Now with the Vikings fully integrated into society, England and Normandy were united by common occupancy, but still divided by national identity as two distinct dynasties. That was until King Aethelwulf of Wessex, Alfred the Greats father succumbed to the charms of Judith of Flanders on the way back from a trip to Rome in 856 and they were married. When Aethelwulf died in 858 Judith married her stepson King Aethelbald, brother to Alfred the Great. Judiths third marriage to Baldwin Iron Arm, the Count of Flanders produced a son who would marry Alfred the Greats daughter and become Countess of Flanders. She was also an ancestor of William the Conquerors wife Matilda of Flanders. Alfred the Greats son Edward the Elder then continued the trend by marrying his three daughters to Frankish Dukes and Kings.
The French v The English – All the same under the skin
