Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians: England’s Forgotten Founder
On June 12th, 2018, a BBC News article with the description: “How does a ruler defeat bloodthirsty invaders, secure a kingdom, and lay the foundations for England—and then almost get written out of history? Be a woman, that’s how” was published, illustrating a common narrative surrounding the legacy of Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, that she had been forgotten by history on the grounds of being a woman. But was this true, or was it yet another example of feminism reconstructing the past into an example of misogyny? Early twelfth-century English writers had deemed Æthelflæd as among history’s greatest rulers, with Henry of Huntingdon going as far as to declare her mightier than Caesar– a remarkable verdict given the writer’s familiarity with ancient kings and emperors. Æthelflæd had not been judged by history according to her gender, but according to her deeds. But what exactly had she done for England?
Born in 870AD, Æthelflæd, was the eldest child of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith, who was of Mercian descent. In the mid-880s, she had been betrothed to Æthelred, the Lord of the Mercians, by her father to seal an alliance between the last surviving Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex. It was her duty to weave the bonds of alliance between her own kin and her husbands, against Viking invaders. Yet by the end of her life in 918, Æthelflæd had achieved an even mightier feat. She had sent armies into battle against the enemies of her people, built strong alliances, transformed cities such as Gloucester from ruins into strongholds, and founded her own fortified settlements. Today, the towns of Runcorn, Warwick, and Stafford, along with many more, all owe their existence to her. It was these foundations laid by Æthelflæd that a new kingdom, under her nephew and foster son Æthelstan, would come to be built: the Kingdom of England.
The supreme duty and measure of any great ruler was the defence of their people. Æthelflæd, whose life had been so disrupted by the threat of Viking invasions, was no less attentive to this fact. One of her most famous military campaigns was the Siege of Chester in 907. The eleventh-century Annals of Ireland recounts how Norse Vikings, led by a man named Ingimund, fled Ireland to ask “Æthelflæd, Queen of the Saxons, as her husband was sick at that time” for a place to peacefully settle in. She obliged by settling them on the Wirral, a land bounded on one side by the sea and on the other by the river Mersey. Understanding the risk of potential conflict, Æthelflæd transformed the ruins of the long-abandoned roman city of Chester, that had once been a base for a Viking warband, into the northernmost stronghold of Mercian power. Ingimund, unhappy with the lands granted to him, launched an attack on Chester in 907. On the day of the siege, as the vikings stormed into the city gates, the defending forces retaliated by hurling scorching hot beer from the walls onto the invaders. When Ingimund’s men sought refuge behind their shields, the defenders released hives of honeybees upon them. As the Annals of Ireland records “The attackers could not move their legs or hands from the great numbers of bees attacking them.” Thus, Chester was saved by the grace of Æthelflæd, Beer and Bees.
After the battle, Æthelflæd’s feats were reported in admiring tones across Wales and Ireland. The Annals of Ireland proclaimed her as, “the ever-renowned Queen of the Saxons.” She would go on to achieve other significant victories for Mercia against the Vikings, notably in the Battle of Tettenhall in 910. During the engagement, Viking raiders were annihilated at the hands of combined Mercia and Wessex forces, resulting in the death of their three kings: Ingwær, Eowils, and Halfden. There was no further incursion from Viking raiders into the two kingdoms for a generation. When Æthelflæd’s husband died from sickness in 91I, Æthelflæd was formally acknowledged by her subjects as the ‘Lady of the Mercians.’ The fact that a West Saxon woman was now hailed as ruler of the rights and duties of the Mercians kingdom was startling. It stands as testament to the extent of Æthelflæd's ability to serve as the shield of her people; whom they increasingly trusted to preserve them amid the perils of the age.
The realisation that foreign invaders could not be reasoned with and that only by forcing them to submit could true security be endured came in 917. Over the course of the year, Æthelflæd conquered the ancient Roman fort of Derby, bringing it under Mercian rule. This was her greatest triumph and played a key role in ensuring that East Anglia could be restored to Anglo-Saxon control by her brother, Edward the Elder, the King of Wessex. In 918, Æthelflæd would go on to free Leicester from its foreign invaders. Her deeds were now so renowned, that the King of the Scots and the Cumbrians of Strathclyde, sought an alliance with her. In the same year, even the leading men of Jorvik (York) had offered her their submission and loyalty; no known offer was ever made to her brother Edward the Elder of this kind.
