Eadgifu of Kent
| Eadgifu of Kent | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Picture of Queen Eadgifu from The Saxon Cathedral at Canterbury and The Saxon Saints Buried Therein | |
|
|
|
| Tenure | c.919 - 17 July 924 |
| Predecessor | Ælfflæd |
| Successor | Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury |
| Spouse | Edward, King of the Anglo-Saxons |
| Issue | |
| Edmund, King of England Eadred, King of England Saint Eadburh of Winchester Eadgifu |
|
| Father | Sigehelm, Ealdorman of Kent |
Eadgifu of Kent (also Edgiva or Ediva) (in or before 903 - in or after 966) was the third wife of Edward the Elder, King of the Anglo-Saxons.
Eadgifu was the daughter of Sigehelm, Ealdorman of Kent, who died at the Battle of the Holme in 902.[1] She became the mother of two sons, Edmund I of England, later King Edmund I, and Eadred of England, later King Eadred, and two daughters, Saint Eadburh of Winchester and Eadgifu.[2] She survived Edward by many years, dying in the reign of her grandson Edgar.
She disappeared from court during the reign of her step-son, King Æthelstan, but she was prominent and influential during the reign of her two sons.[2] As queen dowager, her position seem to have been higher than that of her daughter-in-law; In a Kentish charter datable between 942 and 944, her daughter-in-law Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury subscribes herself 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.[3]
Following the death of her younger son Eadred in 955, she was deprived of her lands by her eldest grandson, King Eadwig, perhaps because she took the side of his younger brother, Edgar, in the struggle between them. When Edgar succeeded on Eadwig's death in 959 she recovered some lands and received generous gifts from her grandson, but she never returned to her prominent position at court. She is last recorded as a witness to a charter in 966.[2]
She was known as a supporter of saintly churchmen and a benefactor of churches.[2]
See also [edit]
Notes [edit]
References [edit]
- Miller, Sean (2004). "Edward (called Edward the Elder) (870s?–924), king of the Anglo-Saxons". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8514. Retrieved 10 August 2012. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- Stafford, Pauline (2004). "Eadgifu (b. in or before 904, d. in or after 966), queen of the Anglo-Saxons, consort of Edward the Elder". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52307. Retrieved 10 June 2012. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
| Preceded by Ælfflæd, wife of Edward the Elder |
Queen Consort of England 919–924 |
Succeeded by Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury |
 |
This English biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
