Æthelred and Æthelflæd of Mercia: Medieval England’s most important marriage?
In 886, Alfred the Great, King of Wessex (871–899), is thought to have held a grand ceremony in London, receiving oaths of loyalty from his subjects, chief amongst whom was Lord Æthelred of Mercia. For his service and loyalty, he was given the town of London and received the hand of Alfred’s daughter, Æthelflæd, in marriage. This marriage displayed unity between the two men and Mercia and Wessex, now united to protect themselves from the Viking threat to the east. This marriage alliance would become a crucial part of the story of English unification, guaranteeing Mercia and Wessex remained tied to one another, helping the English prevail over the Vikings.
The End of the Mercian Kingdom
Æthelred’s background is shrouded in obscurity. He first appeared as a minor figure at the Mercian court in the late 860s. After a series of Kings of Mercia, Burgred (852–874) and Ceolwulf II (874–879), proved unable to deter the threat of the Great Heathen Army, the Viking leadership annexed the eastern half of the kingdom, adding it to their conquests of East Anglia and Northumbria. In the wake of frail leadership, by 881, Æthelred arose as the leader of the English (western) Mercians. Yet the kingdom’s decline continued, with Æthelred being defeated at the Battle of Conwy 881 by the Welsh king, Anarawd ap Rhodri. Yet, unlike his predecessors, after defeat, he turned to his English neighbour, King Alfred, submitting to his overlordship. Alfred had recently won a crushing victory at Ethandun 878 over the Viking army, making him the dominant power in southern England. In exchange for his protection, Æthelred would have been expected to pay taxes, attend the king’s council, assist him in battle when called upon and probably relinquish his title of king in favour of lord.
The Marriage and Alfred in Mercia
Alfred was probably already popular amongst the Mercians, having attempted to help them fight a Viking attack as a young man in 868. During this campaign, he also married a Mercian noblewoman named Ealhswith. The couple had their first child, a daughter named Æthelflæd, shortly after the wedding. Æthelflæd was probably well-educated during her youth and prepared for life as the consort of a ruler of her father’s choosing. She was probably familiar with Æthelred before the marriage, as they both would have been regulars at Alfred’s court. The marriage took place in the mid-880s, at some point before 887, perhaps at the London ceremony of 886. This publicly displayed the union between Mercia and Wessex. Their leaders were now family, yet they were not equals, Alfred’s seniority over Æthelred was visually enhanced, as both his overlord and his father-in-law. Yet by giving Æthelred the town of London, Alfred showed his respect for Mercia, as London was traditionally part of Mercia and reaffirmed his status as Æthelred’s patron. Following the wedding, the new couple had their first and only child soon after the marriage, a daughter named Ælflwynn, born around 888.
Young Æthelstan, a Prince of both peoples
When the power behind the Wessex-Mercia alliance, Alfred, died in 899, he was succeeded by his eldest son, King Edward (899–924). Æthelred had already established a strong bond with Edward. Not only were they brothers-in-law, but they had also campaigned together against the Vikings in 893. Æthelred decided to continue the status quo rather than return to an independent Mercia. He reconfirmed West Saxon overlordship of Mercia in 903, attending Edward’s council, being styled as holding ‘dominion and power over the Mercian people under the aforesaid king [Edward]’. Edward also handed over his eldest son, Æthelstan, into the care of Æthelred and Æthelflæd, ensuring the next king of Wessex would have roots in and respect for Mercia.
