The History Of Women

     Æthelwulf, meaning 'Noble Wolf' succeeded his father Egbert of Wessex in 839. Æthelwulf was described as a very pious and unambitious King, who dedicated much of his time to charitable causes and pilgrimage. Æthelwulf reigned until his death in 858.

     Osburh was the first wife of King Æthelwulf. Very little is known about Osburh, and her very existence is known only from Asser's biography the Life of King Alfred, written in 893.

     Asser, a Welsh monk and Bishop, described Osburh as "Mater quoque eiusdem Osburh nominabatur, religiosa nimium femina, nobilis ingenio, nobilis et genere; quae erat filia Oslac, famosi pincernae Æthelwulfi regis. Qui Oslac Gothus erat natione" (Osburh, mother of King Alfred, was a highly religious woman, noble and kind in character and noble by birth. She was the daughter of Oslac, famous butler of the king Æthelwulf). Oslac's ancestry can be traced back to Osweald, king of Northumbria (604–642) and King Cerdic's Jutish nephews, Stuf and Wihtgar, who conquered the Isle of Wight.

     The date of Æthelwulf and Osburh's marriage is unknown, but their first child was born in 829, before Æthelwulf became King. Their union was blessed with six children, five sons - Æthelstan, Æthelbald, Æthelbert, Æthelred, and Alfred, and one daughter named Æthelswith. Four of their sons succeeded to the throne, with the exception of Æthelstan. Æthelswith, was married as a child to King Burgred of Mercia.  

     A famous passage in Asser's biography of the Life of King Alfred states that Osburh let Alfred and her sons see a book of Saxon poem's, offering to give the book to whoever could memorise it first. This proves the importance that education had in Saxon England, including the interest in books by ninth-century women, and their ability to educate their children.

     Osburh is believed to have died before 856, when King Æthelwulf took another bride - twelve year old Judith of Flanders. Another possibility is that Æthelwulf was simply a bigamist and had two wives.

     Osburh was mother to King Alfred the Great, one of the Greatest rulers in English history.

Sources:

• Asser's Life of King Alfred
• Lees, Clare A. & Gillian R. Overing (eds), Double Agents: Women and Clerical Culture in Anglo-Saxon England. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2001. ISBN 0-8122-3628-9