JoAnne
F, #12901, Living, b. about 1953
Biography
| Birth | about 1953 | JoAnne was born about 1953. |
| Person Source | | JoAnne had person sources.1 |
Citations
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James VanDenLangenburg
M, #12902, Living, b. about 1956
Parents
Biography
| Birth | about 1956 | James VanDenLangenburg was born about 1956. |
| Name | | James VanDenLangenburg was also known as Jim, His Every-Day Name. |
| Person Source | | He had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Tricia
F, #12903, Living, b. about 1956
Biography
| Birth | about 1956 | Tricia was born about 1956. |
| Person Source | | Tricia had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Paul VanDenLangenburg
M, #12904, Living, b. about 1959
Parents
Biography
| Birth | about 1959 | Paul VanDenLangenburg was born about 1959. |
| Person Source | | Paul VanDenLangenburg had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Diane
F, #12905, Living, b. about 1959
Biography
| Birth | about 1959 | Diane was born about 1959. |
| Person Source | | Diane had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Bill Ryan
M, #12906, Living, b. about 1958
Family
Biography
| Birth | about 1958 | Bill Ryan was born about 1958. |
| Marriage | about 1980 | He and Claire VanDenLangenburg were married about 1980. |
| Person Source | | Bill Ryan had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Hanna K. Bruskiewicz
F, #12907, Living, b. 2005
Parents
Biography
| Birth | 2005 | Hanna K. Bruskiewicz was born in 2005. |
| Person Source | | Hanna K. Bruskiewicz had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Issac Andrew Bruskiewicz
M, #12908, Living, b. 2005
Parents
Biography
| Birth | 2005 | Issac Andrew Bruskiewicz was born in 2005. |
| Person Source | | Issac Andrew Bruskiewicz had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Bridget Ryan
F, #12909, Living, b. about 1980
Parents
Biography
| Birth | about 1980 | Bridget Ryan was born about 1980. |
| Person Source | | Bridget Ryan had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Daniel Ryan
M, #12910, Living, b. about 1981
Parents
Biography
| Birth | about 1981 | Daniel Ryan was born about 1981. |
| Name | | Daniel Ryan was also known as Danny, His Every-Day Name. |
| Person Source | | He had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Elizabeth Ryan
F, #12911, Living, b. about 1982
Parents
Biography
| Birth | about 1982 | Elizabeth Ryan was born about 1982. |
| Name | | Elizabeth Ryan was also known as Lizzie, Her Every-Day Name. |
| Person Source | | She had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Mark Bruskiewicz
M, #12912, Living, b. about 2000
Parents
Biography
| Birth | about 2000 | Mark Bruskiewicz was born about 2000. |
| Person Source | | Mark Bruskiewicz had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Andrew Bruskiewicz
M, #12913, Living, b. about 1999
Parents
Biography
| Birth | about 1999 | Andrew Bruskiewicz was born about 1999. |
| Person Source | | Andrew Bruskiewicz had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Shannon
F, #12914, Living, b. about 1999
Biography
| Birth | about 1999 | Shannon was born about 1999. |
| Person Source | | Shannon had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Ethelwulf FitzEthelred, Don's 35th GGF at the end of this branch
M, #12915, Deceased, b. about 844, d. after 860
Family
Biography
| Birth | about 844 | Ethelwulf FitzEthelred, Don's 35th GGF at the end of this branch, was born about 844 in Region of Mercia, Lancashire, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG. |
| Death | after 860 | He died after 860 in Region of Mercia, Lancashire, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG. The cause of his death (as a teenager aged 16) in the year of 860 is not known-surviving in 860 as a teenager was difficult & it occurred in the Middle-ages of England (location not known; used birth place) |
| Person Source | | Ethelwulf FitzEthelred, Don's 35th GGF at the end of this branch, had person sources.1 |
| Last Edited |
15 October 2024 |
Citations
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(Mother) Mercia, of Æthelgyth-by Ethelwulf (Don's 35th GGM at the end of this branch)
F, #12916, Deceased, b. 844, d. after 860
Family
Biography
| Birth | 844 | (Mother) Mercia, of Æthelgyth-by Ethelwulf (Don's 35th GGM at the end of this branch), was born in 844. |
