Introduction

King Alfred "Learns to Read"
Now on a certain day his mother was showing him and his brothers a 
book of Saxon poetry, which she held in her hand, and finally said: 'Whichever of you can soonest learn this volume, to him will I give it.' Stimulated by these words, or rather by divine inspiration, and allured by the beautifully illuminated letter at the beginning of the volume, Alfred
spoke before all his brothers, who, though his seniors in age, were not so in grace, and answered his mother 'Will you really give that book to that one of us who can first understand and repeat it to you ?' 
At this his mother smiled with satisfaction, and confirmed what she had 
before said: 'Yes,' said she, 'that I will.' 
Upon this the boy took the book out of her hand, and went to his master 
and learned it by heart, whereupon he brought it back to his mother and recited it. 
Asser, Vita Alfredi

Osburg, though not a consecrated queen, is one of the better recalled women in Anglo-Saxon history. Her devotion to learning and to her children are immortalised in Asser’s Life of Alfred.

This blog is dedicated to two main aims. The first is to look at the queens of Anglo-Saxon England. Some are more famous than others: St Æthelthryth of Ely became one of the most popular female native saints in both Saxon and Norman England; other tales abound about the wickedness of queens, whether of Cynethryth of Mercia and her supposed role in the murder of St Æthelberht of East Anglia, or Eadburh of Wessex; other queens are barely known but from scant references, like Æthelburg of Wessex, who the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records as destroying the fortifications of Taunton in 721, or the wife of Eardwulf of Northumbria who is mentioned without name.

The second aim is to provide some tips and hints for secondary school students of English. I teach the Cambridge IGCSE and OCR syllabi, and hope to be of some help for students striving to do their best in these challenging examinations.