Emma Ælfgifu of Normandy

Emma of Normandy, daughter of Richard I and Gunnor. In Anglo-Saxon England, she was called Ælfgifu (NB: avoid mix-ups with others of that name)

Married twice:

• 1. Æthelred the Unready
• 2. Canute the Great

Children with Ethelred the Unready were:

• 1. Godgifu (Goda)
• 2. Edward the Confessor
• 3. Alfred Aetheling

Children with Canute the Great were

• 1. Harthacanute
• 2. Gunhilda of Denmark

---

From the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy page on Normandy (covering her birth family):

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORMANDY.htm#RichardIdied996A

RICHARD, son of GUILLAUME Comte [ de Normandie] & his first wife Sprota --- (Fécamp [932]-Fécamp 20 Nov 996, bur Fécamp[73]).

• Guillaume de Jumièges names Richard as son of Guillaume and Sprota, recording that news of his birth was brought to his father when he was returning from his victory against the rebels led by "Riulf"[74]. Flodoard records "filio ipsius Willelmi, nato de concubina Brittana" being granted the land of the Normans by King Louis after his father's death[75].
• Richard is described as "a boy" on the death of his father by Dudo of Saint-Quentin[76], and as "ten years old" at the time by Orderic Vitalis[77]. Guillaume de Jumièges records that Richard succeeded his father under the guardianship of "Bernard le Danois"[78].
• After the death of Richard's father, Louis IV "d'Outremer" King of France briefly controlled Rouen, and kept Richard prisoner, before the latter was able to escape[79], whereupon he succeeded as RICHARD I "Sans Peur" Comte [de Normandie]. He used the title Comte de Rouen/comes Rothomagensium, and from 966 Marquis des Normands/marchio Normannorum[80].
• Soon after succeeding, he suppressed the rebellion of Rodulf "Torta", who was banished and fled to Paris[81]. These events are not dated, but are recounted with the betrothal of Richard to the daughter of Hugues Duc des Francs, which took place in 945. His forces defeated the army of Otto I King of Germany after it attempted to capture Rouen in revenge for the escape of comte Richard from captivity[82]. Comte Richard defeated French forces after King Lothaire of France captured Evreux.
• Hugues "le Grand" Duc des Francs nominated comte Richard as guardian of his son, the future Hugues "Capet" King of France, in 956, the arrangement being confirmed by Richard's betrothal to Hugues's sister[83]. He invited William of Volpiano, Italian abbot of Saint-Bénigne at Dijon, to reform the Norman abbeys, installing monks at Mont-Saint-Michel and Fécamp[84]. He agreed a non-aggression pact with Æthelred II King of England 1 Mar 991, designed no doubt to prevent either side from sheltering Viking marauders[85].
• "Ricardus filius Willelmi, dux Normannie" founded Louviers "in Ebroicensi pago" by undated charter[86].
• Guillaume de Jumièges records the death of Duke Richard at Fécamp in 996[87]. The Brevis Relatio de Origine Willelmi Conquestoris records that "Ricardus…filius Willelmi et alius Ricardus" were buried "Fiscanni"[88].

m firstly (betrothed 956, Rouen 960) EMMA, daughter of HUGUES "le Grand" Duc des Francs, Comte de Paris & his third wife Hedwig of Germany ([943]-after 19 Mar 968).

• The Liber Modernorum Regum Francorum records the marriage in 956 of "Richardus filius Guillelmi principis Normannorum" with "filiam Hugonis ducis", although she is not named[89]. Guillaume de Jumièges records the betrothal of Emma daughter of Hugues to Richard, arranged at the same time her father appointed her future husband as guardian of her brother Hugues, the future Hugues "Capet" King of France, and in a later passage records their marriage at Rouen after the death of her father[90]. No direct proof has yet been identified that Emma was the daughter of her father's third marriage. However, this is likely given that betrothals at the time normally took place when the female partner was in early adolescence.
• Guillaume de Jumièges records the death of Emma without children[91].

m secondly ([before 989]) GUNNORA, daughter of --- ([950]-5 Jan 1031).

• Guillaume de Jumièges records the marriage of Duke Richard and "Gunnor, issue d'une très-noble famille danoise" soon after the death of his first wife[92]. According to Robert de Torigny, the marriage took place to legitimise Richard and Gunnora's son Robert to permit his appointment as Bishop of Rouen[93]. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Gunnor" as the wife of "dux Normannie primus Richardus"[94]. It appears from Dudo de Saint-Quentin that Gunnora was Richard I's mistress before she married him.
• "Duke Richard [II]" donated property to the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel by charter dated to [1024/26], subscribed by "…Gonnor matris comitis…"[95].
• Robert of Torigny records the death in 1030 of "Gunnor comitissa uxor primi Ricardi"[96]. The necrology of Saint-Père-en-Vallée records the death "Non Jan" of "Gonnoridis…comitissa Normannie"[97].

Richard & his second wife had eight children (legitimated [before 989] by the subsequent marriage of their parents):

1. RICHARD (-23 Aug 1026, bur Fécamp).

• Guillaume de Jumièges names (in order) "Richard, Robert, Mauger" as three of the five sons of Duke Richard and Gunnora[98].
• He succeeded his father in 996 as RICHARD II "le Bon/l'Irascible" Comte de Normandie. Duke of Normandy [1015].

2. ROBERT (-1037).

• Guillaume de Jumièges names (in order) "Richard, Robert, Mauger" as three of the five sons of Duke Richard and Gunnora, recording in a later passage that Robert succeeded Hugues as Archbishop of Rouen[99]. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Robertus archiepiscopus Rothomagensis" as brother of "dux Normannie Richardus II"[100]. He is named brother of Duke Richard II by Orderic Vitalis[101].
• Comte d'Evreux.
• Bishop of Rouen 989, after his parents married to legitimise him in order to regularise his appointment[102]. An agreement between the abbots of Jumièges and Bougeuil concerning an exchange of land in Poitou, by charter dated [13 Apr/4 Apr] 1012, is subscribed by "Richardus…filius Ricardi principi magni…Robertus archiepiscopus…ecclesie Rotomagensis et Vuillelmus et Malgerus fratres Richardi comitis…"[103].
• He quarrelled with his nephew Robert II Duke of Normandy and took refuge in France.
• Robert of Torigny records the death in 1037 of "Robertus…archiepiscopus Rothomagensis"[104].

3. ROBERT ["Danus"] (-12 Aug [985/89]).

• Robert of Torigny names "Ricardum…qui ei successit et Robertum postea archiepiscopum Rothomagensium et Malgerium comitem Curbuliensem, aliosque duos" as the sons of "Ricardi primi ducis Normanniæ" and Gunnora[105]. Houts names one of the unnamed sons Robert "Danus" but does not give her source[106].
• The necrology of Saint-Père-en-Vallée records the death "II Id Aug" of "Robertus puer filius comitis Richardi"[107].

4. MAUGER (-[1033/40]).

• Guillaume de Jumièges names (in order) "Richard, Robert, Mauger" as three of the five sons of Duke Richard and Gunnora[108]. Robert of Torigny names "Ricardum…qui ei successit et Robertum postea archiepiscopum Rothomagensium et Malgerium comitem Curbuliensem, aliosque duos" as the sons of "Ricardi primi ducis Normanniæ" and Gunnora[109]. An agreement between the abbots of Jumièges and Bougeuil concerning an exchange of land in Poitou, by charter dated [13 Apr/4 Apr] 1012, is subscribed by "Richardus…filius Ricardi principi magni…Robertus archiepiscopus…ecclesie Rotomagensis et Vuillelmus et Malgerus fratres Richardi comitis…"[110].
• Comte de Corbeil, by right of his wife.

5. son .

• Robert of Torigny names "Ricardum…qui ei successit et Robertum postea archiepiscopum Rothomagensium et Malgerium comitem Curbuliensem, aliosque duos" as the sons of "Ricardi primi ducis Normanniæ" and Gunnora[111]. No reference has been found to the name of this son.

---

6. EMMA ([985]-Winchester 14 Mar 1052, bur Winchester Cathedral).

Guillaume de Jumièges names Emma as one of the three daughters of Duke Richard and Gunnora[112]. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Emma Anglorum regina" as sister of "dux Normannie Richardus II"[113]. Emma was described by Henry of Huntingdon as "Emma Normanorum gemma"[114], although it is not known whether this was a particular indication of her beauty or mere hyperbole.

She was known as ÆLFGIFU in England[115]. Her first husband sent her to her brother's court in Normandy in 1013 after the invasion of Svend King of Denmark[116]. She was living in Normandy in 1017 when King Æthelred's successor King Canute proposed marriage to her.

Roger of Wendover records the marriage in Jul 1018 of "Cnuto" and "ducem Ricardum…Emmam sororem suam et regis Ethelredi relictam"[117].

After the death of her second husband, she continued to live at Winchester. After the election of her step-son as regent in early 1036, it was recognised that she would continue to live there to look after the interests of her son Harthacnut who had nominally succeeded his father as King of England and Denmark but was still absent in Denmark. It is likely that she encouraged her sons by her first husband, Edward and Alfred, to join her, Alfred being captured and murdered during the visit.

After Harold was recognised as king of England in 1037, Queen Emma was expelled and took refuge at Bruges[118].

She commissioned the Encomium Emmæ Reginæ from a Flemish convent at Saint-Omer, maybe St Bertin's, designed to promote her son Harthacnut's claim to the English throne.

Harthacnut joined her in Bruges in early 1040, and after the death of King Harold, they returned together to England. After the accession of Edward "the Confessor", her son by her first husband, Emma appears to have supported the rival claim of Magnus King of Norway[119]. Whatever the truth of this, King Edward did confiscate her property in 1043 according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle[120].

She seems to have spent the last years of her life in retirement in Winchester[121].

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the death of "Ælfgifu Emma, the mother of king Edward and of king Harthacnut" in 1052[122].

m firstly (betrothed 1000, 1002[123]%29 as his [second/third] wife, ÆTHELRED II King of England, son of EDGAR "the Peacable" King of England & his second wife Ælfthryth ([966]-London 23 Apr 1016, bur Old St Paul's Cathedral).

m secondly (2 or 31 Jul 1017) CANUTE King of England, son of SVEND I "Tveskæg/Forkbeard" King of Denmark & his first wife Šwiętosława [Gunhild] of Poland ([995]-Shaftesbury, Dorset 12 Nov 1035, bur Winchester Cathedral). King of Denmark 1018, King of Norway 1028.

---

7. HAVISE (-21 Feb 1034).

• Guillaume de Jumièges names Hadvise, wife of "Geoffroi comte des Bretons", as the second of the three daughters of Duke Richard and Gunnora, and in a later passage records her marriage after the death of her father[124]. A charter dated 1008 records that, after the death of "Gaufrido comite Britanniæ", "filii eius Alanus et Eudo cum matre eorum Hadeguisia" restored the abbey of Saint-Méen[125]. "…Aduise matre eorum comitum…" signed the charter dated to [1013/22] under which "Alanus et Egio Britannorum monarchi" founded the priory of Livré "in pago Redonensi"[126]. The Chronico Kemperlegiensi records the death "1034 IX Kal Mar" of "Haduisa comitissa Britanniæ, vidua Gauffridi"[127].
• m (996) GEOFFROY I Duke of Brittany, son of CONAN I "le Tort" Duke of Brittany & his wife Ermengarde d'Anjou ([980]-20 Nov 1008).

8. MATHILDE (-[1005]).

• Guillaume de Jumièges names Mathilde wife of "le comte Odon" as the third of the three daughters of Duke Richard and Gunnora, specifying in a later passage that her husband was "Eudes comte de Chartres" when recording their marriage after the death of her father, her dowry being half the castle of Dreux given to her by her brother Duke Richard II, and her death without children "quelques années après"[128].
• m ([1003/04]%29 as his first wife, EUDES II Comte de Blois, son of EUDES I Comte de Blois & his wife Berthe de Bourgogne [Welf] ([982/83]-15 Nov 1037).