| Death | after 860 | She died after 860 at This global place was used as neither death or birth locations were knownG in A Conceptual Continent that is Surrounded by the Region Of OceaniaG. The cause of her death (as a teenager aged 16) in the year of 860 is not known-surviving in 860 as a teenager was difficult; as neither death or birth location were known, used the conceptual continent |
| Person Source | | (Mother) Mercia, of Æthelgyth-by Ethelwulf (Don's 35th GGM at the end of this branch), had person sources.1 |
| Last Edited |
15 October 2024 |
Citations
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Ecgwynn, of Wessex
F, #12917, Deceased, b. 875, d. 915
Family
| Son* | Æthelstan (b. about 894, d. 27 October 939) |
| Daughter* | Edith (b. about 915, d. after 937) |
Person Exhibits
Ecgwynn [in People]
Biography
| Birth | 875 | Ecgwynn, of Wessex, was born in 875 in Wessex Kingdom, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG+.1 |
| Marriage | about 893 | Edward, I (Don's 33rd GGF), and she were married about 893 in Wessex Kingdom, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG+. |
| Death | 915 | She died in 915 at age ~40 at Winchester Cathedral, Kingdom of WessexG, in Winchester, Hampshire, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG. The cause of her death in MiddleAged England at the age of 40 in the year of 915 is not known-surviving in 915 was difficult
Her death is also shown as between 901 and 9022 |
| Burial | after 915 | She was buried after 915 at Presumed buried (or interred) in the Winchester CathedralG in Winchester, Hampshire, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG. |
| Name | | Ecgwynn, of Wessex, was also known as Ecgwynna. |
| Name | | She was also known as Ecgwynn of Kent. |
| Note | | Ecgwynn (or Ecgwynna, fl. 890s) was the first consort of Edward the Elder, later the King of the English (who reigned from 899 to 924). She bore the future King Æthelstan (r. 924-939) and a daughter who married Sihtric Cáech, Norse King of Dublin, Ireland, and of Northumbria
Extremely little is known about her birth, background and life; not even her name is given in any sources until after the Norman Conquest. The first to record this is William of Malmesbury, who presents it in Latinised guise as Egwinna and who is in fact the principal source for her existence
According to William of Malmesbury, Æthelstan was thirty years old when he became King in 924, which would mean that he was born around 894 and Ecgwynn's marriage to Edward the Elder took place in about 893; by this time, Edward had reached majority and one of his priorities would have been to secure the continuation of Alfred's line
No sources report what became of Ecgwynn afterwards, though two events are directly relevant
First, William writes that on King Alfred's instigation, Æthelstan was sent to be raised at the Mercian court of his aunt Æthelflæd
Second, it is known that by 901, Edward had taken to wife Ælfflæd, a daughter of ealdorman Æthelhelm. The reason for this decision is unclear. It may simply have been that Ecgwynn was no longer alive in 899 and that it was therefore only natural that Edward looked for another bride. It is also possible that Edward's first marriage was thought to lack the political import that was needed to buttress his position as King of the English
Alfred may have been responsible for arranging the first marriage and so his death in 899 would have afforded Edward and his counsellors room to follow a different course
[ source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecgwynn ]. |
| Person Source | | She had person sources.3 |
| Title | between 899 and 901 | She held the title of Queen consort of Anglo-Saxon Britain between 899 and 901. |
| Last Edited |
18 November 2025 |
Citations
- [S2269] World Family Tree (Broderbund)
- [S2267] Foundation for Medieval Genealogy -ECGWYNN in record of EDWARD "the Elder" King of Wessex
- [S2268] Wikipedia - Ecgwynn of Wessex
Æthelstan
M, #12918, Deceased, b. about 894, d. 27 October 939
Parents
Person Exhibits
Athelstan [in People]
Biography
| Birth | about 894 | Æthelstan was born about 894 in Wessex Kingdom, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG+. |
| Death | 27 October 939 | He died on 27 October 939 at age ~45 in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG. He died in Gloucester of unknown causes as the King of the Anglo-Saxons, King Æthelstan at the age of 45 on Tuesday, October 27th, 939 is not known-surviving in 939 was difficult |
