Ælfhelm of York From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ælfhelm (died 1006) was the ealdorman of Northumbria, in practice southern Northumbria (the area around York), from about 994 until his death. An ealdorman (or earl) was a senior nobleman who governed a province—a shire or group of shires—on behalf of the king. Ælfhelm's powerful and wealthy family came from Mercia, a territory and former kingdom incorporating most of central England, and he achieved his position despite being an outsider. Ælfhelm first appears in charters as dux ("ealdorman") in about 994.

Most of Ælfhelm's subsequent historical appearances record him as a witness to charters, although one notable exception is the will of his brother, Wulfric Spot. According to a 12th-century tradition, Ælfhelm was murdered and his sons blinded in 1006, by Eadric Streona with the connivance of King (Æthelred II). Ælfhelm's daughter, Ælfgifu, married Cnut the Great, King of England between 1016 and 1035, as a result of which Ælfhelm became the grandfather of future English king Harold Harefoot.[1]

Origins

Ælfhelm was a Mercian, son of Wulfrun, a rich noblewoman who founded Burton Abbey. His father is unknown, but it is thought that he was of lower rank than Wulfrun as Wulfric Spot, Ælfhelm's brother, is called "Wulfric son of Wulfrun", suggesting that his status derived mainly from his mother.[2] Wulfric Spot founded Burton Abbey, but little is known about Ælfhelm's sister, Ælfthryth.[3]

Wulfrun also founded the Minster of St Mary's at Wolverhampton, a settlement which took her name ("Wulfrun's chief settlement").[4] Her earliest association is with Tamworth, when she is mentioned as the only hostage taken after Amlaíb mac Gofraid, Norse-Gael King of Northumbria, captured that city in 940.[4] It is thought that her lands were mostly in Staffordshire, while most of Wulfric Spot's lands were in Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and western Warwickshire.[5]

Ealdorman of southern Northumbria

Ælfhelm begins witnessing charters as dux, i.e. ealdorman, in 994.[6] He was thought by historian Simon Keynes to have been the same as Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE) "Ælfhelm 15", who witnesses charters as minister, i.e. thegn, from 982 to 990.[7] Charter appearances earlier, during the reign of Edgar the Peaceable, are possible, but it is impossible to show definitively that earlier thegns with the name Ælfhelm are the same as the future ealdorman of southern Northumbria, the latter only being positively identifiable by his title, dux.[8]

Ælfhelm's apparent promotion in 994 is thought by some historians, for instance Richard Fletcher, to have been due to the Scandinavian attack on Northumbria in 993.[9] Under the year 993, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle relates that Vikings had invaded Northumbria and sacked Bamburgh, whereupon the southern English raised an army:

Bamburgh was sacked and much booty was captured there, and after that the army came to the mouth of the Humber and did great damage there, both in the Kingdom of Lindsey and in Northumbria. Then a very large English army was collected, and when they should have joined battle, the leaders Fræna, Godwine and Frythegyst, first started the flight.[10]

Fletcher speculated that Ælfhelm's predecessor Thored, who disappeared from the records at this time, was removed from office and replaced by Ælfhelm by King Æthelred II as a result of his failure against the Scandinavians.[9] Another historian, William Kapelle, believed Thored was removed because of his Scandinavian descent, an argument based on the Worcester Chronicle's claim, added to the text borrowed from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, that Fræna, Godwine and Frythegyst fled because "they were Danish on their father's side".[11]

Wulfric Spot's will[

%C3%86lfhelm's brother, Wulfric Spot, left a will written in Old English, which provides many of the details we know about Ælfhelm. For instance, it gives the names of his two sons, Wulfheah and Ufegeat.[12] It dates to between 1002 and 1004, and survives in a 12th-century manuscript.[13]

Wulfric granted the lands "between the Ribble and the Mersey, and in the Wirral" to Ælfhelm and his son Wulfheah, on condition that they each pay Burton Abbey 3,000 shad at shad season.[14] Wulfric left Ælfhelm Rolleston (Staffordshire), Harlaston (Staffordshire), and Conisbrough (Yorkshire), the last on condition that he gave Burton one third of the fish there.[14] Wulfheah received Barlaston (Staffordshire), Marchington (Staffordshire), and Alvaston (Derbyshire), while Ælfhelm's other son Ufegeat was given Norton (Derbyshire) "in the hope that he may be a better friend and supporter of the monastery [of Burton]".[14] Ælfhelm is asked to protect Burton Abbey and the possessions of Wulfric's daughter.[15]

