EFL - Enciclopedia delle Famiglie Lombarde

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%20K ings.htm AGATHA, daughter of --- ([1025/35]-). Agatha is named as th e wife of Edward in many sources [1], but her origin has been the subj ect of lively debate for years. The early 12th century chronicles ar e contradictory. The assertion by Orderic Vitalis that she was "daught er of Solomon King of the Magyars" [2] can be dismissed as impossibl e chronologically. One group of chroniclers suggest a German origin, s aying that she was "the daughter of the brother of the Emperor Henry" . This includes John of Worcester ("filia germani imperatoris henrici " [3], in a passage which Humphreys speculates was written some time b etween 1120 and 1131 although possibly based on the earlier work of Ma rianus Scotus), Florence of Worcester ("daughter of the brother of Emp eror Henry" [4]), the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' ("the emperor's kinswo man" [5] and, in relation to her daughter Margaret, "descended from th e emperor Henry who had dominion over Rome" [6]). Ailred Abbot of Riev aulx records that "Edwardo", son of "regem Edmundum" [King Edmund "Iro nsides"], married "filiam germani sui Henrici imperatoris… Agatha" [ 7]. Matthew of Paris calls Agatha "soror Henrici imperatoris Romani" w hen recounting the ancestry of Henry II King of England [8]. A secon d group of chroniclers propose a Russian origin, suggesting that Agath a belonged to the family of Iaroslav Grand Prince of Kiev. For Willia m of Malmesbury, she was "sister of the [Hungarian] queen", which fro m a chronological point of view could only refer to Anastasia Iaroslav na, wife of King András I. In a 13th century interpolation in one cop y of the ''Leges Anglo-Saxonicæ'' (written in [1130]) she was "ex gen ere et sanguine regum Rugorum" [9]. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois- Fontaines names "Agatham regine Hunorem sororem" [10], the Hungarian M agyars frequently, though incorrectly, being referred to as "Huns" i n many other sources. Lastly, Roger of Wendover records that "Eadwardu s" married "reginæ Hungariæ sororem… Agatham" [11]. In considerin g the German origin theory, the uterine half-brothers ("germani") of E mperor Heinrich III provide a likely candidate. These half-brothers we re Liudolf von Braunschweig, Markgraf in Friesland (son of Gisela of S wabia, mother of Emperor Heinrich III, by her first marriage with Brun o Graf [von Braunschweig]), and Ernst von Babenberg Duke of Swabia an d his younger brother Hermann IV Duke of Swabia (sons of Gisela by he r second marriage). The latter, the Babenberg brothers, born in [1014/ 16], were both too young to have been Agatha's father so can be dismis sed. Liudolf von Braunschweig was first proposed as Agatha's father i n 1933 [12], and has been the preferred candidate for many historian s since then [13]. His birth date is estimated at [1003/05] which is c onsistent with his having been Agatha's father. The marriage taking pl ace in Kiev would not exclude a German origin, as contacts were report ed between Kiev and the imperial court in 1040 [14], when Russia was a iming to create a tripartite alliance with England and Germany to weak en Denmark, and also in 1043 [15], when the situation required revie w following the accession of King Edward "the Confessor" in England. T he major drawback to the German origin theory is the total absence o f onomastic connections between the Braunschweig family and the descen dants of Edward and Agatha, although this is not of course conclusiv e to prove or disprove the hypothesis. The Russian origin theory has a lso found considerable academic support [16]. Edmund must have had con tact with the Russian royal family during his period in Kiev, assumin g it is correct, as suggested above, that he spent time there during h is exile. There are numerous onomastic connections between the the ext ended family of Grand Prince Iaroslav and the descendants of Edward an d Agatha. For example, the names of Edward and Agatha's own daughters , Margaret and Christina, were both used in the Swedish royal family , to which Grand Prince Iaroslav's wife belonged. In the next generati on, among Queen Margaret's own children, the name David is one which s eems only to have been used in the Kiev ruling family among all contem porary European royal dynasties. The major problem with the Russian or igin theory is the complete failure to explain the source references t o Agatha's family relationship with the emperor, which it is unwise t o dismiss as completely meaningless. It is of course possible that nei ther of these theories is correct, and that Agatha belonged to a mino r German, Russian or Hungarian noble family the importance of whose fa mily connections were exaggerated in the sources. Edward's relationshi p to the kings of England may, at the time of his marriage, have seeme d remote and unimportant in eastern Europe, especially as England wa s ruled by Danish kings whose position must then have seemed secure. H e may not have provided a sufficiently attractive marriage prospect fo r a prominent European princess. In conclusion, therefore, there is n o satisfactory way of deciding between each of the competing theorie s concerning Agatha's origin and it appears best to classify it as "un known". It is unlikely that the mystery of Agatha's origin will ever b e solved to the satisfaction of all. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle record s that, after the Norman conquest, Agatha left England with her childr en in Summer 1067 and found refuge at the court of Malcolm King of Sco tland [17]. Florence of Worcester records that "clitone Eadgaro et mat re sua Agatha duabusque sororibus suis Margareta et Christina" left En gland for Scotland, in a passage which deals with events in mid-1068 [ 18]. According to Weir, in old age, possibly after the death of her da ughter Queen Margaret, she became a nun at Newcastle-upon-Tyne [19], b ut the primary source on which this is based has not yet been identifi ed. [1] Including MP, Vol. II, p. 22. [2] Orderic Vitalis, Vol. IV , Book VIII, p. 273. [3] Darlington, Reginald R. & McGurk, Patrick e ditors, trans. Jennifer Bray and Patrick McGurk (1995) ''The Chronicl e of John of Worcester'', Vol II: The Annals from 450 to 1066 (Oxford : Clarendon Press), 1017, cited in Humphreys (2003), p. 34. [4] Flore nce of Worcester, 1017, p. 133. [5] "Caseres maga", ''Anglo-Saxon Chr onicle'', D, 1057. [6] ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', D, 1067. [7] Aelre dus Rievallensis Abbas, ''Genealogia Regum Anglorum'', Migne, Patrolog ia Latina, Vol 195, col. 733D and 734B. [8] MP, Vol. II, 1155, p. 209 . [9] ''Leges Anglo-Saxonicæ'', quoted in Ronay (1989), p. 117. [10 ] ''Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium'' 1100, MGH SS XXIII, p. 81 4. [11] Roger of Wendover, Vol. I, p. 462. [12] Herzog, Joszef (1933 ), Skóciai Szent Margit származásának kérdése [The problem of S t Margaret of Scotland's Scottish origins]. [13] Including De Vajay , S. (1962) 'Agatha, Mother of Saint Margaret Queen of Scotland' Duque sne Review: Journal of Social Sciences, 7: 71-80, and Faris, David & R ichardson, Douglas (1998) 'The Parents of Agatha, wife of Edward the E xile' New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 152: 224-235 . [14] Saxo Grammaticus, 1040, MGH SS VI, p. 684. [15] ''Annales Alt ahenses Maiores'', MGH XX, p. 798. [16] Including Jetté, R. (1996) ' Is the Mystery of the Origin of Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile, fina lly solved?', New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 150: 4 17-32, and Ingham, N. W. (1998) 'Has a missing daughter of Iaroslav Mu driy been found?', Russian History 23 (3):231-70. [17] ''Anglo-Saxo n Chronicle'', D, 1067. [18] Florentii Wigornensis Monachi ''Chronico n'', Vol. II, p. 2. [19] Weir (2002), p. 28.