| Notes |
- ! <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osburga>OsburhOsburh or Osburga (died before 856) was the first wife of King ?thelwulf of Wessex and mother ofAlfred the Great. Alfred's biographer, Asser, described her as "a mostreligious woman, noble in character and noble by birth".[1]Osburh's existence is known only from Asser's Life of King Alfred. She is not named as witness to any charters, nor is her death reported in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. So far as is known, she was the mother of all ?thelwulf'schildren, his five sons ?thelstan, ?thelbald, ?thelberht, ?thelred and Alfred the Great, and his daughter ?thelswith, wife of King Burgred of Mercia. Osburh presumably died before 856 when her husband married the Carolingian princess Judith.She isbest known for Asser's story abouta book of Saxon songs which she showed to Alfred and his brothers, offering to give the book to whoever could first memorise it, a challenge which Alfred took up and won. This exhibits the interest of high statusninth-century women in books, and their role in educating their children.[2]Osburh was the daughter of Oslac (who is also only known from Asser's Life), King ?thelwulf's pincerna (butler), an important figure in the royal court and household.[3]Oslac is described as a descendant of King Cerdic's Jutish nephews, Stuf and Wihtgar, who conquered the Isle of Wight.[4]Contents1 Issue2 See also3 Notes4 ReferencesIssueName BirthDeath Notes?thelstan 851?855?thelswith 888 Married, Burgred of Mercia;noissue.?thelbald 860 Married, Judith; annulled.?thelbert 865?thelred 871 Had issue?lfred or Alfred 849 26 October 899 Married 868, Ealhswith; had issue.See alsoHouse of Wessex family treeNotes1. Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge eds, Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources, London, Penguin Classics, 1983, p. 682. Janet L. Nelson, Osburh, 2004, Oxford Online Dictionary of National Biography In Nelson's view, Osburh may have been dead by 856 or may have been repudiated.3. Keynes and Lapidge, pp. 68, 229.4. Asser states that Oslac was a Goth, but this is regarded by historians as an erroras Stuf and Wightgar were Jutes. Keynes and Lapidge pp. 229-30 and Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, Oxford,Oxford UP, 3rd edition 1971, p. 23-4.References1. Asser's Life of King Alfred2. Lees, Clare A. & Gillian R. Overing (eds), Double Agents: Women and Clerical Culture in Anglo-Saxon England. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2001. ISBN0-8122-3628-9
|
- avant 856