Osferth orOsferd orOsfrith[a] (fl. c. 885 to c. 934) was described byAlfred the Great in his will as a "kinsman". Osferth witnessed royal charters from 898 to 934, as anealdorman between 926 and 934. In a charter ofEdward the Elder, he was described as a brother of the king. Therefore,Janet Nelson argues that he was probably an illegitimate son of Alfred.Simon Keynes andMichael Lapidge suggest that he may have been a relative of Alfred's motherOsburh, or a son of Oswaldfilius regis (king's son), who in turn may have been a son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor as king,Æthelred I.
Osferth is first recorded in the will ofAlfred the Great,King of the Anglo-Saxons, which probably dates to the mid-880s.[2] Alfred bequeathed "to my kinsman Osferth" estates atBeckley,Rotherfield,Ditchling,Sutton,Lyminster,Angmering andFelpham. Ditchling and Lyminster were substantial royal estates,[3] and all the properties are inSussex.Janet Nelson suggests that they may have been "the core of a South Saxon subkingdom". The bequest was more generous than that toÆthelwold, who was the younger son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor,Æthelred, and more compact than that to Æthelred's elder son,Æthelhelm. In a royal charter of 898 Osferth witnessed second in the list ofministri (king'sthegns).[4] Alfred died in 899, and in a charter of 901 he witnessed without a title second after King Edward,[5] and in 903 again without title immediately after Edward's brotherÆthelweard.[6] In a charter of 904 he witnessed abovePlegmund,Archbishop of Canterbury, and next after "Æthelweardfilius regis" (king's son) as "Osferdfrater regis" (king's brother).[7] In a doubtful charter of 909 he is listed straight after Edward's sonÆlfweard aspropinquus regis (king's kinsman).[8] Osferth witnesses asdux (ealdorman) in two dubious charters of 909,[9] but there are no surviving charters for the last fifteen years of Edward's reign, and Osferth appears from 926 to 934 at or near the top of lay witnesses as anealdorman.[b] At an unknown date, probably early in Edward's reign, he was a signatory to the settlement of the dispute outlined in theFonthill Letter.[22] Nelson comments: "Clearly Osferth held an exceptionally prominent position at the courts of three successive kings. It is a sobering thought that none of the narrative sources mention him at all."[23]
According to Keynes and Lapidge, Osferth was described as Edward's brother "mistakenly" (in Nelson's view "with a briskness worthy of the lateDorothy Whitelock herself"). They say: "Osferth's relationship to Alfred is uncertain. He may have belonged to his mother Osburh's family, or he may have been a son of the Oswaldfilius regis who occurs in [royal charters] S 340, 1201 and 1203 and was perhaps a son of Alfred's brother Æthelred."[24] However, in Nelson's view, it is very unlikely that Oswald was Æthelred's son. She points out that in the introduction to Alfred's will he says that on his succession to the throne there were complaints about his treatment of Æthelred's sons, "the older and the younger", meaning Æthelhelm and Æthelwold. This suggests that only two sons were alive in 871, but Oswald witnessed in 875. She argues that in view of Osferth's place in Alfred's will and his high position in witness lists in Edward's and Æthelstan's reigns, he may have been Alfred's illegitimate son. In the ninth century moralists were increasingly condemning sex outside marriage, and Alfred suffered such anxiety over his sexuality that he prayed for an illness that would inhibit lust. Nelson argues that the existence of an illegitimate son would explain the depth of his concern:Asser's failure to mention Osferth in hisLife of Alfred is not surprising as he aimed to portray Alfred as a faithful husband.[25] In his biography of Alfred,Richard Abels points out that the 'Os-' prefix was common in Alfred's maternal ancestry, and suggests that Osferth belonged to that side of the family, but also mentioned Nelson's view favourably in a footnote.[26]
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