Identifying Eadgyth

PhysOrg ^ | November 26, 2010 | University of Bristol

[SunkenCiv]

Eadgyth was the granddaughter of Alfred the Great and the half-sister of Athelstan, the first acknowledged King of England. She was sent to marry Otto, King of Saxony, in AD 929, and bore him at least two children, before her death, at around the age of 36, in AD 946. Buried in the monastery of St Maurice in Magdeburg, historical records state that her bones were moved on at least three occasions before being interred in an elaborate tomb in Magdeburg Cathedral in 1510. It was long assumed that this tomb was empty, so, when German archaeologists opened it in 2008 as part of a wider research project, they were surprised to discover a lead box bearing the inscription 'EDIT REGINE CINERES HIC SARCOPHAGVS HABET...' ('The remains of Queen Eadgyth are in this sarcophagus...').

[SunkenCiv]

Figure of Queen Eadgyth on top of the cenotaph from 1510 Image by Reinhard Ulbrich, LDA Halle

[SunkenCiv]

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[La Lydia]

GREAT article. Wonderful information.

[stylecouncilor]

Cool!

[FrdmLvr]

Thanks for posting these interesting articles.

[fanfan]

Eadgyth

Gesundheit!

[BenLurkin]

Saxony was a major power at the time.

[hellbender]

It makes sense that they could identify an aristocratic English woman by her teeth.

[seowulf]

Eadgyth

Gesundheit!

Yes, indeed; God bless Edith.

[BenKenobi]

Interesting! Thanks for posting!

[JoeProBono]

[blueplum]

To be able to tell in such detail what people and animals were doing from year to year isn’t just remarkable, it’s a revolution.

fascinating stuff!

[ZULU]

This is awesome technology!!!

[Conservative4Ever]

Fascinating article. Even more enjoyable as I’m waiting for the last Cornwell book of the Saxon tales series.

[SunkenCiv]