Ealhswith

Ealhswith (or Aethelswitha) of the Gaini was born c. 852 in Mercia. Her name means "Noble strength".

Her father was Æthelred Mucil, Ealdorman of the Gaini. She was married in 868, to Alfred the Great, king of Wessex. The children of Alfred and Eahlswith included Edward the Elder, later king of Wessex, Aelfthryth, who married Baldwin II, Count of Flanders, and Ethelfleda, who ruled as Lady of the Mercians.

After Alfred's death in 899, Eahlswith became a nun. She died on December 5, 905, and is buried in St. Mary's Abbey, Winchester, Hampshire.

Also ref. History of the Anglo-Saxons (1831) by Sir Francis Palgrave for more details on her husband Alfred the Great.

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