Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 11, Part 4

Author: Hart, Samuel, 1845-1917. ed. cn; American Historical Society. cn
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] The American historical society, incorporated
Number of Pages: 720


USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 11 > Part 4


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(II) John De St. John, Lord of Stan- ton.


(III) Roger De St. John married Cicely de Haya.


(IV) Muriel De St. John married Regi- nald de Aureval.


(V) Mabel De Aureval, daughter of Reginald De Aureval and Muriel De St. John, married Adam de Port, Baron of Basing, in the County of Southampton. He was a son of John de Port, and grand- son of Henry de Port. The latter was a son of Hugh de Port, a Baron in the time of William the Conqueror, and owner of fifty-five lordships in the County of South- ampton.


(VI) William De Port assumed the surname of St. John, and was Baron St. John of Basing. He married Godchild Paganal.


(VII) Robert De St. John was second Baron of Basing, 38, Henry III. He mar- ried the daughter and heiress of William de Cantilupe.


(VIII) William St. John, of Faumont, County Glamorgan, married Isabel Cob- martin.


(IX) Sir John St. John, Knt.


(X) Sir John St. John, Knt., married Elizabeth Humfreville, coheiress to the lordship of Penmark.


(XI) Sir Oliver St. John, Knt., lord of Penmark.


(XII) Sir John St. John, Knt., lord of Penmark.


(XIII) Sir Oliver St. John, Knt., of Bletsoe, County Bedford, married Mar- garet, daughter of John De Beauchamp, of Bletsoe, and sister and heir of John De Beauchamp, of Bletsoe, heir male and rep-


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resentative of Roger De Beauchamp, who was summoned to Parliament as Lord De Beauchamp, 1363 to 1379. Margaret (De Beauchamp) St. John married (second) in 1440, John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and was the mother of Margaret, Coun- tess of Richmond, mother of Henry VII.


(XIV) Sir John De St. John married Alice, daughter of Sir Thomas Brads- haigh, of Haigh, County Lancaster; she descended in the fourteenth generation from Sir John Bradshaigh.


(XV) Sir John De St. John, K. B., of Bletsoe, married Sibyl, daughter of Mor- gan ap Jenkins ap Philip.


(XVI) Sir John St. John married Mar- garet, daughter of Sir William Walde- grave, K. B., of Smallbridge, Suffolk. Margaret Waldegrave traced a most dis- tinguished ancestry. She was a lineal descendant of Warine de Waldegrave, Reginald de Wentworth, Lord Badles- mere, Guy de Croun, Harold de Vaux, the Lords of Tibetot, Lords of Ros, William the Lion of Scotland, King Henry I, the Empress Matilda, King Henry II, King John, King Henry III, King Edward I, the Earls of Gloucester, and Hugh, Earl of Winchester.


(XVII) Oliver St. John was elevated to the peerage, January 13, 1558-59, by the title of Lord St. John, of Bletsoe. The designation of the barony has been spelled variously Bletsho, Bletshoe, Blet- soe, and Bletso, in which latter form it now appears on the Roll of the Lords. Oliver St. John was one of the peers who sat in judgment upon Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He died sometime before May 23, 1582. He married (first) before January, 1548- 1549, Agnes, daughter of John Fisher, and granddaughter and heir of Sir Michael Fisher, Knight.


(XVIII) Rt. Hon. Thomas St. John, son of Oliver, Ist Lord St. John, was the


grandfather of Elizabeth (St. John) Whiting.


(XIX) Rt. Hon. Sir Oliver St. John, of Cayshoe, Bedfordshire, married Sarah Bulkley, of Odell, Bedfordshire. She was a sister of Rev. Edward Bulkley, D. D., of Odell, and aunt of Rev. Peter Bulkley, the first minister of Concord, Massachu- setts. The Bulkleys were of honorable and noble descent. Sarah Bulkley was of the ninth generation from Robert Bulk- ley, one of the English barons, who, in the reign of King John, was lord of the manor of Bulkley, in the County Palatine of Chester.


