Æthelmund

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Hwicce at the time of Æthelmund

Æthelmund (also Aethelmund, Æðelmund, Æþelmund, Athelmund, Ethelmund, Eþelmund etc .; † 802 ) was Ealdorman of the Hwicce . The identity of Æthelmund named in the various documents has not been established beyond doubt, but it is very likely.

Life

Æthelmund's father Ingeld was King Æthelbalds (716–757) of Mercia dux et præfectus (Ealdorman) of the Hwicce at the time. Æthelmund was married to Ceolburg († 807) with whom he had the son Æthelric.

The oldest source for Æthelmund is the charter S58 from the year 767, with which the regulus (sub-king) Uhtred (755 – after 779) as "loyal helper" ( minister ) gave him lands near Eastun (Aston in Worcestershire ) for life. In 770 the fief was extended to two generations of heirs before the lands were reverted to the Church of Worcester .

After the kingdom of the Hwicce was extinguished around 780 and the empire of Mercia was absorbed, Æthelmund became the first Ealdorman of the new Mercian province. Around 793/796 Æthelmund received large estates near Uuestburg (Westbury-on-Trym near Bristol , Gloucestershire ) from Offa (757-796) from Mercia, which were also largely exempt from duties to the king. Offa's son and successor Ecgfrith (787–796), who dubbed him princeps ("prince") and præfectus , also granted him gifts. Also at the court of King Cenwulf (796–821) Æthelmund enjoyed a high reputation: On documents of this time, which he signed as a witness, he carried the title dux (for example "Duke").

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that in 802 " Beorhtric and the Ealdorman Worr died and Ecgberht succeeded the throne". At the same time, the Ealdorman Æthelmund of Hwicce at Kempsford (Gloucestershire) crossed the Thames, but was defeated in a battle by the West Saxon Ealdorman Wiohstan and his contingent from Wiltshire and fell. Whether Hwicce, who is dependent on Mercia, intervened on Beorhtric's side in the struggle for the West Saxon throne or wanted to use the turmoil in Wessex for self-interest, remains to be speculated. He was succeeded as Ealdorman by his son Æthelric. His widow Ceolburg became abbess of the monastery in Berkeley, Gloucestershire .

swell

literature

  • DP Kirby, Alfred Smyth, Ann Williams (Eds.): A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain , Routledge, London-New York 1991, ISBN 978-1-85264-047-7 .
  • Patrick Sims-Williams: Religion and Literature in Western England, 600-800. Vol 3 (Cambridge studies in Anglo-Saxon England) , Cambridge University Press, 2005, ISBN 9780521673426 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c D. P. Kirby, Alfred Smyth, Ann Williams (Eds.): A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain , Routledge, London-New York 1991, ISBN 978-1-85264-047-7 , p. 24.
  2. ^ A b c Patrick Sims-Williams: Religion and Literature in Western England, 600-800. Vol 3 (Cambridge studies in Anglo-Saxon England) , Cambridge University Press, 2005, ISBN 9780521673426 , p. 38.
  3. ↑ Charter S1187
  4. ↑ Charter S58
  5. ↑ Charter S59
  6. ↑ Charter S139
  7. ↑ Charter S149
  8. ↑ Charter S148
  9. ↑ Charter S153 and Charter S155
  10. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 800
predecessor Office successor
––– Ealdorman of Hwicce
767? -802 		Æthelric
personal data
SURNAME Æthelmund
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aethelmund; Æðelmund; Æþelmund; Athelmund; Ethelmund; Eþelmund
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ealdorman the Hwicce
DATE OF BIRTH 8th century
DATE OF DEATH 802
Place of death near Kempsford (Gloucestershire)