Leofric, Earl of Mercia
Encyclopedia
Leofric was the Earl of Mercia
and founded monasteries at Coventry
and Much Wenlock
. Leofric is remembered as the husband of Lady Godiva
.
of the Hwicce
, who died c. 1023. Leofric's elder brother Northman
was killed in 1017, in the losing battles against Cnut the Great.
The victorious Cnut divided England into four great provinces: Wessex
, East Anglia
, Mercia
and Northumbria
each of which he eventually placed under the control of an earl
(a title new to the English, replacing the Anglo-Saxon "ealdorman
"). Mercia he initially left in the hands of Eadric Streona
, who had been Ealdorman of Mercia since 1007, but Eadric was killed later in the same year of 1017.
Mercia may have been given to Leofric immediately after that. He had certainly become Earl of Mercia
by the 1030s. This made him one of the most powerful men in the land, second only to Earl Godwin
of Wessex among the mighty earls. He may have had some connection by marriage with Ælfgifu of Northampton, the first wife of Cnut. That might help to explain why he supported her son Harold Harefoot
against Harthacnut, Cnut's son by Emma of Normandy
, when Cnut died in 1035.
However Harold died in 1040 and was succeeded by Harthacnut, who made himself unpopular with heavy taxation in his short reign. Two of his tax-collectors were killed at Worcester
by angry locals. The king was so enraged by this that in 1041 he ordered Leofric and his other earls to plunder and burn the city, and lay waste the whole area. This command must have sorely tested Leofric. Worcester was the cathedral city of the Hwicce, his people.
When Harthacnut died suddenly in 1042, he was succeeded by his half-brother Edward the Confessor
. Leofric loyally supported Edward when he came under threat at Gloucester
from Earl Godwin in 1051. Leofric and Earl Siward
of Northumbria gathered a great army to meet that of Godwin. Wise heads counselled that battle would be folly, with the flower of England on both sides. Their loss would leave England open to its enemies. So the issue was resolved by less bloody means. Earl Godwin and his family were outlawed for a time.
Earl Leofric's power was then at its height. But in 1055 his son Ælfgar
was outlawed, "without any fault", says the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. He raised an army in Ireland and Wales and brought it to Hereford
, where he clashed with the army of Earl Ralph of Herefordshire
and severely damaged the town. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle wryly comments "And then when they had done most harm, it was decided to reinstate Earl Ælfgar".
Leofric died "at a good old age" in 1057 at his estate at Kings Bromley
in Staffordshire
. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he died on 30 September, but the chronicler of Worcester gives the date as 31 August. Both agree that he was buried at Coventry.
Leofric used a double-headed eagle as his personal device, and this has been adopted by various units of the British Army as a symbol for Mercia.
at Coventry. John of Worcester tells us that "He and his wife, the noble Countess Godgifu, a worshipper of God and devout lover of St Mary ever-virgin, built the monastery there from the foundations out of their own patrimony, and endowed it adequately with lands and made it so rich in various ornaments that in no monastery in England might be found the abundance of gold, silver, gems and precious stones that was at that time in its possession."
In the 1050s Leofric and Godiva appear jointly in the grant of land to the monastery of St Mary, Worcester, and the endowment of the minister at Stow St Mary, Lincolnshire
. She and her husband are commemorated as benefactors of other monasteries at Leominster
, Chester, Much Wenlock
, and Evesham.
in 1039. Godwine died some time before 1057.
Leofric may have married more than once. His famous wife Godiva survived him and may have been a second or later wife. Since there is some question about the date of marriage for Leofric and Godgifu, it is not clear that she was the mother of Ælfgar, Leofric's only known child. If Godiva was married to Earl Leofric later than about 1010, she could not have been the mother of Ælfgar.
Ælfgar
succeeded Leofric as Earl of Mercia.
in the British silent short Lady Godiva (1928), George Nader
in the film Lady Godiva of Coventry
(1955), and Tony Steedman
in the BBC
TV series Hereward the Wake (1965).
