Aethelwulf King of Wessex
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1. Aethelwulf King of Wessex was born about 800; died on 13 Jan 858; was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Notes:
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Aethelwulf reigned 839-858, "chiefly occupied with struggles against the
Danes" {-Encycl.Brit., 1956 Ed. 1:276}. In 855 went to Rome with Alfred; on
way home married Judith, daughter of Charles the Bold. Aethelwulf ruled
Wessex 839-856 (abdicated) and was Under-King of Kent 825-839 and 856-858.
His daughter Aethelswith m. (Easter, 853 at Chippenham) Burgred, King of the
Mercians (who succeeded Berhtwulf). His third son, Aethelbert, reigned
860-866 (buried at Sherborne).married Osburh in 830 in Winchester, England, and was divorced in 846. Osburh died in 853. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 2. Alfred King of England
was born in 849 in Wantage, Berkshire; died on 26 Oct 900; was buried in Hyde Abbey, Winchester.
- 2. Alfred King of England
Generation: 2
2. Alfred King of England (1.1) was born in 849 in Wantage, Berkshire; died on 26 Oct 900; was buried in Hyde Abbey, Winchester.
Notes:
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Alfred was one of the greatest military leaders in history; crowned at
Winchester Cathedral in 871; founded the British Navy; a scholar, etc. The
Mercian kingdom ended during his reign "and in 886 Alfred's authority was
accepted by all Englishmen who were not under the power of the Danes. From
this time onward the history of Wessex is the history of England."
{-Encyclopaedia Britannica, '56, 23:520; cf.8:483. Primary source is "Life
of King Alfred," Bishop Asser, trans. L. C. Jane (London: Chatto & Windus
Ltd., 1924).}
----- Compton's Encyclopedia (America Online, 1995) records:
ALFRED THE GREAT (848?-899). The course of English history would have been
very different had it not been for King Alfred. He won renown both as a
statesman and as a warrior and is justly called "the Great."
The England of Alfred's time was a country of four small Saxon kingdoms.
The strongest was Wessex, in the south. Born in about 848, Alfred was the
youngest son of Ethelwulf, king of Wessex. Each of Alfred's three older
brothers, in turn, ruled the kingdom. Alfred was by temperament a scholar,
and his health was never robust.
Nevertheless in his early youth he fought with his brother Ethelred
against Danish invaders. Alfred was 23 when Ethelred died, but he had already
won the confidence of the army and was at once acclaimed king in 871. By this
time the Danes, or Vikings, had penetrated to all parts of the island. Three
of the Saxon kingdoms--Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia--had one after
another fallen to the Danish invaders.
Under Alfred's leadership, the Saxons again found courage. The worst
crisis came in the winter of 877, when the Danish king, Guthrum, invaded
Wessex with his army. In 878 Alfred was defeated at Chippenham, where he was
celebrating Christmas, and was forced to go into hiding.
A few months later he forced Guthrum to surrender at Chippenham. The Danes
agreed to make the Thames River and the old Roman road called Watling Street
the boundary between Alfred's kingdom and the Danish lands to the north. The
treaty, however, did not assure permanent peace. The Danes assaulted London
and the coast towns repeatedly. In about 896 they finally admitted defeat and
ceased their struggle for a foothold in southern England.
Alfred was much more than the defender of his country. He took a keen
interest in law and order and was concerned with the improvement of the
cultural standards of his people. He encouraged industries of all kinds and
rebuilt London, which had been partly destroyed by the Danes. He collected
and revised the old laws of the kingdom. He invited learned men from other
countries to instruct the people because even the clergy of Wessex no longer
knew Latin, the international language of the church. He established a school
similar to the Palace School of Charlemagne.
The "books most necessary for all men to know" were translated from Latin
into English so that the people might read them. Alfred himself took a part
in preparing the translations. The `Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' was probably begun
under his direction.
Alfred died at the age of about 51 in 899. He was in no sense a true king
of England, for he ruled less than half of the island. After his death,
however, his capable son, Edward the Elder, and his grandsons extended their
rule over all of England.
- - - - -
From an Internet article at Ancestry.com:
"A British and U.S. archaeological team believes it has found the grave of
King Alfred, the great Saxon king, best remembered for fighting off the Danes
in the ninth century. As then befitted a king of great piety, Alfred was
buried in 899 at the New Minster church in Winchester, 65 miles southwest
of London. His remains are thought to have been moved 200 years later to
Winchester's Hyde Abbey, one of the great medieval monasteries. But the
abbey was destroyed in 1538, and the site believed to be Alfred's tomb now
lies next to a parking lot."
married Ealhswith in 868 in England. (daughter of Mucill, Ethelred Earl ofGaini and Eadburh, of Mercia) died on 5 Dec 905 in St. Mary's Abbey, Winchester, Dorset; was buried in Winchester. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 3. Alfrith, Princess Lady
died on 7 Jun 929.
