Lady Ealhswith OF MERCIA

Ealhswith married Alfred 'the Great' KING OF WESSEX about 869 in Winchester, Hampshire, England. Alfred (son of Ethelwulf KING OF WESSEX and Osburga Oslad OF WESSEX) was born in 849 in Wantage, Berkshire, England; died on 26 Oct 899 in Winchester, Hampshire, England; was buried in Hyde Abbey, Winchester, England. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Edward I., the Elder , "the Unconquerored King," was born about 870 and died about 924. He reigned 24 years from 900 to 924. He was not, like his father, a legislator or a scholar, although it is said that he founded the University of Cambridge, but he was great warrior. He gradually extended his sway over the whole island, in which project he was assisted by his sister the "Lady of Mercia" who headed her own troops and gained victories over both the Danes and Britons. Tradition assigns to Edward an even wider rule shortly before his death. In the middle of the ninth century the Picts and the Scots had been amalgamated under Kenneth MacAlpin, the King of the Scots, just as Mercia and Wessex were being welded together by the attacks of the Danes. It is said that in 925 the King of the Scots, together with other northern rulers, chose Edward "to father and lord." Probably this statement only covers some act of alliance formed by the English King with King of Scots and other lesser rulers. Nothing was more natural than that of the Scottish King, Constantine, should wish to obtain the support of Edward against his enemies; and it is natural that if Edward agreed to support him he would require some acknowledgment of the superiority of the English King. After a prosperous reign, King Edward died in Forndon, Northamptonshire in 925. He married (3) Lady Edgiva (Edgina), daughter of Earl Sigelline (Sigilline), Earl of Meapham. He succeeded his father about 901, and raised the supremacy of Wessex into something little short of an imperial authority, extending his sway over Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria.

Edward married Eadgifu OF ENGLAND in 919. Eadgifu (daughter of Sigeheim EALDORMAN OF KENT) was born about 890 in Kent, England; died on 25 Aug 968. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Ethelfleda married the regent of Mercia, Ethelred, (Ealdorman of the Mercians). This marriage set the final seal upon the cooperation of the South and Midlands. He died in 911, and his widow succeeded him as ruler of Mercia. She was known as "the Lady of the Mercians." She aided his brother Edward I., the Elder, in conquering the Danelaw and its Five Boroughs. In 918, the Danish resistance in East Anglia collapsed, and all the Danish leaders submitted to Edward as their protector and lord. They were granted in return their estates and the right to live according to their Danish customs. At the same time "the Lady of the Mercians" conquered Leicester, and received even from York offers of submission. In this hour of success Ethelfleda died, and Edward was invited by the nobles of Mercia to occupy the vacant throne.

Elfrida married Baldwin II OF FLANDERS. Baldwin (son of Count Baldwin I "Iron Arm" OF FLANDERS and Princess Judith Martel OF FRANCE) was born in 864; died on 10 Sep 918. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Edmund I., the Magnificent. was born in 922, the twelfth of his father's fifteen children. The first of the six Boy Kings, he reigned from 939 to 946. He had to meet a general uprising of the Danes of Mercia as well as those of the North. In te suppression of this he showed himself to be a great statesman as well as a great warrior. Little is definitely known about the policy of the Scots at this time but it appears that they joined the English whenever they were afraid of the Danes, and joined the Danes whenever they were afraid of the English. Edmund made it to be the interest of the Scottish King permanently to join the English. The southern part of the kingdom of Strathclyde had for some time been under the English Kings. In 945 Edmund took the remainder, but gave it to Malcolm on condition that he should be his fellow worker by sea and land. The king of the Scots thus entered into a position of dependent alliance towards Edmund. A great step was thus taken; the dominant powers in the island were to be English and Scots, not English and Danes. Edmund thought it worth while to conciliate the Scottish Celts rather than to endeavor to conquer them. The result of Edmund's statesmanship was soon seen, but he did not live to gather its fruits. On May 26, 946 an outlaw named Lief, who had taken his seat at a banquet in his hall, slew him as Edmund was attempting to drag him out by his hair. He was succeeded by his brother Edred. He married Princess Elgiva (Aelfgifu)., known as the "Fairies Gift,." who died in 944.

Edmund married Aelfgifu 'the Fairies Gift' OF ENGLAND. Aelfgifu (daughter of Sigehelm I EALDORMAN OF KENT) was born about 924 in Wessex, England; died about 944 in Shaftesbury Abbey, Dorset, England. [Group Sheet]

Arnulf married Countess Adela 'Alix' DE VERMANDOIS. Adela (daughter of Count Heribert II DE VERMANDOIS and Richilda DE NEUSTRIA) was born about 895 in Vermandois, Aisne, Picardy, France; died on 10 Oct 960 in Bruges, Aquitaine, France; was buried in St. Pierre Abbey, Gand, Flandres, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Edgar, the Peaceful, the fourth Boy King, was born in 943 and died July 8, 975. He reigned from 959 to 975. It is recorded that Edgar, while keeping his court at Chester, was rowed down the River Dee, the oars manned by eight kings of neighboring tributary states. The story, though probably untrue, sets forth his power not only over his own immediate subjects, but over the whole island. He had a well-trained army and a strong navy and his title shows that at least he lived on good terms with his neighbors. He married (1) Aethelflaed, and (2) Elfrida (Aelfthryth) of Devon, daughter of Ordgar, Earl of Devonshire, and widow of Ethelwold.

Edgar married . Unknown [Group Sheet]

Edgar married Elfrida OF ENGLAND in 965. Elfrida (daughter of Ordgar EALDORMAN OF DEVONSHIRE) was born about 945 in Lynford Castle, Devonshire, England; died on 17 Oct 1000 in Wherwell, Hampshire, England; was buried in Wilton Abbey, Wiltshire, England. [Group Sheet]

Baldwin married Matilda OF SAXONY. [Group Sheet]