
Eadith of Mercia was a Mercian noblewoman, the sister of Eardwulf, and the mistress of Lord Aethelred II of Mercia.
Biography[]
Eadith was born in Mercia to a noble Anglo-Saxon family; she was the sister of Eardwulf, the commander of Lord Aethelred's household troops. While her father was disgraced after being accused of having sex with his horse, Eadith provided her family with more ill-repute when she became Aethelred's lover, although she only became his lover out of desperation to lift the family's shame.
In 911, following Aethelred's wounding at the Battle of Tettenhall, she watched her brother murder Aethelred and attempt to become the new Lord of Mercia. By this point, Eadith had fallen out with her scheming and cruel brother, and she avenged this by helping Aethelred's widow Aethelflaed escape from captivity in Aylesbury. Aethelflaed then sent Eadith to find Uhtred of Bebbanburg on the road to Chester and tell him to meet Aethelflaed at the ruins of Saint Milburg's Priory; Aethelflaed promised Eadith financial support in return. Eadith joined Uhtred on the road and decided to accompany him to meet with Aethelflaed, although they were forced to travel further after it became clear that Aethelflaed had already moved on to Chester. During the band's travels, Eadith became the caregiver to the children Aethelstan (a future king of England) and Aelfwynn (a future Mercian ruler), and they (and Uhtred's lieutenant Osferth) became close to her. She later helped to heal Aelfwynn after she contacted the plague, taking her to Aylesbury and giving her the finest healers. Aethelflaed then came to Aylesbury and thanked Eadith for caring for her children.

Eadith bidding farewell to the children
However, once Aethelflaed became Lady of the Mercians, she was forced to think politically. She met with Eadith in a garden and gave her a large bag of silver, fulfilling her promise to amply reward Eadith. She then told her that Eadith had her gratitude for taking good care of her children, but she then informed her that she could no longer be welcome in Aylesbury, as Aethelflaed keeping her husband's mistress and the sister of Aethelred's murderer at her court would make her look weak. She offered to provide her lodging at a nunnery where she could live in comfort, but Eadith said that she would rather find her own way. Eadith was then given permission to bid farewell to the children before going into exile, disgraced once again.
Over the next few years, Eadith learned to become a healer during her exile in Francia. In 917 AD, she returned to Mercia at the behest of the ailing Aethelflaed, who was dying of a degenerative disease. Eadith met with Aethelflaed at Runcorn, where she reunited with Uhtred, a married Finan, Osferth, and her other old friends, and, after examining Aethelflaed's disease, she concluded that Aethelflaed's illness was terminal. She secretly told Finan of her lady's situation, but bade Finan not tell Uhtred until after Uhtred rescued his imperilled daughter Stiorra from York, lest Uhtred have to fight with a conflicted heart and mind. She later attended to her queen back in Aylesbury until Aethelflaed's death.