(XX) Elizabeth St. John, daughter of the Rt. Hon. Sir Oliver and Sarah (Bulk- ley) St. John, was born in Cayshoe, Bed- fordshire, England, in 1605. She became the wife of Rev. Samuel Whiting, A. M., and accompanied him to New England, where she died in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1677.


(The Warren Line).


Arms-Gules, a lion rampant argent, a chief compony counter-compony or and azure.


Crest-A demi-eagle displayed checky argent and azure.


Motto-Virtus mihi scutum. (Virtue is to me a shield).


The history of the Warren family is exceeded in interest and antiquity by that of no ancient English house. The sur- name Warren is of Norman-French origin, and is derived from Gareme or Gar- renne. There is at present a village called Garenne in the same district, and it is here that the origin of the family has been fixed by historians. The ancient baronial seat of the de Warrenes stood on the west side of the river Garenne, and as late as the year 1832 some of the ruins were standing. The surname has as- sumed different forms from time to time. It first appears in England with William de Warrenne, a Norman nobleman, who came to England with William the Con-


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queror, to whom he was related both by marriage and common ancestry. An ancient genealogy of the family traces the lineage of this William de Warrenne back to the year 900 A. D., when his Scandin- avian ancestors are said to have settled in Normandy. Scandinavian origin of the Norman family is acceded by eminent genealogists, and is embodied in the pedi- gree of the English house as drawn up by W. Flower, Norroy King of Arms; and R. Glover, Somerset Herald, of Eng- land, in 1580.


The following account of the early fam- ily is taken from the work of the late Rev. Dr. Israel Perkins Warren, of Portland, Maine :


The family of Warren has been traced by Eng- lish writers to a Norman baron of Danish extrac- tion. The Normans and Danes were united in their efforts to make a settlement in the northern part of France and ultimately succeeded in obtain- ing a footing in that part of the country from which the Normans took the name of Normandy. One of these barons became connected by marriage with considerable families, as is related in the fol- lowing account of an English author : "The Dan- ish knight had Gunnora, Herfastus, Wevia, Werina, Duvelina, and Sainfra. Of these, Gunnora mar- ried Richard, Duke of Normandy, who had Rich- ard, the father also of Richard, who dying without issue was succeeded in the dukedom by his brother Robert, the father of William the Conqueror ; who by Maud, daughter of Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, had Robert, Duke of Normandy; Richard, Duke of Bernay, in Normandy; William, King of Eng- land; Henry, King of England; and several daughters, one of whom, Gundred, was married to William, the first Earl of Warren and Surrey. Werina, according to a large pedigree drawn up and signed by W. Flower, Norroy and R. Glover, Somerset Herald, in 1580, married Asmundde Com- mitiis villa. * * * Gundred, wife of William, first Earl of Warren and Surrey, in England, was a descendant of Charlemagne, and the fourth daughter of William the Conqueror and his wife Maud, daughter of Baldwin, Earl of Flanders. We may therefore believe that William de War- renne was one of the principal and confidential auxiliaries of William, from whom he had received the title of Earl before coming to England. He


took an important part in the battle of Hastings, A. D. 1066, and in payment for his services, which were evidently highly estimated by the Conqueror, received immense land grants. He is mentioned in the Domesday Book as possessing lands in almost every county in England, comprising in all, accord- ing to Hume, three hundred lordships. He had lands in Shropshire, Essex, Suffolk, Oxford, Hants, Cambridgeshire, Bucks, Huntingdon, Bedfordshire, Norfolk, Lincoln, and York. He selected his resi- dence in the village of Lewes, County Surrey, and there erected his beautiful castle, the ruins of which are still to be seen standing on an eminence surrounding the town. Although the principal parts are demolished, its gates are still standing, showing the massive construction. William, Earl of Warren and Surrey, and his wife Gundred erected the priory in the town of Lewes, and he continued his benefactions to it during his life. Gundred died on May 27, 1085, and was buried in the chapter house of the Priory of Lewes, County Surrey. Her tombstone is still in existence. Wil- liam died June 24, 1088. His epitaph is still in existence, although the gravestone is lost or de- stroyed. In 1845 the coffers containing the bones of the earl and countess were disinterred and are now in the church of St. John the Baptist, South- over.


