Ælfgifu (wife of Eadwig)

Her union with the king, annulled within a few years of Eadwig's reign, seems to have been a target for factional rivalries which surrounded the throne in the late 950s.

In view of the will's special mention of Ælfgifu's "mother's soul", this could mean that Æthelgifu was a descendant of Æthelgyth, while the anonymous father traced his descent to Æthelred.

If Hart's suggestion that Ælfgifu was of royal Mercian descent and related to the latter family is correct, it might have been hoped that the marriage would give Eadwig some political advantage in exercising West-Saxon control over Mercia.

[19] Ælfgifu's mother, Æthelgifu, seems to have played a decisive role in her rise to prominence by the king's side, as indicated by their joint appearances in the sources.

[22] It is probable that they are the two women who are portrayed as Eadwig's sexual partners in the Life of St Dunstan by author 'B' and that of St. Oswald by Byrhtferth of Ramsey, both dating from around 1000.

Dunstan's Life alleges that on the banquet following the solemnity of his coronation at Kingston (Surrey), Eadwig left the table and retreated to his chamber to debauch himself with two women, an indecent noblewoman (quaedam, licet natione præcelsa, inepta tamen mulier), later identified as Æthelgifu, and her daughter of ripe age (adulta filia).

[23] Shocked by Eadwig's unseemly withdrawal, the nobles sent Dunstan and Bishop Cynesige, who forcefully dragged the king back to the feast.

There is a good possibility that Oda's act had been spurred on by Edgar's sympathisers, the sons of Æthelstan Half-King, and in particular by their ally Dunstan, whose monastic reform they generously supported.

[27] Author 'B' presents this as the outcome of a northern revolt against Eadwig, whereby he lost control north of the Thames (Mercia and Northumbria) and Edgar was set up as king over that part of England.

[31] No less important than the circumstances of her married life is the way Ælfgifu may have pushed on since the break-up of her marriage and more especially since the autumn of 959, when Eadwig died (1 October 959) and was succeeded by his brother Edgar as king of all England.

Byrhtferth writes that Eadwig's mistress was exiled by Oda (d. 958), but his account of the archbishop's intervention is dubious and only faintly echoes the historical information of the Chronicle.

[33] Whether Ælfgifu kept a low profile or truly lived in exile, as Byrhtferth appears to claim, there is evidence to suggest that by the mid-960s, she had come to enjoy some peace, prosperity and a good understanding with King Edgar and the royal house.

She appears under Edgar's patronage in two royal charters of AD 966, in which he calls her "a certain noble matron (matrona) who is connected to me by the relationship of worldly blood".

Exceptionally high status is suggested by a gift or payment to Edgar which has been interpreted as her heriot, consisting of two armlets of 120 mancuses each, a drinking-cup, 6 horses, 6 shields and 6 spears.

[37] There is no conclusive proof, but that the two Ælfgifus are identical is strongly suggested by their intimate association with the royal family, Bishop Æthelwold, the New Minster at Winchester and with their own mother.

Those at Newnham Murren and Linslade were previously granted to her by King Edgar and now returned to the royal family,[38] but it is impossible to determine which of the other estates were part of her dower property and which were inherited or acquired otherwise.

[19] In favour of the former, Andrew Wareham has suggested that in naming his third and most 'throneworthy' son (b. after c. 964) Æthelred, after his great-great-uncle and thus after Ælfgifu's and Æthelweard's ancestor (see genealogy ↑), Edgar may have intended to make a sympathetic gesture by which he stressed their kinship.

This is seen at its most straightforward when she addresses Edgar with a special request: "I beseech my royal lord for the love of God, that he will not desert my men who seek his protection and are worthy of him."

Two genealogical hypotheses (green and blue) for the connection between Ælfgifu and Eadwig, combined in a diagram
Late 18th-century engraving by Samuel Wale . Impression of Dunstan's encounter with Eadwig and the two women in the royal chamber
Painting by William Hamilton of the scene, with both Dunstan and Oda dragging Eadwig from Ælfgifu's chamber
The present-day Church of All Saints at Wing, Buckinghamshire . The church may be of 9th-century origin and would have formed part of Ælfgifu's manor. The polygonal apse at the east end and the crypt below the sanctuary are later modifications and may possibly be associated with Ælfgifu. [ 32 ]
Locations of Ælfgifu's estates and Abingdon, shown within the modern counties Oxfordshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire and Hertfordshire . The estate south of Winchester, Gussage ( Gysic ) in Dorset, is not shown here.