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From: "Todd A. Farmerie" <>
Subject: Re: Weis : Ancestral Roots, 7th Edition - Corrections
Date: Sun, 6 Aug 1995 05:49:43 GMT


In a previous article, (Pat Boren) says:

>> (1-20) Ealdgyth, wife of Edmund Ironside is named sister of Ealdorman
>> Eadric Streona, citing CCN, DNB, and Ronay. While I do not have access to
>> CCN, I doubt this is the primary reference. DNB may be the source of the
>> statement, naming the King and Ealdorman as brothers-in-law. This comment
>> seems, however, to refer to the marriage of Eadric to Edmund's sister,
>> since in commenting directly on Edmund's marriage, no mention is made of a
>> relationship between Ealdgyth and Eadric. Ronay seems to identify her as
>> illegitimate daughter of King Olaf of Sweden, calling her half-sister of
>> Jaroslav's (241-5) wife, but does not reference this comment. This
>> identification is also apparently followed by at least one fictional work
>> (King Olaf's Kinsman: a Story of the Last Days of Edmund Ironside, Rev.
>> C.W. Whistler).
>
>By fictional, do you mean this work by Whistler is a novel, or that
>it has a lot of half-truths?
>

"Fictional" may not be the best descriptor. I din't actually call up this
book, but it is filed under the Children's Literature section, and thus is
not likely to be a scholarly historical work.

>> Considering the political context of the wedding, which is well
>> chronicled, I think that the solution given by Moriarty is more likely than
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> that she was sister of Eadric. However, if she was sister of Eadric, then
>> according to Kelley ("The House of Aethelred," in Tribute to Charles Evans,
>> 63-83) she would thus be daughter of Aethelweard (1B-18).
>
>
>Maybe I missed it, but what is the solution given by Moriarty?
>
>

As far as I am aware, all that is KNOWN about Eadgyth is from the ASC. It
recounts that Eadric betrayed Morcar and Si[ge]ferth, Thanes of the Seven
Boroughs, having them ambushed and killed. It would appear that he had at
least tacet approval from Aethelred II, who immediately confiscated their
property, and placed Eadgyth, Sigeferth's widow at Malmesbury (I think it
was). Edmund went there, released her, married her against his father's
will, and went to the north, where he took possession of all of Morcar and
Sigeferth's property.

Moriarty, follows Robertson. It would seem (I have not had a chance to
dig up a copy of Robertson yet) that Wulfric, Ealdorman of Mercia names in
his will Morcar and wife, and then names granddaughter Eadgyth, and this
association, as well as the close partnership of Morcar and Sigeferth (same
title and always named together in ASC) suggested a reconstruction in which
Wulfric's daughter marries Morcar, and has Eadgyth, wife first of
Sigeferth, and then of Edmund.

I prefer this to the version in this Weis because, since Eadric had
Sigeferth murdered, I would expect some special notice were the wife of
Sigeferth Eadric's sister, which she would thus be. I so wish Ronay
had provided a reference for his statement.

Todd

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