Abstract
One of the mysteries in the history of eleventh-century England is the origin of Agatha, the wife of the Anglo-Saxon prince Edward the Exile. After the death of his father – Edmund Ironside – in 1016, he and his brother Edmund were expelled from England by Canute the Great. Edward probably first stayed in Sweden and Rus’, and then settled in Hungary; in the meantime, his brother died. While in exile, he married Agatha, with whom he had three children: Margaret, Cristina and Edgar Aetheling. In 1057, Edward returned to England, where he soon died. His children played a significant role in history. Edgar Aetheling fought against William the Conqueror after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Margaret became the wife of King of Scotland, and their daughter Matilda married King of England in 1100. Due to imprecise and relatively late information in sources, there are many hypotheses regarding Agatha’s ancestors. According to the most popular ones, she was of imperial, Rus’ or Hungarian descent. A different hypothesis suggests that she came from the Piast dynasty – she was the daughter of and Richeza. However, all the hypotheses have considerable gaps that make them difficult to accept. We believe that Agatha was of high birth but did not come from the main branch of a ruling family or was an illegitimate child, and the source references to her imperial or royal descent are a political legend created at the court of her granddaughter Matilda, wife of King of England. It seems probable that she came from Rus’.
Published Version
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