Search Results: Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians

Aethelflaed (r. 911-918 CE) was the daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex (r. 871-899 CE) and became queen of Mercia following the death of her husband Aethelred, Lord of the Mercians (r. 883-911 CE). She is best known as the “Lady...

Aethelred ruled as Lord of the Mercians from c. 881 to 911 and was a key military leader in the fight against Viking conquest and settlement in England. To defend Mercia, he allied himself to the powerful Kingdom of Wessex under the leadership...

Edward the Elder (r. 899-924) was the son of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899) and the King of the Anglo-Saxons in the early 10th century. He is known for his military victories over the Vikings of East Anglia and the East Midlands and for consolidating...

The Kingdom of Wessex (c. 519-927 CE or c. 519-1066 CE) was a political entity founded by the West Saxon Chieftain Cerdic (r. 519-540 CE) in 519 CE in the Upper Thames Valley of modern-day Britain which would later evolve into the modern...

Alfred the Great (r. 871-899 CE) was the king of Wessex in Britain but came to be known as King of the Anglo-Saxons after his military victories over Viking adversaries and later successful negotiations with them. He is the best-known Anglo-Saxon...

Statue depicting Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians (r. 911-918 CE) at Tamworth Castle in Staffordshire, Great Britain. Aethelflaed fortified Tamworth with the construction of an earthen burh in 913 CE and it was also the place of her death...

Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554 CE) was briefly declared Queen of England for nine days in July 1553 CE following the death of her cousin Edward VI of England (r. 1547-1553 CE). Then only 16 and never officially crowned, Lady Jane was first an...

Women in the Middle Ages were frequently characterized as second-class citizens by the Church and the patriarchal aristocracy. Women's status was somewhat elevated in the High and Late Middle Ages by the cult of the Virgin Mary and courtly...

Empress Wu Zetian (Empress Consort Wu, Wu Hou, Wu Mei Niang, Mei-Niang, and Wu Zhao, l. 624-705 CE, r. 690-704 CE) was the only female emperor of Imperial China. She reigned during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) and was one of the most effective...

Depiction of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians (r. 911-918 CE), in the cartulary of Abingdon Abbey (British Library Cotton MS Claudius B VI, f.14).