Notizen zu dieser Person
Emma (b.c. 985 - 6 March 1052 in Winchester, Hampshire) was born in Normandy to Richard the Fearless Duke of Normandy and his second wife, Gunnora. Through her marriages to Æthelred the Unready (1002-1016) and Cnut the Great (1017-1035), she became the Queen Consort of England, Denmark, and Norway. She was the mother of three sons, Harthacnut, Edward the Confessor, and Alfred, as well as two daughters, Goda of England, and Gunhilda of Denmark. Even after her husbands' deaths Emma remained in the public eye, and continued to participate actively in politics. As Anne J. Duggan notes, Emma is the "first of the early medieval queens" portrayed visually and she is the central figure within the Encomium Emmae Reginae, a critical source for the history of early eleventh-century English politics. Life Marriage to Æthelred II In an attempt to unify Normandy and England, King Æthelred of England married Emma, the daughter of Richard I, the Duke of Normandy.[1] Viking raids on England were often based in Normandy in the late tenth century, and this marriage was intended to unite against the Viking threat.[2] Upon their marriage, Emma was given the Anglo-Saxon name of Ælfgifu, which was used for formal and official matters and became Queen Consort of England. She received properties of her own in Winchester, Rutland, Devonshire, Suffolk, and Oxfordshire, as well as the city of Exeter.[3] During their marriage, Æthelred and Emma had two sons, Edward the Confessor and Alfred, and a daughter, Goda of England(or Godgifu). Fearing an invasion led by Sweyn's of Norway, Emma and her children were sent to Normandy, where they were soon joined by Æthelred. They returned to England after Sweyn’s death in 1014. Emma and Æthelred’s marriage ended with Æthelred’s death in battle against the Scandinavian Army. Æthelred’s oldest son, Æthelstan, had been heir apparent until his death in June 1014. Emma’s sons had been ranked after all of the sons from his first wife, the oldest of whom was Edmund Ironside.[4] Emma made an attempt to get her oldest son, Edward, recognized as heir. Although this movement was supported by Æthelred’s chief advisor, Eadric Streona, it was opposed by Edmund Ironside, Æthelred’s second oldest son, and his allies, who eventually revolted against his father. In 1015, Cnut, the son of Sweyn Forkbeard of Norway, invaded England. He was held out of London until the deaths of Æthelred and Edmund in April and November 1016, respectively. Queen Emma attempted to maintain Anglo-Saxon control of London until her marriage to Cnut was arranged.[5] Some scholars believe that the marriage saved her sons lives, as Cnut tried to rid himself of rival claimants, but spared their lives.[3] Marriage to Cnut Cnut, succeeded to the throne of England following the death of Æthelred the Unready. He gained control of England around 1017. At the time of their marriage, Emma’s sons from her marriage to Æthelred were sent to live in Normandy under the tutelage of her brother. At this time Emma became the Queen Consort of England, Denmark, and Norway. Emma was not particularly active in the first years of Cnut’s reign. However, she became more active in 1020, when she began to befriend clergy on the European continent, as well as taking the role of patroness to the church. She developed a close relationship with Ælfsige of Peterborough, who advised her on many spiritual matters throughout her life. Her close relationship with clergy and the church strengthened her husband’s claim to the throne as a Christian King. The Encomium Emmae Reginae suggests in its second book that Emma and Cnut’s marriage, though intended as a political strategy, became an affectionate marriage. During their marriage, Emma and Cnut had a son, Harthacnut, and a daughter, Gunhilda. Death and Burial After her death in 1052 Emma was interred alongside Cnut and their son Harthacanute in the Old Minster, Winchester before being transferred to the new cathedral built after the Norman Conquest.[6] During the English Civil War, their remains were disinterred and scattered about the Cathedral floor by parliamentary forces. In 2012 the Daily Mail reported that Bristol University archaeologists "will use the latest DNA techniques...to identify and separate the jumbled bones"[7] Sons Conspiracy Regarding the Death of Alfred In 1036, Alfred Aetheling and Edward the Confessor, Emma’s sons with Æthelred, returned to England from their exile in Normandy in order to visit their mother. During their time in England, they were supposed to be protected by Harthacnut. However, Harthacnut was involved with his kingdom in Denmark. Alfred was captured and blinded by holding a hot iron to his eyes. He later died from his wounds. Edward escaped attack, and returned to Normandy. He returned after his place as King had been secured. Encomium Emmae Reginae places the blame of Alfred’s capture, torture, and murder completely on Harold Harefoot, thinking he intended to rid himself of two more potential claimants to the English throne by killing Edward and Alfred. Some scholars make the argument that it could have been Godwin, Earl of Wessex, who was traveling with Alfred and Edward as their protector in passage.[8] Some scholars suggest that Emma may have had a hand in her own son’s murder. Our understanding of the story states that the young men had received a letter from their mother asking them to come to England from Normandy. If the letter had originated from Emma, rather than a trap set by their competitors, was she aware of the danger she was placing them in? Was she intending to put them in danger? These are questions which, though they may forever be unanswered, scholars ponder over. Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor’s Coordinated Reign[edit] Harthacnut, Cnut’s son, succeeded the throne of Denmark after the death of his father in 1035. Five years later, he and his brother, Edward the Confessor, shared the throne of England, after the death of Harold, Harthacnut’s half brother.[2] Their reign was short, lasting only two years before Harthacnut’s own demise.[2] Emma played a role in this coordinated reign by being a common tie between the two kings. The Encomium of Queen Emma suggests that she herself may have had a significant role, even being an equal role in this co-leadership of the English kingdom. Emma's progeny Emma's issue with Æthelred the Unready were: Edward the Confessor Goda of England Alfred Ætheling Her issue with Cnut the Great were Harthacnut Gunhilda of Denmark Emma As Queen As Pauline Stafford notes[9] Emma is the “first of the early medieval queens” to be depicted through contemporary portraiture. To that end, Emma is the central figure within the Encomium Emmae Reginae (incorrectly titled Gesta Cnutonis Regis during the later middle ages[10]) a critical source for the study of English succession in the 11th century. During the reign of Æthelred, Emma most likely served as little more than a figurehead[11] a physical embodiment of the treaty between the English and her Norman father. However, her influence increased exponentially under Cnut. Until 1043, writes Stafford, Emma “was the richest women in England…and held extensive lands in the East Midlands and Wessex[11]” Emma’s authority was not simply tied to landholdings[11]-which fluctuated greatly from 1036 to 1043-she also wielded significant sway over the ecclesiastical offices of England. The Encomium Emmæ Reginae or Gesta Cnutonis Regis The Encomium is divided into three parts, the first of which deals with Sweyn Forkbeard and his conquest of England. The second focuses on Cnut and relates the defeat of Æthelred, his marriage to Emma, and his kingship. The third address the events after Cnut’s death; Emma's involvement in the seizing of the royal treasury, and the treachery of Earl Godwin. It begins by addressing Emma, "May our Lord Jesus Christ preserve you, O Queen, who excel all those of your sex in the amiability of your way of life."[12] Emma is "the most distinguished woman of her time for delightful beauty and wisdom."[13] Scholarly Debate This flattery, writes Elizabeth M. Tyler, is “part of a deliberate attempt to intervene, on Emma’s behalf, in the politics of the Anglo-Danish court[14]” a connotation which an 11th century audience would have understood. This proves to be a direct contrast to earlier evaluations of the text, such as the introduction to the 1998 reprint of Alistair Campbell’s 1949 edition in which Simon Keynes remarks: "... While the modern reader who expects the Encomium to provide a portrait of a great and distinguished queen at the height of her power will be disappointed, and might well despair of an author who could suppress, misrepresent, and garble what we know or think to have been the truth[15]” Felice Lifshitz, in her seminal study of the Encomium comments: “…To Alistair Campbell and to see C.N.L. Brooke the omission was explicable as a matter of ‘artistic necessity’ and of Emma’s personal vanity…both scholars subscribed to the older view, which afforded the Encomium only literary significance as a panegyric to individual or dynasty, but saw no political import.[16]” Manuscripts Prior to May 0f 2008 only one copy of the Encomium was believed to exist. However, a late 14th century compendium was discovered in the Devon Record Office, where it had languished since the 1960’s.[17] According to a report by the UK Arts Council, “The most significant item [within the text] for British history is the Encomium Emma Reginae… It is highly probable that the present manuscript represents the most complete witness to the revised version of the Encomium.” The manuscript was put up for auction in December 2008, and purchased for £600,000 (5.2 million Danish kroner) on behalf of the Royal Library of Denmark.[18] Unlike the Liber Viate the compendium dose not contains any images of Emma. The New Minster Liber Vitae, currently housed at the British Library, was completed in 1030, shortly before Cnut’s death in 1035. The frontispiece depicts “King Cnut and Queen Emma presenting a cross to the altar of New Minster, Winchester[19]” Stafford in her visual exegesis of the portrait states, “it is not clear whether we should read it as a representation of a powerful women or a powerless one[20]” In one portrait, each facet of Emma’s role as sovereign is displayed; that of a dutiful wife and influential queen. Emma is also depicted in a number of later medieval texts, such as the 13th Cen. Life of Edward the Confessor (Cambridge University Library MS. Ee.3.59) and a 14th Cen. roll Genealogy of the English Kings, Genealogical Chronicle of the English Kings. References Jump up ^ Simon Keynes, Æthelred II, Oxford Online DNB, 2009 ^ Jump up to: a b c Howard, Ian. Harthacnut: The last Danish King of England, The History Press, 2008, p. 10. ^ Jump up to: a b Honeycutt, p. 41 Jump up ^ Barlow, Edward the Confessor, pp. 30-31 Jump up ^ Howard, pp. 12-5. Jump up ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: King Cnut Jump up ^ “Scientists to Unravel Centuries-Old Mystery of King Canute as They Examine Skeletal Remains.” Mail Online. N. p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. Jump up ^ O'Brien, Harriet, Queen Emma and the Vikings: The Woman Who Shaped the Events of 1066 (2006). Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 0747579687 Jump up ^ Duggan, Anne J. Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe: Proceedings of a Conference Held at King’s College London, April 199 Boydell Press, 2002. Print. Jump up ^ Duggan, Anne J. Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe: Proceedings of a Conference Held at King’s College London, April 199Boydell Press, 2002. Print. ^ Jump up to: a b c Pauline Stafford, Queen Emma and Queen Edith: Queenship and Women's Power in Eleventh-century England (Malden, MA: Blackwell's, 2001), 3. Jump up ^ Campbell, Alistair (editor and translator) and Simon Keynes (supplementary introduction) (1998). Encomium Emmae Reginae. Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-62655-2, 5. Jump up ^ Campbell and Keynes, 1998, 33. Jump up ^ Tyler, E.M. (2008) Fictions of Family: The 'Encomium Emmae Reginae' and Virgil's 'Aeneid'. Viator, 36 (149-179). pp. 149-179. ISSN 0083-5897 Jump up ^ Campbell and Keynes, 1998, xvii. Jump up ^ Lifshitz, Felice (1989). "The Encomium Emmae Reginae: A 'Political Pamphlet' of the Eleventh Century?” Haskins Society Journal 1: 39-50. Jump up ^ (Breay 2009) Jump up ^ “Knud den Store kom ikke med Det Kgl. Bibliotek hjem” Anne Bech-Danielsen, 2008-12-06T20:05:27 Jump up ^ Royal Project Team 2011 Jump up ^ Safford 2001 Bibliography See also Encomium Emmae (for the Encomium Emmae Reginae or Gesta Cnutonis Regis in honour of Queen Emma) Barlow, Frank, (1984) Edward the Confessor, Berkeley: University of California Press Duggan, Anne, (1997) Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press Honeycutt, Lois, (2003) Matilda of Scotland: a Study in Medieval Queenship Woodbridge: The Boydell Press Monk of St Omer (1949) Encomium Emmae Reginae; ed. Alistair Campbell. (Camden 3rd series; no. 72.) London: Royal Historical Society (Reissued by Cambridge U. P. 1998 with suppl. introd. by Simon Keynes ISBN 0-521-62655-2) O'Brien, Harriet (2005). Queen Emma and the Vikings. Bloomsbury Publishing, New York and London. Stafford, Pauline (2001) Queen Emma and Queen Edith: queenship and women's power in eleventh-century England. Oxford: Blackwell. Strachan, Isabella (2005) Emma: the twice-crowned Queen of England in the Viking Age. London: Peter Owen Howard, Ian, (2008) Harthacnut: The Last Danish King of England, The History Press Howard, Ian, (2005) Harold II: a Throne-Worthy King. Essay included in King Harold II and the Bayeux Tapestry, pages 35-52. Boydell Press: ISBN 1843831244. O'Brien, Harriet, (2006) Queen Emma and the Vikings: The Woman Who Shaped the Events of 1066. Bloomsbury Publishing: ISBN 0747579687 Bech-Danielsen, Anne, Knud Den Store Kom Ikke Med Det Kgl. Bibliotek Hjem N. p., 6 Dec. 2008. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. Duggan, Anne J. Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe: Proceedings of a Conference Held at King’s College London, April 199 Boydell Press, 2002. Print. Patterson, Robert. The Haskins Society Journal Studies in Medieval History Continuum, 2003. Print. Stafford, Pauline. Queen Emma and Queen Edith: Queenship and Women’s Power in Eleventh-Century England Oxford, UK; Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers, 2001. Print. Tyler, Elizabeth. Fictions of Family: The Encomium Emmae Reginae and Virgil’s Aeneid. N. p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013.n. pag. Print. Gameson, Richard. L’Angleterre et La Flandre Aux Xe et XIe Siècles?: Le Témoignage Des Manuscrits. Actes des congrès de la Société des historiens médiévistes de l’enseignement supérieur public 32.1 (2001): 165-206. Campbell, Alistair (editor and translator) and Simon Keynes (supplementary introduction) (1998). Encomium Emmae Reginae. Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-62655-2, 5. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Another version: Emma of Normandy (c. 985-March 6, 1052), daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy, was twice queen of England, by marriage first (1002-1016) to king Ethelred the Unready and then (1017-1035) to Canute, king also of Denmark and Norway. Upon the Danish invasion of England in 1013, Emma took her sons by Ethelred - Alfred and Edward - to Normandy, where they remained upon her return to England to marry Canute, now king of England following the death of Ethelred and his son (her step-son) Edmund Ironside. Following Canute's death, Alfred and Edward returned in 1036, possibly in an attempt to overthrow Canute's illegitimate son Harold Harefoot, who had established himself as ruler in the absence of Harthacanute, son of Canute and Emma. Alfred was captured and died after being blinded, while Edward escaped to Normandy, followed by his mother. The death of Harold in 1040 and the accession of the more conciliatory Harthacanute paved the way for Edward's return to England the next year as co-ruler and (1042) king on Harthacanute's death. Emma returned to end her days at Winchester, Hampshire, where she was buried alongside Canute. Emma's marriages and subsequent role forged the link between England and Normandy which was to culminate in her grandnephew William of Normandy's invasion of England in 1066. Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite.
William B.
