Ælfwynn

Ælfwynn, born in the year eight hundred eighty-eight, emerged as a significant figure in the history of Mercia. She was the daughter of Æthelred and Æthelflæd, both prominent rulers of the region. Following the death of her mother on the twelfth of June in nine hundred eighteen, Ælfwynn ascended to the position of 'Second Lady of the Mercians' for a brief period.

Her reign, albeit short-lived, marked a notable moment in the early medieval period of the British Isles, as it represented one of the rare instances where power transitioned from one woman to another. Manuscript C of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle highlights her deposition, stating that she was deprived of control in Mercia and subsequently led into Wessex three weeks before Christmas.

While the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle C records her deposition in December of nine hundred nineteen, most historians suggest that her rule ended in the same year she began, nine hundred eighteen. George Molyneux estimates her period of influence to be between six to eighteen months, underscoring the uncertainty surrounding her brief sovereignty.

Interestingly, Ælfwynn's story is primarily preserved in ASC C, the only version of the Chronicle that mentions her. Other versions, reflecting a West Saxon perspective, indicate that Edward took control of Mercia immediately after Æthelflæd's death, while ASC C includes entries from a now-lost document known as the 'Mercian Chronicle'.