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Eardwulf of Mercia

Eardwulf of Mercia (died 911) was a Mercian nobleman who commanded the "Mercian Guard" under Lord Aethelred of Mercia during the early 10th century AD. He came from a disgraced family, and he endeavored to restore his family to prominence through loyal service to Aethelred. However, his falling for the Vikings' ploy to leave Mercia undefended as the Mercians invaded a defenseless East Anglia in 910 led to the Sack of Aylesbury and several other atrocities back in Mercia, and Aethelred blamed Eardwulf for the setback, causing him to once again fall from grace. After Aethelred was mortally wounded at the Battle of Tettenhall, Eardwulf positioned himself to take over the lordship of Mercia, winning the support of King Edward the Elder of Wessex due to his outwardly dutiful, youthful, and loyal appearance. However, when Aethelred refused to let Eardwulf marry his daughter Aelfwynn and become the new Lord, Eardwulf secretly murdered Aethelred in his bed. Eardwulf then led a search party to apprehend Aelfwynn and bring her back to Aylesbury to marry him, but Eardwulf's own sister convinced his guards to mutiny after revealing her brother's guilt in Aethelred's death. Eardwulf was forced to go into exile, and he sought vengeance by allying with Sihtric Caech's Danes and assisting them with their Sack of Winchester. Once Sihtric discovered Eardwulf's murder of his previous lord, however, Sihtric had the untrustworthy Eardwulf publicly executed in Winchester

Biography[]

Eardwulf was born in Mercia to an Anglo-Saxon noble family, and he rose to command Lord Aethelred's guard during the early 900s. His family was disgraced when his father was accused of humping his horse, and he was pejoratively nicknamed "the Arse-Licker" by the Danes. However, his sister Eadith was Aethelred's lover, giving him influence over the lord of Mercia. In 910, he was sent to convince the Danish lord Hastein to betray his fellow Vikings for money, and he discovered that Cnut Longsword and his army were preparing to leave England for Ireland. He reported this to Aethelred, who decided to invade an undefended East Anglia. Eardwulf and Aethelred encamped at King's Lynn, from which Eardwulf captured Lincoln and the surrounding settlements. However, he discovered from a West Saxon messenger that Hastein had deceived him, and that Cnut and his army had instead razed Mercia and captured the King's palace at Aylesbury. Hoping to cover up his mistake, Eardwulf killed the messenger, but Eadith forced him to tell Aethelred, as not doing so would let the Vikings destroy their lands and thus reduce them to commoners. Eadith slept with Aethelred the night before to soften the blow, but, when Eardwulf told Aethelred of the news, Aethelred was infuriated at Eardwulf, and he said that, when they returned to Aylesbury, he would have Eardwulf publicly castrated, his family would remain in shame, and his "whore sister" would never leave his bed.

Eardwulf Aethelred Tettenhall

Eardwulf and Aethelred at the Battle of Tettenhall

Nonetheless, Eardwulf fought alongside his lord at the decisive Battle of Tettenhall, where Aethelred was wounded. When Aethelred lay dying from his wounds in 911, Eardwulf was the leading contender for the lordship as the commander of the Lord's household troops. King Edward the Elder of Wessex, Aethelred's brother-in-law, took a liking to Eardwulf, whom he saw as dutiful, young, and honorable (especially after he saved Edward at Tettenhall), and, while he did not like a sycophant, Edward was convinced by his father-in-law Aethelhelm of Wiltshire that Eardwulf would be a good puppet ruler. With Eardwulf as the likely choice for Lord of Mercia, it was likely that Aethelred's widow Aethelflaed would be sent to a nunnery, much to her and her supporters' chagrin. Eardwulf cemented his accession by secretly murdering Aethelred on his deathbed in an act witnessed only by Eadith, and, upon discovering Aethelred's death, Edward ordered that Eardwulf be voted in as Lord, and that he marry Aethelflaed's daughter Aelfwynn to legitimize his rule.

Power struggle[]

Eardwulf mutiny

Eardwulf's men turning on him

Before the Witan could assemble to formally accept Eardwulf as King - there was still a sizable faction which was conspiring to separate Mercia from Wessex - Eardwulf set out with a dozen guards to search for the child Aelfwynn, who was on the road with Aethelflaed's lover Uhtred of Bebbanburg and his band. Eardwulf and his men struggled to find them, with some of his men deserting after discovering that they had ridden into a plagued area; Eardwulf tripled the rewards of the men who remained with him. They then came upon Uhtred and his party after Uhtred's retinue found that their only escape was a river full of plagued bodies, and Eardwulf ordered his men to kill all of the people except for Aelfwynn if Uhtred did not surrender her. Uhtred refused, but, before Eardwulf could give the order, his sister Eadith - who had defected to Aethelflaed - stood forward and told the guards that she had witnessed Eardwulf's murder of Aethelstan. She sowed doubt in their minds by revealing that Eardwulf had known of the Danish threat to Mercia and done nothing about it for weeks, having even killed a messenger who informed him. She then told the men that they could have their proof by finding Aethelred's ring in Eardwulf's neck pouch; Eardwulf ordered that his men fire on them or else he would execute them, but his own men drew their swords against him and forced him to give them the pouch. Upon finding the ring, the men decided that Eardwulf was a murderer and deserted him, while Eadith told Eardwulf to flee to their relatives in Francia and never return.

Joining the Danes[]

Eardwulf interrogation

Eardwulf being interrogated by Brida

However, Eardwulf instead fled to Wales to join Sihtric Caech's Danish army. He met with Brida, who had him knocked out before hearing what he had to say the next day. He told them that he had a plan to defeat Edward, avenging Tettenhall, as well as his own disgrace. Eardwulf was then presented before Sihtric at Dinefwr, and Brida presented Eardwulf as a man who knew how to take Winchester without spilling a single drop of Danish blood. Eardwulf said that, after Tettenhall, Edward no longer believed that the Danes posed a threat. He reported that Edward had taken his army to Aylesbury and left Winchester in the hands of just a few soldiers, and Brida convinced Sihtric that Winchester's capture would be highly beneficial to the Danes. He then accompanied them during the Sack of Winchester, guiding them in their capture of the city. However, he protested at Brida's desecration of the city's Christian graves, as he had fought alongside many of the dead men.

Death[]

Eardwulf death

Eardwulf's death

One day, Eardwulf ventured into the prisoners' quarters while drunk and attempted to rape Uhtred's daughter Stiorra. He slapped her when she insulted him, but Sihtric walked in and witnessed this, so he beat up Eardwulf. He then asked Eardwulf whether it was better to be loved or feared as a ruler, and asked him how Alfred and Aethelred ruled. When Eardwulf said that Alfred was feared, Stiorra said that he lied, and that Alfred was loved. When Eardwulf said that Aethelred was both loved and feared, she revealed that Eardwulf had still killed Aethelred in his bed, causing Sihtric to distrust him as a man of ambition. He proceeded to have him taken outside to be publicly executed to instill fear among the people of Winchester, and he gave a speech about how the new generation of Danes would unite, while men of ambition like Eardwulf would pay the price. Eadith, who was in the crowd, cried for mercy, but Eardwulf redeemed himself by telling Sihtric that she was a whore whom he once knew, and convinced him to discard her. Sihtric then had Eardwulf stabbed through the shoulder with a sword, killing him.

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