Gunhild of Wessex

Gunhild of Wessex, a younger daughter of Harold Godwinson and Edyth Swannesha, likely identified as Edyth the Fair from the Domesday Book, remained in England after her father’s death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. She was educated at Wilton Abbey, a renowned center for learning that attracted many noblewomen, including Matilda of Scotland and her sister Mary, as well as the poet Muriel.

Gunhild began to experience blindness as an adult at Wilton, but was reportedly healed by St Wulfstan. She communicated with Anselm of Canterbury, expressing her intention to lead a religious life, but later eloped with Alan the Red in 1093. Post-elope, she settled with Alan the Black, Alan the Red’s brother and heir, and may have married him. Historian Richard Sharpe suggests that Gunhild and Alan the Red had a daughter named Matilda.