Saint Ælfgifu

Family/Spouse: Edmund "the Magnificent", King of England . Edmund (son of Edward "the Elder", King of England and Eadgifu of Kent) was born about 922; died on 26 May 946 in Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire, England; was buried in Glastonbury Abbey, Somersetshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• History: In 955, he was crowned King of England. He was only about 14 or 15 when he came to the throne, and a choice scandal soon developed. Ædwig left the coronation celebration with Æthelgifu and her daughter Ælfgifu for a private celebration in a bedroom. Both mother and daughter were trying to entice the teenage king into marriage. Abbot Dunstan and Bishop Cynesige found Ædwig "with his crown thrown aside, in the company of the two ladies." After a violent scene, Abbot Dunstan hauled Ædwig, crowned, back to the official feast. Æthelgifu, who was behind the seduction, never forgave Abbot Dunstan and was largely responsible for depriving him of his property and compelling him to leave the country. Ædwig married to Ælfgifu and her mother Æthelgifu appears to have stayed on as a mistress. Everyone was duly shocked and appalled.
• Married: Ælfgifu, the daughter of Æthelgif.
• Reign: From 955 to 959; King of England

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• Reign: From 959 to 975; King of England

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History:
In 959, he became the King of England. [see picture below]

Edgar allowed his Danish subjects to retain Danish laws, he promoted a monastic revival and he encouraged trade by reforming the currency. He improved defense by organizing coastal naval patrols and a system for manning warships.

He had a liaison with St. Wulfryth, Abbess of Wilton (circa 945 - 1000) from which they had a daughter, St. Eadgyth, Abbess of Barking, (962 - 984)

Edgar married Æthelfæda the Fair in 961 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Edgar married Ælfthryth in 965 in England. Ælfthryth (daughter of Ordgar, Earldorman of Devonshire and Wulfrith) was born in 945 in Devonshire, England; died about 1000 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Saint Wulfryth, Abbess of Wilton . [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• General Information: According to Panton (2011) "Edward’s brief, three-year reign as king of the English was marked by growing opposition to the monasteries and ended in violence. Scholars agree that he was the son of King Edgar of England, but they are less certain about his legitimacy and about his mother, who was probably Aethelflaed Eneda, whom Edgar later married. He was chosen as the new ruler when his father died in 975, but the accession was contested by Aelfthryth (or Elfrida), Edgar’s second wife, who advanced the cause of Aethelred, her own seven-year-old child, later known as Aethelred the Unready. Although the decision in favor of the older boy was made by the witan (the king’s group of advisors), Aelfthryth refused to accept defeat and allied herself with men who opposed her late husband’s policy of granting land to religious bodies, primarily because they wanted it for themselves. Edward sided with the church and appeared to be popular with his people, but he was only 13 when he succeeded to the throne, and there is little doubt that the inexperience of youth was reflected in some of his judgments."
• Reign: From 975 to 978; King of England
• Crowned: 8 Jul 975, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England; Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar the Peaceful but was not his father's acknowledged heir. On Edgar's death, the leadership of England was contested, with some supporting Edward's claim to be king and others supporting his younger half-brother Æthelred the Unready, recognized as a legitimate son of Edgar. Edward was chosen as king and was crowned by his main clerical supporters, the archbishops Dunstan of Canterbury and Oswald of York on 8 Jul 975 at Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England. ; : 13
• History: 976; Widespread famine struck England in 976, and it led to a breakdown in the rule of law; disgruntled, fearful, and opportunistic Anglo-Saxons took to violence, even sacking monasteries, which had grown more rich and powerful with Dunstan’s advocacy.
• Canonized: 1001; He was canonized in 1001 and his feast day is 20th November.
• Last Full Review: 13 Aug 2020

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Died:
During a hunting expedition, the king called at Corfe
Castle, where Ælfthryth and Æthelred were living. His stepmother offered him mead, and while he was drinking, she or one of her retinue stabbed him. He rode off, mortally wounded, but slumped from his horse; his foot caught in a stirrup and he was dragged into a bog, where, according to legend, the location of his body was revealed to searchers by a pillar of light This was the result of a plot hatched by his step-mother Ælfthryth so her son Æthelred II the Unrede could become king.

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle "No worse deed for the English race was done than this was, since they first sought out the land of Britain. Men murdered him, but God exalted him. In life he was an earthly king; after death he is now a heavenly saint. His earthly relatives would not avenge him, but his Heavenly Father has much avenged him".

Buried:
During the sixteenth century and English Reformation, King Henry VIII led the dissolution of the monasteries and many holy places were demolished. Edward's remains were hidden so as to avoid desecration.

