on those two occasions.

Looking beyond the confusion regarding the name of this daughter, it will be convenient to have something to call her in the discussions below, so we will use the name Adiva, the form used by Hrotsvith. Hlawitschka noted that Eadgyth's name appears in Hrotsvith's work under various forms, but always without the "g" [Hlawitschka (1976), 52 n. 111; "Eaditham" Gesta Oddonis, line 77, MGH SS 4: 320; "Edita" line 86, p. 321; "Eadit" line 118, p. 321; "Eadithae" line 597, p. 330]. This suggests that the Anglo-Saxon form of Adiva's name also had a "g" in it, and that her name was therefore Eadgifu. The problem is that Eadweard may have had two other daughters named Eadgifu, at least according to William of Malmesbury. Eadgifu as the name of the wife of Charles the Simple is well attested in two tenth century sources and numerous later sources ["Ottogeba" Flodoard, Annales, s.a. 951, 132; "Eadgyfu" Æthelweard, Prologue, 2; see Lauer (1900), 9 n. 4]. Another supposed Eadgifu, alleged wife of a Louis of Aquitaine, according to the twelfth century William of Malmesbury, is more problematic. She is allegedly named after her mother Eadgifu, which is extremely uncommon during that period. (Note that the other Eadgifu, wife of Charles, was daughter of Ælfflæd.) There is also considerable doubt about the identity of Louis of Aquitaine. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that William of Malmesbury was mistaken about Adiva (his Ælfgifu/Ealdgyth) being different from Eadgifu wife of Louis, and that they should be identified [Hlawitschka (1976); Mathieu (2006), with a different identification based upon essentially the same evidence].

Thus, there is little evidence to work with regarding the identity of Adiva's husband, and it is therefore not surprising that several candidates have surfaced in the literature. Since Adiva was evidently of marriageable age when she was available as one of the two choices for Otto I in his choice of a bride, it is likely that her marriage occurred not long after 929, and a marriage before 940 is highly probable. This alone is enough to cast doubt on two of the candidates, Conrad of Burgundy and Boleslav II of Bohemia. Other candidates for sons-in-law of Eadweard which do not involve Adiva have come about from attempts to identify the unknown "Louis of Aquitaine" as being either a known Louis (e.g., the emperor Louis the Blind) or someone from Aquitaine (e.g., Ebles). In the list of hypothsized scenarios given below, we have tried to separate them into scenarios identifying the king near the Jupiter Mountains, scenarios identifying Louis of Aquitaine, and scenarios in which both are simultaneously identified with some individual. However, the distinction between these three categories is not always clear, and investigations have been further impeded by not knowing what the underlying evidence is in some cases. Of the conjectured sons-in-law listed below, none can be considered proven. Hlawitschka's conjecture (listed first) is the most likely one to have some basis in fact.

Scenarios in which the "King near the Jupiter Mountains" is identified with "Louis of Aquitaine"
(i.e., Adiva is identified with the second Eadgifu)

Conjectured son-in-law (possible): Louis, fl. 929, count, son of Rodolphe I, king of Burgundy.
Louis is an obscure count who appears in a handful of documents, whose existence as a younger son of Rodolphe I of Burgundy was pointed out by Chaume [Chaume (1925), 382 n. 3, 552-3; see also Hlawitschka (1976), 51-2]. Hlawitshcka conjectured that the "Lodowicus Aquitanorum princeps" was a mistake for "Alamannorum princeps" and that this Louis, son of Rodolphe, was the king/duke near the Alps mentioned by Æthelweard and William of Malmesbury [Hlawitschka (1976), 52-5].

Conjectured son-in-law (existence uncertain): Louis, supposed son of Rodolphe II, king of Burgundy.
Louis is known only from Aubry de Troisfontaines (thirteenth century), who, after mentioning the marriage of Rodolphe II with Bertha of Swabia, states: "Habuerat antea uxorem aliam Emmam nomine, de qua tulit filium Ludovicum, qui vivente patre decessit." [Aubry de Troisfontaines, Chronica, s.a. 923, MGH SS 23: 757]. Relying in part on the arguments of Hlawitschka, Mathieu identifies "Lodowicus Aquitanorum princeps" with the supposed son of Rodolphe II [Mathieu (2006), 81 & n. 22, 85 & n. 43, 86 & n. 44]. Coming from such a late source, even the existence of this Louis does not inspire much confidence.