References:

• [73] Ademari Historiarum III.33, MGH SS IV, p. 131.
• [74] WJ III.2, p. 63.
• [75] Flodoard 943, MGH SS III, p. 389.
• [76] Dudo of Saint-Quentin, Chapter 27.
• [77] Orderic Vitalis, Vol. II, Book III, p. 9.
• [78] WJ III.12, p. 76.
• [79] WJ IV.2 and 3, pp. 78-82.
• [80] Kerrebrouck, P. Van (2000) Les Capétiens 987-1328 (Villeneuve d'Asq), p. 50 footnote 6.
• [81] Dudo of Saint-Quentin, Chapter 43.
• [82] Dudo of Saint-Quentin, Chapters 44-45.
• [83] Kerrebrouck (2000), p. 47.
• [84] Chavanon, J. (ed.) (1897) Adémar de Chabannes, Chronique (Paris), Book III, 27, and Rodolfus Glauber, Life of William Volpiano, 7.
• [85] Houts (2000), p. 102.
• [86] Bonnin, T. (ed.) (1870) Cartulaire de Louviers (Evreux) ("Louviers"), Tome I, I, p. 1.
• [87] WJ IV.20, p. 108.
• [88] Brevis Relatio de Origine Willelmi Conquestoris, p. 14.
• [89] Hugonis Floriacensis, Liber qui Modernorum Regum Francorum continet Actus 5, MGH SS IX, p. 383.
• [90] WJ IV.10, p. 93, and IV.12, p. 96.
• [91] WJ IV.18, p. 104.
• [92] WJ IV.18, p. 104.
• [93] Robert de Torigny, Book VIII c. 36.
• [94] Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium 998, MGH SS XXIII, p. 777.
• [95] Round, J. H. (ed.) (1899) Calendar of Documents preserved in France illustrative of the history of Great Britain and Ireland Vol I 918-1206 (London), 701, p. 249.
• [96] Chronique de Robert de Torigny I, 1030, p. 36.
• [97] Obituaires de Sens Tome II, Abbaye de Saint-Père-enVallée, p. 180.
• [98] WJ IV.18, p. 104.
• [99] WJ IV.18, p. 104, and IV.19, p. 106.
• [100] Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium 1026, MGH SS XXIII, p. 783.
• [101] Orderic Vitalis, Vol. VI, Book XI, p. 167.
• [102] Robert de Torigny, Book VIII c. 36.
• [103] Vernier, J. J. (ed.) (1916) Chartes de l'abbaye de Jumièges, Tome I c 825-1169 (Rouen, Paris), 7, p. 16.
• [104] Chronique de Robert de Torigny I, 1037, p. 40.
• [105] Chronique de Robert de Torigny I, 965, p. 25.
• [106] Houts (2000), p. 92 footnote 62.
• [107] Obituaires de Sens Tome II, Abbaye de Saint-Père-enVallée, p. 193.
• [108] WJ IV.18, p. 104.
• [109] Chronique de Robert de Torigny I, 965, p. 25.
• [110] Jumièges 7, p. 16.
• [111] Chronique de Robert de Torigny I, 965, p. 25.
• [112] WJ IV.18, p. 104.
• [113] Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium 1026, MGH SS XXIII, p. 783.
• [114] Greenway, D. (2002) Henry of Huntingdon: The History of the English People 1000-1154 (Oxford University Press), II, 2, p. 7.
• [115] Garmonsway, G. N. (trans) (1972) The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Dent), F, 1013 and 1017.
• [116] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1013.
• [117] Coxe, H. O. (ed.) (1841) Rogeri de Wendover Chronica sive Flores historiarum (London) ("Roger of Wendover"), Vol. I, p. 463.
• [118] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E and F, 1037.
• [119] Barlow (1983), pp. 51-6.
• [120] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C and D, 1043, and E, 1042 [1043].
• [121] Stafford, P. 'Emma: The Powers of the Queen in the Eleventh Century', Duggan, A. (ed.) (1997) Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe (The Boydell Press), p. 6.
• [122] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle E, 1052.
• [123] Henry of Huntingdon, II, 1 and 2, pp. 6 and 7.
• [124] WJ IV.18, p. 105, and V.5, p. 116.
• [125] La Borderie, A. de (ed.) (1888) Recueil d´actes inédites des ducs et princes de Bretagne (XI, XII, XIII siècles) (Rennes), I, p. 3.
• [126] La Borderie (1888), II, p. 6.
• [127] Chronico Kemperlegiensi 1034, RHGF X, p. 294.
• [128] WJ IV.18, p. 105, and V.10, pp. 123-4.

---

From the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy page on England, Anglo-Saxon, and Danish Kings (describing her first marriage):

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%...

ÆTHELRED, son of EDGAR "the Peaceable" King of England & his second wife Ælfthryth of Devon ([966]-London 23 Apr 1016, bur Old St Paul's Cathedral).

• Simeon of Durham names "Eadmuind and Egelræd" as the sons of King Eadgar and his wife "the daughter of Ordgar duke of Devonshire…"[1779]. Roger of Hoveden gives his parentage[1780]. When his father died, a large number of nobles promoted the election of Æthelred to succeed instead of his older half-brother, maybe because the latter was considered unsuitable due to his outbursts of rage or because of the inferior status of his mother.
• He succeeded after the murder of his half-brother in 978 as ÆTHELRED II "the Unready/Unræd/Redeles" King of England, crowned 4 Apr or 4 May 978 at Kingston-upon-Thames.
• Danish attacks on England recommenced in 980, with raids on Hampshire, Thanet and Cheshire. Raids on Devon and Cornwall followed in 981, and on Dorset in 982. A further wave of attacks started in 988 in Devon.
• As part of his plan to control the Danes, King Æthelred agreed a non-aggression pact with Richard I "Sans Peur" Comte de Normandie on 1 Mar 991, designed apparently to dissuade either party from sheltering Viking marauders[1781].
• After a third wave of attacks in 991, King Æthelred signed a treaty with Olaf Tryggveson (who succeeded in [995] as Olav I King of Norway) under which 22,000 pounds of gold and silver was paid in return for a promise of help in thwarting future attacks. The treaty presumably never came into full effect, despite payment of the money, as this was only the first of a long series of "Danegeld" payments funded by heavy taxation which ultimately led to the virtual ruin of King Æthelred's government. The attack of 994, in which for the first time Svend King of Denmark took part, resulted in some English support to declare Svend king from those who despaired of King Æthelred's government[1782]. The raids of 997/999 on Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, South Wales, Dorset and Kent, were followed in 1000 by the Danish army moving to Normandy to await the following summer.
• The king's second marriage in 1002 was presumably part of his continuing efforts to prevent the Normans from allowing the Danes to use their ports from which to attack England.
• King Æthelred ordered the massacre of Danes in England 13 Nov 1002[1783], which included the death of Gunhild sister of King Svend, although this only resulted in intensified attacks.
• In a desperate late attempt to strengthen the country's defences, King Æthelred ordered the construction of a fleet of new warships, completed in 1009. Nearly one third of the fleet was lost as a result of the rebellion of Wulfnoth, father of Godwin Earl of Wessex, and the attempt by Brihtric, brother of Eadric "Streona/the Acquisitor", to capture him[1784].
• A full-scale Danish invasion came in 1013 and by the end of the year Svend King of Denmark had become de facto king of England. King Æthelred fled to Normandy after Christmas 1013[1785], but after Svend's death in Feb 1014 he was invited back, on condition he improved his rule[1786]. By end-Apr 1014, Æthelred counter-attacked the Danes in Lindsey, after which the Danish fleet, under King Svend's son Knud, withdrew to Denmark.
• In August 1015, Knud of Denmark invaded England again. During the latter part of King Æthelred's reign further trouble was caused by the treachery of his son-in-law Eadric "Streona/the Acquisitor", appointed Ealdorman of Mercia in 1007. He acquired a position of considerable influence over the king, only to defect to Knud after this last invasion. The Danes controlled Wessex by the end of 1015, and Northumbria in early 1016, turning their attention to London and the south-east after King Æthelred died.
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the death on St George's day 1016 of King Æthelred[1787]. The Libellus de Anniversariis of Ramsey Monastery records the death “IX Kal Mai” of “Ethelredus rex Angliæ, qui dedit Brochtune”[1788].

[m] firstly ([980/85]%29 [%C3%86LFGIVA], daughter of ---.

• The information about the parentage of the first "wife" of King Æthelred is contradictory. According to Florence of Worcester´s genealogies, she was Ælfgiva, daughter of Ealdorman "Ægelberht", as he names "Ælfgiva, comitis Ægelberhti filia" as mother of King Æthelred´s three sons "Eadmundum, Eadwium et Æthelstanum" and his daughter "Eadgitham"[1789]. (It should be noted in passing that this is the only example of the root "Ægel-" being found in an Anglo-Saxon name; it is therefore possible that "Ægelberhti" represents a transcription error, maybe for "Æthelberhti".) On the other hand, Ailred Abbot of Rievaulx records that she was ---, daughter of Thored Ealdorman of York, naming "filia Torethi…comitis" as the mother of "Edmundum" [King Edmund "Ironsides"][1790]. The Estoire de Seint Aedward le Rei, written in [1245], must have used Ailred as its source as it states that the first wife of King Æthelred II was the daughter of "Count Torin"[1791]. Roger of Wendover is unspecific, noting that "rex Ethelredus" married "cujusdam ducis filiam" by whom he fathered "filium…Eadmundum", although in a later passage he says that King Eadmund had "matrem quondam ignobilem fœminam"[1792]. No trace of King Æthelred´s first wife has been found in any other contemporary document. In charters dated 996, King Æthelred's mother countersigns "Ælfthryth regina", but there is no mention of the king's wife. This suggests that Ælfgiva (if indeed that was her name) was an "unofficial" wife, having a similar status to Æthelflæd, first "wife" of King Eadgar, King Æthelred´s father. The will of her son ætheling Æthelstan, dated [1014], refers to "the soul of Ælfthryth my grandmother who brought me up" but makes no mention of his mother[1793], which suggests that she played little part in his early life. This seems suprising if she was in fact the mother of all King Æthelred's children who were not born to his known wife Emma, as is generally reported in most secondary sources. There must therefore be some doubt whether [%C3%86lfgiva] was the king's only wife or concubine before his marriage to Emma de Normandie.

[m] [secondly] [---.

• No direct information has been found on this supposed second "wife" of King Æthelred. However, as noted above, there must be some doubt whether Ælfgiva, if indeed that was her name, was the king´s only wife or concubine before his marriage to Emma de Normandie. In addition, no information has been found in any of the primary sources so far consulted which identifies the mother of King Æthelred´s children, generally attributed by secondary sources to his first marriage, other than his three sons Eadmund, Eadwig and Æthelstan. It is therefore possible that King Æthelred had more than one "unofficial" wives or concubines who may have been the mother(s) of some or all of his children. It is even possible that the unnamed daughter of Ealdorman Thored (referred to by Ailred of Rievaulx) was not the same person as Ælfgiva (named by Florence of Worcester) and that they were both "married" to King Æthelred, either at the same time or one after the other. If this is correct, the sources are contradictory regarding the identity of the mother of King Eadmund "Ironsides".]

---

m [secondly/thirdly] (betrothed 1000, 1002[1794]%29 as her first husband, EMMA de Normandie, daughter of RICHARD I "Sans Peur" Comte de Normandie & his second wife Gunnora --- ([985]-Winchester 14 Mar 1052, bur Winchester Cathedral, Old Minster[1795]).

Guillaume de Jumièges names Emma as one of the three daughters of Duke Richard and Gunnor[1796]. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Emma Anglorum regina" as sister of "dux Normannie Richardus II"[1797]. Emma was described by Henry of Huntingdon as "Emma Normanorum gemma"[1798], although it is not known whether this was a particular indication of her beauty or mere hyperbole.

