Dead Man's Plack
Encyclopedia
Dead Man's Plack is a Grade-II listed 19th-century monument
to Earl Athelwold of Wherwell
, who was allegedly killed near the site where it stands by his rival in love, King Edgar, 'Edgar the Peaceful', in 963.
, Hampshire in 1825 by Lt. Col. William Iremonger. It is a stone cross on a pedestal with plain unmoulded details. An inscription on the north side of the monument describes the circumstances of Athelwold's death, which occurred after Athelwold advised the king against marrying the beautiful Elfrida, but then married her himself.
Edward Augustus Freeman
debunks
the Æthelwald murder story as a "tissue of romance" in his 1875 Historic Essays, but his arguments were in turn scathingly refuted by the naturalist William Henry Hudson
in his 1920 book Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn, in which he also wrote:
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
to Earl Athelwold of Wherwell
Æthelwald, Ealdorman of East Anglia
Æthelwald was ealdorman of East Anglia. He is mentioned in Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester along with other members of his family....
, who was allegedly killed near the site where it stands by his rival in love, King Edgar, 'Edgar the Peaceful', in 963.
Description
The monument was erected at LongparishLongparish
Longparish is a small village in Hampshire, England. It lies on the western bank of the River Test.A Victorian monument, Dead Man's Plack, stands nearby.-External links:* * *...
, Hampshire in 1825 by Lt. Col. William Iremonger. It is a stone cross on a pedestal with plain unmoulded details. An inscription on the north side of the monument describes the circumstances of Athelwold's death, which occurred after Athelwold advised the king against marrying the beautiful Elfrida, but then married her himself.
Edward Augustus Freeman
Edward Augustus Freeman
Edward Augustus Freeman was an English historian. His reputation as a historian rests largely on his History of the Norman Conquest , his longest completed book...
debunks
Debunker
A debunker is an individual who attempts to discredit and contradict claims as being false, exaggerated or pretentious. The term is closely associated with skeptical investigation of, or in some cases irrational resistance to, controversial topics such as U.F.O.s, claimed paranormal phenomena,...
the Æthelwald murder story as a "tissue of romance" in his 1875 Historic Essays, but his arguments were in turn scathingly refuted by the naturalist William Henry Hudson
William Henry Hudson
William Henry Hudson was an author, naturalist, and ornithologist.- Life and work :Hudson was born in the Quilmes, a borough of the greater Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, son of settlers of U.S. origin...
in his 1920 book Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn, in which he also wrote: