Ælfgifu of York
Encyclopedia
Ælfgifu of York was the first wife of King Æthelred (r. 968–1016), by whom she bore many offspring, including Edmund Ironside
. It is most probable that she was a daughter of Thored, earl of southern Northumbria.
of Westminster (fl. 1080s), merely describes her as being “of very noble English stock” (ex nobilioribus Anglis), without naming her, while in in the early 12th century, William of Malmesbury
has nothing to report. All primary evidence comes from two Anglo-Norman historians. John of Worcester
, in a chronicle which is thought to rely on earlier material compiled c. 1100, tells that Æthelred's first wife was Ælfgifu, daughter of the nobleman Æthelberht (comes Agelberhtus) and the mother of Edmund, Æthelstan, Eadwig and Eadgyth. Writing in the 1150s, Ailred of Rievaulx
had reason to identify Æthelred's first wife as a daughter of earl (comes) Thored and the mother of Edmund, though he supplies no name. Ailred had been seneschal at the court of King David I of Scotland
(r. 1124–53), whose mother Margaret
descended from King Æthelred and his first wife. Although his testimony is late, his proximity to the royal family may have given him access to genuine information.
, Æthelred's Norman wife, although this interpretation presents difficulties of its own, especially as the sources envisage a single woman. Historians generally favour the view that John of Worcester was in error about the father's name, as Æthelberht's very existence is under suspicion: if Latin comes is to be interpreted as a gloss on the office of ealdorman
, only two doubtful references to one or two duces (ealdormen) of this name can be put forward that would fit the description. All in all, the combined evidence suggests that Æthelred's first wife was Ælfgifu, the daughter of Earl Thored. This magnate is likely to have been the Thored who was a son of Gunnar and earl of (southern) Northumbria.
The marriage produced six sons, all of whom were named after Æthelred's predecessors, and an unknown number of daughters. The eldest sons Æthelstan, Ecgberht, Eadred and Edmund first attest charters in 993, while the younger sons Eadwig and Edgar first make an appearance in them in 997 and 1001 respectively. Some of these sons seem to have spent part of their childhood in fosterage elsewhere, possibly with Æthelred's mother Ælfthryth.
The only ætheling to become king was Edmund Ironside, whose brief reign came to an end when Cnut won a series of victories and so conquered England (1016). Æthelred gave three of his daughters in marriage to ealdormen, presumably in order to secure the loyalties of his nobles and so to consolidate a defence system against Viking attacks.
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside or Edmund II was king of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut...
. It is most probable that she was a daughter of Thored, earl of southern Northumbria.
Identity and background
Her name and paternity do not surface in the sources until sometime after the Conquest. The first to offer any information at all, SulcardSulcard
Sulcard was a Benedictine monk at St. Peter's, Westminster Abbey, and the author of the first history of the abbey.Little is known of Sulcard, whose unusual name may reflect either Anglo-Saxon or Norman parentage...
of Westminster (fl. 1080s), merely describes her as being “of very noble English stock” (ex nobilioribus Anglis), without naming her, while in in the early 12th century, William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
has nothing to report. All primary evidence comes from two Anglo-Norman historians. John of Worcester
John of Worcester
John of Worcester was an English monk and chronicler. He is usually held to be the author of the Chronicon ex chronicis.-Chronicon ex chronicis:...
, in a chronicle which is thought to rely on earlier material compiled c. 1100, tells that Æthelred's first wife was Ælfgifu, daughter of the nobleman Æthelberht (comes Agelberhtus) and the mother of Edmund, Æthelstan, Eadwig and Eadgyth. Writing in the 1150s, Ailred of Rievaulx
Ailred of Rievaulx
Aelred , also Aelred, Ælred, Æthelred, etc., was an English writer, abbot of Rievaulx , and saint.-Life:...
had reason to identify Æthelred's first wife as a daughter of earl (comes) Thored and the mother of Edmund, though he supplies no name. Ailred had been seneschal at the court of King David I of Scotland
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
(r. 1124–53), whose mother Margaret
Saint Margaret of Scotland
Saint Margaret of Scotland , also known as Margaret of Wessex and Queen Margaret of Scotland, was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Born in exile in Hungary, she was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England...
descended from King Æthelred and his first wife. Although his testimony is late, his proximity to the royal family may have given him access to genuine information.