She adopted the name "ÆLFGIFU" in England[1799]. "Ælfgifu regina" subscribed charters of King Æthelred II between 1002 and 1012, also referred to as "Ælfgifu conlaterana regis"[1800].

Her first husband sent her to her brother's court in Normandy in 1013 after the invasion of Svend King of Denmark[1801]. She was living in Normandy in 1017 when King Æthelred's successor King Canute proposed marriage to her...

---

King Æthelred II & his first [wife] had [six] children:

1. ÆTHELSTAN ([986]-killed in battle after 25 Jun 1014[1808])... He was killed fighting the Danes[1811].

2. ECGBERHT (-1005).

3. EADMUND ([990]-30 Nov 1016, bur Glastonbury Abbey). He succeeded his father in 1016 as EDMUND "Ironside" King of England.

4. EADRED (-[1012]).

5. EADWIG (-murdered 1017, bur Tavistock Abbey, Devon[1820])... He was banished "by the counsel of the perfidious ealdorman Eadric" and murdered on the orders of King Canute[1826]. Simeon of Durham records that King Canute outlawed "the Atheling Edwy the brother of king Eadmund who was called King of the Churls" in 1017[1827].

6. EADGYTH (-after 11 Nov 1021). m [firstly] (1009) EADRIC "Streona/the Acquisitor", son of --- (-murdered 25 Dec 1017). One of the main advisers of King Æthelred II from [1006], he acquired a position of considerable power but gained a reputation for treachery... Canute appointed Eadric as Ealdorman of Mercia in 1017, but had him murdered in 1017. [m secondly (1018 or after) THORKELL "Havi/the Tall", son of [STRUTHARALD King in Skane] (-killed in battle 1039).]

King Æthelred II & his [first/second] [wife] had [five] children:

7. EADGAR (-[1012/15]).

8. ÆLFGIFU ([990/95]-). m ([1009/16][1837]) as his third wife, UHTRED Earl of Northumbria, son of WALTHEOF Earl of Northumbria & his wife --- (-murdered 1016).

9. WULFHILD . The Jomsvikinga Saga records that "Ulfkell Snillingr" married "Ulfhildi dottur Adalrada konungs"[1838]. m ULFCYTEL "Snillingr/the Valliant", son of --- (-killed in battle Ashingdon Oct 1016[1839]). Ealdorman of East Anglia.

10. daughter. m ÆTHELSTAN, son of --- (-killed in battle Ringmere 5 May 1010).

11. daughter (-after 1051). Abbess of Wherwell. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that the abbess of Wherwell was the king's sister but does not name her when recording that she received Queen Eadgyth in 1051 after the disgrace of her family[1842].

King Æthelred II & his [second/third] wife had three children:

12. EADWARD ([1005]-Palace of Westminster 5 Jan 1066, bur Westminster Abbey[1843]).

• "Eadweard clito/filius regis" subscribed charters of King Æthelred II dated between 1005 and 1015[1844]. He is named after his half-brother Eadgar in all documents in which the two are mentioned together, consistent with Edward being the junior of the two.
• Edward fled England for Normandy with his mother in 1013 after the invasion of Svend King of Denmark.
• Anointed king of England during the lifetime of his father[1845], probably in 1015 when his older half-brother, later King Edmund, was in dispute with their father over his unauthorised marriage. This assumes that Edward returned to England from Normandy with his father. According to Orderic Vitalis, Edward and his brother Alfred were living in exile in Normandy when Duke Robert left on pilgrimage for Jerusalem in [1035][1846]. "…Hetwardi, Helwredi…" witnessed the charter dated to [1030] under which Robert II Duke of Normandy donated property to the abbey of Fécamp[1847].
• After the appointment of Harold "Harefod/Harefoot" as regent of England in 1036, Edward landed along Southampton Water to rejoin his mother who, on hearing of the fate of her other son Alfred, sent Edward back to Normandy[1848]. "…Hatuardus Rex…" witnessed the charter dated to [1042] under which Guillaume II Duke of Normandy donated "nostras insulas Serc et Aurrene, propter medietatem Grenere" to the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, supported by "Rannulfo filio Anschitilli"[1849].
• He returned to England in 1041 and was "sworn in as future king" according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle[1850]. On his half-brother's death, he was elected EDWARD "the Confessor" King of England in London, crowned at Winchester Cathedral 3 Apr 1043[1851].
• His relations with his mother were strained as she appears to have supported the claim of Magnus King of Norway to the English throne on the death of King Harthacnut[1852]. Whatever the truth of this, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that King Edward confiscated her treasury in 1043[1853].
• Godwin Earl of Wessex enjoyed a position of power during King Edward's reign, marrying his daughter to the king in 1045. However, the king's relations with Earl Godwin became tense after a dispute over the appointment of a new archbishop of Canterbury in 1050. In 1051, Earl Godwin refused the king's order to punish an affray at Canterbury, in which one of Eustache Comte de Boulogne's men was killed. The dispute escalated, and 1 Sep 1051 Godwin made a show of force against the king with his two older sons near Tetbury. Leofric Earl of Mercia and Siward Earl of Northumbria supported King Edward, and battle was avoided. Godwin and his family were given five days' safe conduct to leave the country by the king's council 8 Sep 1051[1854].
• It was probably about this time that Edward promised the throne to Guillaume II Duke of Normandy, as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the duke's visit to England in 1051[1855]. Earl Godwin was restored in 1052, after another show of force. After Godwin's death in 1053, his son Harold assumed his earldom and became as powerful in the kingdom as his father had been.
• It appears that King Edward gradually withdrew from active government, becoming more involved in religious matters and especially planning the construction of Westminster Abbey, which was finally consecrated 28 Dec 1065 although Edward was by then too infirm to attend.
• Despite his earlier promise of the succession to Guillaume Duke of Normandy, on his deathbed King Edward bequeathed the kingdom to Harold Godwinson Earl of Wessex, a choice which was accepted unanimously by the members of the council.
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the king's death "on the vigil of…Epiphany" and his burial in Westminster abbey the next day[1856].
• King Edward was canonised 7 Feb 1161, his feast day is 13 Oct[1857].
• m (23 Jan 1045) EADGYTH, daughter of GODWIN Earl of Wessex & his wife Gytha ([1020/22]-Winchester 18 Dec 1075, bur Westminster Abbey). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in 1045 "king Edward took to wife Edith the daughter of Earl Godwin, ten days before Candlemas"[1858]. Her husband confined her to Wherwell Abbey in 1051 when the rest of her family was banished, but she was brought back to court when her father was restored the following year. She commissioned the Vita Ædwardi Regis from a foreign clerk, probably from Saint-Omer, setting out the history of her family. She continued to live around Winchester after the Norman conquest, and appears to have been treated well by King William I[1859]. Florence of Worcester records the death "XIV Kal Jan" in [1074] of "Edgitha regis Haroldi germana quondam Anglorum regina" at Winchester and her burial at Westminster[1860].

13. ÆLFRED (after 1005-Ely 5 Feb 1036, bur Ely Cathedral).

• "Ælfred clito" subscribed two charters of King Æthelred II dated 1013 and 1014[1861].
• He fled to Normandy with his mother in 1013. He and his brother Edward were living in exile in Normandy when Duke Robert left on pilgrimage for Jerusalem (in [1035])[1862]. "…Hetwardi, Helwredi…" witnessed the charter dated to [1030] under which Robert II Duke of Normandy donated property to the abbey of Fécamp[1863].
• He landed in England in 1036 with his brother Edward to rejoin their mother at Winchester, but was arrested by Godwin Earl of Wessex's troops. He was taken first to Guildford, surrendered to King Harold's servants, then taken to Ely, where he was blinded and died soon after from his injuries, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which places the blame for the murder on Earl Godwin[1864].

14. GODGIFU [Goda] (-before 1049).

• Her parentage is stated by Orderic Vitalis, who says that Godgifu went into exile in Normandy with her brother[1865] in 1013. According to Orderic Vitalis, her first marriage was arranged by Robert II Duke of Normandy[1866], indicating that she probably did not return to England after leaving for exile. However, this information is suspect, assuming that the charter of "Robertus Rex", which names "Comes Drogo…cum duobus fratribus Fulcone…et Rodulpho necnon uxore cum filiis supra memorati Drogonis", is correctly dated to 1025 as Duke Robert did not succeed as duke of Normandy until 1027[1867].
• Another possibility is that Drogo's children at that date were born from an earlier otherwise unrecorded marriage. There is no indication of the birth dates of his known children, but the fact that none of them was given a typically Anglo-Saxon name also suggests that Godgifu may not have been the mother of all or any of them.
• Godgifu's second marriage is referred to by Florence of Worcester[1868].
• m firstly ([1025 or before]) DREUX [Drogo] Comte de Mantes et du Vexin, son of GAUTHIER [II] "le Blanc" Comte de Mantes, d'Amiens et du Vexin & his wife Adèle --- (-[13 Aug] 1035).
• m secondly ([1036]%29 as his first wife, EUSTACHE [II] Comte de Boulogne, son of EUSTACHE [I] Comte de Boulogne & his wife Mathilde de Louvain (-[soon after 1070/1087]).

References:

• [1779] Simeon of Durham, p. 506.
• [1780] Roger of Hoveden I, p. 62.
• [1781] Houts, E. van (ed. and trans.) (2000) The Normans in Europe (Manchester University Press), p. 102.
• [1782] Stenton (2001), p. 378.
• [1783] Greenway, D. (ed.) (2002) Henry of Huntingdon: The History of the English People 1000-1154 (Oxford UP) ("Henry of Huntingdon"), II, 2, p. 7.
• [1784] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1009.
• [1785] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1013.
• [1786] Henry of Huntingdon, II, 10, p. 12.
• [1787] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E and F, 1016.
• [1788] Dugdale Monasticon II, Ramsey Monastery, Huntingdonshire, XXV, Ex Libello de Anniversariis in Ecclesia Ramesiensi observatis, p. 566.
• [1789] Florentii Wigornensis Monachi Chronicon, Vol. I, Genealogia regum West-Saxonum, p. 275.
• [1790] Aelredus Rievallensis Abbas, Genealogia Regum Anglorum, Migne, Patrologia Latina, Vol 195, col. 730B.
• [1791] La Estoire de Seint Aedward le Rei, MS Cantab. Ee III 59, from Bishop Moore's Library, 11, pp. 195-218, cited in Ronay, G. (1989) The Lost King of England, The East European Adventures of Edward the Exile (Boydell Press), p. 8.
• [1792] Roger of Wendover, Vol. I, pp. 422 and 451.
• [1793] EHD, 129, pp. 593-6.
• [1794] Henry of Huntingdon, II, 1 and 2, pp. 6 and 7.
• [1795] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1051.
• [1796] Guizot, M. (ed.) (1826) Histoire des ducs de Normandie, par Guillaume de Jumiège (Paris) (“WJ”) IV.18, p. 104.
• [1797] Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium 1026, MGH SS XXIII, p. 783.
• [1798] Henry of Huntingdon, II, 2, p. 7.
• [1799] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, F, 1013 and 1017.
• [1800] S 902, S 909, S 910, S 915, S 916, S 918, S 923 and S 926.
• [1801] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1013.
• [1811] Weir (2002), p. 22.
• [1820] Malmesbury II, 180, p. 169.
• [1826] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1017, and Florence of Worcester, 1017, p. 133.
• [1827] Simeon of Durham, p. 526.
• [1837] Estimated date range. It is unlikely that Ælfgifu married before her older sister Eadgyth.
• [1838] Freeman (1877), Vol. I, 3rd. Edn, Appendix, Note HH, p. 654, quoting Jomsvikinga Saga, c. 51, Johnstone, p. 101, presumably Johnstone, J. (1786) Antiquitates Celto-Scandicæ, sive Series rerum gestarum inter nationes [Google Book, no preview].
• [1839] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, D, 1016, and Florence of Worcester, 1016, p. 130.
• [1842] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1048 [1051].
• [1843] Florence of Worcester, 1066 and 1074, pp. 167-8 and 179.
• [1844] S 910, S 911, S 912, S 915, S 918, S 923, S 931, S 933 and S 934.
• [1845] Inventio et miracula sancti Vulfranni, ed. Dom J. Laporte, Mélanges publiés par la Société de l'Histoire de Normandie, 14e s. (Rouen, 1938), pp. 29-31, translated at Houts, E. van (ed. and trans.) (2000) The Normans in Europe (Manchester University Press), p. 112. This was written in [1053/54] at the monastery of Saint-Wandrille in Normandy.
• [1846] Chibnall, M. (ed. and trans.) The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis, (Oxford Medieval Texts, 1969-80), Vol. III, Book V, p. 87.
• [1847] Delisle, L. (1867) Histoire du château et des sires de Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte (Valognes), Pièces justificatives, 10, p. 11.
• [1848] Florence of Worcester, 1036, p. 141.
• [1849] Delisle (1867), Pièces justificatives, 17, p. 19.
• [1850] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1041.
• [1851] Florence of Worcester, 1043, p. 145.
• [1852] Barlow (1983), pp. 51-6.
• [1853] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C and D, 1043, and E, 1042 [1043].
• [1854] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, D, 1052 [1051], and E 1048 [1051].
• [1855] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, D, 1052 [1051].
• [1856] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1066.
• [1857] Attwater (1970), p. 110.
• [1858] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1045.
• [1859] Barlow (2002), p. 115.
• [1860] Florentii Wigornensis Monachi Chronicon, Tome II, p. 10.
• [1861] S 931 and 933.
• [1862] Orderic Vitalis, Vol. III, Book V, p. 87.
• [1863] Delisle (1867), Pièces justificatives, 10, p. 11.
• [1864] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C and D, 1036.
• [1865] Orderic Vitalis, Vol. IV, Book VII, p. 77.
• [1866] Orderic Vitalis, Vol. IV, Book VII, p. 77.
• [1867] RHGF X, L, p. 622.
• [1868] Florence of Worcester, 1051, p. 150.