| Burial | after 27 October 939 | He was buried after 27 October 939 at Interred or buried in the cemetery at Malmesbury AbbeyG in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG+. His grandfather Alfred, his father Edward, and his half-brother Ælfweard had all been buried at Winchester, but Æthelstan chose not to honour the city associated with opposition to his rule and by his own wish he was buried at Malmesbury Abbey, where he had buried his cousins who died at Brunanburh
No other member of the West Saxon royal family was buried there, and according to William of Malmesbury, Æthelstan's choice reflected his devotion to the abbey and to the memory of its seventh-century abbot, Saint Aldhelm. William described Æthelstan as fair-haired "as I have seen for myself in his remains, beautifully intertwined with gold threads"
His bones were lost during the Reformation, but he is commemorated by an empty fifteenth-century tomb |
| Name | | Æthelstan was also known as See note for alternate spellings of his name. |
| Note | | Æthelstan (c. 894-27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and then the King of the English from 927 until he died
He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern historians regard him as the first King of England and one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon kings. He never married and had no recorded children, and was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund
In 927 he conquered the last remaining Viking kingdom, York, making him the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of the whole of England
In 934 he invaded Scotland and forced Constantine II to submit to him, but Æthelstan's rule was resented by the Scots and Vikings, and in 937 they invaded England. Æthelstan defeated them at the Battle of Brunanburh, a victory which gave him great prestige both in the British Isles and on the Continent
After his death in 939, the Vikings seized back control of York, and it was not finally reconquered until 954
Æthelstan centralized government; he increased control over the production of charters and summoned leading figures from distant areas to his councils. These meetings were also attended by rulers from outside his territory, especially Welsh kings, who thus acknowledged his overlordship
More legal texts survive from his reign than from any other 10th-century English king. These show his concern about widespread robberies, and the threat they posed to social order. His legal reforms built on those of his grandfather, Alfred the Great
Æthelstan was one of the most pious West Saxon kings, and was known for collecting relics and founding churches. His household was the centre of English learning during his reign, and it laid the foundation for the Benedictine monastic reform later in the century. No other West Saxon king played as important a role in European politics as Æthelstan, and he arranged the marriages of several of his sisters to continental rulers
[ source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelstan ]. |
| Historical fact | | He House of Wessex; |
| Person Source | | He had person sources.1 |
| Title | between September 925 and 927 | He held the title of King of the Anglo-Saxons between September 925 and 927 in England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG+. When his father, King Edward died in July 924, Æthelstan was accepted by the Mercians as King
His half-brother Ælfweard could have been recognised as King in Wessex, but he died within three weeks of their father's death
Æthelstan encountered resistance in Wessex for several months, and was not crowned until September 925 |
| Title | between 927 and 27 October 939 | He held the title of King of the English between 927 and 27 October 939 in England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG+. |
| Last Edited |
24 January 2026 |
Citations
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Edith
F, #12919, Deceased, b. about 915, d. after 937
Parents
Biography
| Birth | about 915 | Edith was born about 915. Her DOB was incorrectly shown as in about 924, 9 years afterr her mothers death' corrected |
| Marriage | about 937 | Sihtric Cáech and she were married about 937. |
| Death | after 937 | She died after 937 at This global place was used as neither death or birth locations were knownG in A Conceptual Continent that is Surrounded by the Region Of OceaniaG. The cause of her death (as a teenager aged 13) in the year of 937 is not known-surviving in 937 as a teenager was difficult; as neither death or birth location were known, used the conceptual continent |
