Aethelflaed (870-12 June 918) was Lady of the Mercians from 911 to 918, succeeding Aethelred and preceding Aelfwynn. The daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex, she was famous for being a warrior during a time when women were expected to stay away from the battlefield, and she served as regent of Mercia from 899 to 911 and then as Mercia's ruler from 911 to 918. She succeeded in reconquering Mercia's former borders in addition to gaining the submission of the Vikings of Jorvik, but her death in 918 led to Wessex annexing Mercia as a part of the late Alfred's dream of a united Kingdom of England.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Aethelflaed in 878
Aethelflaed was born in 870, the daughter of King Alfred the Great and Ealhswith. In 878, her father defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington and assumed the title "King of the English", claiming to rule all of the Anglo-Saxons not living under Danish control.
Ceolwulf II of Mercia refused to acknowledge Alfred as the ruler of Mercia, so Alfred proposed a permanent bond between Wessex and Mercia, marrying Aethelflaed to Ceolwulf's son Aethelred of Mercia. Aethelflaed was abducted by the Viking leaders Sigefrid and Erik Thurgilsson when they attacked London, and she fell in love with Erik, who was killed by his brother after he attempted to help her escape. Aethelflaed was rescued by Ealdorman Uhtred of Bebbanburg during the Mercian recapture of London, and they later became forbidden lovers, despite Uhtred having known Aethelflaed since she was a little girl.
Lady of the Mercians[]
Aethelflaed in 892
During the 890s, Aethelflaed played a major role in fighting off renewed Viking attacks, together with her brother, King Edward the Elder. Aethelred and Aethelflaed fortified Worcester, gave generous donations to Mercian churches, and built St. Oswald's Priory in Gloucester. Aethelred's health declined over the next decade, so Aethelflaed became the regent of Mercia. In 907, she defeated an Irish Viking siege of Chester, and she was made the tutor of Edward's son Aethelstan of England, raising him to be a warrior as well. In 910, after Aethelred was mortally wounded at the Battle of Tettenhall, Aethelflaed succeeded him with the title "Lady of the Mercians", assisted in her accession by Uhtred. She relinquished control of London to Wessex, built fortified towns to defend Mercia from the Welsh and the Vikings, and she fought endless wars against the Danes of the Five Boroughs. In 914, she defeated the Viking invaders Rold and Ottir, and, in 917, she and Edward attacked the Vikings of Northymbre. She conquered Derby and large swathes of eastern Mercia, and, in 918, she took Leicester, Stamford, Nottingham, and Lincoln, completing the Mercian reconquest of the Five Boroughs. That summer, the Vikings of Jorvik decided to submit to Mercian rule, but Aethelflaed fell ill and died before they could. King Edward forced Aethelflaed's daughter Aelfwynn into a convent, uniting Mercia and Wessex into the Kingdom of England.
Gallery[]
