A Woman and a Warrior

The Æthelflaed celebrations went down well in Gloucester. A weekend of events all came together and the sun shone! Taking part in the funeral procession felt moving. It was an honour to remember this important and impressive woman, one who has almost been written out of history.

A couple of things stand out from the weekend for me. As the crowds mingled at the docks, waiting for Æthelflaed's boat to come in, I found myself next to a man who felt the need to tell me that really we should be remembering a man this day (forgive me if I instantly forgot the man he mentioned, my mind was fixed on Æthelflaed!).

I said in disbelief, "Sorry, you're not suggesting that we remember a man right now instead of honouring Æthelflaed, and in this year of celebrating the women's vote centenary?!"

He said, "Of course, she would not have got to where she did without a man."

He started sentences with "Of course the important thing is...", as if assuming that we would all agree on what that 'important thing' was. The lack of understanding of how women have been sidelined throughout history, and how fascinating and important Æthelflaed is in her own right was staggering.

I rounded off the mansplaining encounter by saying, "it sounds like that is important to you but look around you, we're all here to celebrate Æthelflaed and I'm going to carry on with doing that now." With that he retreated back into the crowd and the rest of us began the procession.

Watching Grove and JPDL perform their Æthelflaed inspired track at Æthelflaed's priory was a welcome antidote to that encounter and the lyrics took on new poignancy for me. Watching my daughters dance to the track was a joy and we often find ourselves singing "a woman and a warrior" to each other now. It feels so important for all of us to learn about and celebrate figures such as Æthelflaed, and seeing Grove and JPDL do this justice on stage was magical.

JPDL's Æthelflaed track for the Spaces project is like a modern day ballad (and if you were lucky you've picked up a free cd of the track and its remixes!). It speaks of her life and accomplishments and reminds me that we are a people of stories, this is how we used to communicate news and great deeds to each other, this is how we remember. It contains my favourite refrain from the weekend, 'A founding mother on a chessboard of kings'.

The weekend rounded off with an even song service at the Cathedral. I carried a banner with my depiction of Æthelflaed and we marked her life in the service, remembering a woman and a warrior, a founding mother on a chessboard of kings.