Scenarios suggesting an identification of the "King near the Jupiter Mountains" (husband of Adiva)

Conjectured son-in-law (false): Aubry, Burgundian "duke".
Conjectured son-in-law (false): Aubry I, count of Mâcon.
The underlying basis of this claim is a false charter of king Lothair, involving a knight Bouchard, son of duke Aubry (Alvericus), which mentions his wife Hildegard, brother Thibaud, and maternal uncle (avunculus) king Eadred (of England) ["... Burchardus miles, filius Alverici ducis, ... de consensu Hildegardis uxoris ejus, et de consilio Theobaldi domini de Centum Liliis, fratris ejus, ... ex Anglia, ... quos avunculus ejus, rex Aedredus, ei dederat ... Quaecumque vero a praefato Burchardo eidem loco donata sunt, villam videlicet quae dicitur Brayacus et duos molendinos apud villam quae dicitur Monsmorencius, ..." Rec. Actes Lothaire & Louis V, 136]. Dümmler calls Bouchard's father Aubry a Burgundian duke [Dümmler (1876), 9, n. 3], and Kalckstein identifies him specifically as count Aubry I of Mâcon [Kalckstein (1877), 256, 297-8]. As mentioned by Halphen and Lot in their edition of this act, the charter is a seventeenth century forgery [Rec. Actes Lothaire & Louis V, 137], and its claims are completely fantastic.

Conjectured son-in-law (very improbable): Conrad, d. 19 October 993, king of Burgundy.
According to Reginald Poole, the only person who satisfied the description of being a king near the mountains of Jupiter was Conrad the Peaceable, king of Burgundy [Poole (1911), 314]. This, combined with the fact that Conrad names his first wife Adelane in a Cluny charter dated 23 March 963 ["... pro remedio nostræ animæ, Adelane videlicet reginæ et infantum nostrorum, ..." Cart. Cluny 2: 242 (#1152)], led Poole to suggest that this Adelane was the same person as Elfgiva or Aldgitha, Edward's daughter [Poole (1911), 315]. However, the suggested link is chronologically very improbable. In fact, Conrad's second wife, Mathilde, daughter of Louis IV of France, was a grandniece of Adiva. (For Mathilde, see the page of her mother Gerberga.)

Conjectured son-in-law (long chronology, unconvincing): Boleslav II, d. 7 February 999, duke of Bohemia.
The theory that Adiva married Boleslav II of Bohemia was reported in a 1965 article by Bernard Orna [Orna (1965); thanks are due to Peter Stewart for sending a copy of the article, and to Todd Farmerie, for earlier giving an outline], who attributed the hypothesis to Dr. Pavel Radoměrský of the National Museum in Prague. The author describes and gives an illustration of a Bohemian coin having a figure of a woman and an inscription which reads "+V+DIVƎ+V" around the circumference of the coin. Since letters on coins were frequently upside-down or backwards during that period, Orna states that Radoměrský would see the inscription as reading "ADIVEA", with the first and last "V" representing an "A". Thus, the coins would supposedly name Eadweard's daughter Adiva, further identified with Boleslav's queen Emma/Hemma (d. 1006), who is known from the chronicler Cosmas [Cosmas, Chron. Boemorum, i, 33, MGH SS 9: 55; obit. at ibid., i, 39, s.a. 1006, p. 62] and from coins [Fiala (1889), 16]. This last identification is made on the strength of the supposition that Elfgifa (i.e., Ælfgifu) was the English form of Emma (Elfgifa having previously been given as the English form of Adiva's name). However, even though there was a queen who was known as both Ælfgifu and Emma (Emma of Normandy, wife successively of Æthelred II and Cnut), the names Emma and Ælfgifu are not interchangeable in general. Also, as noted above, identifying Ælfgifu as the English form of Adiva's name requires an emendation of William of Malmesbury. The known Anglo-Saxon features of some of the coinage of Boleslav II suggests some sort of connection between England and Bohemia during the late tenth century [see Fiala (1889), 13-15, showing a number of coins of Boleslav II in the type of Æthelred II], but even if that connection was a royal marriage, there seems to be no convincing reason to place it in the generation of Eadweard's children. Indeed, the chronology of this theory seems rather long, especially if Boleslav is being suggested as the husband of Adiva, who, as noted above, almost certainly married before 940. Boleslav II succeeded his father Boleslav I as duke on 15 July 967 [Cosmas, Chron. Boemorum, i, 21, MGH SS 9: 48], and did not die until 7 February 999 [ibid., i, 33, MGH SS 9: 56]. Thus, his floruit seems rather late for a supposed husband of Adiva, although too little is known about his birthdate to rule out the relationship on this basis alone. Thus, the evidence for this relationship seems very weak.

