Born about in Mercia, England
Son of Leofwine (Mercia) of Mercia
and [mother unknown]
Husband of
Godgifu (Lincolnshire) of Mercia
— married
before 1010 [location unknown]
Descendants 
Father of
Ælfgar (Mercia) of Mercia
Died
at about age 67
in Manor of King's Bromley, Staffordshire, England
Profile last modified
| Created 14 Apr 2010
This page has been accessed 17,784 times.
Biography
Birth and Parents
Charles Cawley shows Leofric as the son of Leofwine, Ealdorman of the Hwicce, in Mercia, noting that "the Genealogia Fundatoris of Coventry Monastery names “Leofricum postea comitem, et Edwinum occisum per Walenses, et Normannum occisum cum Edrico duce Merciorum per Cnutonem regem” as sons of “Leofwinus comes Leicestriæ”. [1]
Leofric was the son of Leofwine, Ealdorman of the Hwicce, who witnessed a charter in 997 for King Æthelred II. [2]
The Dictionary of National Biography suggests that "in 998 some lands in Warwickshire accrued to his father Leofwine whose family came from the East Midlands, or possibly the West Midlands.
Cawley indicates that Leofric's mother is not known. [1]
Alias
Leofric may also have been known as Lefricu de Brunne. The De Gestis Herwardi Saxonis names "Aediva trinepta Oslaci ducis" as wife of "Lefricus de Brunne, nepos comitis Radulfi cognominati Scalre", when recording that they were parents of "Herwardus". "Oslaci ducis" could be "Oslac" recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as "earl [of Northumbria]" in 966, but any precise relationship has not been identified. [1]
Siblings
Cawley makes Leofric one of four brothers: [1]
- Wulfric, killed in battle at Ringmere, 5 May, 1010
- Northman, murdered in 1017
- Leofric, died 30 October 1057
- Eadwin, killed in battle at Rhyd-y-Groes, 1039
990 Birth Year Estimation
The most reliable sources do not provide a birth year for Leofric. Assuming his father Leofwine's dates as 948-1028, Leofric's birth would have occurred between, say, 968 and 1028.
If he was born 968, we would have been aged 42 at his marriage and 89 at his death in a time when living beyond 70 was rare, and there would likely have been a previous wife and children, of whom the records give no suggestions.
His oldest brother Wulfric, killed in battle in 1010, would have been born no later than 990. If Leofric married Godgifu before 1010, as stated, Leofric was born no later than, say, 990, making him aged 20 at his marriage and 67 at his death in 1057.
Marriage to Godfigu
Godgifu (Lady Godiva) was married before 1010 to Leofric who was Earl of Mercia by 1032 and may have held the Earldom from as early as 1027. Leofric’s brother Northman may have held the earldom prior to Leofric according to John of Worcester but no primary evidence of this has yet been found.
Leofric married before 1010 married Godifu / Godgyve / Godiva (d.after 1054/57).[3][4][5][6] Issue: 1
Leofric married Godgifu, sister of THOROLD de Bukenhale, Sheriff of Lincolnshire. Her family origin is also indicated by the undated charter under which “Thoroldus de Bukenhale…vicecomiti” donated Spalding monastery to Croyland abbey which names “domino meo Leofrico comite Leicestriæ et…comitissa sua domina Godiva sorore mea…et cognati mei comitis Algari primogeniti et hæredis eorum”. [1]
Cawley indicates Godfigu's parents are unknown.
Cawley states that Godgifu is named as wife of Earl Leofric by Florence of Worcester, who specifies that she and her husband founded monasteries at Leominster, Wenlock, Chester and Stowe. [1]
Godfigu died after 1054/1057. [1]
The Annals of Peterborough record that “Thoroldus vicecomes et frater germanus Godivæ comitissæ Leycestriæ” founded Spalding Monastery in 1052. [1]
Leofric may have married more than once. His famous wife Godiva survived him and may have been a second or later wife. Since there is some question about the date of marriage for Leofric and Godgifu (Godiva), it is not clear whether she was the mother of Ælfgar, Leofric's only known child. If Godiva was married to Earl Leofric later than about 1010, she could not have been the mother of Ælfgar. [2]
Appointed Ealdorman by King Canute
Simeon of Durham records that King Canute appointed "Leofric" as Ealdorman [Earl] of Mercia after his brother Northman was killed in 1017 [1] Because Chester was the largest city in Mercia, Leofric is sometimes referred to as the "Earl of Chester"[7]
Cnut "made Leofric ealdorman in place of his brother Northman, and afterwards held him in great affection." [8]
Becoming Earl of Mercia, which occurred at some date previous to 1032,[4] made him one of the most powerful men in the land, second only to the ambitious Earl Godwin of Wessex, among the mighty earls. [2]
1035 Supporter of King Harold I
Cnut (Canute) married Ælfgifu of Northampton daughter Ælfhelm, Ealdorman of York, their son became King Harold I and Leofric was his supporter against Harthacnut (Hardicanute).
