Æthelflæd in Post-Medieval Literature
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Richard Rawlinson Center for Anglo-Saxon Studies and Manuscript Research
Organizer Name
Rebecca Barnhouse
Organizer Affiliation
Youngstown State Univ.
Presider Name
Rebecca Barnhouse
Paper Title 1
Imagining Æthelflæd: Historical Fiction, History, and Gender
Presenter 1 Name
Scott T. Smith
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Pennsylvania State Univ.
Paper Title 2
A Mercian Lady of Character: Æthelflæd in Prose Fiction for Youth
Presenter 2 Name
Bruce Gilchrist
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Concordia Univ. Montréal
Paper Title 3
Bernard Cornwell's Æthelflæd
Presenter 3 Name
Trish Ward
Presenter 3 Affiliation
College of Charleston
Start Date
11-5-2018 3:30 PM
Session Location
Fetzer 2020
Description
Post-medieval writers who look to the Anglo-Saxon period for material have trouble finding historical female characters who are both well-documented and active enough to sustain a narrative. Because she was educated, powerful, and led an exciting—and documented--life, Aethelflaed is an exception, which makes her an inviting topic for writers of works for both adults and young readers. For example, Rebecca Tingle imagines what it would be like to be the daughter of Alfred the Great in her young adult novel, The Edge on the Sword, while in The Empty Throne, Bernard Cornwell focuses on the political situation after Aethelred’s death, when an adult Aethelflaed leads the Mercians. These types of books, and others from the 19th-21st centuries, raise a number of questions: How do authors negotiate the tension between what their research tells them and the needs of the story? Does the portrayal of such an exceptional character lead non-medievalist readers to misunderstand female roles in the Anglo-Saxon era? What can post-medieval literature about Aethelflaed uncover that academic writing doesn’t reveal? This session invites scholars to reflect on the ways Aethelflaed continues to intrigue readers and writers twelve centuries after her death.
Rebecca Barnhouse
Æthelflæd in Post-Medieval Literature
Fetzer 2020
Post-medieval writers who look to the Anglo-Saxon period for material have trouble finding historical female characters who are both well-documented and active enough to sustain a narrative. Because she was educated, powerful, and led an exciting—and documented--life, Aethelflaed is an exception, which makes her an inviting topic for writers of works for both adults and young readers. For example, Rebecca Tingle imagines what it would be like to be the daughter of Alfred the Great in her young adult novel, The Edge on the Sword, while in The Empty Throne, Bernard Cornwell focuses on the political situation after Aethelred’s death, when an adult Aethelflaed leads the Mercians. These types of books, and others from the 19th-21st centuries, raise a number of questions: How do authors negotiate the tension between what their research tells them and the needs of the story? Does the portrayal of such an exceptional character lead non-medievalist readers to misunderstand female roles in the Anglo-Saxon era? What can post-medieval literature about Aethelflaed uncover that academic writing doesn’t reveal? This session invites scholars to reflect on the ways Aethelflaed continues to intrigue readers and writers twelve centuries after her death.
Rebecca Barnhouse