Lady Ælfgifu of Wessex

Ælfgifu of Wessex was only consort for a short period of time, but in that time she gained a reputation so severe that her name was linked to disgrace even centuries later. However, Ælfgifu, as with many women in history, was a victim of slander and that slander is what dictated not only her life, but her legacy.

 

Ælfgifu's parentage is disputed but the likely scenario is that she was the daughter of Ædric, the Ealdorman of Wessex, and his wife, Æthelgifu. The reasoning behind this is that evidence suggests that the 10th century chronicler, Æthelweard, son of Ealdorman Ædric, was her brother. This parentage meant that Ælfgifu herself was descended of English royalty by both her mother and her father. This also meant that Ælfgifu was related to her future husband on both sides of her family tree.

Ealdorman Ædric was the grandson of Æthelhelm, eldest son of King Æthelred "the Pious." Æthelgifu, Ælfgifu's mother, was the granddaughter of Æthelwulf of Mercia, brother to King Ælfred's consort, Ealhswith. This also made Æthelgifu the great-granddaughter of Ealdorman Æthelred "Mucel" of the Gaini and his wife, Ædburh, a descendant of the Mercian royal line. This lineage made Ælfgifu and her future husband, Eadwig, third cousins once removed, as they were both descendants of sons of King Æthelwulf of Wessex and Lady Osburh of the Isle of Wight.

Ælfgifu had two brothers, the chronicler who was Thegn Æthelweard "the Historian" of Sussex, and Ælfweard of Hampshire. She also had a sister, named Ælfwaru.

 

Ælfgifu was very young when her father died in 949; there is no evidence that her mother ever re-married. Æthelgifu raised Ælfgifu and her siblings to adulthood in the South of England, where her family connections lay.

 

Upon the death of King Eadmund "the Magnificent" in 946, the throne passed not to either of his sons, who were both children at the time, but to his brother, Ædred. King Ædred of the English reigned for almost a decade before he died, unmarried and childless, in his early 30's. At this time, in 955, the crown passed to Eadmund's eldest son, Eadwig, who was by this point around 15-16 years of age. Eadwig would become the first King of England, whereas his immediate predecessors were known as Kings of the English, and his predecessors prior to them and up to Ælfred "the Great", were Kings of the Anglo-Saxons.

Eadwig's brother, Eadgar, was only about 12 when Eadwig became King and due to the young ages of the boys, factions quickly developed over the succession; this dispute over who should wear the crown is a large part of why Ælfgifu's reputation would be so thoroughly destroyed by those around her.

The widow of King Eadweard "the Elder," Lady Eadgifu, was the grandmother of both Eadwig and Eadgar. While Eadgifu was overshadowed by her son Eadmund's consorts, she was the chief advisor of her second son, Ædred's reign. As such, she had a stake in the succession. Her choice for the next King was her youngest grandson, Eadgar and along with St. Dunstan, Eadgifu became a prime part of Eadgar's faction.

Ælfgifu and her family supported Eadwig's rights as heir to the throne; it has been suggested by some historians that the marriage of Ælfgifu and Eadwig was the price for the support of her family.

 

The marriage occurred around 955 and most likely at the time of Eadwig's accession as King of England. This is where the trouble began for Ælfgifu.

The Eadgar faction immediately set out to discredit the union and Ælfgifu herself, determined to do whatever they had to in order to have their way with the succession. The chronicle Life of St. Dunstan describes how the members of Eadgar's faction used slander to blacken Ælfgifu's name and bring down both Ælfgifu and her new husband. The faction members refused to acknowledge the marriage between the pair as legitimate and referred to Ælfgifu as a harlot. They even went so far as to slander her mother as well, in their attempt to drag Ælfgifu down.

However, it must be remembered that Life of St. Dunstan was written near a century after the events it depicts and was heavily biased towards Dunstan. Thus, events within it would not necessarily have occurred as depicted within its pages; it is likely that events which depict Ælfgifu in a negative light would likely be either entirely false or, at the very least, exaggerated, whereas events in which Dunstan could have come across as the villain of the piece may have been lightly glossed over.

 

As an example of both the exaggeration of the chronicle and the type of slander being thrown at Ælfgifu and her mother, there is a depiction in Life of St. Dunstan of events at Eadwig's coronation. In the chronicle, Dunstan went to collect the teenaged King for his coronation but found him in his bedchamber, in a compromising situation; Eadwig had been found with both Ælfgifu and her mother and the crown jewels were carelessly scattered across the floor. Dunstan had to drag the boy away from the women, practically kicking and screaming, in order to have him crowned as King.

In addition to the chronicle being written so much later than the event depicted, it is important to note that Ælfgifu and Eadwig were already married by the time of his coronation. This did not prevent people from believing the rumours Dunstan and his faction spread and for centuries after, Ælfgifu was remembered by the population as a strumpet who seduced the young King, while Eadwig gained a reputation as a wanton youth.

In another source, written near four centuries later, a similar story takes place at the coronation feast; Eadwig was missing after his coronation and after he was found, he had to be dragged away from "an indecent noblewoman" and "her daughter of ripe age," with these thought to be references to Æthelgifu and Ælfgifu respectively.

Both of these tales are likely false and serve as indicators of just how lasting the damage of the smear campaign of Eadgar's faction truly was against Ælfgifu and her legacy.

