Individual
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____ Alfgar III
Birth: ABT 1025 of Mercia
Death: ABT 1060 Mercia
Burial: Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfgar,_Earl_of_Mercia
Ælfgar (died c. 1060) was the son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, by his famous mother
Godgifu (Lady Godiva).[1] He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the
latter's death in 1057. He gained the additional title of Earl of East Anglia, but also
was exiled for a time. Through the first marriage of his daughter he would become
father-in-law of the Welsh king Gruffydd ap Llywelyn; a few years after his death, his
daughter would become a widow and marry English King Harold.
War and Exiles[edit]
Ælfgar profited from the exile of Earl Godwin of Wessex and his sons in 1051. He was
given the Earldom of East Anglia, which had been that of Harold, son of Godwin. Earl
Godwin and King Edward were reconciled the following year, so Harold was restored
to his earldom—but not for long. At Easter 1053 Godwin died, so Harold became Earl of
Wessex, and the earldom of East Anglia returned to Ælfgar.[2][3]
Ælfgar seems to have learned from the tactics Godwin used to put pressure on King
Edward. When he was himself exiled in 1055, he raised a fleet of 18 ships in Ireland
and then turned to Wales, where King Gruffydd agreed to join forces with him against
King Edward. Two miles from Hereford, on 24 October, they clashed with the army of
the Earl of Herefordshire, Ralph the Timid. The Earl and his men eventually took flight,
and Gruffydd and Ælfgar pursued them, killing and wounding as they went, and
enacting savage reprisals on Hereford. They despoiled and burnt the town, killing
many of its citizens. King Edward ordered an army mustered and put Earl Harold in
charge of it. This was more formidable opposition, and Ælfgar and Gruffydd fled to
South Wales. However the issue was resolved by diplomacy and Earl Ælfgar was
reinstated.[4]
Family[edit]
Ælfgar is known to have had at least four children. One son, Burgheard, predeceased
his father, expiring while returning from Rome early in 1060 and was buried at Reims.
[5] This led Ælfgar to give to Reims Abbey lands in Staffordshire and Shropshire,
which became the endowment for Lapley Priory. He was survived by three children,
two sons, Edwin, later Earl of Mercia, and Morcar, later Earl of Northumbria, and a
daughter Ealdgyth, who was first married to Welsh king Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and later
to Harold Godwinson, King of England.[2]
Death[edit]
Ælfgar is believed to have died in 1060, well before the Battle of Hastings. His
daughter's children, of the defeated King Harold, are believed to have lived in exile.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jweber&id=I00599
Parents
____ Leofric III (14 May 978 - 31 Aug 1057)
____ Godiva (Godgifu) (ABT 1010 - 10 Sep 1067)
Siblings
____ Alfgar III (ABT 1025 - ABT 1060)
Marriage To OF THE SEVEN BOROUGHS Aelfgifu (ABT 1014 - )
m.
Notes
Parents
OF THE SEVEN BOROUGHS Sigeferth (Siferth) (ABT 985 - 1015)
OF MERCIA Ealgyth (Ealdgyth) (Algitha) (ABT 993 - )
Children by OF THE SEVEN BOROUGHS Aelfgifu ABT 1014 -
OF MERCIA Ealdgyth (Aldgyth) (Edith) (ABT 1041 - AFT 1086)
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