The Lady of the Mercians – Aethelflaed
Aethelflaed, the daughter of King Alfred the Great was known as The Lady of the Mercians.
She has been described as ‘our greatest woman-general’ and as one of the most effective leaders the country ever had. She commanded troops for eight years and ruled a country as well.
She drove back the marauding Danes and seized Watling Street, a strategic highway that represented the border between the Danes and Anglo-Saxons.
In the early summer of 913AD, with her Mercians, she marched to Tamworth, and at the junction of its two rivers, established a fortification.
Aethelflaed also founded a series of Burhs, including Stafford.
She died in Tamworth in 920 AD, an event which resulted in Mercia being merged with Wessex.