---

From the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy page on England, Anglo-Saxon and Danish Kings (covering her second marriage):

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%...

KNUD Svendsen, son of SVEND I "Tveskæg/Forkbeard" King of Denmark & his first wife Šwiętosława [Gunhild] of Poland ([995]-Shaftesbury, Dorset 12 Nov 1035, bur Winchester Cathedral, Old Minster[1957]).

• The Encomium Emmæ Reginæ names "Cnutone filio suo [=Sueinum] maiore"[1958]. However, the identity of Knud's mother is uncertain. Adam of Bremen names "Chnut" as son of King Svend & his wife "Herici relictam, matrem Olaph"[1959].
• The Fagrskinna suggests that Knud was the son of King Svend's first marriage by stating that Astrid, daughter of King Svend and Sigrid Skoglar-Tosta, had the same father as King Knud and the same mother as Olof King of Sweden[1960] (Ben notes: father of Ingegerd who was wife of Yaroslav the Wise of Kievan Rus). According to Ronay[1961], Knud was taken back to Poland with his mother after her divorce and fostered by Thorkell "the Tall" at the fortress of Jömsborg at the mouth of the River Oder but the author cites no primary source to support this.
• Knud took part in the invasion of England in 1013 led by his father. After his father's death, Æthelred II King of England counter-attacked the Danes in Lindsey, whereupon the Danish fleet under Knud withdrew to Denmark. In August 1015, Knud invaded England again. By the end of 1015, he was in control of Wessex, helped by the defection of Eadric "Streona/the Acquisitor" Ealdorman of Mercia. The Danes controlled Northumbria in early 1016, then turned their attention to London and the south-east.
• After the death of King Æthelred in Apr 1016, the Witan offered the throne to Knud, to whom a group of nobles and church dignitaries from southern England swore allegiance at Southampton[1962]. Knud's fleet laid siege to London, which was relieved by King Æthelred's son King Edmund "Ironside" who had been proclaimed king by an assembly in London. Knud turned his attention to Mercia, Eadric "Streona" defecting back to King Edmund's forces at Aylesford, only to return to Knud at Ashingdon in Essex where Danish forces finally defeated King Edmund in Oct 1016[1963].
• At Alney, near Deerhurst, the king agreed a compromise division of the country with Knud, Edmund taking Wessex and Knud the north, but Edmund died in Nov 1016 before this could be implemented.
• After the death of King Edmund, Knud was accepted as CANUTE King of England, crowned maybe at Old St Paul’s Cathedral, London 6 Jan 1017.
• After succeeding in England, he divided the country into four districts for administrative purposes[1964]. He appointed Eadric "Streona" as Ealdorman of Mercia ("slain in London" the same year, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle[1965]), gave East Anglia to Thorkell the tall, confirmed Erik Haakonsson Jarl in Norway as Earl of Northumbria, and kept direct control over Wessex. He held a national assembly at Oxford in 1018 which decided the legal form of his rule, largely following that of King Edgar "the Peaceable".
• He succeeded his brother in 1018 as KNUD I "den Storre/the Great" King of Denmark, leaving England for Denmark to take possession in 1019. His position in Denmark did not go unchallenged, for he was defeated at the Holy River in [1025] by Olaf King of Norway and Amund King of Sweden[1966].
• He expelled Olav King of Norway in 1028, declaring himself KNUD King of Norway.
• Malcolm II King of Scotland submitted to him in 1031[1967].
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the death of King Canute at Shaftesbury on 12 Nov 1035 and his burial in the Old Minster, Winchester[1968]. The Libellus de Anniversariis of Ramsey Monastery records the death “Id Nov” of “Knuto rex qui dedit nobis S. Felicem”[1969].

---

m (2 or 31 Jul 1017) as her second husband, EMMA de Normandie, widow of ÆTHELRED II King of England, daughter of RICHARD I "Sans Peur" Comte de Normandie & his second wife Gunnora --- ([985]-Winchester 14 Mar 1052, bur Winchester Cathedral, Old Minster[1970]).

... She was known as ÆLFGIFU in England[1974]. Her first husband sent her to her brother's court in Normandy in 1013 after the invasion of Svend King of Denmark[1975].

She was living in Normandy in 1017 when King Æthelred's successor King Canute proposed marriage to her. After the death of her second husband, she continued to live at Winchester.

After the election of her step-son as regent in early 1036, it was recognised that she would continue to live there to look after the interests of her son Harthacnut who had nominally succeeded his father as King of England and Denmark but was still absent in Denmark. It is likely that she encouraged her sons by her first husband, Edward and Alfred, to join her, Alfred being captured and murdered during the visit.

After Harold was recognised as king of England in 1037, Queen Emma was expelled and took refuge at Bruges[1976].

She commissioned the Encomium Emmæ Reginæ from a Flemish convent at Saint-Omer, maybe St Bertin's, designed to promote her son Harthacnut's claim to the English throne. Harthacnut joined her in Bruges in early 1040, and after the death of King Harold, they returned together to England.

After the accession of Edward "the Confessor", her son by her first husband, Emma appears to have supported the rival claim of Magnus King of Norway[1977]. Whatever the truth of this, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that King Edward did confiscate her property in 1043[1978].

She seems to have spent the last years of her life in retirement in Winchester[1979]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the death of "Ælfgifu Emma, the mother of king Edward and of king Harthacnut" in 1052[1980].

Mistress (1): ÆLFGIFU [Alfifa] Ælfhelmsdotter of Northampton, daughter of Ealdorman ÆLFHELM of Deira & his wife Wulfrun[1981] (-after 1036).

• Roger of Wendover names "Algiva, Elfelmi comitis filia" as first wife of "regis Cnutonis" and mother of "duos…filios Suanum…et Haroldum"[1982]. She was known as ALFIFA in Denmark and Norway.
• King Knud took her as a "temporary wife"[1983], but the "marriage" was not recognised by the church. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Harold claimed that he was the son of King Canute by "Ælfgifu of Northampton, although it was not true", another passage commenting that "many thought this [claim] quite incredible"[1984].
• She continued to behave as Queen in the north of England after King Canute married Emma. King Canute appointed her co-regent in Norway in 1030 for their son Svend.
• Morkinskinna records that “Álfifa” accompanied her son Svend back to Denmark after he was overthrown as king of Norway (in 1035)[1985]. Morkinskinna records that “Álfifa” tried unsuccessfully to poison Magnus King of Norway but killed “King Hordaknútr” instead (dated to 1042), and that “she vanished instantly so that she could not be punished”, stating that this took place “in the sixth year of King Magnus' reign”[1986]. Morkinskinna records that “Álfífa” tricked “a powerful duke named Otto south in Saxony”, when visiting “Norway and arrived in Vik”, into thinking that “her daughter…not King Sveinn´s sister by the same father” was Ulfhild, sister of Magnus King of Norway[1987]. The paragraph refers to Ordulf Duke of Saxony who later married Ulfhild, their marriage being dated to Nov 1042. This is the only reference so far identified to this supposed daughter. However, it seems surprising that Ælfgifu would have been present in Norway and have been in a position to welcome foreign visitors, given that her son by King Canute had been overthrown as king of Norway by King Magnus. All passages in Morkinskinna which refer to “Álfífa” treat her with disdain as the archetypal wicked queen figure, suggesting that they should all be treated with caution.
• Weir gives her date of death as “1044?” without any basis for her conjecture[1988]. Roger of Wendover records that death "Algiva, Elfelmi comitis filia", first wife of "regis Cnutonis", died in 1018[1989], but this date is incompatible with the other sources quoted above.

King Canute & his wife had two children:

1. HARTHACNUT (England 1018-Lambeth 8 Jun 1042, bur Winchester Cathedral[1990]).

• His parentage is stated by Orderic Vitalis[1991]. Maybe Harthacnut was the son of King Canute who in 1023 was delivered as a hostage to Thorkell "Havi/the Tall", in exchange for Thorkell's son, when Thorkell was reconciled with the king and appointed regent in Denmark[1992].
• Harthacnut was proclaimed associate king of Denmark in 1028 at Nidaros.
• He succeeded his father in 1035 as HARDEKNUD King of Denmark. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle[1993], Harold was elected regent of England "on behalf of himself and his brother Harthacnut", while Harthacnut's mother Queen Emma was allowed to "reside at Winchester with the housecarles of the king her son and hold Wessex in trust for him". It therefore seems that his father intended that Harthacnut and his half-brother Harald should succeed jointly in England, but Harthacnut was unable to leave Denmark to claim the throne.
• Harthacnut finally arrived at Bruges, where his mother was living in exile, in 1039[1994]. He was there when his half-brother died, whereupon he succeeded as HARTHACNUT King of England.
• He sailed back to England with his mother, landing at Sandwich 17 Jun 1040[1995]. He is said to have been crowned at Canterbury Cathedral in Jun 1040[1996].
• His uterine half-brother Edward came to England in 1041 and was "sworn in as future king"[1997]. Florence of Worcester records that King Harthacnut fell down "by a sad mischance while in the act of drinking" at the wedding feast of his father's retainer, Tovi the Proud, and "continued speechless" until he died a few days later[1998].
• Morkinskinna records that “Álfifa” tried unsuccessfully to poison Magnus King of Norway but killed “King Hordaknútr” instead (dated to 1042), and that “she vanished instantly so that she could not be punished”, stating that this took place “in the sixth year of King Magnus' reign”[1999]. The Libellus de Anniversariis of Ramsey Monastery records the death “VI Id Jun” of “Hardcnute rex, qui dedit Hemingford”[2000].