| Person Source | | Edith had person sources.1 |
| Last Edited |
17 December 2025 |
Citations
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Sihtric Cáech
M, #12920, Deceased, b. about 924, d. after 937
Biography
| Birth | about 924 | Sihtric Cáech was born about 924 in Norway, EuropeG. |
| Marriage | about 937 | He and Edith were married about 937. |
| Death | after 937 | He died after 937 in Norway, EuropeG. The cause of his death (as a teenager aged 13) in the year of 937 is not known-surviving in 937 as a teenager was difficult
Died as the Norse King of Dublin, Ireland, and Northumbria |
| Person Source | | Sihtric Cáech had person sources.1 |
| Title | after 924 | He held the title of Norse King of Dublin, Ireland, and Northumbria after 924. |
Citations
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Charles
M, #12921, Deceased, b. before 905, d. after 918
Biography
| Birth | before 905 | Charles was born before 905 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. |
| Marriage | about 918 | He and Eadgifu, of Wessex, were married about 918 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. |
| Death | after 918 | He died after 918 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. The cause of his death (as a teenager aged 13) in the year of 918 is not known-surviving in 918 as a teenager was difficult
Died as the King of the West Franks |
| Name | | Charles was also known as Charles the Simple. |
| Person Source | | He had person sources.1 |
| Title | after 905 | He held the title of King of the West Franks after 905. |
Citations
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Hugh
M, #12922, Deceased, b. about 910, d. after 926
Biography
| Birth | about 910 | Hugh was born about 910 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. |
| Marriage | 926 | He and Eadhild, of Wessex, were married in 926 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. |
| Death | after 926 | He died after 926 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. The cause of his death (as a teenager aged 16) in the year of 926 is not known-surviving in 926 as a teenager was difficult
Died as the Duke of the Franks |
| Name | | Hugh was also known as Hugh the Great. |
| Person Source | | He had person sources.1 |
| Title | after 910 | He held the title of Duke of the Franks after 910. |
Citations
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Otto, I
M, #12923, Deceased, b. about 910, d. after 929
Biography
| Birth | about 910 | Otto, I, was born about 910 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. |
| Marriage | 929 | He and Eadgyth Editha were married in 929 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. |
| Death | after 929 | He died after 929 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. The cause of his death (as a teenager aged 19) in the year of 929 is not known-surviving in 929 as a teenager was difficult
Died as the King of the East Franks, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Person Source | | Otto, I, had person sources.1 |
| Title | after 910 | He held the title of King of the East Franks; Holy Roman Emperor after 910. |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Louis
M, #12924, Deceased, b. about 920, d. after 935
Biography
| Birth | about 920 | Louis was born about 920 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. |
| Marriage | about 935 | He and Ælfgifu, of Wessex, were married about 935 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. The marriage is noted as to "a prince near the Alps" |
| Death | after 935 | He died after 935 in France (Medieval), EuropeG+. The cause of his death (as a teenager aged 15) in the year of 935 is not known-surviving in 935 as a teenager was difficult & it occurred in Medieval France (location not known; used birth place) |
| Note | | Perhaps Louis, brother of King Rudolph II of Burgundy / NFIA. |
| Person Source | | Louis had person sources.1 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
Ælfgifu, of Shaftesbury (Don's 32nd GGM)
F, #12925, Deceased, b. 912, d. 18 May 944
Parents
Family
Biography
| Birth | 912 | Ælfgifu, of Shaftesbury (Don's 32nd GGM), was born in 912 in Shaftesbury, Dorsetshire, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG+. |
