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Edith of Wessex ( 1025 – 18 December 1075) was a Queen of England. Her husband was Edward the Confessor, whom she married on 23 January 1045. Unlike most English queens in the 10th and 11th centuries, she was crowned.〔Pauline Stafford, 'Edith, Edward's Wife and Queen', in Richard Mortimer ed., ''Edward the Confessor: The Man and the Legend'', The Boydell Press, 2009, pp. 119, 129–130. Stafford states (p. 124) that Edith was between 12 and 25 when she married, and probably nearer 25.〕 The principal source on her life is a work she herself commissioned, the ''Vita Ædwardi Regis'' or the ''Life of King Edward who rests at Westminster'', which is inevitably biased.〔Historians disagree whether this was partly written in 1065–66, before Edward's death, or was a unitary work of the late 1060s. Stafford, 2009, p. 119-120 and note, Ann Williams, ODNB, Edith〕 ==Early life== Edith was the daughter of Godwin, the most powerful earl in England. Her mother Gytha was sister of Ulf, a Danish earl who was Cnut the Great's brother-in-law. Edith was originally named Gytha, but renamed Ealdgyth (or Edith) when she married King Edward the Confessor.〔Harold Godwinson〕 Her brothers were Sweyn (c. 1020 – 1052), Harold (later Harold II) (c. 1022 – 1066), Tostig (c. 1026 - 1066), Gyrth (c. 1030 – 1066), Leofwine (c. 1035 – 1066), and Wulfnoth (c. 1040 – 1094). Edith was the firstborn of Godwin's three daughters, which included her sisters Gunhild (or Gunhilda) (c. 1035 – 1080) and Ælfgifu (c. 1035 - ?). The exact birthdates of the Godwin children are unknown, but Sweyn was the firstborn and Harold was the second son.〔Mason ''House of Godwine'' p. 10〕 Harold was aged about 25 in 1045, which makes his birth date around 1020.〔〔Rex ''Harold'' p. 31〕 Edith was brought up at Wilton Abbey. She was an educated woman who spoke several languages, skills she probably acquired at Wilton. She remained attached to it, and in later years rebuilt its church.〔Stafford, 2009, pp. 121 -126〕 Her niece, Gunhild of Wessex, would also be educated at Wilton.〔Gunhild of Wessex〕 The ''Vita Edwardi'' emphasised her piety. She helped Giso, the Bishop of Wells, secure the endowments of his see, and gave lands to Abingdon Abbey, but the monks of Evesham alleged that she had the relics of many monasteries brought to Gloucester so that she could select the best for herself. When Gervin, abbot of Saint-Riquier, who was visiting the English court, rejected her kiss of greeting, she took offence. Edward reproved her, and she accepted the rebuff, even going on to urge English churchmen not to kiss women, although they did not object to the custom.〔 Edith lost four of her brothers in a very short span. Tostig died on 25 September 1066 during the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Three others — Harold, Gyrth, and Leofwine — all died on 14 October 1066, during the Battle of Hastings.〔Gytha Thorkelsdóttir〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Edith of Wessex」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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