Edith “the Gentle Swan” and Her Love Bites
Extraordinary Women, Part 6
My mother, Helen Isabella Estes Seltzer, died Dec. 28, 2010, at the age of 90. She had a life-long interest in family history. In her memory, I compiled profiles of powerful and strong-willed women among her ancestors, thinking those women might inspire her descendants. These brief biographies are grouped according the lines of descent, which are shown afterwards, leading down to the present.
Edith the “Gentle Swan” and Her Love Bites
Known as “Edith the Fair” and “Edith the Gentle Swan”, this ancestor was the common-law wife of Harold II, King of England for over 20 years. Her daughter, Princess Gytha of Wessex, married the Grand Duke of Kiev, Vladimir Monomakh.
Her main claim to fame was that she identified the body of her husband on the battlefield at Hastings, after he was defeated by William the Conqueror (also an ancestor). She is the main character in a well-known poem by Heinrich Heine entitlted “The Battlefield of Hastings”, and identifies him by markings on his chest known only to her, which Heine says were “love bites.”
Line of Descent
1) Edith the Fair (md. Harald II, King of England)
2) Gytha of Wesex (md. Vladimir II Monomakh, Prince of Kiev)
3) Mstislav I, “the Great”, Prince of Kiev (1076–1132) (md. Christina Ingesdotter)
4) Ingeborg of Kiev (md. Canute Lavard)
5) Valdemar I, “the Great”, King of Denmark (1131–1182) (md. Sofia of Minsk)
6) Helen of Denmark (1177–1233) (md. William of Winchester, AKA William Longsword, Lord of Luneburg)
7) Otto, “the Child, First Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg (1204–1252)
8) Albert I, “the Tall”, Duke of Brunswick-Lunebuerg (1236–1279) (md. Adelheide)
9) Albert II, “the Fat”, Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg) (1268–1318) (md. Rixa)
10) Magnus I, “the Pious”, Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg) (d. 1369) (md. Sophie Brandenburg)
11) Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg) (1324–1373) (md. Catherine Anhalt-Bernburg)
12) Katharina Elisabeth of Brunswick (1385–1423) (md. Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein)
13) Hedvig of Schuaenburg, Duchess of Schleswig and Countess of Holstein (1398–1436) (md. Dietrich AKA Theodoric the Lucky, Count of Delmenhorst and Oldenburg)
14) Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, also Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (1426–1481) (md. Dorothea of Brandenburg AKA Dorothea of Hohenzollern)
15) Margaret of Denmark (1456–1486) (md. James III, King of Scotland)
16) James IV, King of Scotland (1473–1513) (md. Agnes Stewart)
17) Janet Stewart, “Lady Janet” (1505–1563) (md. Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming)
18) John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming (1537–1572) (md. Elizabeth Ross)
19) John Fleming, 6th Lord Fleming and 1st Earl of Wigton (1567–1619) (md. Lilias Graham)
20) John Fleming (1589–1650) (md. Margaret Livingston)
21) Alexander Fleming, emigrated from Scotland to Virginia (1612–1668) (md. Elizabeth Anderson)
22) John Fleming, emigrated with his father from Scotland to Virginia) (1627–1686) (md. Mary)
23) Charles Fleming (1659–1717) (md. Susannah Tarleton)
24) Susannah Tarleton Fleming (md. John Bates)
25) James Bates (1721–1786) (md. Winnifred Grymes)
26) Daniel Bates (1756–1801) (md. Elizabeth Cary Bell)
27) Sarah Langhorne Bates, moved from Virginia to Tennessee (1781–1825) (md. Joel Estes)
28) Albert Monroe Estes (1804–1863) (md. Mildred Colman)
29) Louis Powhatan Estest (1849–1902) (md. Lily Yates Moore)
30) Smith William Estes, moved from Tennessee to Philadelphia (1881–1943) (md. Mae Griffith)
31) Helen Isabella Estes (1920–2010) (md. Richard Warren Seltzer, Sr.)
