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Birth:          ABT  966 of Wessex
Death:          1002 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfgifu_of_York
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.
Identity and background[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]
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[edit]
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-in-law.[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[edit]

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.

Parents
GUNNARSSON OF NORTHUMBRIA Thorod (ABT  933 - )
----- ----- ()

Siblings
____ Elgiva (Alfgifu) (Aelgifu) (Aelflaed) (ABT  966 - 1002)

Marriage To ____ Aethelred (Ethelred) II "The Unready" (ABT  966 - 23 Apr 1016)
    m.  

Notes

Parents
____ Edgar "the Peaceable" (ABT  943 - 8 Jul  975)
____ Elfrida (Elfthryth) (ABT  947 - 1000)

Children by ____ Aethelred (Ethelred) II "The Unready" ABT  966 - 23 Apr 1016
____ Elfgifu ( 987 - )
____ Edmund II "Ironside" (ABT  988 - 30 Nov 1016)

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