Ælfric was
Ealdorman
Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''Collins English Dictionary''. was an office in the Government ...
of
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
from to 1016.
Ælfric succeeded ealdorman Æthelmær to the county of
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
and possibly
Wiltshire in about 982. Ælfric was among the leading advisers of King
Æthelred and was described by the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' as 'one of those in whom the king trusted most'; this is perhaps seen in 991 when, along with
Æthelweard and
Sigeric, he advised the king to pay the Danes for peace, which he did. Though one of the king's most trusted men, Ælfric in 992 defected to a Danish fleet that he was supposed to attack. Though his defecting ship was captured, he escaped. However, his family suffered for this act, as Æthelred had his son Ælfgar blinded the year after (993). Ælfric was at some point reconciled with Æthelred, since the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has him fighting for the English in 1016, but in 1003 he supposedly pretended to be sick in order to avoid leading an army from Wiltshire and Hampshire against
Sweyn Forkbeard, who was allowed to pillage
Wilton. Ælfric died in the
Battle of Assandun on 18 October 1016 fighting for
Edmund Ironside.
In a charter from 993 Ælfric was censured for buying the abbacy of
Abingdon for his brother
Eadwine and encouraging the king to alienate the abbey's lands to laymen, among whom his son Ælfgar should probably be numbered.
References
External links
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Anglo-Saxon ealdormen
10th-century English nobility
11th-century English nobility
Anglo-Saxon warriors
History of Hampshire
1016 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Anglo-Saxons killed in battle
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