Hi everyone,

I went to this brilliant exhibition at the British Library this week, if you have the chance I definitely recommend that you go as well. It's maybe of particular interest if you are interested in Old English and illuminated Bibles but there is truly something here for everyone. Let's look at some of the women named in this exhibition!

How about Cynethryth, the only Anglo-Saxon queen to have a coin issued in her name?

Part of the Fem Friday rubric is about celebrating ambitious women, but also celebrating women who make time for the things that matter in their lives. From the below detail, it looks like Cynethryth hit both out of the park, being too busy ruling her kingdom to spend time reading whatever nonsense her correspondents chose to flail together:

Cynethryth must have had a noticeable and prominent place in Offa’s court. There was a cleric, Alcuin of York, who was an English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher. In a letter Alcuin wrote during Offa’s reign, he hints that Cynethryth was too busy with the king’s business to read correspondence.

https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2014/01/31/cynethryth-queen-of-the-mercians/

Here is another queen, Emma, who enjoyed being Queen of England so much she married two kings of England:

Emma was in England during these latest battles, but with Edmund Ironside’s death, she must have been uneasy about her future. This was resolved when it was announced that she and Cnut would marry. Although it is unclear under what circumstances this transpired, it is likely that she did not want to return to Normandy where she would no longer have the prestige that she enjoyed in England.

https://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/emma-of-normandy/emma-normandy-twice-queen-england/

Finally, some material culture for you in the form of this incredible gospel made of gold and covered in jewels, owned by Judith of Flanders:

Here's more about Judith of Flanders, who for sure did not care about her dad's thoughts on who she should marry:

her father sent her to the Monastery at Senlis, where she was to remain "under his protection and royal episcopal guardianship, with all the honour due to a queen, until such time as, if she could not remain chaste, she might marry in the way the apostle said, that is suitably and legally." Presumably, Charles may have intended to arrange another marriage for his daughter. However, around Christmas 861, Judith eloped with Baldwin, later Count of Flanders. The two were likely married at the monastery of Senlis at this time. The record of the incident in the Annals depicts Judith not as the passive victim of bride theft but as an active agent, eloping at the instigation of Baldwin and apparently with her brother Louis the Stammerer's consent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_of_Flanders

Have a lovely Fri!

Alex xx.