Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders

Ælfthryth of Wessex
Count Baldwin II of Flanders and Countess Elftrude (Ælfthryth)
Count Baldwin II of Flanders and Countess Elftrude (Ælfthryth)
Countess consort of Flanders
Tenure893/899 – 918
Bornc. 877
Died7 June 929
SpouseBaldwin II, Margrave of Flanders
IssueArnulf I of Flanders
Adalulf, Count of Boulogne
Ealswid
Ermentrud
HouseWessex
FatherAlfred the Great
MotherEalhswith

Ælfthryth of Wessex (c. 877 – 7 June 929), also known as Elftrudis (Elftrude, Elfrida), was an English princess and a countess consort of Flanders to Baldwin II.

Life

She was the youngest daughter of Alfred the Great,[1] the King of the Anglo-Saxons and his wife Ealhswith. Her siblings included King Edward the Elder and Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians. Ælfthryth was educated along with her elder brother Edward, marking a rare instance of a princess getting equal education to a prince.[2]

Between 893 and 899, Ælfthryth married Baldwin II (died 918), Margrave of Flanders.[3] Ælfthryth died on 7 June 929 and was buried next to her husband at Saint Peter's Abbey in Ghent.[4]

They had the following issue:

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nicholas 2013, p. 440.
  2. ↑ Higham, N. J.; Hill, David, eds. (2001). Edward the Elder, 899-924. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-21496-4.
  3. ↑ Abels 1988, p. 189.
  4. ↑ Vanderputten 2024, p. 143.

Sources

  • Abels, Richard P. (1988). Lordship and Military Obligation in Anglo-Saxon England. British Museum Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-7141-0552-9.
  • Nicholas, David M (2013). Medieval Flanders. Routledge.
  • Vanderputten, Steven, ed. (2024). Judith of West Francia, Carolingian Princess and First Countess of Flanders: Biographical Elements and Legacy. Turnhout: Brepols. doi:10.1484/M.STMH-EB.5.132281. ISBN 9782503604619.