Emma of Normandy: Twice the Wife of a Reigning King, Twice a Queen Mother
Emma of Normandy: birth late 980s/death March 6, 1052
Spouses: Cnut (m. 1017 until his death in 1035) and Æthelred the Unready (m. 1002-1016)
House: Father: Richard I (the Fearless) of Normandy/Mother: Danish-descended Gunnor
Children: Edward the Confessor, Alfred Ætheling, Godgifu(with Æthelred), Harthacnut, Gunhilda (with Cnut)
Medieval History is loaded with great women and among these Emma of Normandy shines very brightly. Twice the wife of a reigning king (queen consort), twice a queen mother, she may not have been a queen in her own right, but she was an integral member of the medieval royal family.
Emma was one of nine children and most likely born in the 980s. A daughter of Norman dukes, she was the great-granddaughter of the Viking warrior Rollo, the founder of Normandy, who hailed from either Norway or Denmark. She was also the great-aunt of William the Conqueror. In the words of Godfrey, prior of Winchester’s cathedral monastery, writing in the 11th century: “She had kings as sons and kings as husbands; she shone forth in the glory of her progeny of kings; she excelled in virtue even in the ranks of her glorious ancestors.”
Picture of Emma’s father Richard, Duke of Normandy from Saving Castles
Emma was the daughter of Richard, Duke of Normandy (also known as ‘Richard the Fearless’ who reigned from 942 to 996) and Gunnor, a woman who was from a powerful and wealthy family in west Normandy. Gunnor was a highly intelligent woman, skilled in different languages and a key source of information for historians writing about Norman history. Richard and Gunnor had several other children together including Richard II “the Good,” Robert, who became Archbishop of Rouen and Count of Evreux, Hawise who married Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany, and Maud who married Odo II of Blois, Count of Blois, Champagne, and Chartres.
When Emma’s brother, Richard II became Duke of Normandy (reigning from 996 to 1026), he sought to improve a tense relationship with the English king, Æthelred the Unready, who accused him of harboring the Viking forces that were attacking England. Using Emma as a political pawn to create an alliance between Normandy and England, the Duke sent her to England to marry Æthelred who was twenty years her senior. Scholars believe Emma arrived in England in 1002 at around 13 years of age. She successfully took on the day-to-day dealings of Æthelred’s court, gaining respect amongst Anglo-Saxons who had initially been wary of her.
A modern interpretation of Queen Emma from the novel The Price of Blood
Upon her arrival in England, Emma was given the name ‘Ælfgifu.’ The marriage resulted in three children: two sons, Edward (later known as Edward the Confessor) and Alfred the Ætheling, and a daughter, Godgifu. Few sources say much about Emma’s political activity in these years, and it seems her role was mainly one of being a wife and a mother: the most common description of her at the time was as the conlaterana regis: “she who is at the King’s side.”
The England in which Emma found herself at the beginning of the 11th century was one marked by ongoing trouble and threats of Scandinavian attacks. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in 1013, Emma returned to Normandy with her children Edward, Alfred and Godgifu and Æthelred followed shortly thereafter when Danish King Sweyn Forkbeard conquered England. Sweyn’s rule of England was to be short as he died the following year, and a messy two years of political disputes followed even after Æthelred was restored to the throne.
Emma fleeing England with her two young sons following the invasion of England by Sweyn Forkbeard (1013). Detail of a 13th-century miniature (Fugit emma regina cum pueris suis in normanniam cum pueris suis ut ibidem a duce patre suo protegatur)
Queen Emma and her sons being received by Duke Richard II of Normandy Cambridge University Library)
Emma returned to England when Æthelred regained the throne but when he died in 1016, she was about thirty and found herself isolated and living among some who still considered her a foreigner. Emma’s two sons were still quite young and despite Emma’s coronation as queen, her son’s claims to the throne were overshadowed by Edmund Ironside who was the son of Æthelred and his first wife Ælfgifu of York. Edmund Ironside was crowned king on April 23, 1016. Soon after his coronation Emma and her children returned to Normandy believing they were safer there than in England.
In 1016, Sweyn Forkbeard’s son Cnut defeated Edmund at the Battle of Assandun, after which they agreed to divide the England. Edmund took Wessex but died shortly afterwards leaving Cnut as King of all England. Cnut believed he must align himself with someone well-versed in Anglo-Saxon politics to better govern his realm. Emma with her deep understanding of English customs and governance seemed to be the ideal partner. It wasn’t long before the new King of England sought Emma’s hand in marriage although married to Ælfgifu of Northampton in a handfast ceremony. (Yes, both the first wife of Æthelred and the first wife of Cnut were named Ælfgifu and Emma of Normandy was the second wife of both Kings!) Among Danish nobility, it was not uncommon to have multiple wives. By marrying Emma and producing new heirs, Cnut distanced her from her children by Æthelred (those children remained in exile in Normandy) but gave her new power and influence.
