Æthelwald, Ealdorman of East Anglia
Encyclopedia
Æthelwald was ealdorman
of East Anglia
. He is mentioned in Byrhtferth
's life
of Oswald of Worcester
along with other members of his family.
He was probably the oldest son of Æthelstan Half-King
and succeeded to some of his father's offices in 956 when Æthelstan became a monk at Glastonbury Abbey
. He was a benefactor of Ramsey Abbey
and a supporter of the Benedictine
reform movement which began in the reign of King Edgar
.
He was the first husband of Ælfthryth who married King Edgar after Æthelwald's death. William of Malmesbury
's Gesta regum anglorum has a late account of Æthelwald's marriage and death. According to William, the beauty of Ordgar's daughter Ælfthryth was reported to King Edgar. Edgar, looking for a Queen, sent Æthelwald to see Ælfthryth, ordering him "to offer her marriage [to Edgar] if her beauty were really equal to report." When she turned out to be just as beautiful as was said, Æthelwald married her himself and reported back to Edgar that she was quite unsuitable. Edgar was eventually told of this deception, and decided to repay Æthelwald's betrayal in like manner. He said that he would visit the poor woman, which alarmed Æthelwald. He asked Ælfthryth to make herself as unattractive as possible for the king's visit, but she did the opposite. Edgar, quite besotted with her, killed Æthelwald during a hunt.
Edward Augustus Freeman
debunks
the Æthelwald murder story as a "tissue of romance" in his Historic essays, but his arguments were in turn refuted by the naturalist William Henry Hudson
in his 1920 book Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn,
Æthelwald was seemingly dead by 962 as he ceases to witness charters at that time. He was buried at Ramsey Abbey
. His younger brother Æthelwine
succeeded to his offices.
A memorial to Æthelwald, known as the Dead Man's Plack
, was erected in Longparish
, Hampshire in 1825.
Ealdorman
An ealdorman is the term used for a high-ranking royal official and prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire or group of shires from about the ninth century to the time of King Cnut...
of East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. He is mentioned in Byrhtferth
Byrhtferth
Byrhtferth was a priest and monk who lived at Ramsey Abbey. He had a deep impact on the intellectual life of later Anglo-Saxon England and wrote many computistic, hagiographic, and historical works. He was a leading man of science and best known as the author of many different works...
's life
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
of Oswald of Worcester
Oswald of Worcester
Oswald of Worcester was Archbishop of York from 972 to his death in 992. He was of Danish ancestry, but brought up by his uncle, Oda, who sent him to France to the abbey of Fleury to become a monk. After a number of years at Fleury, Oswald returned to England at the request of his uncle, who died...
along with other members of his family.
He was probably the oldest son of Æthelstan Half-King
Æthelstan Half-King
Æthelstan , commonly called Æthelstan Half-King, was Ealdorman of East Anglia and the leading member of a very prominent Anglo-Saxon family. Æthelstan became a monk at Glastonbury Abbey in 957.-Origins and career:...
and succeeded to some of his father's offices in 956 when Æthelstan became a monk at Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The ruins are now a grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are open as a visitor attraction....
. He was a benefactor of Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England, southeast of Peterborough and north of Huntingdon, UK.-History:...
and a supporter of the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
reform movement which began in the reign of King Edgar
Edgar of England
Edgar the Peaceful, or Edgar I , also called the Peaceable, was a king of England . Edgar was the younger son of Edmund I of England.-Accession:...
.
He was the first husband of Ælfthryth who married King Edgar after Æthelwald's death. William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
's Gesta regum anglorum has a late account of Æthelwald's marriage and death. According to William, the beauty of Ordgar's daughter Ælfthryth was reported to King Edgar. Edgar, looking for a Queen, sent Æthelwald to see Ælfthryth, ordering him "to offer her marriage [to Edgar] if her beauty were really equal to report." When she turned out to be just as beautiful as was said, Æthelwald married her himself and reported back to Edgar that she was quite unsuitable. Edgar was eventually told of this deception, and decided to repay Æthelwald's betrayal in like manner. He said that he would visit the poor woman, which alarmed Æthelwald. He asked Ælfthryth to make herself as unattractive as possible for the king's visit, but she did the opposite. Edgar, quite besotted with her, killed Æthelwald during a hunt.
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 Historic essays, but his arguments were in turn 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,
Æthelwald was seemingly dead by 962 as he ceases to witness charters at that time. He was buried at Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England, southeast of Peterborough and north of Huntingdon, UK.-History:...
. His younger brother Æthelwine
Æthelwine, Ealdorman of East Anglia
Æthelwine was ealdorman of East Anglia and one of the leading noblemen in the kingdom of England in the later 10th century. As with his kinsmen, the principal source for his life is Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester...
succeeded to his offices.
A memorial to Æthelwald, known as the Dead Man's Plack
Dead Man's Plack
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.-Description:...
, was erected in Longparish
Longparish
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.