Problem of fatherhood
These two accounts are irreconcilable at the point of ascribing two different fathers to Æthelred's first wife (in both cases, Edmund's mother). One way out of it would be to assume the existence of two different wives before the arrival of Queen EmmaEmma
Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively 'comedy of manners' among...
, Æthelred's Norman wife, although this interpretation presents difficulties of its own, especially as the sources envisage a single woman. Historians generally favour the view that John of Worcester was in error about the father's name, as Æthelberht's very existence is under suspicion: if Latin comes is to be interpreted as a gloss on the office of 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...
, only two doubtful references to one or two duces (ealdormen) of this name can be put forward that would fit the description. All in all, the combined evidence suggests that Æthelred's first wife was Ælfgifu, the daughter of Earl Thored. This magnate is likely to have been the Thored who was a son of Gunnar and earl of (southern) Northumbria.
Marriage and offspring
Based largely on the careers of her sons, Ælfgifu's marriage has been dated approximately to the (mid-)980s. Considering Thored's authority as earl of York and apparently, the tenure of that office without royal appointment, the union would have signified an important step for the West-Saxon royal family by which it secured a foothold in the north. Such a politically weighty union would help explain the close connections maintained by Ælfgifu's eldest sons Edmund and Æthelstan with noble families based in the northern Danelaw.The marriage produced six sons, all of whom were named after Æthelred's predecessors, and an unknown number of daughters. The eldest sons Æthelstan, Ecgberht, Eadred and Edmund first attest charters in 993, while the younger sons Eadwig and Edgar first make an appearance in them in 997 and 1001 respectively. Some of these sons seem to have spent part of their childhood in fosterage elsewhere, possibly with Æthelred's mother Ælfthryth.
The only ætheling to become king was Edmund Ironside, whose brief reign came to an end when Cnut won a series of victories and so conquered England (1016). Æthelred gave three of his daughters in marriage to ealdormen, presumably in order to secure the loyalties of his nobles and so to consolidate a defence system against Viking attacks.
Sons
- ÆthelstanÆthelstan ÆthelingÆthelstan Ætheling , early or mid 980s to 25 June 1014, was the eldest son of King Æthelred the Unready by his first wife Ælfgifu and the heir apparent to the kingdom until his death. He made his first appearance as a witness to a charter of his father in 993...
(born before 993, d. 1014) - Ecgberht (born before 993, d. 1005)
- Edmund (II) IronsideEdmund IronsideEdmund Ironside or Edmund II was king of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut...
(born before 993, d. 1016) - EadredEadred ÆthelingEadred Ætheling was the fourth of the six sons of King Æthelred the Unready by his first wife Ælfgifu. Little or nothing is known of his life. His name is entered on folio 14v of the Liber Vitae of New Minster....
(d. 1012 x 1015) - EadwigEadwig ÆthelingEadwig Ætheling was the fifth of the six sons of King Æthelred the Unready) and his first wife, Ælfgifu...
(born before 997, exiled and killed 1017) - Edgar (born before 1001, d. 1012 x 1015)
Daughters
- Eadgyth (born before 993), married Eadric StreonaEadric StreonaEadric 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....
, ealdorman of Mercia. - Ælfgifu, married ealdorman Uhtred of Northumbria.
- (possibly) Wulfhild, who married Ulfcytel (Snillingr)Ulfcytel SnillingrUlfcytel was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman. He was apparently the ealdorman of East Anglia from 1004 to his death at the battle of Assandun, although he is not called an ealdorman in any of the charters he witnessed...
