Eadwig’s Coronation Scandal: Sexuality, Rhetoric and the Vulnerability of Reputation

Matthew Firth

doi:10.7765/9781526175854.00011

Eadwig’s Coronation Scandal: Sexuality, Rhetoric and the Vulnerability of Reputation

Matthew Firth

College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

According to the earliest Vita S. Dunstani, on the day of his coronation the English King Eadwig (d. 959) absented himself from the event, only to be found shortly after by Abbot Dunstan (d. 988), ‘disporting himself disgracefully in between two women’. This is a famous story, but it is an invention rooted in political factionalism. Eadwig and the two women, his queen-consort Ælfgifu and her mother Æthelgifu, were being singled out for reputational damage by an opposing faction. This essay explores the question of why this was so effective, analysing the political context of Eadwig’s reign and tenth-century attitudes towards sexuality.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Premodern ruling sexualities
Subtitle of host publication	Representation, Identity, and Power
Editors	Gabrielle Storey, Zita Eva Rohr
Place of Publication	Manchester, UK
Publisher	Manchester University Press
Chapter	2
Pages	49-70
Number of pages	22
ISBN (Electronic)	9781526175854
ISBN (Print)	9781526175847
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526175854.00011
Publication status	Published - 25 Jun 2024

Keywords

kingship
early medieval
St Dunstan
Eadwig
Ælfgifu
coronation
hagiography
consanguinity

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10.7765/9781526175854.00011Licence: In Copyright

Cite this

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abstract = "According to the earliest Vita S. Dunstani, on the day of his coronation the English King Eadwig (d. 959) absented himself from the event, only to be found shortly after by Abbot Dunstan (d. 988), {\textquoteleft}disporting himself disgracefully in between two women{\textquoteright}. This is a famous story, but it is an invention rooted in political factionalism. Eadwig and the two women, his queen-consort {\AE}lfgifu and her mother {\AE}thelgifu, were being singled out for reputational damage by an opposing faction. This essay explores the question of why this was so effective, analysing the political context of Eadwig{\textquoteright}s reign and tenth-century attitudes towards sexuality.",

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Eadwig’s Coronation Scandal: Sexuality, Rhetoric and the Vulnerability of Reputation

Abstract

Keywords

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Other files and links

Fingerprint

King Eadwig’s Coronation Threesome: The Early Modern Reception of a Medieval Scandal

Intertextual Archetypes: The Royal Woman as ‘Wicked Queen’

Rhetoric and Royal Reputation: The Coronation Scandal of Vita S. Dunstani

Cite this

Eadwig’s Coronation Scandal: Sexuality, Rhetoric and the Vulnerability of Reputation

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Activities

King Eadwig’s Coronation Threesome: The Early Modern Reception of a Medieval Scandal

Intertextual Archetypes: The Royal Woman as ‘Wicked Queen’

Rhetoric and Royal Reputation: The Coronation Scandal of Vita S. Dunstani

Cite this