2. GUNHILD [%C3%86thelfryth] ([1020]-in Italy 18 Jul 1038, bur Limburg Klosterkirche).

• Adam of Bremen records that the daughter of King Knud married "imperator filio suo"[2001]. Her parentage is stated by Orderic Vitalis, who also refers to her marriage[2002]. Wipo names "Chnutonis regis Anglorum filiam, nomine Chunehildem" as wife of "Heinricus rex, filius imperatoris" when recording their marriage in 1036[2003]. The Annalista Saxo records that the wife of King Heinrich III was "filiam Cnud regis Danorum", specifying that the marriage was arranged by Unwan Archbishop of Bremen[2004], although this seems unlikely as Archbishop Unwan died in 1029[2005]. Herimannus names "Chunihildem, Cnutonis Danorum et Anglorum regis filiam" when recording her marriage to "Heinricus rex, filius imperatoris" in 1036[2006].
• She adopted the name KUNIGUND on her marriage.
• The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines records that "uxor imperatoris Henrici Gunhildis imperatrix de Anglia" was accused of adultery, that she was defended in trial by combat, but that after her champion's victory she disdained the success and became a nun[2007]. William of Malmesbury also recounts that she was accused of adultery and retired to a convent[2008].
• She died during her husband's expedition to Italy[2009], the death of "regina Conihild" being recorded in the Annalista Saxo "XV Kal Aug"[2010]. The necrology of Speyer records the death "XV Kal Aug" of "Cunehilt regina"[2011].
• m (Nijmegen [29] Jun 1036) as his first wife, HEINRICH III King of Germany, Duke of Bavaria, son of Emperor KONRAD II & his wife Gisela of Swabia (Ostrebeck 28 Oct 1017-Burg Bodfeld im Harz 5 Oct 1056, bur Speyer Cathedral). Duke of Swabia 1038-1045.
• King of Burgundy Autumn 1038. Regent of the Duchy of Carinthia 1039-1047. He was crowned Emperor at Rome 25 Dec 1046.

References:

• [1957] Florence of Worcester, 1035, p. 140.
• [1958] Encomium Emmæ Reginæ I.3, MGH SS.
• [1959] Adami, Gesta Hammenburgensis Ecclesiæ Pontificum II.37, MGH SS VII, p. 319.
• [1960] Fagrskinna, Chapter 49, p. 218, quoted by Rafal T. Prinke, at <http://main.amu.edu.pl/~bkpan/SIGRID/Sigrid.htm> (26 Mar 2005).
• [1961] Ronay (1989), p. 55.
• [1962] Ronay (1989), p. 10.
• [1963] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, D, E and F, 1016.
• [1964] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, D, 1017.
• [1965] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1017.
• [1966] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1025.
• [1967] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1031.
• [1968] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1035, D, 1035, E, 1036 [1035].
• [1969] Dugdale Monasticon II, Ramsey Monastery, Huntingdonshire, XXV, Ex Libello de Anniversariis in Ecclesia Ramesiensi observatis, p. 566.
• [1970] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1051.
• [1971] WJ IV.18, p. 104.
• [1972] Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium 1026, MGH SS XXIII, p. 783.
• [1973] Roger of Wendover, Vol. I, p. 463.
• [1974] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, F, 1013 and 1017.
• [1975] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1013.
• [1976] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E and F, 1037.
• [1977] Barlow (1983), pp. 51-6.
• [1978] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C and D, 1043, and E, 1042 [1043].
• [1979] Stafford, P. 'Emma: The Powers of the Queen in the Eleventh Century', Duggan, A. (ed.) (1997) Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe (The Boydell Press), p. 6.
• [1980] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle E, 1052.
• [1981] She is called "the noble lady Wulfruna" in Florence of Worcester, 1035, p. 140.
• [1982] Roger of Wendover, Vol. I, p. 462.
• [1983] Stenton (2001), p. 397.
• [1984] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C and D, 1035, E, 1036.
• [1985] Andersson, T. M. and Gade, K. E. (trans.) (2000) Morkinskinna (Cornell), 2, p. 100.
• [1986] Morkinskinna, 4, p. 111.
• [1987] Morkinskinna, 5, p. 116.
• [1988] Weir (2002), p. 30.
• [1989] Roger of Wendover, Vol. I, p. 462.
• [1990] Florence of Worcester, 1042, p. 144.
• [1991] Orderic Vitalis, Vol. III, Book V, p. 87.
• [1992] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1023, where the son of King Canute is not named.
• [1993] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1036.
• [1994] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1039.
• [1995] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1039 [1040].
• [1996] Weir (2002), p. 31.
• [1997] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1041.
• [1998] Florence of Worcester, 1042, p. 144.
• [1999] Morkinskinna, 4, p. 111.
• [2000] Dugdale Monasticon II, Ramsey Monastery, Huntingdonshire, XXV, Ex Libello de Anniversariis in Ecclesia Ramesiensi observatis, p. 566.
• [2001] Adami, Gesta Hammenburgensis Ecclesiæ Pontificum II.54, MGH SS VII, p. 325.
• [2002] Orderic Vitalis, Vol. III, Book V, p. 87.
• [2003] Wiponis, Vita Chuonradi II Imperatoris 35, MGH SS XI, p. 272.
• [2004] Annalista Saxo 1026.
• [2005] Grote, H. (1877) Stammtafeln (reprint Leipzig, 1984), p. 506.
• [2006] Herimanni Augiensis Chronicon 1036, MHG SS V, p. 122.
• [2007] Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium 1041, MGH SS XXIII, p. 787.
• [2008] Malmesbury II, 188, p. 179.
• [2009] Fuhrmann, H., trans. Reuter, T. (1995) Germany in the high middle ages c.1050-1200 (Cambridge University Press), p. 40.
• [2010] Annalista Saxo 1038.
• [2011] Boehmer, J. F. (1868) Fontes Rerum Germanicarum, Band IV (Stuttgart), Kalendarium Necrologicum Canonicorum Spirensium, p. 322.

  ---

From the English Wikipedia page on Emma of Normandy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_of_Normandy

Emma (c. 985 – March 6, 1052 in Winchester, Hampshire), was daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of the Kingdom of England twice, by successive marriages: initially as the second wife to Ethelred the Unready of England (1002-1016); and then to Canute the Great of Denmark (1017-1035). Two of her sons, one by each husband, and two stepsons, also by each husband, became kings of England, as was her great-nephew, William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy.

Life

Upon the Danish invasion of England in 1013, Emma's sons by Ethelred - Edward the Confessor and Alfred Atheling - went to Normandy as exiles, where they were to remain. Canute, the King of England, after the deaths of Ethelred and his son, and Emma's stepson, Edmund II Ironside, married her himself. He was to pledge that Harthacanute, Emma's son by him, should be the heir to his Danish sovereignty, which meant that, through this marriage, the Normans were kept content and deterred from intervening.

Ethelred's marriage to Emma was an English strategy to avert the aggression of dangerous Normandy, and the Danish strategy was much the same. With a Normandy in feudal subordination to the kings of France, who kept it as their dukedom, England was the Norman dukes' main target, after baronic feuds and rampaging pillages through Brittany had run their course. English kings could not afford to underestimate the Norman threat.

Harthacanute was certainly intended to rule as the Danish ruler of England, along with most of Scandinavia, which, if he had succeeded, might have made for a very different history. It is thought though, due not least to the extolling of her encomium, that in addition to political machinations, Canute was fond of Emma. In this, an affectionate marriage and the ability to keep the threat from over the channel at bay, was seen as a happy coincidence. Unfortunately, events did not go as well as they might.

After Canute's death, Edward and Alfred returned to England out of exile in 1036, in an expedition to see their mother, and under their half-brother Harthacanute's protection. This was seen as a move against Harold Harefoot, Canute's son by Aelfgifu of Northampton, who now put himself forward as Harold I with the support of many of the English nobility.

In contempt of Harthacanute, and at war with his enemies in Scandinavia, the younger Alfred was captured, blinded, and shortly after died from his wounds. The elder, Edward, escaped to Normandy. Emma herself was soon to leave for Bruges and the court of the Count of Flanders. It was at this court that the Encomium Emmae was written.

Twice the Queen of the English kingdom, Emma of Normandy sits here in receipt of the Encomium Emmae, with her sons Harthacanute and Edward the Confessor in the frame.The death of Harold I in 1040 and the accession of the more conciliatory Harthacanute, who had lost his Norwegian and Swedish lands, although he had made his Danish realm secure, meant Edward was officially made welcome in England the next year.

Harthacanute told the Norman court that Edward should be made king if he himself had no sons. Edward was subsequently King of England on the death of Harthacanute, who, like Harold I, met his end in the throes of a fit. Emma was also to return to England, yet was cast aside, as she supported Magnus the Noble, not Edward, her son - she is not thought to have had any love for her children from her first marriage.

Emma of Normandy might well have seen herself as coming second to the first wife, in both of her marriages. In England, with respect to Ethelred's first wife Aelfgifu, who possibly died in childbirth or from complications during labour[1], she was known as Aelfgifu[1], a mere replacement. With her marriage to Canute, set in the shade of his 'handfast' wife, Aelfgifu of Northampton, she, at the time was known as Aelfgifu of Normandy.

Each of her marriages, then, in some way left her as a second Aelfgifu, which she was clearly inclined to abandon, preferring her other name, Emma. Despite her being a second wife, her noble marriages created a strong connection between England and Normandy, which was to find its culmination under her great-nephew William the Conqueror in 1066.

Emma's issue with Ethelred the Unready were:

• 1. Goda
• 2. Edward the Confessor
• 3. Alfred Aetheling

Her issue with Canute the Great were

• 1. Harthacanute
• 2. Gunhilda of Denmark

Emma is said to have been a great-granddaughter of Cnut's grandfather Harald Bluetooth, but this was probably a fiction intended to give her a royal bloodline.

In popular culture

Emma was played by Elizabeth Hubbard in the 1970 television movie The Ceremony of Innocence.

References

1. ^ Simon Keynes, Æthelred II, Oxford Online DNB, 2009. However, Ian Howard sees the marriage as an alliance to meet a Viking threat to both England and Normandy. Harthacnut: The last Danish King of England, The History Press, 2008, p. 10. 2. ^ Simon Kenyes, Emma, Oxford Online DNB, 2004 3. ^ Keynes, Æthelred II 4. ^ Howard, op. cit., pp. 12-15

Bibliography

History

See also Encomium Emmae (for the Encomium Emmae Reginae or Gesta Cnutonis Regis in honour of Queen Emma)

• Monk of St Omer (1949) Encomium Emmae Reginae; ed. Alistair Campbell. (Camden 3rd series; no. 72.) London: Royal Historical Society (Reissued by Cambridge U. P. 1998 with suppl. introd. by Simon Keynes ISBN 0521626552)
• O'Brien, Harriet (2005) Queen Emma and the Vikings. Bloomsbury U.S.A.
• Stafford, Pauline (2001) Queen Emma and Queen Edith: queenship and women's power in eleventh-century England. Oxford: Blackwell.
• Strachan, Isabella (2005) Emma: the twice-crowned Queen of England in the Viking Age. London: Peter Owen

Fiction

• Gordon, Noah (1986) The Physician. Basingstoke: Macmillan ISBN 067147748X (Novel set in the early 11th century.)
• Hollick, Helen (2004) The Hollow Crown. (August 2004) William Heinemann, Random House. ISBN 0-434-00491-X; Arrow paperback ISBN 0-09-927234-2. This is a historical novel about Queen Emma of Normandy, intended to explain why she was so indifferent to the children of her first marriage.

