Æthelflæd of Damerham was born in England to Ælfgar, Ealdorman of Essex (c890-950) and died circa 975 England of unspecified causes. She married Edmund of Wessex (922-946) 938 JL in England. She married Æthelstan Rota (c925-970) 950 JL in England.
Biography
Æthelflæd, known as Æthelflæd of Damerham to distinguish her from other women of the same name, was the second wife of King Edmund I of England.
Æthelflæd was a daughter of ealdorman Ælfgar, probably the ealdorman of Essex. Her mother's name is not recorded. She had at least one brother and at least one sister, Ælfflæd (died circa 1002). This sister was married to Byrhtnoth, who probably succeeded her father as ealdorman of Essex. Byrhtnoth was killed at the Battle of Maldon in 991 fighting Vikings.
Æthelflæd's will survives, S1494, and her will, and thus her death, is dated to between 962, and more probably 975, and 991. In addition to gifts to Ely, the will endowed Glastonbury, Canterbury, Bury, and the family monastery of Stoke-by-Nayland.
Marriage and Family
1st Marriage: King Edmund
Æthelflæd married Edmund in 944 following the death of his first wife Ælfgifu, mother of the future kings Eadwig and Edgar. She and Edmund are not known to have had any children, and Edmund was killed in 946, leaving Æthelflæd as a wealthy widow.
3rd Marriage: Æthelstan Rota
Records of Ely Cathedral, to which she, her sister, and her brother-in-law, were generous benefactors, say that she then married an ealdorman named Æthelstan. There were several ealdormen of that name active in the reign of Edmund's brother and successor Eadred, and it most likely that Æthelflæd married the man known as Æthelstan Rota, although she could have married Æthelstan Half-King.
He served as an Ealdorman in southern Mercia in the reigns of Kings Eadwig and Edgar. He is referred to as Æthelstan Rota (Æthelstan the Red) in one charter, and is so known to distinguish him from Æthelstan Half-King, and another Æthelstan (fl. 940–949), who were Ealdormen in the same period.
Siblings
References
- Æthelflæd of Damerham - Wikipedia