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- Ælfgifu of York
Queen consort of England
Tenure 980s–1002
Born fl. c. 970
Died c. 1002
Spouse Æthelred the Unready
Issue Æthelstan Ætheling
Ecgberht of England
Edmund Ironside
Eadred Ætheling
Eadwig Ætheling
Edgar of England
Edith, Lady of the Mercians
Ælfgifu, Lady of Northumbria
Wulfhilda, Lady of East Anglia
Father Thored, Earl of southern Northumbria
Ælfgifu of York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ælfgifu of York (fl. c. 970 – 1002) was the first wife of
Æthelred the Unready (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.
Contents
1 Identity and background
1.1 Problem of fatherhood
2 Marriage and children
2.1 Sons
2.2 Daughters
3 Life and death
4 Notes
5 Sources
5.1 Primary sources
5.2 Secondary sources
6 External links
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, Sulcard of Westminster (fl. 1080s), merely describes her as being “of very noble English
stock” (ex nobilioribus Anglis), without naming her,[1] while in the early 12th century, William of Malmesbury
has nothing to report. All primary evidence comes from two Anglo-Norman historians. John of Worcester, also
writing in the early 12th century, states that Æthelred's first wife was Ælfgifu, daughter of the nobleman
Æthelberht (comes Agelberhtus) and the mother of Edmund, Æthelstan, Eadwig and Eadgyth.[2] Writing in the
1150s, Ailred of Rievaulx identifies her as a daughter of earl (comes) Thored and the mother of Edmund,
though he supplies no name.[3] 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.[4]
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 Emma, Æthelred's Norman wife, although this interpretation presents difficulties of
its own, especially as the sources envisage a single woman.[5] 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:[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
Marriage and children
Based largely on the careers of her sons, Ælfgifu's marriage has been dated approximately to the (mid-)980s.[8]
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.[9] 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.[10]
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.[11]
Some of these sons seem to have spent part of their childhood in fosterage elsewhere, possibly with Æthelred's
mother Ælfthryth.[12]
Out of Ælfgifu's six sons, only Edmund Ironside outlived his father and became king. In 1016 he suffered
several defeats against Cnut and in October they agreed to share the kingdom, but Edmund died within six
weeks and Cnut became king of all England. 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.[13]
Sons
Æthelstan (born before 993, d. 1014)
Ecgberht (born before 993, d. 1005)
Edmund (II) Ironside (born before 993, d. 1016)
Eadred (d. 1012 x 1015)
Eadwig (born before 997, exiled and killed 1017)
Edgar (born before 1001, d. 1012 x 1015)
Daughters
Eadgyth (born before 993), married Eadric Streona, ealdorman of Mercia.[14]
Ælfgifu, married ealdorman Uhtred of Northumbria.[15]
(possibly) Wulfhild, who married Ulfcytel (Snillingr) (d. 1016), apparently ealdorman of East
Anglia.[16]
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-inlaw.[
16] Ann Williams, however, argues that the latter meaning is the appropriate one and refers to
Æthelstan as being Ælfgifu's brother.[8]
possibly unnamed daughter, who became abbess of Wherwell.[17]
Life and death
Unlike her mother-in-law, Ælfthryth, Ælfgifu was not anointed queen and never signed charters.[18] 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.[19]
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.[20] Just as little is known of Ælfgifu's life,
so the precise date and circumstances of her death cannot be recovered.[21] 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.
Notes
Sources
Primary sources
Ailred of Rievaulx, 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
S 1511 (possibly AD 980 x 987)
S 1497 (c. AD 990 x 1001)
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 Worcester, 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.
Sulcard 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 Malmesbury, 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.
1. Sulcard of Winchester, Prologus de construccione
Westmonasterii, ed. Scholz, pp. 74, 89; Williams,
Æthelred the Unready, p. 169, note 30.
2. John of Worcester, Chronicon ex Chronicis (West-
Saxon regnal list at the end of Chronicle).
3. '[...] cum jam de filia Torethi nobilissimi comitis filium
suscepisset Edmundum.'--Ailred of Rievaulx,
Genealogia regum Anglorum.
4. Keynes, “Æthelred.”
5. This possibility is raised, for instance, by Stafford,
Queen Emma, p. 66 and 66 note 3. It is also
considered, but subsequently rejected by Williams,
Æthelred the Unready, p. 25.
6. Williams, Æthelred the Unready, p. 25; Keynes,
“Æthelred”; Handbook of British Chronology, p. 27.
7. His name is only attested for an ealdorman d(ux) on the
witness lists for two spurious royal charters relating to
grants in Tavistock and Exeter. S 838 (AD 981) (http://
www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+83
8) and S 954 (AD 1019) (http://www.anglo-saxons.net/
hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+954). The latter
subscription may be an error forÆ thelweard; see
Williams, Æthelred the Unready. p. 169 note 29.
8. Williams, Æthelred the Unready, p. 24.
8. Williams, Æthelred the Unready, p. 24.
9. Williams, Æthelred the Unready, p. 24-5.
10. Keynes, “Æthelred”; Williams, Æthelred the Unready,
p. 25.
11. S 876 (AD 993), S 891 (AD 997), S 899 (AD 1001).
12. Keynes, “Æthelred”
13. Stafford, The Reign of Æthelred II.34-5.
14. John of Worcester, Chronicon, AD 1009.
15. De Obsessione Dunelmi § 2; Handbook of British
Chronology, p. 27.
16. Handbook of British Chronology, p. 27.
17. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS E) 1048; Handbook of
British Chronology, p. 27.
18. Ryan Lavelle, Aethelred II: King of the English, The
History Press, 2008, p. 56
19. S 1511 (975 or 980 x 987).
20. S 1497 (c. AD 990x 1001).
21. It has been suggested that she died in giving birth.
Trow, Cnut: Emperor of the North, p. 54.
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.
External links
Ælfgifu 17 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Preceded by
Ælfthryth
Queen Consort of England
980s–1002
Succeeded by
Emma of
Normandy
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ælfgifu_of_York&oldid=764712817"
Categories: English royal consorts 10th-century English people 11th-century English people
10th-century women 11th-century women Anglo-Saxon royal consorts House of Wessex
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968 - 1002 (34 years)
[1] 