Between William, first Earl of Warren and Surrey, and Richard Warren, of the "Mayflower," the American progenitor, seventeen generations elapse. Between William, first Earl of Warren and Surrey, and Elizabeth (St. John) Whiting, ances- tress of the New England Whitings herein under consideration, nineteen gen- erations elapse.


(The Warren Pedigree).


Showing the alliances with Gundred, daughter of William the Conqueror, and Isabel, member of the noble French house of de Vermandois.


(I) The progenitor, a Danish knight, was among those who succeeded in obtaining a footing in Normandy, and became allied through marriage with some of the fore- most families of noble lineage in Europe. He was the father of: I. Gunnora (see Pedigree A, II). 2. Herfastus, men-


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tioned below. 3. Wevia. 4. Werina. 5. Duvelina. 6. Sainfra.


(II) Herfastus, son of the progenitor.


(III) A daughter who married Walter de Saint Martin.


(IV) William De Warren, Earl of Warren in Normandy, married a daugh- ter of Ralph de Torta.


(V) William (2) De Warren, son of William (1) De Warren, married Gun- dred, daughter of William the Conqueror, and became the first Earl of Warren and Surrey in England.


(VI) William (3) De Warren, son of William (2) De Warren and Gundred, daughter of the Conqueror, succeeded his father in his title and lands, and became the second Earl of Warren and Surrey. He married Isabel, daughter of the fifth Earl of Vermandois, in France. (See Pedigree B, VIII).


(VII) Roger, Earl of Warwick, mar- ried Gundred.


(VIII) Walerian, Earl of Warwick, married Alice de Harcourt.


(IX) Alice De Newburg, daughter of Walerian, Earl of Warwick, married Wil- liam, Baron of Hanslop.


(X) Isabel Mauduit, their daughter, married William De Beauchamp, descend- ant in the seventh generation of Hugh De Beauchamp, founder of the family. She was the common ancestress of King Henry VII, of England, and Elizabeth (St. John) Whiting, who were sixth cousins.


(XI) Walter De Beauchamp, son of William De Beauchamp and Isabel Mau- duit, married and had Roger De Beau- champ.


(XII) Roger De Beauchamp.


(XIII) Roger (2) De Beauchamp.


(XIV) John De Beauchamp.


(XV) Margaret De Beauchamp, daugh- ter of John De Beauchamp, married (first) Sir Oliver St. John, son of Sir John St.


John, Lord of Penmark, and they were the parents of Sir John De St. John, men- tioned below. She married (second) John, Duke of Somerset; their daughter, Lady Margaret Beaufort, became the wife · of Edmund, Earl of Richmond, and the mother of King Henry VII, of England.


(XVI) Sir John De St. John, son of Sir Oliver St. John and Margaret De Beau- champ, is No. 14 of the St. John Pedigree. (See St. John).


(Pedigree A).


(I) A Danish Knight, founder of the line.


(II) Gunnora, his daughter, became the wife of Richard, Duke of Normandy.


(III) Richard, Duke of Normandy, son and heir of Richard, Duke of Normandy, and Gunnora, his wife, was the father of Richard, Duke of Normandy, who dying without issue was succeeded in the duke- dom by his brother, Robert.


(IV) Robert, Duke of Normandy, son of Richard, Duke of Normandy, surnamed Robert the Devil.


(V) William, Duke of Normandy, and King of England, surnamed the Con- queror, was born in 1027 or 1028, the son of Robert, Duke of Normandy; he mar- ried Maud, daughter of Baldwin V, Earl of Flanders. (See Pedigree C, XVI). Their children were: I. Robert. 2. Richard, Duke of Bernay, in Normandy. 3. Wil- liam, King of England, surnamed Wil- liam Rufus. 4. Henry, King of England. 5. Cecelia. 6. Alice. 7. Constance. 8. Agatha. 9. Gundred, mentioned below.


(VI) Gundred, daughter of William the Conqueror, and Maud (or Matilda), his wife, was married in France, to Wil- liam, first Earl of Warren and Surrey, who accompanied the Conqueror to Eng- land, and was the recipient of bounteous favors at his hands. (See Warren Pedi- gree V).


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(Pedigree B).


