Vikings: Who is Kwenthrith? Is she based on a real person?

March 20, 2020

Vikings season six, part B will return to Amazon Prime and History towards the end of 2020. Over the years, many fan-favourites have been killed off and one of the most memorable deaths was Kwenthrith, who was played by Amy Bailey.

Who is Kwenthrith?

In Vikings Kwenthrith (played by Amy Bailey) was the Queen Regnant of Mercia in Anglo-Saxon England.

She was the daughter of the late King Offa of Mercia and the sister of the late Prince Kenelm.

After the death of Offa, Kenelm took the Mercian throne but he died shortly thereafter.

Her brother was Burgred (Aaron Monaghan), who fought against her uncle Brithwulf (Ian Beattie) after he tried to prevent Kwenthrith from claiming Mercia as her own.

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Viking warrior Ragnar Lathbrok (Travis Fimmel) fought for Kwenthrith and Mercia at the request of King Ecbert (Linys Roache).

After defeating Brithwulf and Burgred, Kwenthrith broke off her engagement with King Ecbert and killed the Wessex nobles who had been sent to monitor her, deciding to take Mercia for herself.

In season four of Vikings, the nobles of Merica revolted against her and took her prisoner, along with her young son Magnus (Dean Ridge).

When news of her imprisonment reached King Ecbert, he sent his son Aethelwulf (Moe Dunford) to rescue them, where an intense battle ensued.

Returning victorious from Mercia, Aethelwulf gave in to Kwenthrith demands and they spend the night together.

Meanwhile, Athelwulf’s wife, Judith (Jennie Jacques) had become the mistress of King Ecbert.

When Ecbert launched another successful attack on Mercia, Kwenthrith believed she would be returned to the throne.

However, Ecbert had other plans and forced Athelwulf and Kwenthrith to sign documents which confirmed he was now the King of Merica.

Realising she was once again a prisoner, Kwenthrith attempted to kill Ebert as he slept.

However, Ecbert’s mistress Judith was too fast for Kwenthrith and stabbed her in the back before she could kill the King.

Kwenthrith’s claimed the father of her son Magnus was Ragnar Lothbrok.

At the time of her death, she was pregnant with Aethelwulf’s child.

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Is Kwnethrith based on a real person?

Kwenthrith is believed to be based on two powerful women from Mercia.

She appears to be mainly based on the Mercian princess of the same name, Cwenthryth.

The name Cwenthryth is believed to mean “woman of power”.

The real Cwenthryth was the daughter of King Coenwulf, who was the cousin to King Offa of Mercia, who is portrayed as her father in the series.

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However, she was the real sister of Saint Kenelm, as portrayed in Vikings.

Cwenthryth was the reigning Abbess of Minster-in-Thanet in Kent, which was a source of contention between King Coenwulf of Mercia and the Archbishop Wilfred of Canterbury, over the issue of whether religious houses should be controlled by clergy or lay-nobility.

There is also the possibility that Kwenthrith is based on King Offa’s daughter, Eadburh.

Vikings season 6 is streaming on Amazon Prime now

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