Death and legacy

Little else is recorded about Ealdorman Ælfhelm's career before his death.[16] Notice of the latter, with the blinding of his two sons, comes in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which related under the year 1006: In this year Archbishop Ælfric died and Bishop Ælfheah succeeded him to the archiepiscopal see. In the same year Wulfgeat was deprived of all his property, and Wulfheah and Ufegeat were blinded and Ealdorman Ælfhelm killed.[17]

The Worcester Chronicle, which for this period consists of entries taken from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle supplemented with extra information, gives an expanded saga-like version of this account, attributing Ælfhelm's death to Eadric Streona:

The crafty and treacherous Eadric Streona, plotting to deceive the noble ealdorman Ælfhelm, prepared a great feast for him at Shrewsbury at which, when he came as a guest, Eadric greeted him as if he were an intimate friend. But on the third or fourth day of the feast, when an ambush had been prepared, he took him into the wood to hunt. When all were busy with the hunt, one Godwine Porthund (which means the town dog) a Shrewsbury butcher, whom Eadric had dazzled long before with great gifts and many promises so that he might perpetrate the crime, suddenly leapt out from the ambush, and execrably slew the ealdorman Ælfhelm. After a short space of time his sons, Wulfheah and Ufegeat, were blinded, at King Æthelred’s command, at Cookham, where he himself was then staying.[18]

This material in the Worcester Chronicle seems to have been part of a lost saga about Eadric Streona, not extant but used by various surviving 11th- and 12th-century sources.[19] Kapelle thought Ælfhelm's murder, conducted without King Æthelred's displeasure, was the result of suspect loyalty in the face of Scandinavian invasions.[20] The sources appear to indicate that Ælfhelm's successor was Uhtred of Bamburgh, the first magnate in decades to govern northern and southern Northumbria together.[21] The text known as De obsessione Dunelmi ("On the siege of Durham"), relates that Uhtred took power after defeating a Scottish invasion.[22]

As well as his two sons Ælfhelm left a daughter, Ælfgifu of Northampton, by a woman named Wulfrun;[1] Ælfgifu's territorial appellation is taken as further evidence that Ælfhelm had territory in the eastern Danelaw.[1] She is perhaps more famous than her father, because at some time between 1013 and 1016 she married Cnut, son of Sweyn Forkbeard, future King of the English.[1] Her son was Harold Harefoot, King of the English.[1]

Notes

1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Stafford, "Ælfgifu"
2. Jump up ^ Williams, Smyth and Kirby, Biographical Dictionary, p. 241, s.v. "Wulfric Spot" and "Wulfrun"
3. Jump up ^ Baxter, Earls of Mercia, p. 301
4. ^ Jump up to: a b Williams, Smyth and Kirby, Biographical Dictionary, p. 241, s.v. "Wulfrun"
5. Jump up ^ Sawyer, "Wulfric Spot"; Williams, Smyth and Kirby, Biographical Dictionary, p. 241, s.v. "Wulfrun"
6. Jump up ^ Sawyer 880; Sawyer 881, Anglo-Saxons.net, retrieved 2009-03-22; Keynes, Atlas of Attestations, Table LXII (1 of 2)
7. Jump up ^ Sawyer 841; Sawyer 843; Sawyer 845; Sawyer 858; Sawyer 860; Sawyer 868; Sawyer 862; Sawyer 861; Sawyer 867; Sawyer 865; Sawyer 868; Sawyer 872;Sawyer 877, Anglo-Saxons.net, retrieved 2009-03-22; Keynes, Atlas of Attestations, Table LXIII (1 of 9), Table LXIII (2 of 9); Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE), s.v. Ælfhelm 15
8. Jump up ^ See PASE, s.v. Ælfhelm 17 (definitely the ealdorman), and compare, for instance, Ælfhelm 7, Ælfhelm 9
9. ^ Jump up to: a b Fletcher, Bloodfeud, pp. 72–3
10. Jump up ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 211; report in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, recensions C, D and E, translated in Whitelock, English Historical Documents, vol. i, p. 235; see text at ASC C, D & E
11. Jump up ^ Darlington and McGurk, Chronicle of John of Worcester, vol. ii, pp. 442, 443; Kapelle, Norman Conquest, p. 15
12. Jump up ^ Whitelock, English Historical Documents, vol. i, pp. 240, n. 4, 586
13. Jump up ^ Whitelock, English Historical Documents, vol. i, p. 586
14. ^ Jump up to: a b c Whitelock, English Historical Documents, vol. i, p. 587
15. Jump up ^ Baxter, Earls of Mercia, p. 207, n. 22Whitelock, English Historical Documents, vol. i, pp. 587–9
16. Jump up ^ PASE, s.v. Ælfhelm 17
17. Jump up ^ Whitelock, English Historical Documents, vol. i, p. 240
18. Jump up ^ Darlington and McGurk, Chronicle of John of Worcester, vol. ii, pp. 456–9
19. Jump up ^ Keynes, "Eadric"
20. Jump up ^ Kapelle, Norman Conquest, pp. 14–5
21. Jump up ^ Rollason, Northumbria, pp. 267–9
22. Jump up ^ Kapelle, Norman Conquest, pp. 15–7; Morris, Marriage and Murder, pp. 1–2.