(I) Robert Fortis, or Robert the Strong, Count of Anjou and Orleans.


(II) Robert I, 865-923, King of France or King of the Franks, was the younger son of Robert the Strong.


(III) Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks, and Count of Paris, died in 956, was the son of King Robert I, of France, and was one of the founders of the Cape- tian house, and its power in France.


(IV) Hugh Capet, 938-996, King of France and founder of the Capetian dyn- asty, was the eldest son of Hugh the Great, by his wife Hadwig. He married Adelaide, daughter of William III, Duke of Aquitaine.


(V) Robert II, King of France, was a son of Hugh Capet, King of France.


(VI) Henry, King of France.


(VII) Hugh, Earl of Vermandois, son of Henry, King of France, and brother of Philip, King of France. He was Fifth Earl of Vermandois, by right of his wife Adela, who was the daughter and heiress of Herbert, fourth Earl of Vermandois. The house of Vermandois is one of the most ancient and famous of the early French noble houses, and is descended in direct male line from the Emperor Charle- magne; Hugh the Great, Earl of Verman- dois, was one of the leaders of the first crusade, and died at Tarsus in Cicilia, in II02.


(VIII) Isabel, daughter of Hugh the Great and Adela, daughter of the fourth Earl of Vermandois, was married to Wil- liam De Warren, second Earl of Warren and Surrey in England. Through this alliance, the Warrens were connected with the blood-royal of France. (See War- ren Pedigree VI).


(Pedigree C).


Descent of Gundred, daughter of Wil- liam the Conqueror, and wife of William,


first Earl of Warren and Surrey, from the Emperor Charlemagne, most illustrious member of the Carolingian dynasty, which appears in history in the year 613, and gained the throne of France in 751, holding it for more than two hundred years, or until 987, when it was ousted by the Capetian dynasty.


(I) Pepin I, who died in 640, was the founder of the line. He was mayor of the palace to the youthful Dagobert I, whom Clothaire II had placed over the kingdom of Austrasia. He returned from Aqui- taine, where he had sought refuge, when Dagobert became sole king in 629, at the latter's death (639), and governed Aus- trasia, in Sigebert's name, until his death in the following year.


(II) Begga, daughter of Pepin I, mar- ried Adalgiselus, son of Arnulf, Bishop of Metz, and was the mother of Pepin II.


(III) Pepin II, son of Adalgiselus and Begga, was for many decades almost the entire master of Gaul, extending widely the Frankish suzerainty. He was a great churchman, and did much to spread Christianity. He died December 16, 714.


(IV) Charles Martel, 688-741, Frankish ruler, was a natural son of Pepin II, and one of the most famous figures in medie- val history; he died at Quierzy, October 22, 741, shortly after having divided the Frankish kingdom between his two sons. He was a fearless and able leader, and under his rule vast strides were made in the system of government, and Chris- tianity was spread to a greater extent than ever before. The deeds of conquest and bravery of Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne are immortalized in the Chansons de Geste, where, how- ever, the two are often confused, so strik- ing were the points of resemblance in their characters. To the elder of his two sons, Charles Martel gave Austrasia, Ale- mannia, and Thuringia, with suzerainty


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over Bavaria; the younger, Pepin, re- ceived Neustria, Burgundy and Provence.


(V) Pepin III, son of Charles Martel, surnamed the Short, died in 768. In 747 the abdication of his brother Carloman left Pepin sole master of the Frankish kingdom, although he was not its king. In 751 he removed the feeble Childeric III from the throne to a monastery, and had himself crowned by St. Boniface, a ceremony new to France, which had hitherto elected its monarchs, and which gave him an immense prestige. His reign was marked by many important religious and civil events, and he headed many notable ecclesiastical reforms. Pepin died on September 24, 768, leaving two sons, Charles (Charlemagne) and Carlo- man.


