Difference between revisions of "Edith"

Revision as of 22:05, 15 August 2017

The female forename Edith is said by Hanks et al (2006) and other authorities to represent the OE ēad, 'prosperity, riches' + gӯð, 'strife'. But the modern form Edith was used before and after the Norman Conquest by scribes who knew Latin and Norman French better than English to represent various Old English women's names.

Edith is recorded as having been borne by

• a daughter, Eadgyth, (c.911–946) of Edward the Elder, who married Otto 'the Great', King of the East Franks (912–973) in late 929 or early 930.
• a daughter Saint Edith, Eadgyth in OE, (961–984) of King Edgar (the Peaceful) and Wulfthryth, who left her marriage to enter the religious life. She was Abbess of Wilton Abbey, a Benedictine convent in Wiltshire. Wulfthryh took her daughter, under one year old, with her. The child grew up as a nun, and, dying aged 23 somewhere between 977 and 991, was revered as a saint.
• Eadgyth of Wessex (d. 1075), daughter of Earl Godwine and thus sister of Harold II of England. She was Edward the Confessor's Queen, having married him in 1045.
• Edith, the concubine or wife more danico ('in the Danish style', 'handfast', indicating not married in church) of Harold II of England, and mother of at least five of his children, has been identified as being at least one of the following:
  • Ēadgifu or Eddeva, also written as Edeva, Edith the Fair, also nicknamed Edith the Rich, a wealthy landowner in eastern England
  • Ealdgyth Swanneshals, or Swann hnesce (Edith 'Gentle swan' or 'Swanneck’)), of whom it is told that she found Harold's mutilated body on the battlefield at Hastings and had it buried at Waltham Abbey
  • Eadgyth, Aldgyth, eddid and edied are also names that can be found for Harold's concubine.
• Ealdgyth or Aldgyth (fl. c.1057–1066), daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia (d. 1062?) and thus sister of Eadwine, earl of Mercia and Morcar, earl of Northumbria. Around 1057 she married Gruffudd ap Llywelyn (d. 1063), king of Gwynedd, and ruler of all Wales after 1055. After Gruffyd was killed (1063) during a struggle with English forces led by Harold Godwineson, Edith married Harold (probably in 1066) and became his consort and queen of England.

Among more modern women who have been called Edith, users of AWE may come across:

• Edith Cavell (1865-1915), a nurse in Belgium executed by the Germans for helping allied prisoners escape. She treate the injured of both sides impartially
• Édith Cresson (née Campion), b. 1934, the only woman so far (2017) to have been Prime Minister of France, in 1991.
• Edith Evans, DBE, (1888-1976), a classic British actress
• Edith Nesbit (1858–1924), writer for children (as E. Nesbit) and for adults, sometimes as 'Fabian Bland'. (She was married to Hubert Bland, with whom she helped found the Fabian Society; one of their children, who died at 15, wasalso Fabian Bland (1885–1900).)
• The French singer Édith Piaf (1915–1963)
• Edith Roosevelt (1861–1948), wife of US President Theodore Roosevelt (in office 1901-1909)
• Edith Sitwell (1887–1964), British poet and critic