ultronrobotarmy:

Seriously, though, Æthelflæd. Certified badass historical lady.

She was born in the 9th century in Wessex, a kingdom of Anglo Saxon England. She was the daughter of Alfred the Great, and he probably made sure she got a first class education as educations went back then (he was a bit of a rebel with the whole “reading” and “writing” thing–it wasn’t usual even for kings at that time to do that). 

She hated being pregnant/giving birth so after her first daughter she refused to have sex with her husband so it would NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN like way to be seriously fucking independent in a way that would probably get you looked at funny even TODAY, but she did it in the 9th fucking century. BADASS.

She basically shoved her husband aside in military matters because she was way better at it. NO DON’T WORRY ÆTHELRED HONEY I GOT THIS.

When he died, she took over as “Lady of the Mercians.” And this was NOT FUCKING DONE. She grew up in Wessex where they were so terrified of powerful women that Alfred’s biographer wrote that they refused to even give the title of queen to the wives of their kings. 

So now she’s Lady of the Mercians, and she spends the rest of her life building forts and fucking up Vikings like the bamf she is–her legacy being that England might not have held off total Viking rule without her.

So, yeah. Æthelflæd.