of Mercia, Eadburh

Female 822 - 895  (73 years)


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  • Name of Mercia, Eadburh  [1, 2, 3, 4
    Birth 822  York, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 4, 5
    Gender Female 
    FSID LH2D-YSM  [1, 4
    Death 895  Wantage, Oxfordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [4, 5
    Person ID I33915  The Thoma Family
    Last Modified 20 Sep 2023 

    Father of Mercia, King Wigmind,   b. 792, Lincolnshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 840, Kingdom of Mercia, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 48 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Mother of Mercia, Queen Elfleda,   b. 792, Lincolnshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 880, Kingdom of Mercia, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 88 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Family ID F13275  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family of Mercia, Earl Æthelred,   b. 825, Lincolnshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 895, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 70 years) 
    Marriage 868  Kingdom of Mercia, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 4
    Children 
     1. of Mercia, Queen Eathswith,   b. 852, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 5 Dec 902, St Mary's Abbey, Winchester, Hampshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 50 years)  [natural]
    Family ID F13274  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 20 Sep 2023 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 822 - York, Yorkshire, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 868 - Kingdom of Mercia, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 895 - Wantage, Oxfordshire, England Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • "Eadburh, from the royal stock of the king of the Mercians."
      Daughter of Coenwulf, King of Mercia. Wife of Æthelred Mucel, ealdorman of the Gaini. Mother in Law of Alfred the Great.

      Eadburh and Æthelred had at least two children:
      - Ealdorman Æthelwulf (died 901)
      - Ealhswith (died 5 December 902), in 868 she married Alfred the Great, by whom she had five children who survived to adulthood.

      The name Eadburh means "Wealthy Fortress"

      According to Asser, Alfred the Great's biographer, the mother of Alfred's wife was "Eadburh, from the royal stock of the king of the Mercians. I often saw her myself with my very own eyes for several years before her death. She was a notable woman, who remained for many years after the death of her husband a chaste widow, until her death". Asser must have admired Eadburh indeed for he identifies her by name, when he did not even identify her daughter, Ealhswith, Alfred's wife, by name any where in his work.

      Eadburh's parentage is not known with certainty. The Foundation for Medieval Genealogy and the Henry Project (both respected genealogy research sites) both identify Eadburgh as a possible daughter of Coenwulf, King of Mercia from 796-821.

      In "The Earliest English Kings" Kirby identifies Eadburh as the daughter of Coenwulf, King of Mercia. He attributes this information also to Asser (Alfred the Great's biographer) stating "Alfred's wife Ealhswith was descended from Coenwulf through her mother, Eadburh, though Asser does not specify how."

      Others speculate that she was born to one of Coenwulf's children but no-one identifies which.

      It is important to note that Asser also identifies another woman named "Eadburgh" who was the daughter of Offa, King of Mercia (757-796). Offa's daughter was the wife of King Beorhtric of Wessex (reign 786 to 802). It is certain that this Eadburh was NOT the same as Ealhswith's mother. For Eadburh,
      Ealhswith's mother, is described as "royal noble and chaste" and she also lived at Alfred's court before her death. Asser had nothing but contempt for Eadburh, Offa's daughter, stating she poisoned her husband King Beorhtric, ended up living in exile in Francia, was rejected by King Charlemagne, became abbess of a convent but was expelled from the convent for fornication and ended her days as a street beggar in Italy.

      CARE NEEDS TO BE TAKEN NOT TO CONFUSE EADBURH THE DAUGHTER OF COENWULF WITH EADBURH THE DAUGHTER OF OFFA.

  • Sources 
    1. [S789] WORLD: Family Search, Family Tree.
      https://www.familysearch.org/search/tree/name

    2. [S844] WORLD: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy.
      http://fmg.ac/

    3. [S2771] USA: Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America bef 1760, Frederick Lewis Weis.
      https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/49030/

    4. [S790] WORLD: Family Search, Ancestral File.
      https://www.familysearch.org/search/genealogies

    5. [S774] WORLD: WikiTree.
      https://www.wikitree.com/