Emma (Normandie) of England (985 - 1052)

Born 23 Jun 0985 in Normandie, France

Ancestors

Wife of Æthelred (Wessex) of England — married 5 Apr 1002 in Winchester, Hampshire, England

Descendants

Died 6 Mar 1052 at age 66 in Winchester, Hampshire, England

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Biography

Parents

Emma, also known in England as Ælfgifu, was the daughter of Richard I (the Fearless) of Normandy and Gunnor. Her birth date is uncertain, but she was probably born by about 985.^[1]

First Marriage, to Æthelred the Unready

In 1000 the Viking ships went from England to Normandy, and Æthelred the Unready is said to have sent a fleet to try and capture Duke Richard II of Normandy: this attempt failed,^[2] but there followed a rapprochement with Duke Richard, with a papal envoy drawing up the terms of a treaty.^[3] The death of Æthelred's first wife facilitated this: Emma, Richard's sister, was betrothed to Æthelred in about 1000 and they married at Winchester on 5 April 1002.^[2][4] Emma's dower included Exeter, Devon.^[5] Their known children were:

• Edward the Confessor^[1][6]
• Goda/Godgifu^[2][6]
• Alfred^[1][6]

In 1012 Æthelred gave her some land at Winchester, which became her main residence in England.^[1]

In 1013, when Æthelred's realm was under sustained Viking attack, Emma and her children took refuge in Normandy, where Æthelred joined them.^[7] They went back to England after the death of Sweyn "Forkbeard" in February 1014.^[1]

Second Marriage, to Knut

Æthelred died in April 1016.^[2] Emma is said to have returned to Normandy afterwards, though this is not certain. In July 1017 Knut married her, probably to strengthen his hold on England.^[1] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles record that Knut "ordered the widow of the former king Æthelred, Richard's daughter, to be brought to him as wife."^[8] In subsequent records she and Knut are often mentioned as a couple,^[9] implying that she had significant influence.^[1] Emma and Knut had two children:

• Harthacnut^[10]
• Gunhilda^[10]

An Encomium Emmae Reginae, compiled for Emma after Knut's death, claims that as part of the agreement for her marriage to Knut, Emma stipulated that only her sons would succeed him in England.^[11]

Later Life

Knut died in November 1035,^[10] Emma then championed the cause of her son Harthacnut to be ruler of England, but he was in Scandinavia, and this enabled his half-brother Harold Harefoot to become king.^[1] One manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles states that Harold Harefoot seized from Emma the "best treasures" of Knut, but that she stayed in Winchester as long as she could.^[12] Edward, one of her sons by her first marriage, attempted an unsuccessful invasion; Alfred, her other son by Æthelred, was captured and blinded. Emma herself found shelter in 1037 in Flanders, where Harthacnut joined her in 1039.^[1][13]

Harold Harefoot died in March 1040, and Emma returned to England, accompanied by Harthacnut, who became king.^[1] Emma arranged for the compilation of a biography of herself, the Encomium Emmae Reginae, to justify the positions she had taken in preceding years.^[1] This makes no mention of her first marriage.^[11]

In June 1042 Harthacnut died, and was succeeded by Emma's son Edward the Confessor. But her relationship with Edward was difficult, and in 1043 he took away many of her possessions.^[1][13] She was, though, allowed to return to court, but her influence was limited.^[1]

Scurrilous gossip later claimed that Emma had an affair with a Bishop of Winchester in the 1030s and early 1040s, and that she cleared her name publicly by walking over heated ploughshares.^[1]

Death

Emma died in March 1052 and was buried at Winchester.^[1] There is disagreement about her exact death date: the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography give it as 7 March;^[1] Medlands as 14 March.^[6] Two different manuscripts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles give 6 and 14 March.^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Simon Keynes for 'Emma [Ælfgifu] (d. 1052)', print and online 2004
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Simon Keynes for 'Æthelred II [Ethelred; known as Ethelred the Unready]', print and online 2004, revised online 2009
3. ↑ Frank Stenton. Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 1971, pp. 375-376
4. ↑ Alison Weir. Britain's Royal Families, new Pimlico edition, Vintage Books, 2008, pp. 22-24
5. ↑ Frank Stenton. Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 18971, p. 380
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} Charles Cawley. ÆTHELRED, son of EDGAR "the Peaceable", entry in "Medieval Lands" database (accessed 14 April 2021)
7. ↑ Michael Swanton (translator and editor). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, revised edition, Phoenix Press, 2000, p. 144
8. ↑ Michael Swanton (translator and editor), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 154-155
9. ↑ A J Robertson. Anglo-Saxon Charters, 2nd edition, 1956, reissued by Cambridge University Press 2009, passim
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} Charles Cawley. Canute died 1035, entry in "Medieval Lands" database (accessed 23 April 2021)
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Nicholas J Higham and Martin J Ryan. The Anglo-Saxon World, Yale University Press, paperback 2015, pp. 359-61
12. ↑ Michael Swanton (translator and editor), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, p. 158
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Michael Swanton (translator and editor), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 160-163
14. ↑ Michael Swanton (translator and editor), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 172 and 176

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Simon Keynes for 'Emma [Ælfgifu] (d. 1052)', print and online 2004
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Simon Keynes for 'Æthelred II [Ethelred; known as Ethelred the Unready]', print and online 2004, revised online 2009
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by M K Lawson for 'Cnut [Canute]', print and online 2004, revised online 2013
• Cawley, Charles. "Medieval Lands": A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families © by Charles Cawley, hosted by Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG). Entry for Emma (-Winchester 14 Mar 1052, bur Winchester Cathedral). See also WikiTree's source page for MedLands.

See also:

• Barlow, Frank. Edward the Confessor, revised edition, Yale University Press, 1997
• Duggan, Anne J (ed.). Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe: Proceedings of a Conference held at King's College London, April 1995, The Boydell Press, 1997
• Honeycutt, Lois. Matilda of Scotland: a Study in Medieval Queenship, The Boydell Press, 2003
• O'Brien, Harriet. Queen Emma and the Vikings, Bloomsbury Publishing, New York and London, 2005
• Stafford, Pauline. Queen Emma and Queen Edith: Queenship and Women's Power in Eleventh-Century England, Wiley-Blackell, paperback edition 2001
• Strachan, Isabella. Emma: the twice-crowned Queen of England in the Viking Age, Peter Owen, 2004
• Campbell, Alistair (ed.) with supplementary introduction by Keynes, Simon. Encomium Emmae Reginae, Camden Classic Reprints, Series Number 4, revised edition, Cambridge University Press, 2008
• Wikipedia: Emma of Normandy