In 1931, the relics were recovered by Wilson-Claridge during an archaeological excavation; their identity was confirmed by Dr. T. E. A. Stowell, an osteologist. In 1970, examinations performed on the relics suggested that the young man had died in the same manner as Edward. Wilson-Claridge wanted the relics to go to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. His brother, however, wanted them to be returned to Shaftesbury Abbey. For decades, the relics were kept in a cutlery box in a bank vault at the Midland Bank in Woking, Surrey because of the unresolved dispute about which of two churches should have them.

In time, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was victorious and placed the relics in a church in Brookwood Cemetery in Woking, with the enshrinement ceremony occurring in September 1984. The St Edward Brotherhood of monks was organized there as well. The church is now named St Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church, and it is under the jurisdiction of a traditionalist Greek Orthodox community. However, while the bones are of approximately the right date, they are of a man in his late twenties or early thirties rather than a youth in his mid teens.

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• History: birth to death
• Reign: From 979 to 1016; King of England

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History:
The name Æthelred means "noble council", but a cynical 13th century pun suggested his name should have been "evil council" or "unrede" because he said to have participated in a plot to murder his half brother St. Edward the Martyr. However, he was only about 10 years old at the time, and it is difficult to imagine how a child could have been a participant in such a heinous crime. Regardless, Æthelred's name "the Unrede" stuck. The name "the Unready" was coined centuries later and is mistaken.

On 14 April 979, he became the King of England.

Æthelred may have married to Ælthelgife, a daughter of Egbert who is not shown in all genealogies.

In 1013, he was temporarily deposed by King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark, who was never actually crowned King of England. When Sweyn died on February 3, 1014, the Witan recalled Æthelred who then reigned until his death.

Buried:
When St. Paul's was destroyed by the Great London Fire in 1666, and rebuilt, his tomb was lost.

Æthelred married Ælfgifu in 985 in England. Ælfgifu (daughter of Thored of Northumbria) was born about 968 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Æthelred married Emma of Normandy on 5 Apr 1002. Emma (daughter of Richard I "the Fearless", Duke of Normandy and Gunnor of Crêpon) was born about 986; died on 14 Mar 1052. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• History: She was the Abbess of Barking from 962 to 984.

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• Reign: From 1016 to 1016; King of England

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History:
In April 1016, he became the King of England.

Canute invaded England, fought, and eventually negotiated with Edmund Ironside. They agreed that Edmund was to rule Wessex and Canute was to rule the rest of England. [see picture below] However, Edmund Ironside died shortly thereafter leaving Canute as sole ruler of England. Some sources claim he was murdered at the instigation of his brother-in-law Eadric, possibly while using the privy.

Edmund married Ealgyth of Northumbria in Aug 1015. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• History: He was also known as Eadwig.

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• Married: Abt 1008; (1) Eadric Streona, Ealdorman of Mercia.
• Married: say 1020; (2) Thurkil "the Tall" Havi.

Family/Spouse: Uchtred, Earldorman of Northumbria. Uchtred (son of Waltheof, Earldorman of Northumbria) was born in 989 in Northumberland, England; died in 1016 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Alfgar, Earl of Mercia. Alfgar (son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia and Godiva) was born about 1002 in Kingdom of Mercia; died in 1059; was buried in Coventry, Warwickshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Married: say 1020; (1) Ulfcytel Snylling, Ealdorman of East Anglia.
• Married: say 1030; (2) Thurchil, Earl of East Anglia.

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• Married: Æthelstan. [Æthelstan, married daughter] He was killed in 1010.

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• History: He may or may not have existed.

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• History: In 1042, he was crowned King of England
• Married: Edith, the daughter of Godwin, Ealdorman of Wessex and Gytha. He was crowned King of England in 1042 at England.3 He died in 1066 in England at age 61 years.1,3. [Edith, married Edward the Confessor, King of England] She died in 1075. They had no children.
• Reign: From 1042 to 1066; King of England

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• General Information: Her name was also spelt Goda.
• Last Full Review: 9 Dec 2020

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Godgifu married Drogo of Mantes, Count of Valois, Amiens, and Vexin on 7 Apr 1024. Drogo (son of Walter II the White, Count of Amiens, Valois, and the Vexin and Adele) was born in 996; died in 1035. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Godgifu married Eustace II "aux Gernons", Count of Boulogne and Lens after 1035. Eustace (son of Eustace I, Count of Boulogne and Matilda of Louvain) was born about 1020 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France, France; died in 1093. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]