Ælfwaru (died 27 February 1007) was an
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
noblewoman, who bequeathed her lands to churches such as
Ely, and
Ramsey.
Chronicle
A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...
rs, writing in the 12th century, transcribed such bequests, from the original
cyrographs. Ælfwaru's cyrograph has not survived. Ælfwaru's father,
Æthelstan Mannessune, had two sons:
Eadnoth, and Godric; and two daughters: Ælfwaru, and Ælfwyn.
Lineage
Her lineage is unknown. However, modern historians have constructed a plausible family tree. Ælfwaru is believed to be one of two daughters to
Æthelstan Mannessune (d. 986), the other being Ælfwyn, abbess of
Chatteris. If this is the case, Ælfwaru's brothers were St
Eadnoth the martyr (d. 1016), first abbot of
Ramsey, and Godric (d.1013).
[Brooks (ed.) p. 51]
Death
Ælfwaru is believed to have died on, or at least her
obituary
An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...
recorded for, 27 February.
[MS Cambridge, Trinity College O. 2.1
] ''Liber Benefactorum Ecclesiae Ramesiensis'' records the year, 1007
[Ramsey Cartulary iii 167] Thus 27 February 1007.
Legacy
It is recorded within one chronicle, ''
Liber Eliensis
The ''Liber Eliensis'' is a 12th-century English chronicle and history, written in Latin. Composed in three books, it was written at Ely Abbey on the island of Ely in the fenlands of eastern Cambridgeshire. Ely Abbey became the cathedral of ...
'', that Ælfwaru granted to
Ely Abbey the lands of
Bridgham,
Hingham,
Weeting,
Rattlesden,
Mundford,
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...
, and fisheries around those marshes. Ælfwaru also granted the lands of
Over and
Barley
Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
to
Chatteris nunnery, where her sister was abbess. The fisheries mentioned here are interesting. They link the Ælfwaru mentioned in ''Liber Eliensis'', with the Ælfwaru, daughter of
Æthelstan Mannessune, whose
cyrograph is documented in ''Liber Benefactorum Ecclesiae Ramesiensis''.
If this is indeed the same Ælfwaru, then her father bequeathed lands to his children, including a fishery, which he shared out between his unnamed wife, his sons, and his two daughters.
The name Ælfwaru is made out of two parts;
old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
(OE) ''
Ælf-'' and ''-waru''. ''Ælf-'' means Elf- or magical being and ''-waru'' (singular; ''-wara'' plural) means guardian of (a particular place) by profession.
[OED ''affix'' Elf- (OE) Ælf- and ''suffix'' -ware (OE) -waru]
References
Bibliography
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External links
* ; also
British History OnlineVCH:Ælfwaru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aelfwaru
10th-century English nobility
11th-century English landowners
Anglo-Saxon people
People from Ely, Cambridgeshire
1007 deaths
Year of birth unknown
11th-century English nobility