At length, when the year had expired, Ethelwolf set out on his return.  He went back through France, as he came, and during his stay in that country on the way home, an event occurred which was of no inconsiderable consequence to Alfred himself, and which changed or modified Ethelwolf’s whole destiny.  The event was that, having, as before stated, become enamored with the young Princess Judith, the daughter of the King of France, Ethelwolf demanded her in marriage.  We have no means of knowing how the proposal affected the princess herself; marriages in that rank and station in life were then, as they are now in fact, wholly determined and controlled by great political considerations, or by the personal predilections of powerful men, with very little regard for the opinions or desires of the party whose happiness was most to be affected by the result.  At all events, whatever may have been Judith’s opinion, the marriage was decided upon and consummated, and the venerable king returned to England with his youthful bride.  The historians of the day say, what would seem almost incredible, that she was but about twelve years old.

Judith’s Saxon name was Leotheta.  She made an excellent mother to the young Alfred, though she innocently and indirectly caused her husband much trouble in his realm.  Alfred’s older brothers were wild and turbulent men, and one of them, Ethelbald, was disposed to retain a portion of the power with which he had been invested during his father’s absence, instead of giving it up peaceably on his return.  He organized a rebellion against his father, making the king’s course of conduct in respect to his youthful bride the pretext.  Ethelwolf was very fond of his young wife, and seemed disposed to elevate her to a position of great political consideration and honor.  Ethelbald complained of this.  The father, loving peace rather than war, compromised the question with him, and relinquished to him a part of his kingdom.  Two years after this he died, leaving Ethelbald the entire possession of the throne.  Ethelbald, as if to complete and consummate his unnatural conduct toward his father, persuaded the beautiful Judith, his father’s widow, to become his wife, in violation not only of all laws human and divine, but also of those universal instincts of propriety which no lapse of time and no changes of condition can eradicate from the human soul.  This second union throws some light on the question of Judith’s action.  Since she was willing to marry her husband’s son to preserve the position of a queen, we may well suppose that she did not object to uniting herself to the father in order to attain it.  Perhaps, however, we ought to consider that no responsibility whatever, in transactions of this character, should attach to such a mere child.