Leofric may have had some connection by marriage to Ælfgifu of Northampton, the first wife of Cnut, which might help to explain why he was the chief supporter of Ælfgifu's son Harold Harefoot against Harthacnut, Cnut's son by Emma of Normandy, when Cnut died in 1035. [9]
1041 Burning of Worcester
When Harthacnut succeeded his brother Harold after Harold's death in 1040, he made himself unpopular by implementing heavy taxation and two of his tax-collectors were killed by angry locals at Worcester. Enraged, Harchacnut in 1041 ordered Leofric and his other earls to plunder and burn the city, and lay waste to the surrounding area. [10]
This command must have sorely tested Leofric, since Worcester was the cathedral city of the Hwicce, his people. [2] Leofric complied with this command but ensured that most of the population escaped.
1043 Counsel to Edward the Confessor
When Edward the confessor was King, Leofric counselled him in 1043 to appropriate his mother Emma’s treasure and accompanied the king to Winchester to effect this ‘policy’.
1043 Benedictine Priory of St. Mary in Coventry
Leofric and his wife founded the abbey of Coventry in 1043. “Leofricus comes” founded the monastery of Coventry by undated charter. ”Leofricus comes…et conjux mea Godgyve” donated property to Evesham Monastery by undated charter which names “frater meus Normannus”. [1]
Earl Leofric and his wife Godiva founded the Benedictine Priory of St. Mary in Coventry in 1043. The priory was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Its ruins are adjacent to the ruins of the former cathedral church of St. Michael, which was bombed in World War II. The latter is now a World Heritage Site. [11]
Orderic Vitalis records that “Elfgarus comes” had founded “Coventrense cœnobium” and that “Godiova...comitissa” donated “omnem thesaurum suum” to the church. She was the Lady Godiva of legend. [1]
1052 Spalding Monastery
In 1052 Leofric founded Spalding Monastery[12]
He also founded monasteries at Leominster, Wenlock, Chester and Stowe[5]
Evesham Monastery
He also gave property to Evesham Monastery ”Leofricus comes…et conjux mea Godgyve” donated property to Evesham Monastery by undated charter which names “frater meus Normannus”. [1]
1054 St. Mary's Abbey
Godgifu wife of Leofric granted property to St Mary's, Stow by charter dated [1054/57]. [1]
1055 Son Ælfgar Outlawed
In 1055 Leofric's own son Ælfgar was outlawed, "without any fault", says the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Ælfgar raised an army in Ireland and Wales and brought it to Hereford, where he clashed with the army of Earl Ralph of Herefordshire and severely damaged the town. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle wryly comments "And then when they had done most harm, it was decided to reinstate Earl Ælfgar". [2]
Leofric was still active in maintaining the King’s Peace in 1056 when Gruffudd ap Llywelyn & Leofric’s son Ælfgar raided England, fought the Battle of Glabury and burned down Hereford Cathedral killing the Bishop Leofgar. [13]
1057 Death and Burial
Leofric died in 1057 at his estate at Kings Bromley in Staffordshire. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he died on 30 September, but the chronicler of Worcester gives the date as 31 August. [2]
Leofric III died 30 Oct 1057 Bromley[14]
Alternatively, he died 31 Aug 1057 Bromley[7]
Leofric died in 1057 at his manor of King's Bromley, Staffordshire. [13]
Leofric was buried at Coventry and his son Ælfgar was exiled for treason."[13]
Leofric died in Bromley 30 October 1057 and was buried in Coventry. [1]
Children
Leofric & his wife had one child, Aelfgar, who died in 1062. [1] Aelfgar became Earl of the East Angles (1053) and Earl of Mercia (1057); [5]
Sources
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Charles Cawley. Medieval Lands: A Prosopography of Medieval European Noble and Royal Families, Online at Foundation for Medieval Genealogy Website Leofric, son of Leofwine Accessed 8/27/2019 jhd