However, in June, before such an agreement could come to fruition, Æthelflæd fell ill. She died in Tamworth, the capital city of Mercia that had historically been the seat of the kingdom's greatest rulers. No Mercian king had done more for their people than what Æthelflæd had done to ensure the kingdom's existence. She was survived by her daughter, Ælfwynn, who was later ordered into a nunnery by Edward the Elder to avoid the problem of Mercian separatism. Edward ruled Mercia directly until his death in 924. On the 4th of September 925, Æthelstan, was crowned King and the Anglo-realm of England was born. Due to the efforts of his aunt, he received the kings of Alba and Strathclyde submission and the chain of fortresses built along the Mersey helped to ensure his march onto York. In 928, Æthelstan was even hailed by some as the ‘King of the whole of Britain.’
So, if Æthelflæd had helped lay the foundations of England and secured the protection of Mercia, why then has she been largely forgotten? Is it really because she is a woman, as the feminist narrative likes to portray? Of course not. Around 1129 William of Malmsbury completed his Gesta Regum. He was fascinated by Æthelflæd as a historical ruler and wrote:
“We must not overlook the king’s sister Æthelflæd, Æthelred’s widow, of no small influence among those on her side, popular with her subjects and a terror to the enemy, a woman of spirit beyond measure… The most powerful virago greatly aided her brother in counsel, no less influential in building cities.”
Earlier historians such as Henry of Huntingdon in his Historia Anglorum in 1129-1154 had also wrote:
“Heroic Elflede! great in martial fame,
A man in valour, woman though in name:
Thee warlike hosts, thee, nature too obey'd,
Conqu'ror o'er both, though born by sex a maid.
Chang'd be thy name, such honour triumphs bring.
A queen by title, but in deeds a king.
Heroes before the Mercian heroine quail'd:
Caesar himself to win such glory fail’d”.
To such writers, the criteria of great leadership were viewed in two ways: one of triumphs within conquest and personal piety. What made a great ruler was not just victories in war, but victories over themselves. When compared to other historical leaders alike such as King Canute attempting to stop the tide and Alfred the Great burning the cakes, what made Æthelflæd so exceptional was that she was “though born by sex a maid.” She had overcome fate by facing the unforeseen circumstances that were bestowed upon her and ended up fulfilling her duty well. It’s thus clear that mediaeval historians in fact admired Æthelflæd and celebrated her triumphs. That she was not forgotten by history for being a woman but was remembered for it.
The fact Æthelflæd has become largely forgotten today is not due to sexism, but the passing of time. Great men and women within history are often forgotten and then revived, their stories are retold when an age requires it. For example, other legendary figures such as Boudica and King Arthur were left forgotten and then revived in the Victorian era. Today Britain needs such stories more than ever, to hear tales of when the Anglo-Saxons were nearly doomed and down to their last two surviving kingdoms, yet through their determination and resilience revolted against invaders and found success. It is these virtues that define the English character. This is why England must remember Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians.
Primary Sources:
- Annals of Ireland: Three Fragments, ed. Dubhaltach Mac irbisigh and John O’Donovan. 1860
- Henry of Huntingdon. ‘Historia Anglorum: The history of the English from A.C. 55 to A.D. 1154’ ed. Arnold T, Cambridge University Press. 2012
-William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum: The History of the English Kings, ed. Mynors, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998.
Secondary sources:
- Arman, Joanna, The Warrior Queen: The Life and Legend of AEthelflaed, Daughter of Alfred the Great, Ambery, 2017.
- Gale R. Ownen-Crocker, ‘New Readings on Women and Early Medieval English Literature and Culture’, Amsterdam University Press, 2019
- Turner, S. ‘The history of the Anglo-Saxons.’ 1852
-T. Clarkson, AEthelflaed: The Lady of the Mercians, John Donald. 2018.
- T. Holland, AEthelflaed: England’s Forgotten Founder, Ladybird, 2019
- S.T Smith, ’Remembering the Lady of Mercia’, Feminist Approaches to Early Mediaeval English Studies, Amsterdam University Press, 2023
- Watson, G. (2018). Aethelflaed: The warrior queen who broke the glass ceiling. BBC News. 2018
-Winkler, E. A ‘AEthelflaed and Other Rulers in English Histories 900-1150’, The English Historical Review, Volume 137, 2022.
- Wainwright, F.T, ‘AEthelflaed, Lady of the Mercians’ P. Clemoes, 1959.