Eadgyth
Eadgyth | |
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Ælfflæd |
Edith of England, also spelt Eadgyth or Ædgyth (
Life
Edith was born to the reigning
At the request of the
In 936 Henry the Fowler died and his eldest son Otto, Edith's husband, was crowned king at Aachen Cathedral.[5] A surviving report of the ceremony by the medieval chronicler Widukind of Corvey makes no mention of his wife having been crowned at this point, but according to Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg's chronicle, Eadgyth was nevertheless anointed as queen, albeit in a separate ceremony.
As queen consort, Edith undertook the usual state duties of a "First Lady": when she turns up in the records it is generally in connection with gifts to the state's
Like her brother, Æthelstan, Edith was devoted to the cult of their ancestor Saint Oswald of Northumbria and was instrumental in introducing this cult into Germany after her marriage to the emperor. Her lasting influence may have caused certain monasteries and churches in the Duchy of Saxony to be dedicated to this saint.[7]
Eadgyth's death in 946 at around the age of thirty-six,[8] was unexpected. Otto apparently mourned the loss of a beloved spouse. He married Adelaide of Italy in 951.
Children
Edith and Otto's children were:
- Liudolf, Duke of Swabia (930 – 6 September 957)[9]
- Conrad the Redin 947
both buried in
Tomb
Initially buried in the St Maurice monastery, Edith's tomb since the 16th century has been located in Magdeburg Cathedral.[3] Long regarded as a cenotaph, a lead coffin inside a stone sarcophagus with her name on it was found and opened in 2008 by archaeologists during work on the building. An inscription recorded that it was the body of Eadgyth, reburied in 1510.[8] The fragmented and incomplete bones were examined in 2009, then brought to Bristol, England, for tests in 2010.
The investigations at Bristol, applying isotope tests on tooth enamel, checked whether she was born and brought up in Wessex and Mercia, as written history indicated.[7][10] Testing on the bones revealed that they are the remains of Eadgyth, from study made of the enamel of the teeth in her upper jaw.[11] Testing of the enamel revealed that the individual entombed at Magdeburg had spent time as a youth in the chalky uplands of Wessex.[12] The bones are the oldest found of a member of English royalty.[13]
Following the tests the bones were re-interred in a new titanium coffin in her tomb at Magdeburg Cathedral on 22 October 2010.[14]
References
- ^ Wood, Michael (17 June 2010). "The life of an Anglo-Saxon princess". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ a b Morris, Steven. "Remains of first king of England's sister found in German cathedral", The Guardian, June 16, 2010
- ^ a b "Bones confirmed as those of Saxon Princess Eadgyth", University of Bristol, June 17, 2010
- ^ Löffler, Klemens. "Magdeburg." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 978-0-582-49034-5
- ISBN 9781448141517
- ^ a b Kennedy, Maev (20 January 2010). "Remains of Alfred the Great's granddaughter returned / Coming home: the Saxon queen lost for 1,000 years". The Guardian. London. p. 5. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
- ^ a b "Princess Eadgyth", Athelstan Museum, Malmesbury
- ^ Parkes, Henry. The Making of Liturgy in the Ottonian Church, p.78
- ^ Satter, Raphael G. (20 January 2010). "Discovery News". Bones of early English princess found in Germany. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010. Retrieved from Internet Archive 14 February 2014.
- ^ German cathedral bones 'are Saxon queen Eadgyth, BBC News, 16 June 2010 Retrieved from Internet Archive 14 February 2014.
- ^ The Times, Simon de Bruxelles, 17 June 2010
- ^ "Bones confirmed as those of Saxon Princess Eadgyth, University of Bristol, 17 June 2010".
- Spiegel Onlinevom 22. Oktober 2010
Sources
- Freytag von Loringhoven, Baron. Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, 1965.
- Klaniczay, Gábor. Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses, 2002.