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
and founded monasteries at Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
and Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford...
. Leofric is remembered as the husband of Lady Godiva
Lady Godiva
Godiva , often referred to as Lady Godiva , was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants...
.
Life and political influence
Leofric was the son of Ealdorman LeofwineLeofwine, Earl of Mercia
Leofwine was an ealdorman of the Hwicce in Mercia. He is mentioned as Wicciarum Prouinciarum dux Ealdorman of Hwicce in 997.Leofwine may have been related by marriage to the family of Ælfgifu of Northampton...
of the Hwicce
Hwicce
The Hwicce were one of the peoples of Anglo-Saxon England. The exact boundaries of their kingdom are uncertain, though it is likely that they coincided with those of the old Diocese of Worcester, founded in 679–80, the early bishops of which bore the title Episcopus Hwicciorum...
, who died c. 1023. Leofric's elder brother Northman
Northman, son of Leofwine
Northman was a Mercian chieftain of the early 11th century. A member of a powerful Mercian kindred, he is known primarily for receiving Twywell in Northamptonshire from King Æthelred II in 1013 and his death at the hands of King Cnut the Great in 1017...
was killed in 1017, in the losing battles against Cnut the Great.
The victorious Cnut divided England into four great provinces: Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
, East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
and Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
each of which he eventually placed under the control of an earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
(a title new to the English, replacing the Anglo-Saxon "ealdorman
Ealdorman
An ealdorman is the term used for a high-ranking royal official and prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire or group of shires from about the ninth century to the time of King Cnut...
"). Mercia he initially left in the hands of Eadric Streona
Eadric Streona
Eadric Streona was an ealdorman of the English Mercians. His name a loose translation of the Anglo-Saxon "the Grasper." Streona is historically regarded as the greatest traitor of the Anglo-Saxon period in English history....
, who had been Ealdorman of Mercia since 1007, but Eadric was killed later in the same year of 1017.
Mercia may have been given to Leofric immediately after that. He had certainly become Earl of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
by the 1030s. This made him one of the most powerful men in the land, second only to Earl Godwin
Earl Godwin
Earl Godwin is the name of:* Earl Godwin , American radio newsman, commentator, and announcer* Godwin, Earl of Wessex , one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great and his successors...
of Wessex among the mighty earls. He may have had some connection by marriage with Ælfgifu of Northampton, the first wife of Cnut. That might help to explain why he supported her son Harold Harefoot
Harold Harefoot
Harold Harefoot was King of England from 1037 to 1040. His cognomen "Harefoot" referred to his speed, and the skill of his huntsmanship. He was the son of Cnut the Great, king of England, Denmark, and Norway by Ælfgifu of Northampton...
against Harthacnut, Cnut's son by Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy
Emma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
, when Cnut died in 1035.
However Harold died in 1040 and was succeeded by Harthacnut, who made himself unpopular with heavy taxation in his short reign. Two of his tax-collectors were killed at Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
by angry locals. The king was so enraged by this that in 1041 he ordered Leofric and his other earls to plunder and burn the city, and lay waste the whole area. This command must have sorely tested Leofric. Worcester was the cathedral city of the Hwicce, his people.
When Harthacnut died suddenly in 1042, he was succeeded by his half-brother Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
. Leofric loyally supported Edward when he came under threat at Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
from Earl Godwin in 1051. Leofric and Earl Siward
Siward, Earl of Northumbria
Siward or Sigurd was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname Digri and its Latin translation Grossus are given to him by near-contemporary texts...
of Northumbria gathered a great army to meet that of Godwin. Wise heads counselled that battle would be folly, with the flower of England on both sides. Their loss would leave England open to its enemies. So the issue was resolved by less bloody means. Earl Godwin and his family were outlawed for a time.