| Marriage | 939 | Edmund, I (Don's 32nd GGF), and she were married in 939 in Wessex Kingdom, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG+. |
| Death | 18 May 944 | She died on 18 May 944 at age ~32 at Benedictine Monastery of Shaftesbury AbbeyG in Shaftesbury, Dorsetshire, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG+. The cause of her death (at the age of 32) in the year of 944 is not known-surviving in 944 was difficult & it occurred in the Middle-ages of England
This date is also known in England as her Annual Feast Day |
| Burial | after 18 May 944 | She was buried after 18 May 944 at Shaftesbury AbbeyG in Shaftesbury, Dorsetshire, England (MiddleAges part of Anglo-Saxon Britain), EuropeG+. |
| Note | | [ Source: copied from WiKi ]
Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury was the Queen consort of England-tenure was AD939-944
Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury (also known as Saint Elgiva) was the first wife of King Edmund I of England (r. 939-946), by whom she bore two future kings, Eadwig, King Edwy of the Saxons (r. 955-959) and Edgar, King of England (r. 959-975)
She gave up public life shortly after her 2nd son was born, becoming a Benedictine nun at the Shaftesbury Abbey; she died shortly afterwards in 944 at the Benedictine monastery of Shaftesbury Abbey in Shaftesbury, Dorsetshire where she is buried. She was canonized in about 1072
Like her mother Wynflaed, she had a close and special (if unknown) connection with the royal nunnery of Shaftesbury (in Dorset), founded by King Alfred, where she was buried and was soon revered as a saint; according to a pre-Conquest tradition from Winchester, her feast day is 18 May
She has been described as a Queen who was so compassionate and godly that a great many sick people praying at her tomb in the Shaftesbury convent were healed
Since no father or siblings are [unambiguously] known, further speculation on Ælfgifu's background largely depends on the identity of her mother, whose relatively uncommon name has invited further guesswork…
H. P. R. Finberg suggests that she was the Wynflæd who drew up a will, supposedly sometime in the mid-10th century, after Ælfgifu's death. This lady held many estates scattered across Wessex (in Somerset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire) and was well connected with the nunneries at Wilton and Shaftesbury, both of which were royal foundations. On that basis, a number of relatives have been proposed for Ælfgifu, including a sister called Æthelflæd, a brother called Eadmær and a grandmother called Brihtwyn. There is, however, no consensus among scholars about Finberg's suggestion
Simon Keynes and Gale R. Owen object that there is no sign of royal relatives or connections in Wynflæd's will and Finberg's assumptions about Ælfgifu's family therefore stand on shaky ground. Andrew Wareham is less troubled about this and suggests that different kinship strategies may account for it. Much of the issue of identification also seems to hang on the number of years by which Wynflæd can plausibly have outlived her daughter. In this light, it is significant that on paleographical grounds, David Dumville has rejected the conventional date of c. 950 for the will, which he considers "speculative and too early" (and that one Wynflæd was still alive in 967)
Married life
The sources do not record the date of Ælfgifu's marriage to Edmund
Their eldest son Eadwig, who had barely reached majority on his accession in 955, may have been born around 940, which gives us only a very rough terminus ante quem for the betrothal
Although as the mother of two future kings, Ælfgifu proved to be an important royal bed companion, there is no strictly contemporary evidence that she was ever consecrated as queen
Likewise, her formal position at court appears to have been relatively small fry, overshadowed as it was by the Queen mother Eadgifu of Kent In the single extant document witnessed by her, a Kentish charter datable between 942 and 944, she subscribes as the king's concubine (concubina regis), with a place assigned to her between the bishops and ealdormen. By comparison, Eadgifu subscribes higher up in the witness list as mater regis, after her sons Edmund and Eadred but before the archbishops and bishops
It is only towards the end of the 10th century that Æthelweard the Chronicler styles her Queen (regina), but this may be a retrospective honour at a time when her cult was well established at Shaftesbury
