Alfred the Great his craving for what he desired the most, namely the liberal arts; for, as he used to say, there were no good scholars in the entire kingdom of the West Saxons at that time". In 868, Alfred married Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini. The Gaini were probably one of the tribal groups of the Mercians. Ealhswith's mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal family. They had five or six children together including: Edward the Elder who succeeded his father as king; Æthelflæd who became Lady (ruler) of the Mercians in her
Æthelweard (son of Alfred) charters from the Malmesbury archive, in which Athelstan is made to endow the abbey in memory of his "cousins" ("patruelia") Æthelweard, Ælfwine and Æthelwine. If Ælfwine and Æthelwine died childless, their deaths would have brought an end to Æthelweard's direct descent. Æthelweard (son of Alfred) Æthelweard (d. 920 or 922) was the younger son of King Alfred the Great and Ealhswith. He was born about 880. That he was Alfred's younger son by Ealhswith is stated by Asser in his biography of the king ( 893). Asser also provides valuable detail on the boy's upbringing. Whereas his brother Edward and