- 4. Edward, King of England I
was born in 875; died on 17 Jul 924 in Farndon-on-Dee, Cheshire; was buried in Winchester.
- 3. Alfrith, Princess Lady
Generation: 3
3. Alfrith, Princess Lady (2.2, 1.1) died on 7 Jun 929.
Other Events and Attributes:
- Occupation: Princess of England
Lady married Baldwin, Count of Flanders II in 884. II (son of Baldwin, Count of Flanders I and Judith Princess of Aquitaine) was born in 865; died on 2 Jan 919. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 5. Arnulf, Count of Flanders I
was born in 890; died on 27 Mar 966.
4. Edward, King of England I (2.2, 1.1) was born in 875; died on 17 Jul 924 in Farndon-on-Dee, Cheshire; was buried in Winchester.
Notes:
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Edward succeeded his father in October 899; often repulsed the Danish
Vikings; received the submission of Welsh and Scottish kings; was buried in
the "New Minster" at Winchester. He unified most of England south of the
Humber River. {See "Anglo-Saxon England," 3rd Ed., Frank M. Stenton, 1971.}Family/Spouse: Ethelhelm, Elfleda of. Elfleda was buried in Winchester Cathedral. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
I married Kent, Eadgifu of in 919. Eadgifu (daughter of Sigehelm, Earl ofKent) died on 25 Aug 968; was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 8. Edmund, King of England "The Magnificent" I
was born in 921; died on 26 May 946 in Pucklechurch; was buried in Glastonbury.
- 8. Edmund, King of England "The Magnificent" I
Generation: 4
5. Arnulf, Count of Flanders I (3.Lady3, 2.2, 1.1) was born in 890; died on 27 Mar 966.
Notes:
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Arnulf was preoccupied with fighting off the Northmen. "In his old age he
placed the government in the hands of Baldwin, his son by Adela, daughter
of the count of Vermandois, and the young man in a short reign did much for
the commercial and industrial progress of the country, setting up the first
weavers and fullers at Ghent, and instituting yearly fairs at Ypres, Bruges
and other places. On Baldwin III's death in 961 the old count resumed
control and spent the few remaining years of his life in securing the
succession of his grandson Arnulf II...." {Encycl.Brit., 1956, 9:356}I married Vermandois, Alix de in Feb 934. Alix (daughter of Herbert, Count of Vermandois II and Liegarde, of France) died in 960 in Bruges. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 9. Flanders, Elstrude of
- 10. Baldwin, Count of Flanders III
died on 1 Jan 962.
- 11. Flanders, Hildegarde of
- 12. Hildegard of Flanders
was born in 934; died on 10 Apr 990.
- 9. Flanders, Elstrude of
6. Elfgifu (4.I3, 2.2, 1.1)
Notes:
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"Smyth (Alfred the Great) says she married Conrad of Burgandy. There is
confusion in that she married "a Prince near the Alps"; but Boleslaw seems
the most likely." - Brian Thompsett ( 1999) at his Web site:
http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal
This disputes the descendancy from her in AEM's database.Elfgifu married Alberic on Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 13. Bouchard, Baron of Montmorency I
died in 978.
- 13. Bouchard, Baron of Montmorency I
7. Edgiva (4.I3, 2.2, 1.1) was born in 896; died in 951.
Notes:
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Edgiva m. (2) 951 in St.Quentin, France to Herbert the Elder of Meaux,
Count of Meaux & Troy, and with him had:
Child 2: Stephen I of Vermandois, Count of Vermandois, b. ca. 952;
Child 3: Agnes, b. 953.Edgiva married Charles, King of France III in 918. III (son of Louis, King of France II and Paris, Adelaide of) was born on 17 Sep 879; died on 7 Oct 929 in Peronne. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 14. Louis, King of France IV
was born in 919; died on 10 Sep 954.
- 14. Louis, King of France IV
8. Edmund, King of England "The Magnificent" I (4.I3, 2.2, 1.1) was born in 921; died on 26 May 946 in Pucklechurch; was buried in Glastonbury.
Notes:
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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle calls him "the deed-doer"; Florence of Worcester
calls him "Edmundus magnificus"; "buried at Glastonbury, an abbey which he had
entrusted in 943 to the famous Dunstan" {-Encycl.Brit., 1956 Ed., 7:962}. He
reigned 940-946. He regained northern England and Strathclyde from the
Vikings and gave Strathclyde to his ally Malcolm I MacDonald, King of Scots.
Edmund I is known as a legal reformer, especially for his restrictions on the
"blood feud." An outlaw, Leolf, stabbed him at a banquet to St. Augustine.Family/Spouse: Elgiva, Saint. Saint died in 944. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- 15. Edgar King of England
was born in 943; died on 8 Jul 975 in Winchester, England; was buried in Glastonbury Abbey.
- 15. Edgar King of England