Eadhild
Eadhild (died 937) was an English princess, the second wife of Hugh, duke of the Franks. She was a daughter of Edward the Elder, king of the Anglo-Saxons and his second wife Ælfflæd.
Eadhild | |
---|---|
Born | Unknown |
Died | c. 937 |
Spouse | Hugh the Great |
Father | Edward the Elder |
Mother | Ælfflæd |
In 926 Edward's son, king Æthelstan, received an embassy from his cousin, Adelolf, Count of Boulogne, on behalf of Hugh, and Æthelstan agreed to give his half-sister, Eadhild, in marriage in return for an enormous quantity of gifts and relics. According to William of Malmesbury, these included spices, jewels, many swift horses, an elaborate onyx vase, a crown of solid gold, the sword of Constantine the Great, Charlemagne's lance and a piece of the Crown of Thorns. Eadhild's full sister, Eadgifu, was the wife of the deposed king of the West Franks, Charles the Simple. Hugh was a potential rival for the Frankish throne, and Eadgifu may have promoted the marriage in order to sever a dangerous link between Hugh and Count Herbert of Vermandois.
Eadhild died childless in 937.