The death of Ælfweard of Wessex: An Anglo-Saxon Murder Mystery

Sixteen days after inheriting the throne, this grandson of Alfred the Great dies. Let’s pretend to be Miss Marple and look into it

Image by Borkia on Pixabay

The year is 924. Edward the Elder, King of the West Saxons and heir to the throne of Alfred the Great, has just died, most likely from wounds acquired in a violent clash with an uprising of Mercians and Welshmen at Chester. The heir apparent to the throne is the young AElfweard, aged 21 or 22, son of Edward and his second wife, Ælfflæd, daughter of ealdorman Æthelhelm of Wiltshire. But just a fortnight after his father’s demise, AElfweard just… drops dead.

What? Why? How? The truth is: we don’t know. But we can have some fun speculating.

Actress Angela Lansbury as iconic TV crime-solver Jessica Fletcher. Source: Huffington Post.

King Edward’s messed-up love life

Miniature of Edward the Elder in a 14th century royal genealogy. Source: Wikimedia Commons

King Edward the Elder was King Alfred the Great’s eldest son; albeit not his aldest child, he had an older sister…