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Category Archives: History
On the Life & Early Death of the Ætheling Athelstan
Athelstan was the eldest son of King Æthelred II of England. One of at least 9 brothers and sisters, Athelstan was born sometime in the mid-to-late 980s—we don’t know the exact year—and he died on 25 June 1014 at about … Read More
On the Passing of a Queen
Entry from The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 1052: Ymma Ælfgifu, King Edward’s and Harthacnut’s mother, passed away. The very mention of Emma of Normandy’s passing in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is an indication of the significance of her career as queen, queen mother, … Read More
Posted in History
Tagged Aethelred, Cnut, Edmund Ironside, Edward the Confessor, Emma of Normandy, Harold Harefoot, Harthacnut, Winchester
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11th Century London
Because few of us are doing much in the way of traveling these days, I thought you might like to join me on a virtual visit to London. Not today’s London, of course, but Emma’s London as I’ve imagined it … Read More
Cnut’s Mum
In The Steel Beneath the Silk, the novel that concludes my Emma of Normandy Trilogy, several characters appear who are new to the story. One of them is Cnut’s mum. Who was she? Of course, her son Cnut is … Read More
Posted in History
Tagged Cnut, Emma of Normandy, Gunhild, King Swein, Sigrid the Haughty, The Steel Beneath the Silk
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The Great Famine
I have been doing some research while I shelter in place, dipping into books that I’ve been meaning to read but haven’t had the time to until now. One of them is The Third Horseman by William Rosen. The title … Read More
Æthelred the King
On 23 April 1016, Æthelred, king of England, died in London. He was about 50 years old, and he’d ruled England for 38 years. At his death he’d not yet been given the byname, Unræd, (ill-counseled, a play on the … Read More
The Brief Reign of King Harold I of England
The first king of England to be named Harold (there would be a second Harold, whose reign was even more brief but who is far more famous) died on March 17, 1040 at the age of about 25. His by-name, … Read More
Emma of Normandy: A Life
Emma of Normandy, Dowager Queen of England, died on 6 March, 1052, in Winchester. She was only the second woman to be crowned queen of all England, and the only woman ever to be crowned queen of England twice. For … Read More
Queen Emma and St. Valentine
Despite the painting above of King Cnut wooing Emma of Normandy, this is not a love story. But it IS about Queen Emma and St. Valentine. Emma of Normandy, Queen of England, was long remembered as a generous patron by … Read More
The Death of Swein Forkbeard
Candlemas, February 2 On this day in 1014 Swein Forkbeard died; although it might actually have been in the early hours of Feb. 3. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written a decade after Swein’s death reported, confusingly: Swein ended his days on … Read More