 

Not all of the responses to Ælfgifu's marriage were negative, however. One contemporary account, which incidentally comes from Ælfgifu's brother, Æthelweard, was positive about the marriage and claimed that the English public awarded King Eadwig his nickname of "all-fair." This account would indicate that the common people were not quite as resistant to Eadwig and Ælfgifu's marriage as later sources would suggest. Of course, with the author of this account being the brother of one half of the couple, this does imply a heavy bias on the author's part. Nevertheless, there are other contemporary accounts which seem to support the claims made by Æthelweard, with evidence that the Abbott of Abingdon was a staunch supporter of Ælfgifu and the marriage to Eadwig. The Abbott was also critical of Eadwig's reign, which suggests he would be a good source for accurate information on the events of the time.

 

Ælfgifu did not appear to have any political power in her time as consort, and she certainly wasn't crowned as Queen. She did, however, witness a few charters, something she did as "the King's wife." In one of these charters, land was bestowed to the Abbott od Abingdon and it has been suggested that this was a gesture of thanks to the Abbott for his support of Ælfgifu and Eadwig's marriage.

 

Events came to a head in 957, when Eadgar was elected to be King of Mercia, resulting in England being, once again, split into multiple Kingdoms. Some historians  claim that this shows just how much discord there was between the young brothers and the ferocity of the political struggle between the factions at court. However, there is surviving evidence to indicate an agreement that Eadgar would be the sub-King of Mercia, while Eadwig remained the official King of all England. This would imply that the later accounts of Eadgar's accession to King of Mercia via a coup, were written with the aim of tarnishing Eadwig, and by extension Ælfgifu, by suggesting that Eadgar had the support of the common people over Eadwig. Of course, that does not necessarily mean that everyone outside of Eadgar's faction was happy with Eadwig's rule. In the initial stages of his time as King, Eadwig became adept at exiling his enemies, seizing their property for himself. Naturally, his consort, Ælfgifu, took the brunt of the dissatisfaction of the people, despite her lack of involvement in the policies of her husband.

 

For Ælfgifu, the damage to her reputation was irreparable and her marriage suffered. In 958, the marriage was repudiated on the grounds of consanguinity. This provided a win for Eadgar's faction, as Archbishop Oda, who solemnised the repudiation, was an ally of Dunstan, who himself was in exile at the time.

Other royal couples, even within Ælfgifu and Eadwig's own families, had been successfully married despite closer relations than Ælfgifu and Eadwig, and yet they had not faced the same opposition as Ælfgifu had to her union.

It is questionable as to why Eagar's faction was so intent on slandering Ælfgifu and removing her from her place as Queen. It does seem that this was the prime directive of the faction to bring down Eadwig, so it leaves one to wonder what it was about Ælfgifu that made Eadwig so worrisome to Eadgar's faction. It is possible that it was her family wealth and connections, as well as her own royal lineage, that gave Eadwig an impressive edge over his brother, something which would definitely have caused tension for the opposing faction, especially since their figurehead was the younger of the two brothers. It is also possible that, like many consorts before her, Ælfgifu dreamed of implementing reform, a concept that would have potentially negative consequences for anyone who opposed the idea. Of course, there is no surviving evidence to suggest this and it is just a theory, but what we do know of her as a person could lead to this idea.

 

After the repudiation of her marriage, Ælfgifu went into exile on the continent, where she remained for near a decade.

Just about a year after her departure, on 1st October 959, the young King Eadwig died having never remarried or having any children. His brother, Eadgar, succeeded him as King of England, with no dispute over the succession.

 

Despite still being young and very much of marriageable age, Ælfgifu never remarried after the repudiation from Eadwig. This suggests one of two things; either she did not wish to be married off to someone else, only to potentially have the marriage ended abruptly, or more likely, she loved Eadwig. This theory is supported by her request

 

It is unknown how Ælfgifu felt about her brother-in-law, Eadgar, during her tumultuous time as Queen, but it is evident that, if there were initial hostilities between them, they seemed to have reconciled by the mid-960's. Ælfgifu is known to have returned to England by 966, at which point King Eadgar bestowed upon her two grants of land. It is very possible that this was in fact Ælfgifu's dower lands and Eadgar's gift was actually his recognition of the legitimacy of his brother's marriage to Ælfgifu. Coincidentally, 966 was the year that Lady Eadgifu made her last public appearance at court, so it is possible that, even though Eadgifu did not hold political power in the reign of her grandson, she may potentially have been acting as a barrier to Ælfgifu's prior return to England.

She also appears in King Eadgar's charters, described as "a certain noble matron who is connected to me the relationship of worldly blood," and the pair seemed to remain on good terms.

 

Ælfgifu was, as with most consorts, known for piety; she awarded large grants to religious foundations during her life. It is also entirely possible that, again with most consorts who outlived their husbands, she went into retirement in a nunnery.

By all accounts, Ælfgifu still held love for her late husband and she certainly requested to be buried near to him; Eadwig had been buried in the New Minster and Ælfgifu requested to be laid to rest in the Old Minster. In her will, drawn up around 975, Ælfgifu left bequests to her brother-in-law, King Eadgar, as well as his ætheling, who was probably Edward "the Martyr."

Her date of death is unknown.

 

Though her legacy was tarnished by Lady Eadgifu and St. Dunstan's efforts, Ælfgifu was dearly remembered in a positive light, for her generosity in the immediate aftermath of her death. It was only after the chronicles, a century later, tainted her image so drastically that the legacies of both Ælfgifu, and her mother, turned dark. Alas, this is the image that endured for centuries after Ælfgifu's death and an image that she did not deserve.