References

• "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: An edition with TEI P4 markup, expressed in XML and translated to XHTML1.1 using XSL". Tony Jebson. 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
• Baxter, Stephen (2007). The Earls of Mercia: Lordship and Power in Late Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923098-3.
• Fletcher, Richard (2003). Bloodfeud: Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-028692-6.
• Miller, Sean. "New Regesta Regum Anglorum". Anglo-Saxons.net. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
• Keynes, Simon (2002). An Atlas of Attestations in Anglo-Saxon Charters, c. 670–1066. ASNC Guides, Texts, and Studies, 5. Cambridge: Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic Studies, University of Cambridge. ISBN 0-9532697-6-0. ISSN 1475-8520.
• Keynes, Simon (2004). "Eadric [Edric] Streona (d. 1017), magnate". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 2009-03-23. (Subscription required (help)).
• Kapelle, William E. (1979). The Norman Conquest of the North: The Region and Its Transformation, 1000–1135. London: Croom Helm Ltd. ISBN 0-7099-0040-6.
• Morris, Christopher J. (1992). "Marriage and Murder in eleventh-century Northumbria: a study of 'De Obsessiones Dunelmi'". Borthwick Papers. York: Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, University of York (82). ISSN 0524-0913.
• Rollason, David (2003). Northumbria, 500–1100: Creation and Destruction of a Kingdom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-04102-3.
• Stafford, Pauline (2004). "Ælfgifu [%C3%86lfgifu of Northampton] (fl. 1006–1036), first consort of King Cnut". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 2009-03-23. (Subscription required (help)).
• Whitelock, Dorothy, ed. (1979). English Historical Documents. 1, c.500–1042. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. ISBN 0-19-520101-9.
• Williams, Ann; Smyth, Alfred P.; Kirby, D. P. (1991). A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain: England, Scotland and Wales, c.500–c.1050. London: Seaby. ISBN 1-85264-047-2.
• Woolf, Alex (2007). From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070. The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-1234-5.

External links

Ælfhelm 17 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uhtred_the_Bold

In 1006 Malcolm II of Scotland invaded Northumbria and besieged the newly founded episcopal city of Durham. At that time the Danes were raiding southern England and King Ethelred was unable to send help to the Northumbrians. Ealdorman Waltheof was too old to fight and remained in his castle at Bamburgh. Ealdorman Ælfhelm of York also took no action. Uhtred, acting for his father, called together an army from Bernicia and Yorkshire and led it against the Scots. The result was a decisive victory for Uhtred. Local women washed the severed heads of the Scots, receiving a payment of a cow for each, and the heads were fixed on stakes to Durham's walls. Uhtred was rewarded by King Ethelred II with the ealdormanry of Bamburgh even though his father was still alive. In the meantime, Ethelred had Ealdorman Ælfhelm of York murdered, and he allowed Uhtred to succeed Ælfhelm as ealdorman of York, thus uniting northern and southern Northumbria under the house of Bamburgh. It seems likely that Ethelred did not trust the Scandinavian population of southern Northumbria and wanted an Anglo-Saxon in power there. [2]

Source: Kapelle, William E, The Norman Conquest of the North, 1979, University of North Carolina Press, ISBN 0-7099-0040-6, (pages 15-16)

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http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20nobility.htm

