Saint Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury

From a young age, Ælfgifu had a connection to the royal nunnery of Shaftesbury, located in Dorset. This connection likely came from the influence of her mother, Wynflæd, who was also closely connected to the nunnery. This location would serve Ælfgifu not just in her youth, but also in her adult years.

Unfortunately, as with most women of the Anglo-Saxon period, we know very little of her childhood years, with the exception of her connection to Shaftesbury Abbey. Her mother was Wynflæd but her father is not recorded in the records. It has been suggested that Ælfgifu had a brother, Eadmære, though we know nothing of his life. We also know rather little of Ælfgifu's adult life, but she does make an appearance at the court of King Eadmund the Magnificent, as his first wife.

 

King Æthelstan, eldest surviving son of King Eadweard the Elder, died unmarried and childless after 15 years of rule, passing the throne on to the eldest surviving son of Eadweard's third and final wife, Eadgifu of Kent. This son, and the new King of the English, using the title first used by the late King Æthelstan, was Eadmund.

 

The marriage of Ælfgifu & Eadmund took place at some time prior to 940, though the date of the wedding is nowhere recorded. Like most consorts of the Anglo-Saxon period, Ælfgifu was not consecrated as Queen at any point in her life and was thus styled as Lady Ælfgifu during her time as consort.

However, there are doubts that the marriage ever took place, threatening Ælfgifu's legitimacy as consort. A charter dating from around 942-46 lists Ælfgifu as a witness, with her attesting as concubina Regis (the King's concubine). The charter's origin is contested and this, along with the contemporary chronicler, Æthelweard, styling Ælfgifu as Regina (Queen) in his writings, suggests that Ælfgifu was indeed married to King Eadmund and became his consort.

 

Ælfgifu bore at least two sons for Eadmund, both of whom survived to adulthood. Though we do not have a date recorded for the birth, it has been suggested that the eldest, Eadwig, was born around 940, which is why Ælfgifu's marriage to her husband has been dated to before 940. The younger son, Eadgar, was born on 7th August 943. Both of Ælfgifu's sons would grow up to be Kings.

We do not have records of any other children by Ælfgifu but, with the high infant mortality rate, it is possible she did have more who did not survive long enough to be recorded in the chronicles.

 

There is a, probably false tale, by William of Malmesbury, of Ælfgifu and her youngest son, Eadgar, in which she spoke to him of the future, prophesising the true events that would unfold. Though this story is widely believed to have been false, due to the fact that Eadgar would likely have been about three years old at the time of Ælfgifu's death, it does seem to suggest that she had a role in her children's upbringing. However, we do not know how close Ælfgifu was to her husband or to her children, or indeed whether she was even allowed any involvement in their upbringing, something from which many consorts of this period were excluded. What we do know about Ælfgifu is her strong dedication to holiness, something which was associated to her throughout her life. For instance, another tale told of Ælfgifu, recorded by Florence of Worcester in 943, states that when she was still pregnant with her second son, St. Dunstan heard angelic voices praising the unborn child. This does, of course, act more as propaganda for Eadgar than to suggest anything specifically about Ælfgifu herself, but combined with Malmesbury's tale of prophecy, it does imply that Ælfgifu was painted with a saintly light throughout her adult life.

In addition, it is recorded that Ælfgifu was quite a charitable and kind person, using her position and wealth to benefit others. She is recorded to have given her own clothing to beggars, as well as redeeming convicted criminals out of her own pocket. She was described by William of Malmesbury as a woman without fault; he said that "there was nothing [anyone] could criticise" about her.

 

Ælfgifu died in 946 and though the exact date is not recorded, it must have been quite early in the year as her husband, King Eadmund, who died the same year, had re-married by the time of his own demise on 26th May. Ælfgifu was outlived by her mother, Wynflæd, who is recorded to have drawn up a will as late as c.950.

Ælfgifu was buried in the royal nunnery, at Shaftesbury, to be venerated as a Saint soon afterwards. Her feast day is 18th May.

The Chronicler Æthelweard claimed that many miracles occurred at Ælfgifu's tomb, also contributing to her holy image. The miracles that were recorded were all healing miracles and still to this day there are claims of healings at the tomb of Saint Ælfgifu.

 

Though we know remarkably little about this holy woman who was given no political power and was entirely overshadowed in life by her mother-in-law, Lady Eadgifu of Kent, Ælfgifu certainly had a special impact of Anglo-Saxon England.