Michael Matthew Groat PhD's Genealogical Database

Individuals: 97,713  Families: 61,838  
Gedcom Last Modified: December 14, 2025 00:59:10

Rædburh Queen of Wessex


Preferred Parents:
Father: Thierry D'AUTUN Le PIEUX I le pieux, b. environ 0775   d. en 858,
Mother: Alda Aldana Aude Hadeloge DE FRANCE, b. environ 0724   d. environ 0793 in Vers, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France

Family 1: King Ecgberht III of Wessex and Kent ,    b. 29 SEP 775 in Wessex    d. 4 FEB 839 in Wessex
  1. Æþelwulf King of Wessex, b. 806 in Aachen, Aachener Reich, Holy Roman Empire     d. 13 JAN 858 in Sherbourne, Wessex, England
Sources:
  1. Title: Encyclopedia Redburga
    Publication: Name: https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/redburga-fl-825;
    Note: Redburga (fl. 825) Queen of Wessex, Kent, and the English. Said to be a sister of the king of the Franks, possibly Louis I the Pious, which would make her a daughter of Charlemagne; married Ecgbert also known as Egbert III (c. 775–839), king of Wessex, Kent, and the English (r. 802–839), before 825; children: Edith (d. 871); Æthelwulf or Ethelwulf (b. around 800), king of Wessex and England (r. 839–858); Ethelstan, king of Kent (d. around 851). Redburga's husband Egbert had a long and glorious reign.
  2. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Wulfrith Redburh of Devon Wessex -
    Author: Ancestry Family Trees, Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members., Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Page number: Ancestry Family Trees
    Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3246055439
  3. Title: Geni: Rædburh, queen consort of Wessex
    Publication: Name: https://www.geni.com/people/R%C3%A6dburh-queen-consort-of-Wessex/6000000003827043273?through=6000000002142373595;
    Note: Rædburh Gender: Female Birth: circa 788 Wessex, England Death: between 839 and 871 (47-87) Wessex, England Place of Burial: Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire, England Immediate Family: Wife of Egbert, king of Wessex Mother of Aethelwulf, king of Wessex Added by: Anders Helge Eriksson on February 2, 2007 Managed by: Margaret (C) and 365 others Curated by: Jason Scott Wills Redburga or Raedburh was the wife of king Egbert of Wessex and may have been the sister-in-law of Charlemagne as the sister of his fourth wife, Luitgard; other sources describe her as his sister (although Charlemagne's only sister was named Gisela) or his great-granddaughter (which would be difficult to accomplish in the forty-six years after Charlemagne's birth) or the daughter of his sister-in-law or his niece. Some genealogies identify her as the granddaughter of Pepin the Short and great-granddaughter of Charles Martel; other scholars doubt that she existed at all, other than as a name in a much later manuscript, her existence might been forged to link the early Kings of England to the great West Emperor. She appears in a medieval manuscript from Oxford and is described as "regis Francorum sororia" which translates as "sister to the King of the Franks". More specifically, sororia means "pertaining to someone's sister", hence sister-in-law. According to some accounts, Charlemagne arranged Raedburh's marriage to Egbert in the year 800. Egbert, who had been forced into exile at Charlemagne's court by Offa, King of Mercia, returned to England in 802, where he became King of Wessex and later king of all England. Raedburh's son Ethelwulf succeeded Egbert. Raedburh was also, according to this version of events, the grandmother of Thyra Dannebod Queen of Denmark, who was the wife of the Viking King Gorm "the Old" of Denmark and the mother of Harald Bluetooth Blataand King of Denmark. Confusing matters still further is the rival tradition that Raedburh survived Egbert, who by these accounts died in 811. This individual devoted her life to helping the poor and became known as "Saint Ida of Herzfeld". Among her reported acts of kindness were filling a stone coffin with food each day, then giving it to the poor; she also reportedly founded the church at Hofstadt, Westphalia, and the convent of Herzfeld, sometimes recorded as Herford or Hervorden. where she is buried. She was canonized on November 26, 980, is the patron saint of brides and widows and is frequently depicted either as carrying a church or with a dove hovering over her head. It appears, however, that this Saint Ida was married to a different Egbert, a duke of all Saxony between the Rhine and the Weser appointed by Charlemagne. Unless