1. EALHHELM (-951 or after). "Ælhhelm dux" subscribed a charter of King Æthelstan dated 931[177], and "Ealhelm dux" charters of Kings Edmund and Eadred dated between 940 and 951[178]. Ealdorman of Mercia. m ---. The name of Ealhhelm's wife is not known. Ealhhelm & his wife had one child:

a) ÆLFRIC . His parentage is confirmed by the epic of Maldon which names a Mercian Ælfwine, son of Ælfric, son of Ealhelm Ealdorman of Mercia and records his death in the battle[179]. m ---. The name of Ælfric's wife is not known. Ælfric & his wife had two children:

i) ÆLFWINE (-killed in battle Maldon 991, bur Burton). "Alwine dux" subscribed a charter of King Edgar dated 966[180] and one of King Æthelred II dated 984[181], although the time difference suggests that they may have been two different individuals. "Ælfwine dux" subscribed a charter of King Æthelred II dated 982[182]. The epic of Maldon names a Mercian Ælfwine, son of Ælfric, son of Ealhelm Ealdorman of Mercia and records his death in the battle[183]. The Historia Fundatoris of Burton Monastery records its foundation by “Consul ac comes Merciorum dominus Wulfricus Spott regali propinquus prosapiæ” and that "fratre suo duce Alwino et comite Morkero cæterisque cognatis eius" were buried there[184].

ii) WULFRIC "Spott" (-killed in battle Ipswich 22 Oct 1010, bur Burton). The Historia Fundatoris of Burton Monastery records its foundation by “Consul ac comes Merciorum dominus Wulfricus Spott regali propinquus prosapiæ” in 1004, adding that “eius conjux domina Elswitha” was buried there and that he was killed six years later "apud Gipiswich a Danis in bello…XI Kal Nov 1010" and was also buried in the monastery, where "fratre suo duce Alwino et comite Morkero cæterisque cognatis eius" were also buried[185]. The Annals of Burton record the foundation of the monastery in 1004 by “nobilis…Wlfricus cognomento Spot”[186]. The will of "Wulfric", dated to [1002/04], bequeathes property (among other bequests) to "…minre goddehter Morkares & Aldgythe…land æt Strættune"[187]. [Florence of Worcester names "Wlfricus Leofwini filius" among those killed at the battle of Ringmere near Ipswich 9 Apr, dated to 1010[188]. According to Freeman, Wulfric son of Leofwin was the same person as Wulfric "Spot" who founded Burton monastery[189]. However, the reconstruction of the supposed family of Wulfric "Spot" shows that it is likely that his father was Ælfric. The date of the battle in which Wulfric "Spot" was killed, according to the Historia Fundatoris of Burton monastery is different from the date of the battle of Ringmere as recorded by Florence of Worcester. Is it possible that the two reports are referring to different battles in which two different individuals were killed?] m ELSWITHA, daughter of --- (-bur Burton). The Historia Fundatoris of Burton Monastery records its foundation by “Consul ac comes Merciorum dominus Wulfricus Spott regali propinquus prosapiæ” in 1004, adding that “eius conjux domina Elswitha” was buried there[190].

(a) daughter . The will of "Wulfric", dated to [1002/04], bequeathes property to "…minre earman dehter…landes æt Elleforda &…æt Aclea", with Ælfhelm appointed her guardian[191].

The following family group must have been closely related to Wulfric "Spott" as Ælfhelm and his two sons are beneficiaries under Wulfric´s will dated to [1002/04] (see above). Maybe Ælfhelm was Wulfric´s brother.

1. ÆLFHELM (-murdered [1005/06]). Member of a prominent Mercian family[192]. A 988 charter of King Æthelred II, relating among other areas to land at Wylye, Wiltshire, referred to the terrain having been owned previously by "Æthelwold and his brother Ælfhelm"[193]. However, there is no indication that this may have been the same person particularly as the timing is earlier than the other references found to Ealdorman Ælfhelm. [Ealdorman of Northumbria.] "Ælfhelm dux" subscribed charters of King Æthelred II between 993 and 1005[194]. These relate to land in Berkshire, Devonshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, which does not suggest that his influence was restricted to a particular area, although among the various documents he was described as "Ælfhelm Northanhumbrensium Provinciarum dux" in a 997 charter (which related to land in Wiltshire)[195]. The will of "Wulfric", dated to [1002/04], bequeathes property (among other bequests) to "Ælfhelme & Wulfage…landa betwux Ribbel & Maerse…Ufegeate…landes æt Northtune…minre goddehter Morkares & Aldgythe…land æt Strættune"[196]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that "ealdorman Ælfhelm was slain" in 1006[197]. Florence of Worcester states that he was murdered by Godwin "Port-Hund" at the instigation of Eadric "Streona/the Acquisitor"[198]. m WULFRUN of Northampton, daughter of ---. Florence of Worcester names her "the noble lady Wulfruna"[199]. Ælfhelm & his wife had three children:

a) WULFHEAG (-after 1006). The will of "Wulfric", dated to [1002/04], bequeathes property (among other bequests) to "Ælfhelme & Wulfage…landa betwux Ribbel & Maerse…Ufegeate…landes æt Northtune…"[200]. Florence of Worcester records that, with his brother, he was blinded by order of King Æthelred II in 1006 at Corsham[201].

