Ælfwig (died 1066) was the
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
of
New Minster, the uncle of
Harold Godwinson, and was probably the brother of
Godwin, Earl of Wessex
Godwin of Wessex (; died 15 April 1053) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the first ...
. Ælfwig was made abbot in 1063. When Harold marched to meet the Normans in the
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...
, Ælfwig joined him with 12 of his monks, wearing coats of mail over their monastic garb, and 20 armed men. He and his monks fell fighting at
Senlac Hill. After the battle their bodies were recognised by the
habit of their order, which was seen beneath their armour.
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
punished the convent severely for the part which it had taken in resisting his invasion.
References
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External links
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1066 deaths
English abbots
11th-century English clergy
Year of birth unknown
11th-century Christian abbots
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