Eof

Eof (also Eoves) was a swineherd who claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary at Evesham in England, about 701.

[1] Eof related this vision to Egwin, Bishop of Worcester, who founded the great Evesham Abbey on the site of the apparition.

The legend of Eof's vision has been commemorated by a bronze statue sited in the town centre paid for by public subscription and created by the British born sculptor John McKenna.

In the first place the letter ‘V’ is not found in the Saxon alphabet, having been brought to this country by the Normans; so that Eofeshamme, given in one of the charters, indicates the older and better form of the name ...

This in modern English is nearly always denoted by ’s placed at the end of the word; the apostrophe showing that a vowel has dropped out of the termination.