Emma of Normandy (House of Normandy)

• Born: circa 985 Died: 6 March 1052

Queen Consort of England (1002–1013)

• Preceded by Ælfgifu of York
• Succeeded by Sigrid the Haughty

Queen Consort of England (1016–1035)

• Preceded by Ealdgyth (floruit 1015–1016)
• Succeeded by Edith of Wessex

Queen Consort of Denmark (1017–1035)

• Preceded by Sigrid the Haughty
• Succeeded by Gyda of Sweden

Queen Consort of Norway (1028–1035)

• Preceded by Astrid Olofsdotter
• Succeeded by Elisiv of Kiev

  ---

B: Abt 0982 Of, , Normandie

D: 6 Mar 1052 , Winchester, Hampshire, England

Unattributed profile:

Emma Regina[1]

• b. circa 962, d. 6 March 1052

Father Richard I "Sans Peur", Leader of the Normans of Rouen2,3,4,1 b. 933, d. 21 November 996

Mother Gunnor de Crepon1 b. 936, d. 1031

Charts Descendants of Charlemage

Also called Ælgifu Emma, Queen of the English.[3]

Emma Regina saw her estates confiscated by her son, King Edward the Confessor, and then shut in a convent.[5]

She was born circa 962. The eldest daughter.[2] She was the daughter of Richard I "Sans Peur", Leader of the Normans of Rouen and Gunnor de Crepon.[2],[3],[4],[1]

Emma Regina married Æthelred II "the Unready", King of the English, son of Edgar "the Pacific", King of the English and Ælfthryth, Queen of the English, in 1002; His 2nd. Her 1st.[6],[7],[2],[1]

Emma Regina married Knut "den Stor" Sveinsson, King of England and Denmark, son of Sveinn Tveskaeg Haraldsson, King of Denmark and England and Królewna Polska Gunhilda Piast, on 2 July 1017; His 2nd. [6],[8],[2]

Emma Regina supplied funds to start the rebuilding of St. Hilaire's between 1040 and 1042 at Poitiers, Poitou, Duchy of Aquitaine, Kingdom of France.[5] Appeared in a charter "by the Lady Ælfgifu (Emma), mother of King Edward, to the effect that she had acquired from King Cnut the estate at Newington, Oxon., on behalf of Christ Church, when it was forfeited by Ælfric. The king then granted it to the community" 1042 x 1052.[9] She was a witness where Agnes de Bourgogne supplied the remaining funds (after Emma, Queen of the English, a 2nd cousin of the former Count, William the Grand, saw her estates confiscated by her son) required to rebuild St. Hilaire's between 1042 and 1049 at Poitiers, Duchy of Aquitaine, Kingdom of France.[5]

Emma Regina died on 6 March 1052 at Winchester, England.[7],[2],[1] Emma Regina was buried in Winchester Cathedral, England.[2]

Family 1: Æthelred II "the Unready", King of the English b. circa 966, d. 23 April 1016

• Children
• 1. Alfred of Wessex b. c 1003, d. 10362
• 2. Godgifu, Princess of the English+ b. 1003, d. 10557
• 3. Edward "the Confessor", King of the English b. 1003 or 1004, d. 5 Jan 10667,2,10

Family 2: Knut "den Stor" Sveinsson, King of England and Denmark b. circa 995, d. 12 November 1035

• Children
• 1. Hardicanute Cnutsson, King of Denmark and England b. 1018, d. 8 Jun 10426,8,2
• 2. Kunigunde of Denmark+ b. c 1019, d. 18 Jul 10388,2

Citations

1. [S1278] K.S.B. Keats-Rohan, Domesday Descendants, pg. 1098.

2. [S484] Peter Townend, B:P, 105th, pg. l.

3. [S1075] Translated and edited by Michael Swanton, ASC+, pg. 288.

4. [S269] C. W. Previté-Orton sCMH I, pg. 382.

5. [S974] Peter Crool, Poitiers.

6. [S206] With additions and corrections by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. and assisted by David Faris Frederick Lewis Weis, Weis: AR 7th ed., 1-19.

7. [S269] C. W. Previté-Orton sCMH I, pg. 382, genealogy table 11, England 802-1066, (a) the House of Wessex, 802-1066..

8. [S269] C. W. Previté-Orton sCMH I, pg. 382, genealogy table 11, England 802-1066, (b) the Danes in England, 1013-1042.

9. [S520] Electronic Sawyer, online http:\\www.trin.cam.ac.uk\sdk13\chartwww\eSawyer.99\eSawyer2.html.

10. [S872] Heratlas, online http://www.multimania.com/heratlas/index.htm, Généalogie des ducs de Normandie (911-1204).

From the Norwegian Wikipedia page on Emma av Normandie:

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_av_Normandie

Emma av Normandie (ca 988 – 6. mars 1052), var datter av Richard I, hertug av Normandie, med hans andre hustru Gunnora. Emma ble dronning av England to ganger via ekteskap. Første gang (1002-1016) til kong Ethelred den rådville, og deretter (1017-1035) til Knut den store, konge av både Danmark og England, for en tid også deler av Norge og Sverige. To av Emmas sønner, en med hver av ektemennene, og to stesønner, ble også konger av England. Det ble også hennes grandnevø Vilhelm Erobreren.

Da Danmark invaderte England i 1013 ved Svein Tjugeskjegg tok Emma sine to sønner med Ethelred – Alfred og Edvard – og dro over den engelske kanalen og til Normandie. Ethelred kom etter for søke beskyttelse hos sin svoger Robert, men da Svein Tjugeskjegg dør bare fem uker etter seieren vendte Ethelred i februar 1014 tilbake til England og blir igjen konge. Derimot blir han nå nødt til å kjempe mot Sveins sønn Knut, senere kjent som Knut den mektige. Da Ethelred døde den 23. april 1016 i London, og deretter hans sønn Edmund II av England døde den 30. november 1016 ble Emma enke og Knut konge av England.

Emma seiler over til England igjen og gifter seg med den rundt ti år yngre kong Knut. Ekteskapet var politisk og bandt sammen den angelsaksiske kongefamilien med den danske, et passende kompromiss for begge parter for lege sårene i en nasjon som var preget av tiår med bitre kamper. Til tross for de kyniske og politiske overtonene ga ekteskapet også en sønn som ble døpt Hardeknut.

Når Knut den store dør i den 12. november 1035 er Emma enke etter en engelsk konge for andre gang. Ved kongens død kommer både Alfred og Edvard tilbake til England i 1036, sannsynligvis for å posisjonere seg overfor Knuts illegitime sønn Harald Harefot som tok makten og kongetronen da halvbroren, den legitime Hardeknut, var i Danmark for å bli hyllet som konge der. Alfred ble tatt til fange, blindet og mishandlet til døde, mens Edvard flykter tilbake til Normandie sammen med sin mor Emma.

Harald Harefots styre ble kort og han dør i 1040 og når Hardeknut blir kronet til konge av England i tillegg til Danmark er det duket for forsoning og den eldre halvbroren Edvard kommer igjen til England året etter, formelt som medkonge og i 1042 også som enekonge når Hardeknut dør.

Ved Hardeknuts død ble også Danmark uten konge, og fra Norge kom Olav den helliges sønn Magnus den gode og ble konge av Danmark. Som konge av Danmark hadde kong Magnus også krav på England. Det synes som om kongsmoren Emma hadde liten kjærlighet for sine eldste sønner fra sitt første ekteskap. Når Edvard ble konge seiler hun over til England igjen, og fortsatt har hun innflytelse og ambisjoner, men blir bestemt satt på sidelinjen av sin sønn kong Edvard når det viser seg at hun støtter kong Magnus den godes krav på den engelske tronen på bekostning av sin egen sønn.

Når også kong Magnus dør den 25. oktober 1047 renner dette kravet ut i sanden, men Emmas ekteskap og påfølgende rolle knyttet forbindelsen mellom England og Normandie som til slutt endte med at hennes grandnevø Vilhelm invaderte England i 1066 og erobret det engelske kongeriket, og endte dermed for alltid de danske ambisjonene. Men det får ikke Emma oppleve. Hun dør selv i 1052.

En historisk roman av Helen Hollick, The Hollow Crown (Den hule krone)[1] forsøker å forklare hvorfor Emma av Normandie var så likegyldig overfor sine to sønner fra første ekteskap.

Emma fra Normandie blir noen gang forvekslet med Knut den stores frille Ælfgifu Ælfhelmsdatter av Northampton, mor til kong Harald Harefot, på grunn av sitt engelske dronningnavn som hun fikk i sitt første ekteskap, «Ælfgifu», men hun foretrakk selv sitt dåpsnavn Emma.

Referanse

1. ^ Hollick, Helen (2004): The Hollow Crown, William Heinemann, Random House. ISBN 0-434-00491-X; Arrow paperback ISBN 0-09-927234-2.

Unattributed summary:

Emma was Queen consort TWICE of the Kingdom of England, by successive marriages. First as the second wife of Ethelred, and then to Canute the Great of Denmark. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy was her great-nephew. William used his kinship with Emma as the basis of his claim to the English throne.

Emma's first marriage was an arrangement to create a cross-channel alliance against the Viking raiders from the North, with whom Emma was also related. Canute, ten years her junior, used his marriage with the Queen to legitimize his rule.

Suggested source for information on Emma of Normandy:

Adrienne Anderson chart of Scandinavian Norman Descent of Hamblins

From the New World Encyclopedia:

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Emma_of_Normandy

Emma (c. 985–March 6, 1052 in Winchester, Hampshire), called Ælfgifu, was daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora.

She was Queen consort of the Kingdom of England twice, by successive marriages: initially as the second wife to Etherlred (or Æl of England (1002-1016); and then to Canute the Great of Denmark (1017-1035).

Two of her sons, one by each husband, and two stepsons, also by each husband, became kings of England, as did her great-nephew, William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy who used his kinship with Emma as the basis of his claim to the English throne.

Her first marriage was by arrangement between her brother, Richard II of Normandy and the English king, 20 years her senior, to create a cross-channel alliance against the Viking raiders from the North, with whom Emma was also related.

Canute, 10 years her junior, as king by conquest not by right, used his marriage with the Queen to legitimize his rule. An innovation in the Queen's coronation rite (her second) made her a partner in Canute's rule, which represents a trend towards Queens playing a more significant role, at least symbolically, as peacemakers and unifiers of the realm.

Emma is considered to be the first Queen who was called "Queen Mother" when her sons ruled as monarch. Her first marriage resulted in her acquiring considerable land and wealth in her own right. She used her position to become one of the most powerful women in Europe, possibly acting as regent during Canute's absences and after his death in 1035, when she controlled the royal treasury.

With Canute, as well as in her own right, she was a generous benefactor of the Church. Edward the Confessor, her son, became a Saint. She was consulted on matters of state and on church appointments.

Edward relieved her of most of her possessions in 1043, claiming that they belonged to the king and banished her to Winchester. She was re-instated at court the following year.

Arguably the most powerful women in English history until Elizabeth I, she helped to shape developments that paved the way for women, centuries later, to rule in their own right.

Her partnership with Canute saw several decades of peace. While some may blame her for the Norman Conquest, her great-nephew's rule also brought England into the context of a larger entity, that of Europe. The subsequent mixture of Anglo-Saxon and French cultures became, over the years, a foundation for integrating England into the European cultural life. The English monarch is still the Duke of Normandy.

Life

Emma was the son of the Duke of Normandy, Richard I and the sister of his heir, Richard II. Richard negotiated her marriage with the English king, Ethelred. She would not have learned to read or write although she may have had some instruction in Latin. She would have spoken a form of Old Scandinavian. Her training would have consisted of preparation for a royal marriage to further the interests of the Dukedom and its ruling family.

Her mother exercised considerable power at court, which may have given her ideas about how she would act as a king's wife. Her mother was also a "major player at court during several years of her son's reign."[1]

First marriage

Ethelred the Unready. Ethelred's marriage to Emma was an English strategy to avert the aggression of dangerous Normandy by way of an alliance. Normandy was under feudal obligation to the kings of France. However, England was the Norman dukes' main target, after inter-baronial feuds and rampaging pillages through Brittany had run their course and English kings could not afford to underestimate the Norman threat.

