The History Of Women

     In 757, Aethelbald, King of the Mercians for 41 years, was murdered near the royal seat at Tamworth. He was succeeded shortly after civil war, by his cousins grandson Offa, son of Thingfrith, a Mercian noble. Offa has been described by historians as power hungry. He was driven by the lust for personal power rather than nationhood.

     Chnethryth's origins are relatively unknown, but there is a possibility that she was a descendant of the wife and daughters of King Penda - Cynewise, Cyneburh, and Cyneswith. King Offa was a young King, and needed to secure the throne with an heir. Chnethryth was part of a extinct royal line, and by marrying Offa, represented a unity between the old royal line and the new succession. Together they produced at least 5 children - Ecgfrith of Mercia, Æthelburh, an abbess, Eadburh, wife of Beorhtric of Wessex, Ælfflæd, wife of Æthelred I of Northumbria and Æthelswith. In the legend of Æthelberht II of East Anglia, a 6th daughter is mentioned - Ælfthryth, but there is no further proof of her existence. Their children were given names associated with the Northumbrian royal family, who during the previous century, were head of Northumbria, the leading Anglo-Saxon kingdom.

     The date of the marriage is unknown, and it was not untill the birth of their heir, Ecgfrith, that Chnethryth was granted the full rites of Queen consort. The first description of her is from 780, where she is described as Cyneðryð Dei gratia regina Merciorum (Cynethryth, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Mercians).

     Eighth century coins depict Offa and Cynethryth in a similar fashion to the rulers of the Roman Empire. Offa was the first Mercian King to strike named coinage. Cynethryth even had her own coin, a privilege not afforded to any other Saxon Queen, but common amongst Roman Empresses. The coins hold Chnethryth's name and image, with no mention of King Offa. This would suggest that the coins were minted under her sole authority. Cynethryth must have been a strong personality, and Alcuin of York, a scholar, described Chnethryth as pious and the "Controller of the Royal household". 

     Chnethryth is said to have had a ruthless streak, and is often held responsible for the murder of Æthelberht II of East Anglia in 794. The legend states that Æthelberht had fallen in love with Chnethryth's daughter Princess Ælfthryth, and in the hope of seeking her hand, visited court. Offa and Chnethryth saw this as an opportunity to steal the land of East Anglia from Æthelberht, and so forged a plan to kill him - Chnethryth had a seat installed above a trap-door, where she allowed Æthelberht to sit. Æthelberht plunged into the dungeon below, where he was beheaded. East Anglia was then annexed with Mercia and broken hearted Ælfthryth ran away and became an abbess.

     Offa and Chnethryth's rein lasted 39 years, until Offa's death in 796. He was succeeded by his son Ecgfirth, who had been crowned as co-ruler in 787. Unfortunately, Ecgfirth ruled a mere 141 days after his father's death, due to his own demise. Chnethryth turned to religion after her husbands death, becoming Abbess of Cookham monastery and also charge of the church at Bedford, where her late husband was interred. The date of Chnethryth's death isn't known, and the last mention of her was in 798 when a dispute over church lands with Æthelhard, Archbishop of Canterbury, was settled at the Synod of Clofesho. Chnethryth was most likely buried next to Offa in a chapel on the banks of the Great Ouse. Unfortunately a flood destroyed the chapel and carried their graves off with the flood waters. 

     Offa is considered the first 'King of the English' so in effect, Cynethryth was the first in the line of English Queens. Mercia dominance did not survive Offa's death.

Sources:

• "Cynethryth 2 (Female) Queen of the Mercians, fl. 770-798; wife of Offa 7; abbess of Cookham". Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
• "Anglo-Saxon Charters homepage". Retrieved 2007-10-08.
• Dümmler, Ernst, Epistolae Karolini aevi, Tomus II. (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistolarum, Tomus IV) Berlin: Weidmann, 1895. (Available at dMGH)
• Kelly, S.E. (2004). "Cynethryth". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
• Keynes, Simon, "Cynethryth" in M. Lapidge et al. (eds), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Blackwell, London, 1999. ISBN 0-631-22492-0
• Miller, Sean. "Anglo-Saxons.net". Retrieved 2007-10-08.
• Shippey, Tom (Summer 2001). "Wicked Queens and Cousin Strategies in Beowulf and Elsewhere". The Heroic Age, Volume 5. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
• Stafford, Pauline, "Political Women in Mercia, Eighth to Early Tenth Centuries" in Michelle P. Brown & Carol A. Farr (eds), Mercia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Europe. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8264-7765-8
• Thacker, Alan, "Kings, Saints and Monasteries in pre-Viking Mercia" in Midland History, volume 10 (1985). ISSN 0047-729X
• Williams, Gareth, "Mercian Coinage and Authority" in Michelle P. Brown & Carol A. Farr (eds), Mercia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Europe. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8264-7765-8
• Yorke, Barbara, "The Origins of Mercia" in Michelle P. Brown & Carol A. Farr (eds), Mercia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Europe. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8264-7765-8