Cynethryth (Offa)

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Coin with the portrait of Queen Cynethryth
Coin with the portrait of Queen Cynethryth and the signature of the Canterbury mint master Eoba
Coins with the name Offas and the portrait of Queen Cynethryth

Cynethryth (also: Cyneðryð, Cyneðryþ, Cyneþryð, Cynedrida or Kynedrith ; † after 798) was the wife of Offa of Mercia and queen of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia in the late 8th century.

family

Cynethryth probably came from Mercia. Details about their origin are unknown. Speculative is the thesis that it may have descended from Penda (626–655), whose wife and daughters - Cynewise, Cyneburh and Cyneswith - had related names.

Before 770 she married Offa von Mercia with whom she had five children:

Life

The importance of Cynethryth is evident from letters and documents that have been received. Alcuin sent her greetings in letters and referred to her as dispensatrix domus regiae ("administrator of the royal household"). Pope Hadrian I (772-795) also named her next to Offa in a privilege , from which it was concluded that she actively participated in Offa's rule. Since 770 she has often signed the king's charters as a witness .

Offa's efforts to secure the throne for his line were probably the decisive factor for Cynethryth's high position at court. The legitimacy of the heir to the throne Ecgfrith should be above all doubt. According to the self- image of her time, she had become queen by the grace of God, as her signature Cyneðryð Dei gratia regina Merciorum under a document from the year 780 testifies. Her exceptional position was also reflected in the fact that she was the only Anglo-Saxon queen in whose name ( Cynethryth regina Merciorum , "Cynethryth, Queen of the Mercier") coins were minted. At the request of his "revered Queen" ( veneranda Cynedritha regina mea ), Offa confirmed privileges of Chertsey Abbey at the Synod of Æcleaht in 787 . After Ecgfrith became his father's co-regent in 787, her political influence appears to have waned.

In later legends, Cynethryth appeared as the "evil queen", through whose intrigue Saint Æthelberht is said to have been murdered in 794. In contrast, the contemporary Alcuin emphasized her kindness and wisdom in one of his letters. From today's perspective, Cynethryth's involvement in the murder is at least uncertain and the detailed descriptions of the legends are not very credible. After Offa's death in 796, she became abbess of Cookham Monastery , which also included churches in Bedford and Pectanege (location unknown). She died after 798.

literature

  • Pauline Stafford: Gender, Family and the Legitimation of Power. England from the Ninth to Early Twelfth Century. Ashgate, London 2006, ISBN 978-0-86078-994-9 .
  • Simon Keynes: Cynethryth. In: Michael Lapidge, John Blair, Simon Keynes, Donald Scragg (Eds.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , p. 133.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tom Shippey : Wicked Queens and Cousin Strategies in Beowulf and Elsewhere. Saint Louis University, Online ( November 23, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Pauline Stafford: Gender, Family and the Legitimation of Power. England from the Ninth to Early Twelfth Century , Ashgate, London 2006, ISBN 978-0-86078-994-9 , p. 36.
  3. ↑ a b p. 127
  4. ↑ a b c d e Simon Keynes: Cynethryth ; In: Michael Lapidge, John Blair, Simon Keynes, Donald Scragg (eds.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England , Wiley-Blackwell, 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , p. 133.
  5. ↑ Cathy Hartley (Ed.): A Historical Dictionary of British Women , Routledge, 2003, ISBN 978-1-85743-228-2 , p. 126.
  6. ↑ p 116
  7. ↑ a b Richard North: The Origins of Beowulf: From Vergil to Wiglaf , Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0199206612 , pp. 247-248.
  8. ↑ Cynethryth 2 / Personal Information / moral in: Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE)
personal data
SURNAME Cynethryth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cyneðryð; Cyneðryþ; Cyneþryð; Cynedrida; Kynedrith
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Queen of Mercia, Abbess of Cookham
DATE OF BIRTH 8th century
DATE OF DEATH after 798