Marriage between Ethelred and Emma promised an alliance with Normandy and protection against the Vikings who constantly raided from the North. A year before Emma's marriage, a Danish fleet had pillaged the Sussex coast.

O'Brien writes that Emma would have been prepared from childhood for this type of marriage, in which her role would be that of a "peace-weaver," the "creator of a fragile fabric of friendship between hostile marriage."[2] Although Ethelred was already married and Emma was to be his second wife, Richard II would have specified in the terms of the marriage that his sister be crowned Queen and given gifts of land. She received estates in Winchester (which was a traditional bridal gift for English Queens), Nottinghamshire and Exeter as her "personal property."[3]

Her marriage in 1002 was followed by a Coronation, which, says O'Brien, symbolized not only her union with the King "but also with his country." A later account describes her as wearing "gowns of finely woven linen" and an outer robe "adorned with embroidery into which precious stones were stone."[4] Marriage and coronation were likely to have been "staged with a great deal of splendour" since no English king had married a foreign bride for 80 years.[5]

On the one hand, recognition of her status as Queen did not confer any "great authority" but on the other hand it "elevated Emma way above her husband's subjects and offered healthy scope for developing a role of enormous power."[6] Emma's name was Anglicized as Ælgifu.[7]

Ethelred had six children by his first wife, who does not appear to have been crowned as Queen, unlike Emma.

Two wives was not uncommon during this period when both pagan and Christian marriage practices co-existed. Thus, while Christianity forbade bigamy, the first sanctioned this.

O'Brien speculates that Etherlred's first wife may have died, or that he chose to ignore this marriage because Emma was a better match; "It was not uncommon for a man, particularly a person of rank, to ignore his marriage vows if a better alliance with another family came his way - Emma's own family history was, after all, littered with such untidy arrangements."[8] Her family would have insisted that there be no doubt about the legality of the marriage.

Having male sons was considered to be one of the most important roles a Queen had to fulfill, important both for her royal husband who needed heirs and for her own family, who wanted the alliance to continue after Ethelred's death. Dutifully, Emma gave birth to two sons, Edward and Alfred and a daughter, Godgifu (or Goda).

Ethelred already had male heirs but the tie with Normandy would be strengthened by children and part of the agreement with Richard may have been that if Emma had a male son, he would become heir-apparent.[9][10] More male children, too, could help to secure a dynasty's future, since princes died or were killed in battle. On the other hand, royal sons also vied for succession; the rule of primogeniture was not firmly established and often the son who proved to be the strongest succeeded. More sons could also lead to more conflict and greater rivalry once the king died.

A Queen's position could be risky if she was unable to produce male children; on the other hand, "a new Queen became a more assured member of the family when she produced its children."[9]

Whether or not such an agreement existed, Emma's estates appears to have been augmented following each birth. Also, she made gifts of land to each of her children, which demonstrates "that she clearly had powers in her own right."[11] Later, she became renowned for patronizing the Church and she may have founded some Abbeys and monasteries during this period. Her legacy to Edward included the founding of Eynsham Abbey.

The account of her life commissioned by Emma herself, the Encomium Emmae omits this period of her life focusing instead on her later marriage with Canute. While this account stresses Emma's role as a sharer in royal power, she does not appear to have exercised the same degree of power while married to Ethelred. On the other hand, she would at the very least have been involved in discussion related to the marriage of her step-children, always a strategic issue.

Later, she made strategic decisions regarding her daughters' marriages. Her first daughter married the Count of Vexin, to whom she bore a son. He became the earl of Hereford. When her first husband died, she married the powerful count of Boulogne.

The Danish Invasion

Danish armies constantly invaded over the next decade, which could only be halted by payment of the Danegeld. Ethelred had little military success against these invasions. In 1002, the year he married Emma, Ethelred took vengeance on the Danes by killing anyone of Danish blood found in England. Known as the "Saint Brice's day massacre" (because it took place on Image November 13, Saint Brice's Day) the Dane's were determined to take revenge.

Ethelred's oldest son Æthelstan, died in 1014, after which his second son, Edmund challenged him for the throne. The resulting instability gave the Danes the opportunity they needed. In 1013, Sweyn I of Denmark (known as Sweyn Forkbeard) accompanied by his son, Canute, invaded and smashed Ethelred's army. Emma's sons by Ethelred - Edward the Confessor and Alfred Atheling - went to Normandy for safety, where they were to remain. Ethelred also took refuge overseas, returning after Sweyn's death a few weeks after the invasion, on February 3, 1014.

The Danes declared Canute King of England as well as of Denmark but in the initial confrontation between Ethelred and Canute, he was forced into retreat. Returning to Denmark, he recruited reinforcements and invaded again in 1015.

It was Edmund, who earned his title "Ironside" as a result of leading the defense of the realm, who led the resistance against Canute's onslaught. Ethelred, who was now ill, died April 23, 1016. Edmund succeeded him as Edmund II. He was, however, losing the war.

The final battle took place October 18, 1016, after which Edmund and Canute chose to enter a peace agreement by which Edmund and Canute would each rule half of England. Emma's Encomium describes Canute deciding that it was better to settle for "half of the Kingdom in peace" than "in spite of himself" to "lose the whole of it."[12] Edmund, however, only lived until November 30. After his death, Canute became king of all England.

As her husband and step-sons died and the Danish king assumed power, Emma was faced with a choice; to remain in England or to flee to Normandy. She chose the former. Had she returned to Normandy, she would have had very little status there and would have "been entirely dependent on her family." In England, she possessed land and personal wealth.[13]

This proved to be the right decision. Having conquered England, Canute needed to legitimize his rule in the eyes of the English or face constant revolt and opposition. At this period, kingship was understood in terms of royal birth - you were born to be King, or at least into the ruling family. Canute was concerned to legitimize his rule; one method was by marrying the Queen. "As the widow of an English king, she was already an English Queen; her consecration could now serve as a symbol of continuity if not of unity."[14]

Change to the Coronation Rite

Canute the Great. Although she was ten years his senior, there appears to have been sound reasons for this decision, which may also have followed a custom whereby conquering Vikings married, as a prize, the widow of their slain enemy. There is evidence, however, that considerable thought went into designing the ritual by which Canute would be crowned King and Emma would be crowned Queen, her second coronation. This took place in 1017. This thinking must have involved the Archbishop of Canterbury, who alone had the right to crown the king and Queen. The ritual emphasized throughout that the new King, and his new Queen, were "English."

A change in the words of the rite refer to Emma, as Queen (regina), as partner in her husband's rule, as consors imperil. The rite made it quite explicit that Emma was to be "a partner in royal power." Stafford says that "1017 produced the theoretical apotheosis of English Queenship, ironically achieved in defeat and conquest." Canute chose to stress, via the coronation rite, that the rod with which he was invested was a "rod of justice, "not a rod of power and domination." Emma's rite also stressed that she was to be a "peace-weaver."[15] There was, says Stafford, "no hint of subordination".[16]

The Encomium has Canute resolving to marry Emma and, if he could win her hand, to "make her a partner of his rule." Both armies, too, favored the marriage because it would bring peace between them; "This was what the army had long eagerly desired on both sides, that is to say that so great a lady, bound by a matrimonial link to so great a man ... should lay the disturbances to rest" and establish "the gentle calm of peace."[17] Subsequently, the two armies were integrated into one. The Chronicler surmises that had the royal marriage not taken place, the "there may never have been an end of the fighting".[18]

The Cult of Mary

It may be significant that at Winchester, the "dower borough of English Queens" the cult of Mary as Queen of Heaven was gaining popularity at this time. This impacted visual representation of Emma as Queen.

Emma bursts from the obscurity of earlier Queens in an image with equates her in stature with Cnut, deliberately parallels her with Mary above her, and places her, along with Mary, on the superior right-hand side of Christ … the cult of Mary Queen of Heaven went hand in hand with the growing prominence of the English Queens on earth.[14]

Marriage with Canute

Canute was already married although he appears to have separated from his first wife, Ælfgifu of Northampton[19], in order to marry Emma. Emma is said to have personally negotiated terms which included the pledge any son she bore him should be his heir. This, of course, fulfilled her own obligations to her Norman family.[20]David Hume refers to a treaty between Canute and Emma's brother, Richard II that also stipulated this.[21] Nonetheless, rivalry appears to have developed between the two woman.

Not only in art but also in reality, Canute and his Queen appear to have shared the responsibilities of leadership. On the one hand, there is little doubt that Emma was a junior partner. On the other hand, records show that they jointly endowed many churches and Abbeys; Emma is said to have often stood at Canute's side, helping to translate English - which she had learned - and advising on appointments.

Churches patronized included the Cathedral at Canterbury, the Old Minister at Winchester and Evesham Abbey. They also sent gifts overseas. [22]

Emma was instrumental in promoting the cult of Ælfheah, the murdered Archbishop of Canterbury and had personal possession of some sacred relics, including those of Saint Oeun, which she donated to Canterbury and of Saint Valentine, which she donated to Winchester's New Minster. Some relics may have been stolen from her household, possible including the head of Saint Oeun, which she had kept, towards the end of her life.[23] However, O'Brien says that the head was found among her treasury along with part of the arm of Saint Augustine when Edward appropriated her treasure. He donated the head to Westminster Abbey.[24] Beautifully bound books were also part of her treasure. She gave one such text, an illustrated Psalter, to her brother, who was archbishop of Rouen.[25]

Dating and tracing all her gifts is difficult, because accounts vary. Godden, Keynes and Lapidge say that there were two phases, first her gifts in partnership with Canute as part of a deliberate policy of patronizing the Church that they "pursued jointly," and second the gifts she made as a widow. She was, however, a significant "donor in her own right."[26] Her gifts varied. At "Ely abbey, she is remembered … as donor of a stunning array of precious textiles.[27] To Canterbury, in addition to relics, she gave "two cloaks, two copes with gold tassels, and a great gold chalice and a gospel-book … similarly of gold."[26]

Stafford says that she was consulted on "a range of transactions, from land purchases, to the confirmation of Episcopal appointments and the making of wills."[28] Canute, says O'Brien, relied "heavily on her judgment and guidance."[29]

Stafford thinks that when Canute was absent from England, visiting Denmark, even though there is no official record of this, Emma may have acted as regent. Possibly she was not sole regent but had specific duties, alongside other senior advisers. One of these would have been Eral Godwin of Wessex, whose daughter, Edith married Edward the Confessor.[30] Her role is attested to by inclusion in witness lists, where she often appears between the two archbishops (Canterbury and York), "together with the titles now used of her" marks "her out among early English Queens."[31] In the Chronicle of the times, Emma emerges as a "commanding figure in her own right."[32]

Her son by Canute, Harthacanute was born in 1018. Their daughter, Gunhild, later the wife of the Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, was born in 1020.

Queen Mother and Regent

After Canute's death in 1035, Harthacanute was proclaimed king. He was only 16 and while contemporary accounts are unclear whether Emma was officially recognized as regent, they are clear that she acted on his behalf between 1035 and 1037. At least one account calls her "regent" although with specific reference to the earldom of Wessex.[33]

Edward and Alfred returned to England to see their mother. Harthacanute, however, was challenged as heir by Harold Harefoot, Canute's son by Ællfgifu of Northampton, who put himself forward as Harold I, supported by many of the English nobility, despite doubts that he was actually Canute's son.[34] Harthacanute was in Scandinavia at the time, attempting to secure his claim to the thrones of Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

In the subsequent conflict, the younger Alfred was captured, blinded, and shortly after died from his wounds. In the Encomium, Harold forged a letter from Emma which he sent to her sons to entice them out of exile. In this letter, she describes herself as "Emma, queen in name only."[35] Campbell, John and Wormald take it that the letter was in fact genuine; "presumably the encomiast sought to explain it away because of its disastrous results."[36]

Aelgifu of Northampton may have been the real power behind Harold. It is possible that she controlled the North for some time, with Emma ruling the South. Earl Godwin was also implicated in Alfred's death; Aelgifu may have bribed him and other barons.[37]

Edward, however, escaped to Normandy. During 1035, Harold seized all of Emma's "best treasure," perhaps including the royal regalia.[38] Emma herself had little choice but to flee, leaving for the court of the Count of Flanders. She had relatives there. She may have preferred to live on their hospitality rather than on her family's in Normandy, who may have seen her as having failed to secure England for the Norman dynasty.