In 1017, in London, Cnut was crowned The Sovereign ruler of all England. Emma stood by his side, solidifying her position as the Queen of England. In 1018, Cnut’s brother Harold II died without an heir allowing Cnut to also claim the throne of Denmark and Emma to take on an added role as Queen of Denmark. That year, Harthacnut was born to Cnut and Emma, securing a new line of succession. As Queen consort, one of Cnut’s advisors, and mother of his child, Emma’s political power, wealth, and prestige continued to grow.
According to the Encomium Emmae Reginae, Cnut and Emma were an excellent team. After their marriage, Cnut’s hold on England was secure enough that he could journey to Rome and lead armies in Scandinavia, leaving England in the hands of his regents, one of whom was his trusted wife, Emma. She was also prominently featured in contemporary art and charters alongside the king, a unique development that signified her importance. With Emma’s guidance, Cnut embarked on a campaign to rehabilitate the English churches and monasteries that had long suffered under Viking raids. He replenished their treasuries and constructed new monasteries. The marriage to Cnut made Emma one of the richest women in England, and she significantly increased her land holdings. She used her status to cement her family’s power, advocating for her sons from both marriages and securing their legitimacy.
By the time Cnut defeated King Olaf II, becoming King of Norway, Emma had given birth to their second child, a daughter Gunnhild who in future years would marry the son of the Holy Roman Emperor. By 1028, Cnut and Emma ruled what was termed ‘The North Sea Empire’ which included the kingdoms of England, Denmark, and Norway. At its height, this personal union also involved vassalage from parts of Scandinavia, and claims of suzerainty over areas like Scotland and Ireland.
Bradley Freegard as Cnut and Laura Berlin as Emma of Normandy in season 3 of Vikings: Valhalla.
History Extra (Photo by Bernard Walsh/Netflix © 2024)
In 1035, Cnut would die around the age of forty-five. Harold, his son with his first wife Ælfgifu of Northampton immediately presented himself as the claimant to Cnut’s English throne, earning the nickname Harefoot (fleet of foot!). Because Emma’s son, Harthacnut, was in Denmark preparing to defend it against imminent invasion by the Norse and the Swedes, the English magnates decided to divide England in half: Harold to govern north of the Thames, where his support base was, and Emma to govern as Regent for Harthacnut in the south until he returned to England.
Unfortunately, Harthacnut was unable to return to England and in 1037, Harold Harefoot, after raising support for becoming ruler of all England, took over Emma’s Regency with the Witan’s (English Council) blessing. Emma’s sons Alfred and Edward (by Æthelred) had arrived in England from Normandy in 1036 to stake their own claims to the throne, but the outcome was disastrous. Alfred was captured and killed by men loyal to Harold, Edward fled back to Normandy, and Emma was driven out of England by Harold, taking refuge with her noble kin in Bruges. In 1037, Harold was recognized as sole king of England. Was Emma gone for good? Absolutely not! She was biding her time, her ambitions for herself and her sons remaining strong!
When Harold died in 1040, Emma returned from Flanders and her son Harthacnut took the throne. The role as queen mother was clearly an important one, and she was recognized as an authority: she is listed as mater regis in witness lists during these years. Emma may have learnt about queenship from her mother, Gunnor, who was later hailed as the matriarch of the Norman aristocracy, dubbed the ‘mother of the dynasty’ in the 12th century.
Above: Gunnor confirming a charter of the abbey of the Mount-Saint-Michel, 12th century (from archive of the abbey). Here she attested using her title of countess. Source: Wikipedia
Harthacnut ruled for only two years, with Emma by his side, until his death in 1042. He was succeeded by his half-brother Edward. Bitter because for years his mother supported her Viking husband and children, Edward took all of Emma’s land, money, and jewels and sent her back to Normandy. Emma died in 1052 having been a major player in Anglo-Saxon England, Viking England, and a decade short of Norman England. She survived through five kingships and remains the most well-known and written about woman in late Anglo-Saxon England.
After her death in 1052, Emma was interred alongside Cnut and Harthacnut in the Old Minster, Winchester, before being transferred to the new cathedral built after the Norman Conquest. During the English Civil War (1642–1651), her remains were disinterred and scattered about the Cathedral floor by parliamentary forces. The jumbled bones were later re-interred.
Mortuary chest from Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, England. This is one of six mortuary chests near the altar in the Cathedral; this one claims to contain the bones of Cnut and his wife Emma, along with others. The chest is topped with a crown.
Emma knew how to make sure she would be remembered in a positive light through history. In 1041 AD, she commissioned a monk to compose her biography, ‘In Praise of Queen Emma’ (‘Encomium Emmae Reginae’) to praise her and to justify her actions. Published during Harthacnut’s reign, it hints that she was a hidden ruler during her son’s reign. It is propaganda at its finest.
Queen Emma and her sons, as illustrated in the ‘Encomium Emmae reginae’ (Photo by Photo12/UIG/Getty Images) Emma receiving the Encomium, in The Encomium of Queen Emma, c. 1050
