Wulfrun
Encyclopedia
Wulfrun was an Anglo-Saxon
(early English) noble
woman and landowner, who established a landed estate at Wolverhampton
, West Midlands
, England
in 985
. Contemporary knowledge of her comes from several text sources:
It is thought probable that these references all refer to the same woman, Lady Wulfruna, spelt in Old English as Wulfrun. The 'a' commonly seen at the end of her name is a latinization.
She founded a convent
in Tamworth
, where it is believed she is buried.
Wulfrun had two sons: Ælfhelm (Ealdorman
of Northumbria
), and Wulfric Spot
, founder of Burton Abbey.
The relevant Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entries are (from the Worcester
manuscript
):-
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
(early English) noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
woman and landowner, who established a landed estate at Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 985
985
Year 985 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Barcelona is sacked by Al-Mansur....
. Contemporary knowledge of her comes from several text sources:
- Year 943 entry in the Anglo-Saxon ChronicleAnglo-Saxon ChronicleThe Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
says that VikingVikingThe term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s seized her when they took the fort at TamworthTamworthTamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
. [It was in all probability to obtain a ransomRansomRansom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
.] - Listed as a witness in an Anglo-Saxon charterCharterA charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
dated 985, which is listed as no. 650 in KembleJohn Mitchell KembleJohn Mitchell Kemble , English scholar and historian, was the eldest son of Charles Kemble the actor and Maria Theresa Kemble....
's "Codex Diplomaticus Ævi Saxoni". In it King Ethelred II (Ethelred the Unready), granted to Wulfrun ten hideHide (unit)The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
s of land at Hēatūn, which means "high or principal farm or enclosure". * It is recorded that in 994 Wulfrun gave ten hides of land to endow a church at a place called Heantune (dative case). This may be the same land as in the previous entry. The church had previously been founded as an abbey by Wulfere. - A charter to EynshamEynshamEynsham is a village and civil parish about east of Witney in Oxfordshire, England.-History:Eynsham grew up near the historically important ford of Swinford on the River Thames flood plain...
Monastery dated 1005 says that Wulfrun bequeathedBequestA bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."...
land at RamseyRamseyRamsey may refer to:In places in the United Kingdom:* Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, small market town in England* Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England* Ramsey Abbey, historic ecclesiastical centre near Ramsey, Cambridgeshire...
, "being at her last breath". - The West MidlandsWest Midlands (region)The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
placename WolverhamptonWolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
seems to have come from Anglo-Saxon Wulfereēantūn = "Wulfere's high or principal enclosure or farm", though some toponymists & historians attribute it to Wulfrun. Many buildings and firms in Wolverhampton are named after her, for example, The Wulfrun Centre, Lady Wulfrun (formerly 'The Goose in the city' pub), Wulfrun Hall and the Wulfrun Hotel.
It is thought probable that these references all refer to the same woman, Lady Wulfruna, spelt in Old English as Wulfrun. The 'a' commonly seen at the end of her name is a latinization.
She founded a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
in Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
, where it is believed she is buried.
Wulfrun had two sons: Ælfhelm (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...
of 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...
), and Wulfric Spot
Wulfric Spot
Wulfric , called Wulfric Spot or Spott, was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman. His will is an important document from the reign of King Æthelred the Unready...
, founder of Burton Abbey.
The relevant Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entries are (from the 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...
manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
):-
- 941941Year 941 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Births :* Charles d'Outremer, son of Louis IV of France* Brian Bórumha mac Cennétig, High-King of Ireland...
: Her Norðhymbra alugon hira getreowaða 7 Anlaf of Yrlande him to cinge gecuron. - 943943Year 943 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.-Africa:* Rebellion of the Zenete Berber tribe of the Banû Ifrân under Abu Yazid against the Fatimid dynasty ....
: Her Anlaf abræc Tamewurþe, 7 micel wæl gefeol on ægþra hand, 7 þa Denan sige ahton, 7 micele herehuþe mid him aweglæddon, þær wæs Wulfrun genumen on þære hergunge. Her Eadmund cyning ymbsæt Anlaf cyning 7 Wulfstan arcebiscop on Legraceastre, 7 he hy gewyldan meahte, nære þæt hi on niht ut ne ætburston of þære byrig, 7 æfter þæm begeat Anlaf Eadmundes cynges freondscipe, 7 se cyning Eadmund onfeng þa Anlafe cyninge æt fulwihte, 7 he him cynelice gyfode. 7 ðy ilcan geare ymbe tæla mycelne fyrst he onfeng Regnalde cyninge æt bisceopes handa.
- 941: Here the NorthumbriaNorthumbriaNorthumbria 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...
ns belied their promises and chose Olaf from IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
as king. - 943: Here Olaf broke down TamworthTamworthTamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
and great slaughter fell on either side, and the Danes had the victory and led away great war-booty with them. There Wulfrun was taken in that raid. Here king EdmundEdmund I of EnglandEdmund I , called the Elder, the Deed-doer, the Just, or the Magnificent, was King of England from 939 until his death. He was a son of Edward the Elder and half-brother of Athelstan. Athelstan died on 27 October 939, and Edmund succeeded him as king.-Military threats:Shortly after his...
besieged Olaf and archbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
WulfstanWulfstan I, Archbishop of YorkWulfstan was Archbishop of York between 931 and 952. He is often known as Wulfstan I, to separate him from Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York.-Life:Wulfstan was consecrated in 931....
in LeicesterLeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, and he might have controlled them, except that they broke out of the fort in the night, and after that Olaf had king Edmund's friendship, and king Edmund received king Olaf at baptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, and gave to him royally. And in the same year after a fairly long time he received Rægnald at a bishop's hands.