the Egbert reported in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to have regained his throne in Wessex in 802 was, in fact, serving instead as a feudal supporter of Charlemagne in Saxony for many of the years following his return to Wessex, Saint Ida was not the Raedburh who married Egbert of Wessex. Given the irreconcilable differences in the dates of death given for these two Egberts, that conclusion appears more likely. This Egbert and Saint Ida are reported to be the parents of Warin, the abbot of Corvey from 826 to 856, Count Cobbo the Elder, and Addila or Mathilde, the abbess of Herzfeld; others suggest that a Saxon duke Liudolf, grandfather of Henry the Fowler, was also a son of Egbert and Ida and that Mathilde was their granddaughter. Her son Ethelwulf later became King of England. Her grandson is Alfred the Great. buitenechtelijke dochter van Karel de Grote Immediate Family Text ViewAdd Family Showing 2 people Egbert, king of Wessex husband Aethelwulf, king of Wessex son
  4. Title: Pedigree of the Counts of Flanders in The Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales, pg. Part 2, xxix [See document in the Memories section]
    Author: The Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales, pg. Part 2, xxix
    Publication: Name: https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/140225801;
    Note: Pedigree of the Counts of Flanders in The Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales, pg. Part 2, xxix [See document in the Memories section]
    Page: Pedigree of the Counts of Flanders in The Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales, pg. Part 2, xxix [See document in the Memories section]
  5. Title: Legacy NFS Source: * Redburh, Queen Of Wessex -
    Author: Family History Library archive record (family group sheet)
    Note: Source: Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings & Nobles, Eng. 104, p. 342, 343; The Royal Line of Succession, A16A225, p. 5, 6; Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen. Hist. 25 pt. 1, p. 96, 97; Hist of the Anglo-Saxons, Eng. 36 v. 1, p. 362-371 (Gen. Soc. - HEC) Submitter: Sanford A. Johnson
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3244547632
  6. Title: Ecgberht, King of Wessex, in the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
    Publication: Name: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%20Kings.htm#EcgberhtWessexA;
    Note: ECGBERHT, son of EALHMUND Under-King of Kent & his wife --- ([769/80]-4 Feb or [Jun] 839, bur Winchester Cathedral). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that "Egbert succeeded to the kingdom of Wessex" after the death of Beorhtric in 802, in a later passage describing him as Ecgberht as son of Ealhmund, and in another passage which setting out his complete ancestry from his son Æthelwulf King of Wessex[1466]. According to the Chronicle, Ecgberht was expelled from England in 789 by King Beorhtric after he unsuccessfully challenged Beorhtric's succession[1467]. It may be significant that "England" rather than "Wessex" is specified in this passage of the Chronicle. Ecgberht's father was king of Kent around this time, and it is possible that the expulsion was from Kent, maybe a consequence of his father being deposed as Kentish king. According to William of Malmesbury, Beorhtric was allied with Offa King of Mercia at this time. He explains that Ecgberht had sought refuge with King Offa after his expulsion by King Beorhtric, but that the latter bribed Offa for Ecgberht's surrender and was offered Offa's daughter in marriage in return[1468]. Ecgberht sought refuge at the Frankish court until [792][1469]. Under-King in Kent in [796][1470]. On Beorhtric's death, he established himself in 802 as ECGBERHT King of Wessex, rebelling against Mercian overlordship. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that he ravaged the Britons of Dumnonia (Cornwall) 815[1471]. He defeated Beornwulf King of Mercia in 825 at Ellendun [=Wroughton, Wiltshire], which marked the end of Mercian ascendancy. King Ecgberht immediately sent his son Æthelwulf with a large army into Kent, which submitted to him along with Surrey, Sussex and Essex. East Anglia, in revolt against Mercia, turned to Ecgberht for protection[1472]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Ecgberht conquered Mercia in 829[1473], taking the title rex Merciorum, from evidence provided by a limited number of coins[1474], but lost control of Mercia again in 830. He exacted tribute from Eanred King of Northumbria in 829. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that the first Danish raiders landed at Sheppey in 835 and King Ecgberht was defeated by Viking invaders at Carhampton in 836[1475], but defeated the Vikings at Hingston Down, Cornwall in 838[1476], which is probably when Cornwall was integrated into Wessex. "Ægberhtus rex occidentalium Saxonum" granted land at Canterbury to "Ciaba clericus", jointly with "Æthelwulfi regis filii mei", by charter dated 836[1477]. "Æthelwulf rex Cancie" was co-grantor of land in Kent with "Egberthus rex occident Saxonum pater meus" by charters dated [833/39] and 838 respectively[1478]. Despite his successes, he does not seem to have claimed overlordship over all the southern English or referred to himself as king of England. He is listed as eighth bretwalda in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle[1479], supplementing the original list given by Bede. William of Malmesbury records that King Ecgberht died "after a reign of thirty-seven years" and was buried at Winchester[1480]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Ecgberht died in 839[1481]. m ([789/92]) REDBURGA, daughter of ---. The primary source which confirms her marriage has not yet been identified. According to Weir, she is said to have been "sister of the king of the Franks", who at the time was Charles I, later Emperor "Charlemagne", but her identity is uncertain[1482]. The primary source on which this is based has not been identified. If her origin was Frankish, King Ecgberht presumably married her during his exile at the Frankish court between [789/792]. King Ecgberht had two children: 1. ÆTHELWULF ([795/810]-13 Jan 858, bur Winchester). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle names Æthelwulf as son of Ecgberht[1483]. He succeeded his father 839 as ÆTHELWULF King of Wessex. - see below. 2. EADGYTH (-Polesworth Abbey ----, bur Polesworth Abbey). A manuscript of Polesworth Monastery records that “sancta Editha sorore regis Athulphi” was a nun at the abbey[1484]. Another manuscript which narrates the foundation of Polesworth Monastery in more detail, but is stated in Dugdale’s Monasticon to date from 1640, records that “Egbrycht the king had on son…Arnulfe and a dowhtur…Edith”, and that the latter was made abbess[1485].
    Page: Ecgberht, King of Wessex, in the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy ~http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%20Kings.htm#EcgberhtWessexA [See document in the Memories section]
  7. Title: Aethelwulf, King of Wessex, in Burke's The Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales, pg. Part 1, x, xi, xii [See document in the Memories section]
    Author: Burke's The Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales, pg. Part 1, x, xi, xii
    Publication: Name: https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/140282261;
    Note: Aethelwulf, King of Wessex, in Burke's The Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales, pg. Part 1, x, xi, xii [See document in the Memories section]
    Page: Aethelwulf, King of Wessex, in Burke's The Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales, pg. Part 1, x, xi, xii [See document in the Memories section]
  8. Title: Millennium File
    Publication: Name: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=7249&h=10446144&indiv=try;
  9. Title: Aethelwulf, King of Wessex, and his family in the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
    Author: ~http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%20Kings.htm#AethelwulfWessexdied858A
    Publication: Name: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%20Kings.htm#AethelwulfWessexdied858B;
    Note: ÆTHELWULF, son of ECGBERHT King of Wessex & his wife Redburga --- ([795/810]-13 Jan 858, bur Winchester Cathedral). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle names Æthelwulf as son of Ecgberht[1486]. Kirby suggests[1487] that Æthelwulf could have been born as late as 810, although this would not be consistent with the supposed date of his father's marriage and is unlikely to be correct if Æthelstan (see below) was King Æthelwulf's son. