Gaini facts for kids
The Gaini were an Anglo-Saxon group of people who lived in a part of the kingdom of Mercia during the early Middle Ages. We don't know much about them, but they are important because of their connection to a famous English king.
The Gaini and King Alfred
The Gaini are mainly known from a book called The Life of King Alfred, written by a scholar named Asser in 893. This book tells us that in 868, before he became king, Alfred the Great married a woman named Ealhswith. She was the daughter of a powerful leader of the Gaini.
Ealhswith's Family
Ealhswith's father was named Æthelred, also known as Mucel. He was an ealdorman (a high-ranking noble or chief) of the Gaini. This means he was a very important person in their community. Mucel signed official documents, called charters, in Mercia between 814 and 866.
It's possible there were two people named Mucel, perhaps a father and son, with the younger one being Ealhswith's father. The older Mucel might have been "Mucel son of Esne," mentioned in a Mercian document from 836. Esne was another important person who signed documents in the late 700s and early 800s.
Ealhswith's father also signed two documents in the kingdom of Wessex in 868, which was the same year his daughter married Alfred.
Ealhswith's Brother
Ealhswith also had a brother named Æthelwulf. He was a leader in Mercia too, working under another powerful figure named Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians in the late 800s. Æthelwulf was in charge of the western and possibly central parts of Mercia.
See also