The Lady of the Mercians, who ‘killed many thousands’
Shortly after returning north, Æthelred fell sick and remained bedridden for several years. During his absence, his wife took his place as the de facto leader of Mercia. Æthelflæd proved herself a capable military leader, defending Chester from a Viking attack in 907, and with her brother’s help, defeated a Viking invasion at Tettenhall in 910, where their armies ‘killed many thousands’, including three Viking kings. Æthelred died the following year, allowing Æthelflæd to formally become the sole leader of Mercia. Her succession was met with no resistance, suggesting she had performed effectively during her husband’s illness and that the Mercians recognised the benefits brought by West Saxon overlordship, which would inevitably continue under Æthelflæd’s rule, as her brother sat upon the West Saxon throne. The new ‘Lady of the Mercians’, as she was titled, began her reign by building a string of fortifications along her eastern border at Stafford, Tamworth and Warwick. With the border secured, she launched a war of conquest, retaking former Mercian territories previously lost to Viking warlords, including the fortresses of Derby in 917 and Leicester in 918. Her campaigns were conducted in tandem with Edward, and by the end of 918, they had re-taken all of southern England from the Viking leadership. It is not thought that Æthelflæd personally led her troops nor fought in battle alongside them. Still, she was likely present on the battlefield as the General of the Mercian army, overseeing military strategy. In addition to reconquering former Mercian territories, Æthelflæd also had to contend with Vikings in Northumbria and Welsh border raids. She was proven to be both ruthless and diplomatic when required. When a Welsh ruler had one of her abbots killed, she responded by storming his home fortress and taking his queen hostage. When the Viking warlords in Northumbria were behaving aggressively, she formed an alliance of mutual defence with several Christian rulers in northern Britain to contain them.
After Æthelflæd
The reconquest of Leicester in 918 was Æthelflæd’s last triumph. She died later that year at Tamworth, aged 48. Her body was taken to Gloucester and laid to rest alongside her husband at St Oswald’s Priory, their favoured religious house. Before her death, she had been preparing her daughter Ælflwynn to take the reigns of leadership. Ælflwynn was briefly established as Lady of the Mercians but was removed from power at the end of 918, either by Edward, the Mercian nobility or both. The reason for her dismissal is uncertain; we might assume that she was either an ineffective ruler or wanted to deviate from the pro-Wessex path established by her parents. Edward now personally took control of Mercia, ending its semi-autonomous status and Æthelred’s dynasty. Æthelstan would eventually succeed his father in 924 to both Mercia and Wessex. He would prove to be a strong and competent ruler, with his ambitions taking him north to establish himself as the king of the whole of Britain. Yet, in taking York in 927, he is today remembered as England’s first king. Having grown up under Æthelred and Æthelflæd’s guardianship, he had much to thank them for, so it perhaps no surprise that ‘according to a paternal pact of piety’ with Æthelred, he became a patron of the couple’s burial place, St Oswald’s Priory and is thought to have redesigned and enhanced their tombs later in his reign.
‘The Most Famous Queen of the Saxons’
The marriage of Æthelred and Æthelflæd proved a vital part of the development of unity between the peoples of Mercia and Wessex, not only providing a visual display of harmony of both realms but also ensuring that the alliance between both peoples survived its architects (Alfred and Æthelred) and continued to thrive, defeating the Viking threat in southern England, without which, Æthelstan’s conquest of northern England, would have been unlikely and unrealistic. Æthelflæd was also unique in her own right as the only female in Anglo-Saxon England to establish a sustained rule independent of a husband. More than that, she was an incredibly effective military commander with decisive victories over her Welsh and Viking enemies. For her accomplishments, her fame and reputation spread far and wide. She was known as ‘the most famous Queen of the Saxons’ in Ireland. To William of Malmesbury in the 12th century, she was ‘the delight of his subjects, the dread of his enemies’; to his contemporary Henry of Huntingdon, she was ‘both a mighty queen and a victorious king’ and a ‘heroic maiden, more splendid than Caesar’.
Sources
Richard Abels, Alfred the Great: War, Kings and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England (1998).
Tim Clarkson, Æthelflæd — The Lady of the Mercians (2018).
Simon Keynes, Alfred and the Mercians (1998).
Michael McComb, Æthelred of Mercia — The forgotten man who helped build England (2023).
Frederick Wainwright, Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians (1975).