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Wikipedia:Leofric, Earl of Mercia Accessed 8/27/2019 jhd
- ↑ Oxford Dictionary
- ↑ bros: Thorold de Bukenhale, Sheriff of Lincolnshire; p. Unkown
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Florence of Worcester
- ↑ family origin indicated by undated charter under which "Thoroldus de Bukenhale . . . vicecomiti" donated Spalding monastery to Croyland abbey
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Encyclopedia Brittanica
- ↑ The Chronicle of John of Worcester, ed. and trans. R.R. Darlington, P. McGurk and J. Bray (Clarendon Press: Oxford 1995), volume ii, pages 504-505. Cited by Wikipedia:Leofric, Earl of Mercia Accessed 8/27/2019 jhd
- ↑ M. Lapidge, The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England (1999), p.282; The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 1036 E. Cited by Wikipedia:Leofric, Earl of Mercia Accessed 8/27/2019 jhd
- ↑ The Chronicle of John of Worcester ed. and trans. R.R. Darlington, P. McGurk and J. Bray (Clarendon Press: Oxford 1995), pp.533. Cited by Wikipedia:Leofric, Earl of Mercia Accessed 8/27/2019 jhd
- ↑ World Monuments Fund.St. Michael Coventry
- ↑ Annals of Peterborough
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Williams, Ann. "Leofric, earl of Mercia (d. 1057)" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Online: Oxford University Press, 2005). https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/16470 Accessed 30 December 2023.
see: John of Worcester, Chron., s.a. 1057 - ↑ Dillion, C.R. (2002). Royals and Nobles: A Genealogist's Tool, (pp.106). Lincoln, NE: iUniverse. Google Books.
See also:
- Malmesbury, W. (1846). "Cartae ad Coenobium Coventrense in agro Warwicensi spectantes (fol. 73, 245b)," in Monasticon Anglicanum, 3, pp. 190. William Dougdale, Ed. Google Books.[1] Freeman (1868), states that Orderic Vitalis confuses Aelfgar with his father and points out the Florence of Worcester said that it was Leofric and Godiva who founded Coventry, (p. 415 - footnotes).[2]
- Simeon of Durham
- Lee, S. (1893). "Leofric, Earl of Mercia (d. 1057)." DNB. Google Books.[3]
- Leofric, Earl of Mercia (died Aug 31, 1057, Bromley, Eng). Encyclopedia Brittanica. Web.[4]
- Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England for Leofric of Mercia. Web. pase.ac.uk [5]
- Find A Grave: Memorial #41164276
- "Harold II," (1853). National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Volumes 7-8. Google Books.[6]
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Unmerged matches › Leofric (Mercia) of Mercia (abt.1025-)
Rejected matches › Leofwine Crawford (abt.1046-abt.1124)
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There is also apparently a charter that names Leofwine and his sons, Eadwine, Leofric and Godwine, that must be dated to before 1023 when Leofwine probably died, which I will also try to track down.
Interestingly Williams in the ODNB biography of Leofric doesn't mention Wulfric as one of his brothers, so might have to track down what the source is for him.
- The before 1010 marriage of Leofric and Godgifu seems to originate in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entries for Leofric and Godgifu. They are by Ann Williams who is a leading historian of this period so her opinion should be respected, though I do notice that the ODNB doesn't have inline citations so it's not clear what the source for the marriage date is. - She also mentions that Northmann is never mentioned as an Earldorman, so she doubts that John of Worcester is correct.
To make a decision I think we need to find primary sources for his witnessing a charter in 997, being granted lands in 998 and his marriage before 1010 to start with.
Also most of the primary sources for this period are available in translation as well as the original Latin, so for such an important profile as this I think we need to see what they say, rather than relying on Wikipedia, or even Charles Cawley's Medieval Lands.
http://washington.ancestryregister.com/WESSEX100006.htm#c2579