THE PROBLEMS OF IMAGE AND STATUS OF EDITH OF WESSEX IN THE LIFE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR
The paper considers specific features of image and status of English king Edward the Confessor’s wife Edith based on “Vita Ædwardi Regis” that was written in the middle 60-s of the XI c. on the orders of Edward’s widow. Edith’s status as the queen at her husband’s court as reflected in the “Vita…” well fitted in the overall trend of late Anglo-Saxon rulers’ wives strengthening influence on state affairs. However, the key factor in Edith’s “career” and in her image interpretation by the “Vita…” was her kinship with the powerful Godwin’s clan, the English king had to reckon with. By representing herself in the “Vita…” as the ideal wife, queen, sister and daughter of the powerful Godwin family members Edith attempted at strengthening her position at the royal court after the death of king Edward, her husband.
Keywords: woman in the early Middle Ages, Anglo-Saxons, the queen’s status, Edith of Wessex, “The Life of king Edward”
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Issue: 9, 2015
Series of issue: Issue 9
Rubric: WORLD HISTORY
Pages: 196 — 201
Downloads: 1091