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in 825 "Egbert king of Wessex…sent his son Æthelwulf…and Wulfheard his ealdorman to Kent with a great force" where they expelled King Baldred[1488]. "Æthelwulfi regis filii mei" was co-grantor of land at Canterbury to "Ciaba clericus" with "Ægberhtus rex occidentalium Saxonum" by charter dated 836[1489]. "Æthelwulf rex Cancie" was co-grantor of land in Kent with "Egberthus rex occident Saxonum pater meus" by charters dated [833/39] and 838 respectively[1490]. Under-King of Kent, Essex, Sussex and Surrey 825-839. He succeeded his father in 839 as ÆTHELWULF King of Wessex, crowned [later in 839] at Kingston-upon-Thames. Danish raids intensified during his reign. Great damage was done in Lindsey, East Anglia and Kent in 841, and Southampton was plundered in 842. Before 850, King Æthelwulf had settled the ancient dispute with Mercia about the lands to the west of the middle Thames by transferring Berkshire from Mercia to Wessex[1491]. He defeated a large Danish army south of the Thames at Aclea in 851 after it had stormed Canterbury and London and driven Burghred King of Mercia to flight[1492]. King Æthelwulf made a pilgrimage to Rome in 855, leaving the government in the hands of his son Æthelbald. At the request of Pope Benedict III, he made a public distribution of gold and silver to the clergy, leading men of Rome and the people[1493]. William of Malmesbury records that Æthelbald rebelled against his father during his absence and, after returning, King Æthelwulf abdicated part of his realm in Wessex in favour of his son to avoid civil war, continuing to rule in the other part of Wessex, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex[1494]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the death of King Æthelwulf two years after returning from Rome and his burial at Winchester[1495]. [m] [firstly] ([815/20]) ---. There is no direct proof of this supposed first marriage. However, the likely birth date of King Æthelwulf's son Æthelstan suggests a substantial age difference with his brothers, indicating that he was probably not born from the same mother. m [secondly] ([830/33]) OSBURGA, daughter of OSLAC Ealdorman of the Isle of Wight & his wife --- (-[852/55]). Asser names "Osburga…daughter of Oslac the famous butler of King Æthelwulf…a Goth by nation" as the mother of King Alfred, specifying that her father was descended from "the Goths and Jutes…namely of Stuf and Whitgar two brothers…who…received possession of the Isle of Wight from their uncle King Cerdic"[1496]. She is named as mother of King Alfred by Roger of Hoveden, who also names her father, specifying that he was "pincerna regis"[1497]. m [thirdly] ([Verberie-sur-Oise] 1 Oct 856) as her first husband, JUDITH of the Franks, daughter of CHARLES II "le Chauve" King of the West Franks & his first wife Ermentrudis [d’Orléans] ([844]-after 870). The Annales Bertiniani record the betrothal in Jul 856 of "Iudith filiam Karli regis" and "Edilvulf rex occidentalium Anglorum" after the latter returned from Rome and their marriage "Kal Oct in Vermaria palatio", during which "Ingmaro Durocortori Remorum episcopo" set a queen's diadem on her head[1498]. She and her father are named by Roger of Hoveden when he records her marriage to King Æthelwulf[1499]. Her husband placed her "by his own side on the regal throne", contrary to normal practice according to Asser, who also says that the subservient position previously given to the queen was adopted in Wessex after the reign of King Beorhtric because of the unpopular influence of his queen Eadburh of Mercia[1500]. Queen Judith married secondly ([858/59]) her stepson, Æthelbald King of Wessex. The Annales Bertiniani record the marriage of "Iudit reginam" and "Adalboldus filius eius [=Edilvulf regis]" in 858 after the death of her first husband[1501]. She eloped with her future third husband, Baudouin I Count of Flanders, around Christmas 861 and married him at Auxerre end-863. The Annales Bertiniani record that Judith returned to her father after the death of her second husband, lived at Senlis "sub tuitione paterna", and from there was abducted by "Balduinum comitem" with the consent of her brother Louis, her father consenting to the marriage the following year[1502]. Flodoard names "Balduini comitis et Iudita…Karoli regis filia, Edilvulfo regi Anglorum qui et Edelboldus in matrimonium"[1503]. [Mistress (1): ---. The uncertain nature of the precise relationship of King Æthelberht to the royal family is explained below, one of the possibilities being that he was an illegitimate son of King Æthelwulf by an unknown concubine.] King Æthelwulf & his [first wife] had one child: 1. ÆTHELSTAN ([820/26]-[851/53]). King Æthelwulf & his [second] wife had [five] children: 2. ÆTHELBALD ([835/40]-20 Dec 860, bur Sherborne Abbey, Dorset). who succeeded as ÆTHELBALD King of Wessex, while his father continued to rule in the other part of Wessex and in Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the death in 860 of King Æthelbald and his burial at Sherborne[1516]. m ([858/59], separated) as her second husband, his stepmother, JUDITH of the Franks, widow of ÆTHELWULF King of Wessex, daughter of CHARLES II "le Chauve" King of the West Franks & his first wife Ermentrudis [d’Orléans] ([844]-after 870). 