Osburh
- Born: 800
- Marriage (1): Aethelwulf KIng of Wessex
Noted events in her life were:
source. Mary-Ann Cook who writes:
Osburga or Osburh was the first wife of King Ęthelwulf of Wessex and mother of Alfred the Great, "a religious woman, noble both by birth and by nature".
Osburga`s existence is known only from Asser`s Life of King Alfred. She is not named as witness to any charters, nor is her death reported in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It is presumed, but nowhere recorded, that she was also the mother of Alfred`s older brothers Ęthelstan of Wessex, Ęthelbald of Wessex, Ęthelberht of Wessex, Ęthelred of Wessex, and of his sister Ęthelswith, wife of King Burgred of Mercia. The internal chronology of Asser`s life suggests that Osburga was alive after the second marriage of Ęthelwulf, to the Carolingian princess Judith, in 856.
Osburga is described as the daughter of Oslac, pincerna (Chamberlain) of Ęthelwulf`s royal household. Oslac is described as a descendant of the fictitious Jutish kings Stuf and Wihtgar, and is also ascribed Gothic ancestry. Asser may not however have been familiar with Bede,who writes that the Jutish inhabitants of the Isle of Wight- descendants of Stuf (although Wihtgar was probably fictitious)-were "destroyed", so it is unlikely that Oslac was their descendant. Oslac and Osburga are known to have held Arreton Manor on the Isle of Wight. Oslac is described as "The Chief Butler of England", although it is uncertain what this title implies. Asser clearly identifies "Gothic" as synonymous with "Jute", although this is also uncertain.
Osburh married someone Aethelwulf KIng of Wessex. (Aethelwulf KIng of Wessex was born circa 795 in Aachen, Germany and died on 13 Jan 858 in Stamridge, Wessex England.)
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