It was at this court that she commissioned the Encomium Emmae, the Chronicle of her life and times. As well as emphasizing her role as benefactress and as a sharer in Canute's rule, the Encomium defended her sons' claim on the English throne. Throughout the narrative, her status as Queen is emphasized although she is also described as "The Lady." After 1040, she is also referred to in some accounts as "Queen Mother" perhaps qualifying as the first English Queen to be awarded this title.

In the Enconium she is described as having lived in suitable royal dignity while in exile in Flanders but "not at the expense of the poor." Her niece's stepson, Baldwin, was the regent.[39] She even managed to give to the needy.[40] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that Harold drove her "out without any pity to face the waging winter" and also stressed that she was hospitably received, protected and "entertained" in Bruges as long as she required asylum.[41]

In the struggle between Harold and Harthacanute, Hume has it that the former was favored by the Danes, the latter by the English because Harthacanute's mother was their Queen. This supports the idea that Emma had successfully transformed herself into a symbol of Englishness, which had been the basis of her marriage with Canute.[42]

With Harold Harefoote's death in 1040, Harthacanute, who had lost his Norwegian and Swedish lands but who had made his Danish realm secure, became King of England. Again, Stafford surmises that from 1840 until 1842, Emma may have enjoyed regency-like authority. This time, her son was over 18 but she may have argued that, since he was unmarried, her own consecration as Queen remained valid, so she was entitled to continue to share in power.[43]

Edward was officially made welcome in England the next year. According to the Encomium, having "arranged his affairs in peace, and being gripped by brotherly love" he wrote to Edward "and asked him to come and hold the kingdom with himself."[44] Harthacanute told the Norman court that Edward should be made king if he himself had no sons. He died from a fit, unmarried and childless, in 1042 (at least he had no acknowledged children) and Edward was crowned King of England.

Emma also returned to England but a rift had developed between her and Edward, who banished her to Winchester in 1043. What is clear is that when Canute died, Emma had control of the royal treasury. Although Harold helped himself in 1035, Emma was still in possession of a considerable treasure when Edward followed Harold's example and helped himself in 1043. The Encomium says that Edward "seized all the treasure which she owned, and which were beyond counting" which suggests that what Emma had with her in 1043 was her own property, not Canute's. In the Encomium, she was surprised when Edward seized her treasury.[45]

Edward is said to have complained that Emma had no love for him and had neglected him as a child but it is more likely that he thought his mother possessed property that he, as King, ought to control.[46] Edward left just sufficient for her upkeep. She was, says Stafford, surmising that Edward may have wanted to distance himself from the influence of a woman who had been Queen for 40 years, "cut down to the minimum rights of widowhood".[47]

Edward the Confessor. In 1045, Edward married Edith, daughter of Earl Godwin but has no children. Possibly, the marriage was never consummated.

Legend of the Ordeal by Fire

Exiled in Winchester, rumor circulated by the Archbishop of Canterbury that Emma was having an amorous relationship with the Bishop of Winchester. According to later accounts, she was challenged to prove her innocence by undergoing ordeal by fire. She had to walk across nine burning ploughshares.

She was removed to a Priory, probably in Berkshire. The legend is associated with Wargrave where until 1827 a building known as Queen Emma's Palace survived.

The night before the ordeal, Saint Swithin appeared to her in a dream, assuring her that she would survive the test. She was found to be innocent. Edward begged forgiveness, restored her property and sent the Archbishop into exile. Reference to the restoration of her property suggest 1044 as the date, if this incident actually took place since the accounts are considered legendary by many.[48] In 1044, Edward reinstated her at his court.

Widowhood

She tended her husband's grave at Winchester, "one of the most accepted and acceptable activities of widowhood."[49] She also continued her giving to the church, which suggests that she was not as reduced in circumstance as has been supposed.

From 1044 until her death, March 6, 1052 "little or no evidence has survived of her activity."[50] Her own Chronicle ends before 1042, when according tom this account Emma, Harthacanute and Edward co-ruled as a type of "Trinity," "united by maternal and fraternal love," the "Queen Mother and sons together."[51] The Encomium states: "Here there is loyalty among sharers of rule, here the bonds of motherly and brotherly love is of strength indestructible."[52] When Edward, Emma's great-nephew used his kinship with the former Queen Mother to claim the English throne. For better or for worse, Emma was "the conduit through which Norman blood and ultimately Norman dukes entered England and its story."[53] Campbell says that in 1051, Edward gave Emma a new estate and retainers in Norfolk.[54]

Death and burial

After her death, Emma was buried alongside Canute in the Old Minster, the first Queen to be laid to rest there and the first since Alfred the Great's wife to be buried next to her husband. Stafford thinks that this innovation may have been intended to stress the Christian view of marriage as indissoluble, since "in tenth-century royal households, husbands and wives were not often united in death."[55] Until Westminster Abbey was built by Edward, the Old Minister functioned as the main royal church.

Encomium Emmae Reginae' or Gesta Cnutonis Regis

This is an eleventh century Latin encomium (in praise of a person or of a subject) in honor of Queen Emma of Normandy. It was written in 1041 or 1042 at her own request. The single manuscript surviving from that time is lavishly illustrated and believed to be the copy sent to Queen Emma or a close reproduction of that copy. One leaf has been lost from the manuscript in modern times but its text survives in late paper copies.

The Encomium is divided into three books. The first deals with Sweyn Forkbeard and his conquest of England. The chronicler apologies for beginning with the story of a foreign conquest but points out that it was this event that brought Canute to England's shores. The second deals with Canute, his reconquest of England, marriage to Emma and career as king. The third deals with events after Canute's death; Emma's troubles during the reign of Harold Harefoot and the ascension of her sons, Harthacanute and Edward the Confessor to the throne. It begins by addressing Emma, "May our Lord Jesus Christ preserve you, O Queen, who excel all those of your sex in the admirability of your way of life."[56]

Emma is "the most distinguished woman of her time for delightful beauty and wisdom."[57] References to Jesus Christ and to "our Savior" identify the events it relates as within God's purposes, thus it was by the Savior's "favouring grace" that Canute succeeded in winning the hand of his "most noble Queen".[58] It was by the Savior's grace that she gave birth to Canute's son.[59] The last page invokes the blessing of the Holy Trinity.

The work strives to show her and Canute in as favorable a light as possible. For example, it completely omits mention of Emma's first marriage, to Ethelred. It is especially significant for shedding light on developing notions of the role of the Queen as a sharer in royal power. In fact, Canute's reign is sympathetically described in most accounts, not least of all because he was generous to the Church and it was clerics who wrote the histories.

Throughout the Encomium, Emma's status as Queen is writ large in the text. Even in exile, she remains a Queen. The peace-maker purpose of her marriage to Canute is stressed. The Chronicler himself expressed a concern to write a truthful tale, declaring that his guiding principle was "that one should not deviate from the straight path of truth," or insert a "fictitious element, either in error, or, as is often the case, for the sake of ornamentation." He was also aware of the danger that readers might "regard fact as fiction."[60] Canute's generosity to the Church, his passion for peace, justice and national unity, is a central motif so much so that the Biblical ideal of kingship seems to inform the narrative:

He diligently defended wards and widows, he supported orphans and strangers, he suppressed unjust laws and those who applied them, he exalted and cherished justice and equity, he built and dignified churches, he loaded priests and the clergy with dignities, he enjoined peace and unanimity on his people …"[59]

This description of Canute's kingly rule is also consistent with the promises made during his coronation rite. Implicit here, too, is the idea that even if Canute had won England by conquest and had legitimized his rule by marriage, were he to rule unjustly he would still be an illegitimate ruler.

The Encomium is an important primary source for early eleventh century English and Scandinavian history.

Legacy

Emma lived during turbulent times when the kingdoms of Europe were led by "warrior kings" who openly competed for each others' territory. Daughters of ruling houses were expected to assist in forming alliances. Emma spent her life attempting to cement relations between the Normans and the English with a view to help protect the latter from the Vikings. Arguably, she succeeded. Through her second marriage, she united the English and Danish realms, ending hostility. Taught from childhood that her role was to be a "peace-weaver," she was from 1417 until 1435 Queen, alongside King Canute, of a peaceful realm.

Although it was through her that England fell to the rule of William the Conqueror, which led to embroilment in countless European wars, this also brought England into the context of a larger entity, that of Europe. The subsequent mixture of Anglo-Saxon and Norman French cultures became, over the years, a foundation for integrating England into the European cultural life.

In her historical studies of Queen Emma, O'Brien tends to see Emma as a powerful woman who worked, mainly, behind-the-scenes. She describes Emma as "exceptional," "taking center-stage and becoming the most notoriously manipulative and forceful female in Western Europe."[61]

Stafford tends to see Emma as significant in terms of the development of English ideas about the role of the Queen as a sharer in the King's power; a reconciler and peace-maker who represented the Queen of Heaven on earth. She also thinks that Emma's burial next to Canute has significance in terms of Christian ideals about marriage becoming more centrally important within English life.

Arguably, as Queens were increasingly regarded as more than simply the King's wife with a duty to bear him children but as having an important function as not only symbols of national peace and prosperity but as women who could play a vital role in nurturing and preserving peace, for example, by ensuring that justice is upheld in the land. Queenship had been understood as temporary - a Queen was only Queen when her husband was king. Once the king died, his widow was a Dowager Queen with a title of respect but no political status.

Emma's life challenged this. She insisted that until one of her son's had a wife who was consecrated as Queen, her own anointing (part of the ritual) was a valid. In this view, Edith would have succeeded her when she married Edward in 1045. The logic of Canute's claim to the throne was that he married the Queen of England. Again, this implies that Emma was more than a Queen consort, closer to being a regnant Queen.

Stafford sees Edith, Emma's daughter-in-law, as also a sharer in royal power, commenting that after her consecration the most frequent description of her was as Conlaterana regis, or "she who is at the King's side" which "calls attention to the wife as sharer in the king's rule."[62] This view of Queenship appears to have been shared by those who wrote and who assisted with the writing of the Encomium.

The idea that a woman could share in her husband's power paved the way for the later notion that a woman could rule as a regnant Queen. Association of the role of the Queen with what can be considered feminine qualities, such as reconciliation, peace-making and unifying was also significant, even suggesting that the best rule is a partnership between a man and a woman with each using their particular qualities to supplement the other. For example, the Queen tempers the King's tendency to respond to crises with force, while the King tempers the Queen's tendency to always rely on diplomacy in those situations when a diplomatic solution appears to be beyond reach.

Emma's name

Campbell says that Emma used her English name on all official documents but that it fell out of use after her death. "Emma" appears in the Chronicles.[63]. She is "Emma" in her Encomium, Emma may have been the first woman called Emma in England, so the name's entry into English usage has been attributed to her.[64]

Fictional representation

Emma features in Noah Gordon's The Physician, (1986) a novel set in the early eleventh century.

Harriet O'Brien's Queen Emma and the Vikings: power, love and greed in eleventh century England is a serious historical work but she begins each chapter with a vignette to set the scene for its contents. In these sections she combines imagination with historical reconstruction.

Emma also features in the historical novel, King hereafter, (1983) by Lady Dorothy Dunnett, a reconstruction of the life of Macbeth of Scotland. In the narrative, Macbeth served as one of Emma's house-carls. Emma is depicted as a central figure in the history of her era, although more of a behind-the-scenes manipulator of others. Macbeth says to her, on one occa