Conjectured son-in-law (basis unknown): Hugues, de Vienne.
Besly states that Adiva's husband could have been Hugues de Vienne ["Ce pourroit estre Hugues de Vienne, que Flodoard nomme Dux Turonensis et Cisalpinus, environ ce temps-là." Besly (1840), 65]. The only Hugues de Vienne whom I could find in Flodoard was Hugues, d. 947, count of Vienne, marquis of Provence, king of Italy [for whom see the page of his mother Bertha]. He seems like a very improbable husband for Adiva.

Conjectured son-in-law (basis unknown): Charles Constantine, count of Vienne, 931.
Charles Constantine is mentioned as a possible identification of the king near the Jupiter Mountains in the Handbook of British Chronology, but with no indication of the reasons, and no references [HBC 25; also mentioned by Weir (1989), 13, also without references, where Charles Constantine is called "King of Arles"]. Difficult to judge without knowing the evidence, this conjecture is perhaps related to the conjecture that Charles Constantine's father Louis the Blind was a son-in-law of Eadweard [see below]. Perhaps some author was trying to get rid of the chronological problems of that conjecture by shifting the marriage by a generation. If so, it would seem like a weak basis from which to proceed.

Conjectured son-in-law (false): Eberhard, d. ca. 960, count of Nordgau.
In 1770, Rudolph Coronini attributed Eberhard (sometimes called Eberhard IV) as the husband of Eadiva, sister of Eadgyth, wife of Otto the Great, stating that there should be no cause for doubt, because "emperor" (i.e., king) Heinrich I repeatedly called Eberhard his propinquus ["Eberhardus IV. Alsatiæ Comes Hugonis I. filius primogenitus conjugio sibi copulavit Eadivam Anglorum Regis filiam, sororem Edgitæ Uxoris Ottonis M. Romanorum Imperatoris; quæ conjunctio haud dubie causa fuerit, quod subinde Henricus Auceps Imperator Eberhardum nostrum propinquum suum appellaverit." Coronini (1770), 20; this reference is courtesy of Peter Stewart]. Now, a count Eberhard is called a propinquus by Heinrich I in 927 [MGH DD H I 52 (#16)] and a consanguineus in 929 [ibid., 57 (#21)]. However, this would not be Eberhard of Nordgau, but Heinrich's brother-in-law Eberhard, husband of Amalrada, a sister of Heinrich's wife Mathilde [see Sigebert, Vita Deoderici I, MGH SS 4: 464]. Furthermore, even if the identification of Eberhard had been correct, being the husband of a sister of the wife of a son of Heinrich would in no way explain the relationship of propinquus or consanguineus. Thus, Coronini's conjecture has no reasonable basis whatsoever. Eberhard's wife has more commonly been identified as Liutgard, daughter of Wigeric and Cunégonde (see their pages). Coronini's source for much of the early Hapsburg genealogy was the 1680 work of Johann Ludwig Schönleben, but it is not clear whether or not that was his source for the wife of Eberhard [Johann Ludwig Schönleben, Dissertatio Polemica de prima origine Augustissimae domus Habsburgo-Austriacæ (Laibach, 1680), which I have not seen (reference pointed out by Peter Stewart); see Coronini (1770), 9-10]. The false claim of Eberhard's marriage to a daughter of Eadweard has sometimes been picked up by modern secondary sources [e.g., Weir (1989), 14, no source cited].

Conjectured son-in-law (pure guesswork): Burkhard, fl. 928, count of Zürichgau.
[Chaume (1931), 150 n. 4, 161] As a part of a series of conjectures placing Burkhard as the possible grandfather of Alduid, mother of Humbert "aux Blanches-Mains", count of Savoie, Chaume suggests the marriage of Burkhard to Adiva in order to explain the "exotic" name Alduid. There is no good reason to accept this guess.