(VI) Charlemagne (Charles the Great), Roman Emperor, and King of the Franks, was the elder son of Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, and Bertha or Ber- trada, daughter of Charibert, Count of Laon. Some authorities give the date of his birth as April 2, 742. On the death of his brother Carloman, in December, 771, Charles was at once recognized as King of all the Franks. In 774, after conquer- ing Desiderius, King of the Lombards, he took to himself the title of King of the Lombards, to which he added the dignity of "Patrician of the Romans," which had been granted to his father. In 800, Charlemagne entered Rome for the stated purpose of restoring discipline in the church, in which strife was rampant. His interest in ecclesiastical affairs was con- tinuous. On Christmas Day, 800, he was crowned in St. Peter's by Pope Leo III, Emperor and Augustus, amid the accla- mations of the crowd. For several de- cades previous he had been the real ruler of Rome, however. His rule was well ordered and everywhere beneficial, and under it great progress was made in civil-


ization. In 806 he made a division of his territories among his three legitimate sons, which however, was nullified by the death of Pepin in 810, and Charles in the following year. He then named the re- maining son Louis as his successor. On January 28, 814, he died, and on the same day his body was buried in the Church of St. Mary at Aix.


He was a regular observer at religious rites, and a generous almsgiver. Charle- magne took a prominent part in the theo- logical controversies of the time, and was responsible for the addition of the clause filioque in the Nicene Creed. Innumer- able legends have grown up around Charlemagne, in which he is represented as a warrior performing superhuman feats, a ruler dispensing perfect justice and as a martyr to the cause of religion.


(VII) Louis I, surnamed "The Pious," Roman Emperor, third son of the Em- peror Charlemagne and his wife Hilde- garde, was born at Chasseneuil, in Cen- tral France, in 778. He was prominent in ecclesiastical affairs, although an able military leader, and earned the title of "Pious" by his attempt to purify and reform monastic life, and by his great liberality to the church. In 819 he mar- ried Judith, daughter of Welf I, Count of Bavaria, who in 823 bore him a son Charles, afterward called "the Bald." He died June 20, 840.


(VIII) Charles the Bald, Roman Em- peror and King of the West Franks, was the son of Louis I and Judith, and was born in 823. In 840 he married Ermun- trude, daughter of the Count of Orleans, and she died in 869. He was a prince of excellent education, and a friend of the church. Opinions differ widely as to his ability as a military leader and ruler.


(IX) Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, married Baldwin I, of Flanders, surname Bras-de-fer (Iron Arms). He


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was a brave and daring warrior under Charles the Bald, and on marrying Judith was made Margrave of Flanders by his father-in-law. Baldwin was the first of a line of strong rulers, who at some time early in the tenth century exchanged the title of margrave for that of count. He defended the west borderland of the Frankish dominion against the incursions of the Northmen.


(X) Baldwin II, also surnamed the Bald, also maintained a strong defence against the Northmen from his strong- hold at Bruges. He strengthened the dynastic importance of his family by marrying Aelthryth, daughter of Alfred the Great, King of England. (See Pedi- gree D, XIV).


(XI) Armulph the Great, son of Bald- win II, ruled jointly with his brother Adolphus for a short period, when he suc- ceeded to the entire inheritance. His reign was, like that of his father and grandfather, filled with warfare against the Northmen, and he took an active part in the struggles of Otto I against Hugh Capet. In his latter years he placed the government in the hands of his son Bald- win. He married Alisa, daughter of the Count of Vermandois.


(XII) Baldwin III, son of Armulph the Great, had a short but exceedingly full reign. He did much for the commercial and industrial development of Flanders, and established the first Flemish weavers and fullers at Ghent, also instituting yearly fairs at Ypres, Bruges and other places. He died in 961, and on his death the old Count of Vermandois spent the remaining years of his life in securing the succession of his grandson, Armulph II.


(XIII) Armulph II, surnamed the Younger, married Susanna, daughter of Berengarius II, King of Italy. He died in 989, and was succeeded by his son,


(XIV) Baldwin IV, surnamed Bar-


batus, or Bearded, fought successfully against the Capetian King of France, and Henry II, who was obliged to give him in fief Valenciennes, the burgraveship of Ghent, and the land of Waes and Zee- land.


(XV) Baldwin V was a powerful prince, and greatly extended his powers by war and alliances, obtaining valuable territory from Henry IV. On the decease of Henry, he was appointed regent dur- ing the minority of Philip I. He married Adela, daughter of Robert II, of France, and granddaughter of Hugh Capet. (See Pedigree B, V).