Much of Ælfgifu's claim to fame derives from her association with Shaftesbury
Her patronage of the community is suggested by a charter of King Æthelred, dated 984, according to which the abbey exchanged with King Edmund the large estate at Tisbury (Wiltshire) for Butticanlea (unidentified). Ælfgifu received it from her husband and intended to bequeath it back to the nunnery, but such had not yet come to pass (her son Eadwig demanded that Butticanlea was returned to the royal family first)
Ælfgifu predeceased her husband in 944. In the early 12th century, William of Malmesbury wrote that she suffered from an illness during the last few years of her life, but there may have been some confusion with details of Æthelgifu's life as recorded in a forged foundation charter of the late 11th or 12th century (see below). Her body was buried and enshrined at the nunnery
Sainthood
Ælfgifu was venerated as a saint soon after her burial at Shaftesbury. Æthelweard reports that many miracles had taken place at her tomb up to his day, and these were apparently attracting some local attention
Lantfred of Winchester, who wrote in the 970's and so can be called the earliest known witness of her cult, tells of a young man from Collingbourne (possibly Collingbourne Kingston, Wiltshire), who in the hope of being cured of blindness traveled to Shaftesbury and kept vigil What led him there was the reputation of "the venerable St Ælfgifu […] at whose tomb many bodies of sick person receive medication through the omnipotence of God"
Despite the new prominence of Edward the Martyr as a saint interred at Shaftesbury, her cult continued to flourish in later Anglo-Saxon England, as evidenced by her inclusion in a list of saints' resting places, at least 8 pre-Conquest calendars and 3 or 4 litanies from Winchester Ælfgifu is styled a saint (Sancte Ælfgife) in the D-text of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (mid-11th century) at the point where it specifies Eadwig's and Edgar's royal parentage. Her cult may have been fostered and used to enhance the status of the royal lineage, more narrowly that of her descendants. Lantfred attributes her healing power both to her own merits and those of her son Edgar
It may have been due to her association that in 979 the supposed body of her murdered grandson Edward the Martyr was exhumed and in a spectacular ceremony, Ælfgifu's fame at Shaftesbury seems to have eclipsed that of its first abbess, King Alfred's daughter Æthelgifu, so much so perhaps that William of Malmesbury wrote contradictory reports on the abbey's early history. In the Gesta regum, he correctly identifies the first abbess as Alfred's daughter, following Asser, although he gives he the name of Ælfgifu (Elfgiva), while in his Gesta pontificum, he credits Edmund's wife Ælfgifu with the foundation Either William encountered conflicting information, or he meant to say that Ælfgifu refounded the nunnery
In any event, William would have had access to local traditions at Shaftesbury, since he probably wrote a now lost metrical Life for the community, a fragment of which he included in his Gesta pontificum: Nam nonnullis passa annis morborum molestiam [Latin text Translation]
The origins of Elgiva (or Aelfgifu) are unknown but she would have been born around 920 probably in England,
as she had an English name and she would almost definitely have been from a noble family
She may have had a (semi-)arranged marriage with the younger Edmund who had just become the King of England, so at her marriage she would have become [consort] Queen
Addl source: O'Brien, Harriet 2005, "Queen Emma and the Vikings", Bloomsbury: London
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3090. |
| Web Address | | Ælfgifu, of Shaftesbury (Don's 32nd GGM), shares a website (or access to one) that has source data here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfgifu_of_Shaftesbury |
| Person Source | | She had person sources.1 |
| Religious Affiliation | 1072 | She was affiliated with She was named after her death as Saint Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury; also known as Saint Elgiva in 1072 at Shaftesbury Abbey in Shaftesbury, Dorsetshire, England (Medieval), EuropeG. |
| Last Edited |
5 January 2026 |
Citations
- [S1] DJS: Source for an unsourced person, --Citation added for an unsourced person-- Every element of Don's family tree is legally controlled: "All Rights Reserved © (Apr-1988 to today) by Don Shave"