Earl Leofric's power was then at its height. But in 1055 his son Ælfgar
Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia
Ælfgar was son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia,by his well-known wife Godgifu . He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the latter's death in 1057....
was outlawed, "without any fault", says the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. He raised an army in Ireland and Wales and brought it to Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, where he clashed with the army of Earl Ralph of Herefordshire
Ralph the Timid
Ralph the Timid, also known as Ralf of Mantes, died 1057, was Earl of Hereford between 1051 and 1055 or 1057. His mother was Godgifu, the daughter of King Æthelred the Unready and his second wife Emma. His father was Drogo of Mantes, Count of the Vexin, who died on pilgrimage to Jerusalem in...
and severely damaged the town. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle wryly comments "And then when they had done most harm, it was decided to reinstate Earl Ælfgar".
Leofric died "at a good old age" in 1057 at his estate at Kings Bromley
Kings Bromley
Kings Bromley is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England on the junction of the A515 and the A513 roads. The village lies in Lichfield District, and the council ward of Kings Bromley had a population of 1,651 at the time of the 2001 census, Kings Bromley is a village and civil parish...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he died on 30 September, but the chronicler of Worcester gives the date as 31 August. Both agree that he was buried at Coventry.
Leofric used a double-headed eagle as his personal device, and this has been adopted by various units of the British Army as a symbol for Mercia.
Religious works
Earl Leofric and Godiva were noted for great generosity to religious houses. In 1043 he founded and endowed a Benedictine monasteryOrder of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
at Coventry. John of Worcester tells us that "He and his wife, the noble Countess Godgifu, a worshipper of God and devout lover of St Mary ever-virgin, built the monastery there from the foundations out of their own patrimony, and endowed it adequately with lands and made it so rich in various ornaments that in no monastery in England might be found the abundance of gold, silver, gems and precious stones that was at that time in its possession."
In the 1050s Leofric and Godiva appear jointly in the grant of land to the monastery of St Mary, Worcester, and the endowment of the minister at Stow St Mary, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. She and her husband are commemorated as benefactors of other monasteries at Leominster
Leominster
Leominster is a market town in Herefordshire, England, located approximately north of the city of Hereford and south of Ludlow, at...
, Chester, Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford...
, and Evesham.
Family
Apart from Northman, killed in 1017, Leofric had at least two other brothers. Edwin was killed in battle by Gruffydd ap LlywelynGruffydd ap Llywelyn
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was the ruler of all Wales from 1055 until his death, the only Welsh monarch able to make this boast...
in 1039. Godwine died some time before 1057.
Leofric may have married more than once. His famous wife Godiva survived him and may have been a second or later wife. Since there is some question about the date of marriage for Leofric and Godgifu, it is not clear that she was the mother of Ælfgar, Leofric's only known child. If Godiva was married to Earl Leofric later than about 1010, she could not have been the mother of Ælfgar.
Ælfgar
Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia
Ælfgar was son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia,by his well-known wife Godgifu . He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the latter's death in 1057....
succeeded Leofric as Earl of Mercia.
In popular culture
On screen, Leofric has been portrayed by Roy TraversRoy Travers
-Selected filmography:* The Man Who Bought London * A Romance of Old Baghdad * The House of Peril * The Hypocrites * Q Ships * Romany Love * Kiss Me Sergeant -External links:...
in the British silent short Lady Godiva (1928), George Nader
George Nader
George Nader was an American film and television actor of Lebanese descent. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 through 1974, including Phone Call from a Stranger , Congo Crossing , and The Female Animal...
in the film Lady Godiva of Coventry
Lady Godiva of Coventry
Lady Godiva of Coventry is an American historical film, directed by Arthur Lubin and released in 1955. It starred Maureen O'Hara in the title role.-Synopsis:...
(1955), and Tony Steedman
Tony Steedman
Tony Steedman was an English character actor, perhaps best known for his role as Socrates in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure....
in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV series Hereward the Wake (1965).