Person Page 496

Ælfred Æþeling (English: Alfred the Noble) (died 1036) was one of the eight sons of the English king Ethelred II, called 'The Unready'. He and his brother Edward the Confessor were sons of Ethelred's second wife Emma of Normandy.

In 1013 during the siege of London by the Danes, Ethelred fled England to exile in Normandy accompanied by a retinue of close family members which included Alfred, Edward and several more of his children. Ethelred regained the throne in 1014, but Alfred and his family remained in Normandy. Ethelred died in 1016, and England was conquered by Canute of Denmark in the same year.

In 1035, Canute died, and during the uncertainty that followed, the heirs of the former Anglo-Saxon rulers attempted to restore the House of Wessex to the throne of England. Alfred Aetheling landed on the coast of Sussex with a Norman mercenary body guard and attempted to make his way to London. However he was betrayed and captured by Earl Godwin of Wessex, and blinded: he died soon afterwards.

In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle there is an account of this fateful encounter:
“ As Alfred and his men approached the town of Guildford in Surrey, thirty miles south-west of London, they were met by the powerful Earl Godwin of Wessex, who professed loyalty to the young prince and procured lodgings for him and his men in the town. The next morning, Godwin said to Alfred: "I will safely and securely conduct you to London, where the great men of the kingdom are awaiting your coming, that they may raise you to the throne." This he said in spite of the fact that the throne was already occupied by the son of Knud, Harold Harefoot, and he was actually in league with King Harold to lure the young prince to his death. Then the earl led the prince and his men over the hill of Guildown, which is to the west of Guildford, on the road to Winchester, not London. Perhaps the prince had insisted on continuing his journey to his original destination, his mother’s court in Winchester, in any case, Godwin repeated his tempting offer; showing the prince the magnificent panorama from the hill both to the north and to the south, he said: "Look around on the right hand and on the left, and behold what a realm will be subject to your dominion." Alfred then gave thanks to God and promised that if he should ever be crowned king, he would institute such laws as would be pleasing and acceptable to God and men. At that moment, however, he was seized and bound together with all his men. Nine tenths of them were then murdered. And since the remaining tenth was still so numerous, they, too, were decimated. Alfred was tied to a horse and then conveyed by boat to the monastery of Ely. As the boat reached land, his eyes were put out. For a while he was looked after by the monks, who were fond of him, but soon after he died, probably on February 5, 1036. ”

Interestingly, during the 1920s the remains of several hundred soldiers, probably Normans, were found to the west of Guildford. They were bound and had been executed. The grave has been dated to c.1040. It is believed to be likely that they were the guards of Prince Alfred.

The Anglo-Saxon House of Wessex was restored through the accession of Alfred's brother Edward in 1042. Alfred's death was one of the main reasons for the mistrust and resentment shown by many members of Anglo-Saxon society, and particularly from Edward himself, towards Earl Godwin and his sons.

Divorced 12 Nov 1162.

Clementia of Zähringen (unknown-1175), was a daughter of Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen and his wife Clementia of Namur. By her first marriage, Clementia was Duchess consort of Bavaria and Saxony. By her second marriage she was Countess Consort of Savoy.

Clementia was the youngest of six children, her family owned territory in Swabia. She was a great-granddaughter of Conrad I, Count of Luxembourg and his wife Clementia of Aquitaine, herself daughter of William VII, Duke of Aquitaine.

Clementia was firstly married in 1147 to Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, he later inherited Bavaria. The marriage was arranged to confirm her father's alliance with the Welf party in Southern Germany.[1] She was heiress of Badenweiler, although Henry husband sold these Swabian estates to Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1158, receiving in exchange Herzberg, Scharzfels and Pöhlde south of the Harz.[2]

Clementia and Henry had three children:

Henry, died young [3]
Gertrude (1155–1197), married first Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia, and then King Canute VI of Denmark
Richenza (c. 1157 - 1167), died young
Henry repudiated Clementia because of the growing difficulties between her brother Duke Berthold IV and Emperor Frederick, the latter with whom Duke Henry was by then in close alliance with.[4] Frederick did not cherish Guelphish possessions in his home area and offered Henry several fortresses in Saxony in exchange. The couple were officially divorced at Constance on 23 November 1162.

[edit] Countess of SavoyClementia remained unwed for two years before she married her second husband, Umberto III, Count of Savoy, she was his third wife. Umberto's first two marriages were not successful, his first wife died young; his second marriage ended in divorce. Umberto gave up and became a Carthusian monk. However, the nobles and common people of Savoy begged him to marry yet again, which he reluctantly did to Clementia.

Clementia and Humbert had two daughters:

Sophia, (1165–1202), married Azzo VI of Este
Alicia, (1166–1178), betrothed to John of England
Clementia died in 1175, predecessing both her husbands and three of her four daughters. After her death, Umberto attempted to return to the monastic life yet again but was forced to remarry a forth and final time to Beatrice of Viennois who bore him the long-awaited son and heir, Thomas.

Divorced 12 Nov 1162.