• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Person Index
  • Evidence Index
  • Get In Touch

Genealogy of a Large and Diverse Family

A Journey Through Time

, Ælfgar, Earl Of Mercia

Ælfgar, Earl of MerciaI11526
b: ABT 1000
d: ABT 1062
Biography
Ælfgar (died c. 1062) was the son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, by hiswell-known wife Godgifu (Lady Godiva).[1] He succeeded to his father''stitle and responsibilities on the latter''s death in 1057.

Ælfgar gained from the exile of Earl Godwin of Wessex and his sons in1051. He was given the Earldom of East Anglia, which had been that ofHarold, son of Godwin. Earl Godwin and King Edward were reconciled thefollowing year, so Harold was restored to his earldom—but not for long.At Easter 1053 Godwin died, so Harold became Earl of Wessex, and theearldom of East Anglia returned to Ælfgar.[2][3]

Ælfgar seems to have learned from the tactics Godwin used to put pressureon King Edward. When he was himself exiled in 1055, he raised a fleet of18 ships in Ireland and then turned to Wales, where King Gruffydd agreedto join forces with him against King Edward. Two miles from Hereford, on24 October, they clashed with the army of the Earl of Herefordshire,Ralph the Timid. The Earl and his men eventually took flight, andGruffydd and Ælfgar pursued them, killing and wounding as they went, andenacting savage reprisals on Hereford. They despoiled and burnt the town,killing many of its citizens. King Edward ordered an army mustered andput Earl Harold in charge of it. This was more formidable opposition, andÆlfgar and Gruffydd fled to South Wales. However the issue was resolvedby diplomacy and Earl Ælfgar was reinstated.[4]

Ælfgar is known to have had at least four children. One son, Burgheard,predeceased his father, expiring while returning from Rome early in 1061and was buried at Reims.[5] This led Ælfgar to give to Reims Abbey landsin Staffordshire and Shropshire, which became the endowment for LapleyPriory. He was survived by three children, two sons, Edwin, later Earl ofMercia, and Morcar, later Earl of Northumbria, and a daughter Ealdgyth,who was first married to Welsh king Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and later toHarold Godwinson, King of England.[2]
Facts
  • ABT 1000 - Birth -
  • ABT 1062 - Death -
Ancestors
   
?
 
 
Leofric, Earl of Mercia
-
  
  
  
?
 
Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia
ABT 1000 - ABT 1062
  
 
  
?
 
 
Godgifu
-
  
  
  
?
 
Family Group Sheet - Child
PARENT (M) Leofric, Earl of Mercia
Birth
Death
Marriageto Godgifu
Father?
Mother?
PARENT (F) Godgifu
Birth
Death
Marriageto Leofric, Earl of Mercia
Father?
Mother?
CHILDREN
MÆlfgar, Earl of Mercia
BirthABT 1000
DeathABT 1062
Marriageto Ælfgifu
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia
BirthABT 1000
DeathABT 1062
Marriageto Ælfgifu
FatherLeofric, Earl of Mercia
MotherGodgifu
PARENT (F) Ælfgifu
Birth
Death
Marriageto Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia
Father?
Mother?
CHILDREN
FEaldgyth
Birth
Death
Marriageto Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
Descendancy Chart
1 Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia b: ABT 1000 d: ABT 1062
+ Ælfgifu
2 Ealdgyth
+ Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
3 Nesta ferch Gruffydd
+ Osbern FitzRichard
4 Nest ferch Osbern
+ Bernard de Neufmarché
5 Sibyl de Neufmarché
+ Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford
6 Bertha of Hereford
+ William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber
7 William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber
+ Maud de Braose
8 Reginald de Braose
+ Grecia Briwere
9 William de Braose
+ Eva Marshal
10 Eleanor de Braose
+ Humphrey de Bohun
10 Eva de Braose
+ William III de Cantilupe
+ Gwladus Ddu
7 Sybil
+ William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby
8 William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby
+ Agnes De Kevelioch
9 William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby
+ Sibyl Marshal
+ Margaret de Quincy
10 Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby
+ Alianore de Bohun
10 Joan de Ferrers d: 19 MAR 1309
+ Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley Knight b: 1245 d: 23 JUL 1321
6 Margaret of Hereford
+ Humphrey II de Bohun
7 Humphrey III de Bohun
+ Margaret of Huntingdon, Duchess of Brittany
8 Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford
+ Maud de Mandeville
9 Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford
+ Maud de Lusignan
10 Humphrey de Bohun
+ Eleanor de Braose

Primary Sidebar

Top Surnames

Gooding (470)
Reed (330)
Champion (258)
Bryars (228)
Mabry (218)
Roden (181)
Fisher (151)
Littler (142)
Warner (125)
Whiteside (106)

Copyright © 2006–2022 Eric Leuthardt · All Rights Reserved
Built and designed by 7th Circle Designs

SItemap | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Accessibility Statement | Affiliate Disclosure