3. ÆTHELSWITH ([838/41]-in Italy 888, bur Pavia). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that King Æthelwulf gave his (unnamed) daughter in marriage to King Burghred[1524]. Asser records that in 853 after Easter King Æthelwulf "gave his daughter to Burhred king of the Mercians…at the royal vill of Chippenham"[1525]. Her name is confirmed by the charter of "Burgred rex Mercensium" dated 855 subscribed by "Æthelswith regina"[1526]. It is assumed that Æthelswith was her father's legitimate daughter by his wife Osburga, but this is not certain. She was probably older than her brothers Æthelred and Alfred in view of her 853 marriage, although the possibility of an infant marriage cannot be excluded. Æthelswith had no known children from whose birth dates one could calculate their mother's age. "Æthelswith regina" was co-grantor with King Burgred in a grant of land at Upthrop to Wulflaf dated 869[1527]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in 888 "ealdorman Beocca and queen Æthelswith who was king Alfred's sister took the alms of the West Saxons and of king Alfred to Rome", one manuscript specifying that she "passed away on the way to Rome", another that she was buried in Pavia[1528]. Ingulph's Chronicle of the Abbey of Croyland records that she was buried "at Ticinum"[1529]. m (Chippenham after Easter 853) BURGHRED King of Mercia, son of --- (-Rome after 874). He turned to Æthelwulf King of Wessex in 853 for help against the Britons of Wales, and was given his daughter in marriage[1530]. "Burgred rex Mercensium" granted lands to bishop Alhhun under charter dated 855, and was co-grantor with his wife in a grant of land at Upthrop to Wulflaf dated 869[1531]. The 855 charter shows that the Danes were in Mercia around the Wrekin in that year[1532]. King Burghred, in alliance with his brothers-in-law King Æthelred and Alfred of Wessex, gathered near Nottingham in 868 to fight the Danes but bought peace from them without fighting. However, the Danish army moved on Repton in late 873, and Burghred was forced out in 874. He left for Rome where he spent the rest of his life. 4. ÆTHELRED ([844/47]-[15/22] Apr 871, bur Wimborne Minster, Dorset[1533]). He succeeded his brother in 866 as ÆTHELRED I King of Wessex, crowned soon after at Kingston-upon-Thames. m (868) WULFTHRYTH, daughter of --- ([848/53]-). King Æthelred I & [his wife] had two children: a) ÆTHELHELM ([868/70]-898). b) ÆTHELWOLD ([869/71]-killed at the battle of the Holm [902/05]). 5. ÆLFRED (Wantage, Berkshire 849-26 Oct 899, bur Newminster Abbey, Winchester, transferred to Hyde Abbey, Winchester). Asser records the birth in 849 of Alfred, son of King Æthelwulf, at Wantage in Berkshire[1557]. He succeeded his brother in 871 as ALFRED King of Wessex. 6. [OSWEALD (-875 or after). [King Æthelwulf had one illegitimate child by Mistress (1):] 7. [ÆTHELBERHT ([830/35]-[865/66], bur Sherborne Abbey, Dorset). [See document in the Memories section]
    Page: Aethelwulf, King of Wessex, and his family in the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy ~http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%20Kings.htm#AethelwulfWessexdied858A [See document in the Memories section]
  10. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Redburga Franks - birth-name: Redburga the Franks
    Author: Public Member Trees, Ancestry.com, Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;, www.ancestry.com, null, Page number: Database online.
    Note: birth-name: Redburga the Franks birth: ; Aachen, Aachen, Rheinland, Germany death: ; ,,England
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3245806164
Master Index | Pedigree Chart | Descendency Chart
Please send genealogical corrections, additions, or comments to Michael Matthew Groat PhD
Created by GIMMWebService Version 1.0.3 (Program Information), Copyright 2023 © Michael Groat
(Web design layout and pedigree indentation subroutine) Copyright 1996 © Randy Winch (gumby@edge.net) and Tim Doyle (tdoyle@doit.com)
(Internal GEDCOM data structures and GEDCOM file parsing) Copyright 2014-2021 © Giulio Genovese (giulio.genovese@gmail.com)

Like the program that you see? Any support is appreciated!

Paypal