Stefany Wragg - Early English Queens, 650-850: Speculum Reginae

This book offers the first dedicated and comprehensive examination of the lives of nearly thirty women known to occupy the office of queen in the English kingdoms between 650 and 850.

The queens of early England are often shadowy figures in the historical record, beset by numerous issues which have largely confined them to the margins of history. Through careful analysis, this volume presents a ground-breaking appraisal of the role of queens in early England, and how their actions and identities shaped their practice of queenship. Organised thematically, it offers an overview of queens in many different roles, such as agents of Christianity, mothers and peaceweavers. From high-profile queens such as thelthryth of Ely and Cynethryth of Mercia, to the shadowy Leofrun of East Anglia and the nameless queen of King Anna of East Anglia, the book engages with sources to advance fuller narratives about even the most obscure queens of the era.

Aided by resources such as genealogical tables, Early English Queens, 650850 is an ideal resource for students and scholars at all levels, as well as general readers interested in the lives of queens and early English history.

Stefany Wragg completed her DPhil on Old English and Early English History at the University of Oxford, after receiving her MPhil from the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge. She has worked on contextual readings of literature, saints cults and queenship. She teaches in a secondary school in the UK.

Series Editors:

Elena Woodacre, Ellie.Woodacre@ winchester.ac.uk

Louise Wilkinson, LWilkinson@lincoln.ac.uk

This series features academic, yet accessible biographies of royal women consorts, dowagers, royal mothers and female sovereigns inclusive of all periods, cultures and geographic regions. These biographies include a deep engagement with the premise of queenship studies and the exercise of the queens office (or equivalent), in addition to covering the lives of particular women. The series is divided into three sub-strands: Queens of England (blue), Queens and Empresses of Europe (purple), and Royal Women of the World (red).

• Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (15281603)
• Dynastic Networker
• Rubn Gonzlez Cuerva

• Anne of Bohemia
• Kristen L.Geaman

• Early English Queens, 650850
• Speculum Reginae
• Stefany Wragg

• Joan of Navarre
• Infanta, Duchess, Queen, Witch?
• Elena Woodacre

Stefany Wragg

Cover image: A queen occupied many disparate roles simultaneously, such as wife, mother and peaceweaver. This image captures the multiplicity of identities a queen had to resolve within her person, as well as the relative anonymity which characterises the majority of the queens of this era Stefany Wragg

First published 2022

by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2022 Stefany Wragg

The right of Stefany Wragg to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record has been requested for this book

ISBN: 978-0-367-33576-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-33573-1 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-429-32064-4 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9780429320644

Typeset in Bembo

by Newgen Publishing UK

For all the women whom history forgot queens or not

Figures

Map

Tables

GestaRegumWilliam of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum: The History of the English Kings, ed. and trans. R.M. Thompson and M. Winterbottom, 2 vols, Oxford Medieval Texts (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998).HEBede, Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People, ed. and trans. Bertram Colgrave and R.A.B. Mynors, Oxford Medieval Texts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1969).LELiber Eliensis: A History of the Isle of Ely from the Seventh Century to the Twelfth, ed. and trans. Janet Fairweather (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2005).LectEormLectiones in Natale Sancte Eormenhilde in Goscelin of Saint-Bertin, The Hagiography of the Female Saints of Ely, ed. and trans. Rosalind C. Love, Oxford Medieval Texts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 1125.VAlfrediAsser, Assers Life of King Alfred, ed. William Henry Stevenson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959); trans in Alfred the Great: Assers Life of Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources (London: Penguin, 1983).VsthelberhtiAnonymous, Vita Sancti thelberhti, ed. M.R. James in Two Lives of Ethelbert, King and Martyr in The English Historical Review 32, No. 126 (1917), 21444.VBaltVita S. Balthildis, in Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum, ed. Bruno Krusch, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum II (Hannover: Impensis bibliopolii Hahniani, 18841920), pp. 475508; trans. Paul Fouracre and Richard A. Gerberding in Late Merovingoian France: History and Hagiography, 640720 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996), pp. 11932.VsGFelix, Felixs Life of Saint Guthlac, ed. and trans. Bertram Colgrave (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1956).VOffarumMichael Swanton, ed. and trans.The Lives of the Two Offas (Crediton: The Medieval Press, 2010).VSexVita Beate Sexburge Regine, in The Hagiography of the Female Saints of Ely, ed. and trans. Rosalind C. Love, Oxford Medieval Texts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 13390.VWerGoscelin of Saint-Bertin, Vita S. Werburge, in The Hagiography of the Female Saints of Ely, ed. and trans. Rosalind C. Love, Oxford Medieval Texts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 2552.VWilfThe Life of Bishop Wilfrid by Eddius Stephanus, ed. and trans. Bertram Colgrave (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1927).

The majority of the research for this book was undertaken in the years 201921, during which a global pandemic brought much of the world to a standstill. Things were difficult. At the same time, there were many people whose assistance and thoughts throughout this project were incredibly constructive, and for which I am very grateful. The series editors, Ellie Woodacre and Louise Wilkinson, have been incredibly generous with their time and constructive criticism. Rutger Kramers advice and commitment to an accompanying article in the

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