(d. 1016), apparently ealdorman of East Anglia. - possibly an unnamed daughter who married the Æthelstan who was killed fighting the Danes at the Battle of Ringmere in 1010. He is called Æthelred's aðum, meaning either son-in-law or brother-in-law. Ann Williams, however, argues that the latter meaning is the appropriate one and refers to Æthelstan as being Ælfgifu's brother.
- possibly unnamed daughter, who became abbess of Wherwell.
Life and death
Unlike her mother-in-law, Ælfthryth, Ælfgifu was not anointed queen and never signed charters. She did, however, make at least some impression on the contemporary record. In a will issued between 975/980 and 987, the thegn Beorhtric and his wife bequeathed to their “lady” (hlæfdige) an armlet worth 30 gold mancuses and a stallion, calling upon her authority to oversee the implementation of the arrangements set out by will. In a will of later date (AD 990 x 1001), in which she is addressed as “my lady” (mire hlæfdian), the noblewoman Æthelgifu promised a bequest of 30 mancuses of gold. Just as little is known of Ælfgifu's life, so the precise date and circumstances of her death cannot be recovered. In any event, she appears to have died by 1002, possibly in childbirth, when Æthelred took to wife Emma, daughter of Count Richard of Rouen, who received or adopted her predecessor's Anglo-Saxon name, Ælfgifu.Primary sources
- Ailred of RievaulxAilred of RievaulxAelred , also Aelred, Ælred, Æthelred, etc., was an English writer, abbot of Rievaulx , and saint.-Life:...
, De genealogia regum Anglorum ("On the Genealogy of the English Kings"), ed. R. Twysden, De genealogia regum Anglorum. Rerum Anglicarum scriptores 10. London, 1652. 1.347–70. Patrologia Latina 195 (711–38) edition available from Documenta Catholica; tr. M. L. Dutton and J. P. Freeland, Aelred of Rievaulx, The Historical Works. Kalamazoo, 2005. - Anglo-Saxon charters
- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, ed. D. Dumville and S. Keynes, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: a collaborative edition. 8 vols. Cambridge, 1983
- Tr. Michael J. Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. 2nd ed. London, 2000.
- John of WorcesterJohn of WorcesterJohn of Worcester was an English monk and chronicler. He is usually held to be the author of the Chronicon ex chronicis.-Chronicon ex chronicis:...
, Chronicon ex Chronicis, ed. Benjamin Thorpe, Florentii Wigorniensis monachi chronicon ex chronicis. 2 vols. London, 1848–49- Tr. J. Stevenson, Church Historians of England. 8 vols.: vol. 2.1. London, 1855; pp. 171–372.
- SulcardSulcardSulcard was a Benedictine monk at St. Peter's, Westminster Abbey, and the author of the first history of the abbey.Little is known of Sulcard, whose unusual name may reflect either Anglo-Saxon or Norman parentage...
of Westminster, Prologus de construccione Westmonasterii, ed. B. W. Scholz, “Sulcard of Westminster. Prologus de construccione Westmonasterii.” Traditio; 20 (1964); pp. 59–91. - William of MalmesburyWilliam of MalmesburyWilliam of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
, Gesta regum Anglorum, ed. and tr. R. A. B. Mynors, R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom, William of Malmesbury. Gesta Regum Anglorum: The History of the English Kings. (Oxford Medieval Texts.) 2 vols.; vol 1. Oxford, 1998.
Secondary sources
- Fryde, E. et al. Handbook of British Chronology. 3d ed. Cambridge, 1996.
- Keynes, Simon. “Æthelred II (c.966x8–1016).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 200.4 Accessed 1 Sept 2007.
- Stafford, Pauline. "The Reign of Æthelred II. A Study in the Limitations on Royal Policy and Action." In Ethelred the Unready. Papers from the Millenary Conference, ed. D. Hill. BAR British series 59. Oxford, 1978. 15-46.
- Stafford, Pauline. Queen Emma and Queen Edith: Queenship and Women’s Power in Eleventh-Century England. Oxford, 1997.
- Trow, M.J. Cnut: Emperor of the North. Sutton, 2005.
- Williams, Ann. Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King. London, 2003.