It’s women’s history month, so to celebrate the YouTube history community are putting
together a collaboration on women’s history - specifically on female leaders from history.
And as one of a very few women in the YouTube history community (seriously, if you’re
female and you’re thinking about starting a history channel, do it, I need some friends…),
so I thought I’d throw my contribution into the hat. If you’re doing (or did do) the
Anglo-Saxons at GCSE, you might find this one quite interesting as you’ll see how
she weaves herself into the political landscape that led to the Norman Conquest in 1066. So,
let’s talk about… Emma of Normandy
It’s circa 990, and Emma is born, daughter of Richard I of Normandy and Gunnor. Emma’s
great grandfather is the Viking Rollo, the founder of Normandy, and her great nephew
will go on to become William the Conqueror.
In the year 1001 there are several viking raids on England and Richard II of Normandy,
Emma’s brother is accused of harbouring the raiders. This is part of a very tense
relationship between Richard and the current English King: Æthelred II. Emma, probably
aged around 12, in 1002 is sent to marry Æthelred, in the hope of easing divisions. Unfortunately,
it doesn’t help Æthelred, who is already unpopular with his people. Emma, is Norman
and so this initially increases the divide between Æthelred and his people, although
Emma eventually grows on them. As part of her ascenscion to English Queen, Emma also
gains the English name Ælfgifu, which is often used in legal documents. This makes
things very confusing, as it appears pretty much every important woman in this time period
is called Ælfgifu.
Emma throws herself into life in Æthelred’s court, taking part in the day to day proceedings
and being an important part of the court. Eventually, she is rewarded with a landholding
near Winchester and she sets about establishing herself. As the financially savvy woman she
is, this estate proves to be a good source of revenue for her.
By Æthelred, Emma bears 3 children: Edward, Alfred and Godgifu. They’ll become important
later.
Æthelred, keeps being a useless king, and in his efforts to sort out the Viking problem,
in 1002, on the St Brice’s Day massacre, he attempts to eradicate all Danes from England.
This unsurprisingly, angers the Vikings more. Between 1009 and 1012 there are more serious
viking invasions, and from King Swegen the Forkbeard on Denmark. By 1011 the Vikings
have overrun much of southern Britain. Emma flees to Normandy and into the protection
of her dad.
In 1014, Swegen Forkbeard dies and Æthelred and Emma return. The following year, Swegen’s
son Cnut invades England. A year after that, in 1016, Æthelred himself dies. Edmund Ironside,
who is Æthelred’s oldest son and a battle-hardened man, fights with Cnut, eventually striking
a deal where they split the country in two. However, later that same year, Edmund dies,
meaning Cnut is able to take the whole of England.
Cnut, attempting to reenforce his position marries Emma in 1017, ignoring his pagan marriage
to Ælfgifu of Northampton (a different Ælfgifu - like I said, there are lots of them)
The marriage between Emma and Cnut appears by all accounts to have been a happy one.
Emma becomes a close advisor to the king and the pair develop a close working relationship.
On many occasions she is even left to rule over England alone as Cnut has to look after
the rest of his North-Sea Empire.
Emma is also very important in easing the difficult relationship between the Church
and Cnut, who had destroyed a lot of church property during his raids.
However, Emma’s reign comes into threat when, in 1035, Cnut dies, leaving behind the
issue of succession. Cnut had two sons who both wanted a shot at the throne: Harold Harefoot,
whom he’d had with Ælfgifu, his first wife, and Harthacnut, who was his child by Emma.
The great Earls are split over the issue, but it is decided to split England in two
again. It is, however, important to note that Harthacnut, who has succeeded Cnut in Denmark,
is currently engaged in war over there with Magnus of Norway, so Emma acts as regent in
Southern England on his behalf.
Edward and Alfred, Emma’s sons by Æthelred then try to make their way to Emma. Alfred,
who arrives first is intercepted by Earl Godwin, the most powerful English earl and taken to
Harold Harefoot, who has him blinded so carelessly that he dies from the experience. Edward decides
to return to Normandy, where he has spent his life since Æthelred’s death. Emma is
soon driven into exile by Harold Harefoot, who becomes the king of the whole of England
in 1037.
In 1040, Harthacnut is finally done with his war in Denmark and begins preparations with
his mum, Emma to launch and invasion into England. However, very conveniently, Harold
Harefoot dies before they even have to launch an invasion, meaning Harthacnut is able to
ascend easily to the English throne, putting Emma back in power.
The following year, Emma orchestrates a reconciliation between Harthacnut and Edward. In 1042, Harthacnut
dies, but this doesn’t worry Emma as she is able to place her oldest son, Edward, onto
the throne. In case you hadn’t cottoned onto this yet, this Edward is the Edward now
known as Edward the Confessor. Edward, however, isn’t so pleased with his mum as Harthacnut.
And, in 1043, he moves against her, depriving her of her treasures and moving her out of
her home in the Castle of Winchester.
Edward has many grudges against his mother. She married his father’s enemy, Cnut, and
seemed to have a preference for her children by Cnut. Edward felt like his mother hadn’t
really been behind him and was moving just to increase her own power. A rumour has also
gone round that Emma supported the claim to the English throne of Magnus of Norway, over
that of her own son, Edward.
Emma retires and eventually dies in 1052, aged around 70.
During her power under Cnut, she commissioned a book called „In Praise of Queen Emma“
which spins history to justify her actions, giving us a nice insight into one of Emma’s
political strategies.
All this goes to show, how, against the odds, Emma was not a woman of no consequence. Her
ability to make tough decisions and hold her own against those around her, contributed
significantly to the landscape that brought about the Norman Conquest of 1066. I think
a nice way to end might be on this quote I found during my research:
„While married to Cnut, Emma convinced many of her astute ability. In a time when women
were not valued on their own, Emma demonstrated that she was a woman to be reckoned with.“