ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a biography of Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians. Æthelflæd, though not technically a queen, is undoubtedly one of the best-known royal women of pre-Conquest England. Daughter of King Alfred the Great, sister of King Edward the Elder, Æthelflæd ruled as Edward’s proxy in Mercia from 911 to 918, and before that at the side (or in the stead) of her husband Ealdorman Æthelred. Æthelflæd is a rare example of female militancy in pre-Conquest England, having sent armies into Wales and the Danelaw, greatly aiding in the expansion of West Saxon hegemony. Her political agency is further attested by charters issued in her name, by her designation in Welsh and Irish sources as ‘queen’, and by her attempt to have her daughter Ælfwynn succeed to Mercian overlordship on her death. This biography takes especial interest in her military and political roles, her relationship to both Æthelred and her brother Edward King of Wessex, and her ultimate failure to pass authority to her daughter.