Scenarios suggesting an identification of "Louis of Aquitaine" (husband of the second Eadgifu)

Conjectured son-in-law (false): Louis III "the Blind", d. prob. 928, king of Provence, emperor.
[Stubbs, intro. to Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, 2: lii-liii] William of Malmesbury's description of Louis "of Aquitaine" as a descendant of Charlemagne would seem to encourage his identification with Louis the Blind, but the identification is not chronologically believable. When Louis the Blind died, any daughter of Eadweard by his marriage to Eadgifu would not have been of marriageable age. Trying to make a daughter of one of Eadweard's earlier marriages into a wife of Louis the Blind would abandon the testimony of William of Malmesbury, who is the sole independent authority for the alleged marriage. [See also Poupardin (1901), 314-9]

Conjectured son-in-law (false): Ebles, d. 935, count of Poitou.
[Besly (1840), 65-6] This theory is based on the statement of William of Malmesbury (and sources following him) that the second Eadgifu married prince Louis of Aquitaine. Since a Louis of Aquitaine is unknown, the assumption that the "of Aquitaine" is correct but "Louis" was a mistake leads to Ebles as the count of Poitou (and perhaps also duke of Aquitaine) who was active during the relevant period. Ebles had two known wives, Aremburge and Emillane, of whom the second was living in 911 [Richard (1903), 73]. Thus, there would be chronological room for a third marriage if there were any evidence to justify it. But such a marriage is chronologically very improbable. Ebles is estimated to have been about 65 when he died in 935 [Richard (1903), 72], and a daughter of Eadweard by Eadgifu would be in her teens at the oldest at the time of the death of Ebles. Thus, since the best (and only) "evidence" for the relationship involves the serious emendation of a late source, the connection can be safely rejected. [See also Richard (1903), 2: 474ff., for a detailed argument against the claim that Ebles married a daughter of Eadweard.]

Bibliography

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Æthelweard = A. Campbell ed., Chronicon Æthelweardi/The Chronicle of Æthelweard, (New York, 1962).

Angus (1938) = W. S. Angus, "The Chronology of the Reign of Edward the Elder", English Historical Review 53 (1938): 194-210.

AU = Seán Mac Airt and Gearóid Mac Niocaill, eds., The Annals of Ulster (Dublin, 1983).

Beaven (1917) = Murray L. R. Beaven, "The Regnal Dates of Alfred, Edward the Elder, and Athelstan", English Historical Review 32 (1917): 517-531.

Besly (1840) = Jean Besly, Histoire des comtes de Poictou et ducs de Guyenne (new ed., Paris, 1840, orig. publ. 1647).

Cart. Sax. = Walter de Gray Birch, ed., Cartularium Saxonicum, 4 vols. (1885-99).

Chaume (1925) = Maurice Chaume, Les origines du duché de Bourgogne, 4 vols. (Dijon, 1925).

Chaume (1931) = Maurice Chaume, "Le problème des origines de la maison de Savoie" (Études carolingiennes, II), Annales de Bourgogne 3 (1931): 120-161.

Coronini (1770) = Rudolph Coronini, Specimen genealogico-progonologicum ad illustrandam augustam Habsburgo-Lotharingicam prosapiam ... (Vienna, 1770).

Crawford Charters = A. S. Napier & W. H. Stevenson, Anecdota Oxoniensia - The Crawford Collection of Early Charters and Documents (Oxford, 1895).

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Germond (1982) = Arthur Germond, "The Daughters of King Edward the Elder", Journal of Ancient and Medieval Studies 1 (1982): 91-. [Not seen by me]

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Hlawitschka (2006) = Eduard Hlawitschka, Die Ahnen de hochmittelalterlichen deutschen Könige, Kaiser und ihrer Gemahlinnen. Ein kommentiertes Tafelwerk. Band I: 911-1137, 2 vols. (MGH Hilfsmittel, 25, Hannover, 2006).

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Compiled by Stewart Baldwin

First uploaded 20 June 2010.

Revision uploaded 23 June 2010, giving additions and corrections thanks to comments on the original version by Todd Farmerie and Peter Stewart which appeared on soc.genealogy.medieval. Changes were made to the sections on Sitric's wife, John of Worcester, the false son Ælfred, and sons-in-law Boleslav II and Eberhard, and the account of Roger of Wendover was added. Also, a table was added comparing the various sources on Eadweard's children.

Minor revision uploaded 25 June 2010. Additions were made to the section on Boleslav II, with thanks to Peter Stewart for sending me a copy of the Orna article. Also, interpolations from the Bury St. Edmunds manuscript of John of Worcester, along with a few other miscellaneous additions, were added courtesy of comments by Todd Farmerie.

Minor revision uploaded 27 December 2010. Short section on Burkhard added.

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