Thegns of Mercia
  • About Us
    • Our Team
  • Living History
    • Events Calendar
  • Other Services
    • TV & Film
    • Talks & Workshops
    • Reconstructions >
      • Recent Reconstructions
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

A Woman as King? The Secret Legacy of Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians

1/6/2022

Comments

 
At the time of writing a season of celebrations is underway for the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, marking her 70 years as reign as monarch of the UK and Commonwealth.  Such a long reign is historically unprecedented and means that the overwhelming majority of people living in countries where she serves as head of state have no living memory of the reign of another monarch. In turn this also means that few have any memory of the reign of a king; a woman as head of state in these realms feels perfectly normal - even 'default' - and we have grown up talking of the history of "kings and queens" as if the words and roles have always carried equal weight. Historically this was not the case. Centuries ago, that which now goes without saying -that a woman could rule, competently and successfully in her own right - was a truly revolutionary idea. It only became accepted as the result of the examples set by a series of remarkable female rulers in Britain and the twists of fate which crowned them and tested them. 
Picture
Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians. (Credit: Jennifer Peters)
Though certainly not the first female ruler on these islands, a disproportionate debt is owed to one remarkable lady in particular, who lived eleven centuries ago. Emerging from an age and culture in which female leadership was largely unthinkable and all but unprecedented, she took power only reluctantly, and ruled with such brilliance that any doubt in female leadership would have been banished. But in so doing, she established a dangerous precedent, leading men to try, and thankfully, fail, to erase her from history....

Read More
Comments

    Thegns Blog

    Exploring the history, archaeology and cultures of the "Anglo-Saxon Period" (encompassing the Migration and Viking Ages).

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    November 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    September 2019

    Categories

    All
    Andalus
    Anglo Saxon
    Archaeology
    Arms And Armour
    Art
    Byzantine Empire
    Christianity
    Coins
    Cosmology
    Experimental Archaeology
    Farming
    Fashion
    Festivals
    Food & Drink
    Frankish Empire
    History
    Knives
    Language
    Leatherwork
    Magic
    Migration Period
    Norman
    Old English
    Opinion
    Pagan
    Philosophy
    Poetry
    Princely Burials
    Prittlewell
    Reenactment
    Religion
    Roman
    Seasons
    Secrets In The Stones Series
    Shields
    Sociology
    Sutton Hoo
    Taplow
    Thegns Reconstructions
    Trade
    Traditions
    Viking

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.