Ælfwaru (died 27 February 1007) was an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

noblewoman, who bequeathed her lands to churches such as Ely, and

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

Chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, 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 ...

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 Chatteris is a market town and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in The Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely. The town is in the North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency. The parish of Ch ...

. If this is the case, Ælfwaru's brothers were St Eadnoth the martyr (d. 1016), first abbot of

, and Godric (d.1013).Brooks (ed.) p. 51

Death

Ælfwaru is believed to have died on, or at least her

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

recorded for, 27 February.MS Cambridge, Trinity College O. 2.1 ''Liber Benefactorum Ecclesiae Ramesiensis'' records the year, 1007Ramsey 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 a ...

'', that Ælfwaru granted to

Ely Abbey Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

the lands of

Bridgham Bridgham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 328 in 130 households at the 2001 census, increasing to a population of 335 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local go ...

, Hingham, Weeting,

Rattlesden Rattlesden is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is approximately north-west from the county town of Ipswich, with the nearest town Stowmarket to the east. The parish includes the hamlets o ...

Mundford Mundford is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated at the intersection of two major routes, the A134 Colchester to King's Lynn road and the A1065 Mildenhall to Fakenham road, about north west of Thetford. ...

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24, ...

, and fisheries around those marshes. Ælfwaru also granted the lands of

Over Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England * Over, Cheshire, England * Over, South Gloucestershire, England *Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England **Over Bridge * Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by P ...

and

Barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

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 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 was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

(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

* * * * *

External links

* ; also
British History OnlineVCH:Ælfwaru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aelfwaru 10th-century English people 11th-century English people Anglo-Saxon people People from Ely, Cambridgeshire 1007 deaths Year of birth unknown