Ælfwynn (born c. 888) was a 10th-century Mercian noblewoman who holds a unique place in English history as the only recorded woman in the Anglo-Saxon period to succeed another woman as ruler. As the daughter of Æthelflæd, the Lady of the Mercians, and granddaughter of Alfred the Great, she briefly became the Second Lady of the Mercians following her mother’s death in June 918. Her importance lies in this rare female succession, which stood until her uncle, King Edward the Elder of Wessex, deposed her just six months later to consolidate Mercia into his own kingdom, which was a pivotal step in the unification of England.
Her connection to Bedfordshire is historically significant through her family’s military and administrative efforts to defend the region. During her mother’s reign, the area was a frontline in the struggle against Viking invaders. In 915, while Ælfwynn was at her mother’s court and acting as a witness to royal charters, her uncle King Edward famously fortified Bedford, building a “burh” (fortified town) on the south bank of the River Ouse to secure the town from Danish control. Ælfwynn’s presence in Mercian political life during these years places her at the heart of the leadership that helped stabilise and rebuild the territories that now comprise Bedfordshire.
Ælfwynn South Bedfordshire Moot 