(XVI) Maud or Matilda, daughter of Baldwin V and Adela, daughter of Robert II, of France, married William the Con- queror, and with him shared the English throne until her death in 1083.


(XVII) Gundred, daughter of William the Conqueror, and Maud of Flanders, his wife, became the wife of William De War- ren, first Earl of Warren and Surrey, in England.


(Pedigree D).


Descent of Gundred, wife of William De Warren, first Earl of Warren, from the ancient kings of Wessex, England, through Alfred the Great.


(I) Cerdic, founder of the West Saxon kingdom, or Wessex, is described in ancient records as an "ealdorman" who in the year 495 landed with his son Cynric in Hamptonshire, England, where he was at once attacked by the Britons. In the year 508 he defeated the Britons with great slaughter, and again in 519, aided by fresh arrivals of the Saxons, gained another decisive victory and took the title of king. His last work was the Conquest of the Isle of Wight. All the sovereigns of England, with the exception of Canute, Hardicanute, the two Harolds and Wil- liam the Conqueror, are said to be de- scended from Cerdic.


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(II) Cynric succeeded his father as King of Wessex, and defeated the Britons at Salisbury in 552, and again at Beran- burh, probably Barbury Hill, in 556. At his death in 560 he was succeeded by his son Ceawlin.


(III) Ceawlin, King of the West Saxons, is first mentioned in the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle, under the date 556, as fighting with his father Cynric against the Britons, at Barbury Hill. On becom- ing king in 560, he began a career of con- quest, and extended his kingdom greatly. In 591 he suffered defeat and lost the northern part of his kingdom. In 592 he was driven from Wessex, and in the fol- lowing year killed, possibly in an attempt to regain it.


(IV) Cuthwin.


(V) Ceowald.


(VI) Cenred.


(VII) Ingild.


(VIII) Eoppa.


(IX) Eofa.


(X) Ealhmund, King of Kent, is men- tioned in a charter dated 784.


(XI) Ecgbert, son of Ealhmund, died in 839. He was King of the West Saxons, and succeeded to the throne in 802 after the death of Beorhtric. His reign was one of conquest and lasted thirty-seven years. He was succeeded on his death in 839 by his son Athelwulf. Ecgbert spent many years of his youth at the court of the Emperor Charlemagne, where he re- ceived a thorough training in kingly offices. He married Raedburgh.


(XII) Athelwulf, King of the West Saxons, succeeded his father Ecgbert in A. D. 839. His reign was chiefly occu- pied with struggles with the Danes. In 855. he journeyed to Rome with Alfred, and on his return to Britain married Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, Roman Emperor and King of the West Franks. His first wife was Osburga,


daughter of Oslac, and she was the mother of Alfred the Great. Judith sub- sequently became the wife of Baldwin I, of Flanders. £ (See Pedigree C, IX). Athelwulf died in 858. He was noted for his piety, and donated much to the Roman See. His rare illuminated Gospels bound in ivory are among the wonders of his age.


(XIII) Alfred the Great, King of Eng- land, and the greatest and most beloved figure in its early history, was born in the year 848, in Wantage, the fourth son of Athelwulf and his first wife Osburga. His entire reign was devoted to freeing England, first from the Danes, and later from the demoralizing effects of their savage onslaughts. He revived learning and education, which had fallen into decay under the Danes, and made several attempts to restore the church to its former place in England. He initiated many notable military reforms, and ac- complished the great task of civil reor- ganization. In the administration of jus- tice he was most careful, as is testified both by history and legend. He also earned the title of "protector of the poor," by his deeds of charity and benevolence. Many of his literary works and transla- tions still survive, and show him to have been a man of fine intellectuality. He was almost certainly the author of the Saxon Chronicle and the Saxon Martyrology. For the greatness of his achievements and the fineness of his life there is no other monarch in the whole line of English kings who equals Alfred, or is there an- other figure in history more truly deserv- ing of the epithet Great. In 868, Alfred married Aelhswith, daughter of Athelred Mucill, who is called Ealdorman of the Gaini, an unidentified district.




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