Lady of the Mercians

For seven years

Æthelflæd 

ruled the Mercians

daughter of the king

bred to harsh realities

she fled the Vikings

as a refugee

then her father Alfred

rallied an army 

to defeat the Danes

and regained his 

kingdom.

She learned 

to feign weakness

and set traps

causing the Vikings

to set down their weapons

and then killing them 

ordering a false retreat

and then leading the enemy 

into a deadly ambush.

Guarding Mercia

she fortified the towns 

against the Viking incursions

building defenses

at Scergeat and Weardbyrig

as well as Bremsburh

and to guard the River Severn

to cover the crossing.

After her death

her body was carried

seventy-five miles

to Gloucester

where she was buried

she is remembered

as the only woman

to rule a kingdom

witness charters

and make grants

in the history

of the Anglo-Saxons.