Family
Historians do not agree on Egbert's ancestry. The earliest version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Parker Chronicle, begins with a genealogical preface tracing the ancestry of Egbert's son Æthelwulf back through Egbert, Ealhmund (thought to be Ealhmund of Kent), and the otherwise unknown Eoppa and Eafa to Ingild, brother of King Ine of Wessex, who abdicated the throne in 726. It continues back to Cerdic, founder of the House of Wessex. Egbert's descent from Ingild was accepted by Frank Stenton, but not the earlier genealogy back to Cerdic. Heather Edwards in her Online Dictionary of National Biography article on Egbert argues that he was of Kentish origin, and that the West Saxon descent may have been manufactured during his reign to give him legitimacy, whereas Rory Naismith considered a Kentish origin unlikely, and that it is more probable that "Egbert was born of good West Saxon royal stock"
Egbert's wife's name is unknown. A fifteenth century chronicle now held by Oxford University names Egbert's wife as Redburga, but this is dismissed by academic historians in view of its late date. He is reputed to have had a half-sister Alburga, later to be recognized as a saint for her founding of Wilton Abbey. She was married to Wulfstan, ealdorman of Wiltshire, and on his death in 802 she became a nun, Abbess of Wilton Abbey.
Read more about this topic: Egbert Of Wessex
Famous quotes containing the word family:
“Realizing that his time was nearly spent, he gave full oral instructions about his burial and the manner in which he wished to be remembered.... A few minutes later, feeling very tired, he left the room, remarking, ‘I have no disposition to leave this precious circle. I love to be here surrounded by my family and friends.’ Then he gave them his blessing and said, ‘I am ready to go and I wish you goodnight.’”
—For the State of New Hampshire, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Our family talked a lot at table, and only two subjects were taboo: politics and personal troubles. The first was sternly avoided because Father ran a nonpartisan daily in a small town, with some success, and did not wish to express his own opinions in public, even when in private.”
—M.F.K. Fisher (1908–1992)
“If you understand why a monkey in a family is always mocked and harassed, you understand why monks are rejected by all—both old and young.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)