b) UFGEAT (-after 1006). The will of "Wulfric", dated to [1002/04], bequeathes property (among other bequests) to "Ælfhelme & Wulfage…landa betwux Ribbel & Maerse…Ufegeate…landes æt Northtune…"[202]. Florence of Worcester records that, with his brother, he was blinded by order of King Æthelred II in 1006 at Corsham[203].

c) ÆLFGIFU (Alfifa) Ælfhelmsdotter "of Northampton" (-after [1040]). Roger of Wendover names "Algiva, Elfelmi comitis filia" as first wife of "regis Cnutonis" and mother of "duos…filios Suanum…et Haroldum"[204]. She was known as ALFIFA in Denmark and Norway. King Knud took her as a "temporary wife"[205], but the "marriage" was not recognised by the church. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Harold claimed that he was the son of King Canute by "Ælfgifu of Northampton, although it was not true", another passage commenting that "many thought this [claim] quite incredible"[206]. She continued to behave as Queen in the north of England after King Canute married Emma. King Canute appointed her co-regent in Norway in 1030 for their son Svend. Morkinskinna records that “Álfifa” accompanied her son Svend back to Denmark after he was overthrown as king of Norway (in 1035)[207]. Morkinskinna records that “Álfifa” tried unsuccessfully to poison Magnus King of Norway but killed “King Hordaknútr” instead (dated to 1042), and that “she vanished instantly so that she could not be punished”, stating that this took place “in the sixth year of King Magnus´s reign”[208]. Morkinskinna records that “Álfífa” tricked “a powerful duke named Otto south in Saxony”, when visiting “Norway and arrived in Vik”, into thinking that “her daughter…not King Sveinn´s sister by the same father” was Ulfhild, sister of Magnus King of Norway[209]. The paragraph refers to Ordulf Duke of Saxony who later married Ulfhild, their marriage being dated to Nov 1042. This is the only reference so far identified to this supposed daughter. However, it seems surprising that Ælfgifu would have been present in Norway and have been in a position to welcome foreign visitors, given that her son by King Canute had been overthrown as king of Norway by King Magnus. All passages in Morkinskinna which refer to “Álfífa” treat her with disdain as the archetypal wicked queen figure, suggesting that they should all be treated with caution. Weir gives her date of death as “1044?” without any basis for her conjecture[210]. Roger of Wendover records that death "Algiva, Elfelmi comitis filia", first wife of "regis Cnutonis", died in 1018[211], but this date is incompatible with the other sources quoted above. [m] [firstly] (before [1015]%29 [as his first/temporary wife,] KNUT of England, son of SVEND I "Tveskæg/Forkbeard" King of Denmark & his first wife Šwiętosława [Gunhild] of Poland ([995]-Shaftesbury, Dorset 12 Nov 1035, bur Winchester Cathedral). He was accepted as CANUTE King of England in 1016, and succeeded his brother in 1018 as KNUD I "den Storre/the Great" King of Denmark. [m [secondly] ---.] Ælfgifu had one possible child by her supposed second marriage]:

i) [daughter (-after 1042). Morkinskinna records that “Álfífa” tricked “a powerful duke named Otto south in Saxony”, when visiting “Norway and arrived in Vik”, into thinking that “her daughter…not King Sveinn´s sister by the same father” was Ulfhild, sister of Magnus King of Norway[212]. The paragraph refers to Ordulf Duke of Saxony who later married Ulfhild, their marriage being dated to Nov 1042. This is the only reference so far identified to this supposed daughter. However, it seems surprising that Ælfgifu would have been present in Norway and welcomed foreign visitors given that her son by King Canute had been overthrown as king of Norway by King Magnus. All passages in Morkinskinna which refer to “Álfífa” treat her with disdain as the archetypal wicked queen figure, suggesting that they should all be treated with caution.]