Ordgar (died 971) was

Ealdorman of Devon {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Ealdorman of Devon in England before the Norman Conquest of 1066, was the Ealdorman, that is the king's deputy as local ruler, of the shire of Devon. Following the Norman Conquest the office was re-invented, if ...

in England. He was a great

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

landowner and apparently a close advisor of his son-in-law

Edgar the Peaceful Edgar (or Eadgar; 8 July 975), known sometimes as Edgar the Peacemaker or the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. He became king of all England on his brother Eadwig's death. He was the younger son of King Edm ...

, king of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. His daughter Ælfthryth was King Edgar's third wife and was the mother of King

Æthelred the Unready Æthelred II (,Different spellings of this king's name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern dialect word . ; ; 966 � ...

(c.968 – 1016). He was created an

ealdorman Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''Collins English Dictionary''. was an office in the Government ...

by King Edgar in 964.

Biography

Historical sources

Little is known about Ordgar other than what survives in three historical sources: *His name appears as a witness on charters of King Edgar between 962 and 970. *Digressions in

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...

's ''

Gesta pontificum Anglorum The ''Gesta Pontificum Anglorum'' (Latin for "Deeds of the Bishops of the English"), originally known as ''De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum'' ("On the Deeds of the Bishops of the English") and sometimes anglicized as or , is an ecclesiastical histor ...

'' *More substantial references in

Geoffrey Gaimar Geoffrey Gaimar (fl. 1130s), also written Geffrei or Geoffroy, was an Anglo-Norman chronicler. His contribution to medieval literature and history was as a translator from Old English to Anglo-Norman. His ''L'Estoire des Engleis'', or ''History ...

's ''L'Estoire des Engles'' regarding the love affairs and marriages of his daughter Ælfthryth

Gaimar's account

According to Gaimar, Ordgar was the son of an ealdorman, and owned land in every

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

from

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

in Devon to

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills and on the River Frome, south of Bath. The population of the parish was 28,559 in 2021. Frome was one of the largest tow ...

in Somerset. He married an unknown lady of royal birth, by whom he had a daughter Ælfthryth. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography draws a conclusion that Ordgar was "clearly a figure of some importance" to have secured such a match. King Edgar determined on marrying Ælfthryth and to this end he sent Æthelwald, Ealdorman of East Anglia as his agent to woo her. On arrival Æthelwald found her in company with her father Ordgar, whom she completely controlled by her personality, playing chess, which they had learned from the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

. Æthelwald instead took Ælfthryth for his own wife and married her in about 956. Æthelwald died in 962, and

Dunstan Dunstan ( – 19 May 988), was an English bishop and Benedictine monk. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised. His work restored monastic life in En ...

suspected that he was murdered by his wife Ælfthryth who thereafter, according to Dunstan, seduced King Edgar and murdered his son Prince

Edward the Martyr Edward the Martyr ( – 18 March 978) was King of the English from 8 July 975 until he was killed in 978. He was the eldest son of King Edgar (r. 959–975). On Edgar's death, the succession to the throne was contested between Edward's sup ...

in order to pave the way for the crowning of her son

Æthelred Æthelred (; ) or Ethelred () is an Old English personal name (a compound of '' æþele'' and '' ræd'', meaning "noble counsel" or "well-advised") and may refer to: Anglo-Saxon England * Æthelred and Æthelberht, legendary princes of Kent * � ...

as king. It is, however, certain that, under whatever actual circumstances, Ælfthryth became King Edgar's third wife in 964 and in the same year her father Ordgar was created ealdorman. The ''ODNB'' supposes that Ordgar from the time of his daughter's royal marriage until 970 was one of Edgar's closest advisors, by virtue of his being named as a witness on almost all charters issued by King Edgar during the period.

Tavistock Abbey

Older historians thought that

Tavistock Abbey Tavistock Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Saint Mary and Saint Rumon, is a ruined Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine abbey in Tavistock, Devon. The Abbey was surrendered in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monaste ...

was founded in 961 by Ordgar but the modern consensus is that it was wholly the foundation of his son

Ordwulf Ordwulf or Ordulf (died after 1005) was the son of Ordgar, Ealdorman of Devon (died 971). His sister was Queen Ælfthryth, third wife of King Edgar (born 943, died 975; ruled 959-975)'' The Peaceful'' and mother of King Æthelred II (c. 968-1 ...

in 974; the charter of confirmation was granted in 981 by King Æthelred, Ordwulf's nephew.

Death and burial

Ordgar died in 971. According to

, he was buried with his son Edulf at

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy, from which its name derives. At the 2011 census, the three electoral wards (N ...

, Devon, but according to

Florence of Worcester __NOTOC__ Florence of Worcester (; died 1118) was a monk of Worcester, who played some part in the production of the '' Chronicon ex chronicis'', a Latin world chronicle which begins with the creation and ends in 1140.Keynes, "Florence". The natu ...

, he was buried at

Issue

The name of Ordgar's wife is not known; however, he is known to have issue: *

(died after 1005), High Reeve of Devon * Ælfthryth, Queen Consort of England, married King Edgar of England. * Edulf (died 971 or before), was of gigantic strength and stature.Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 42 pg 242-243

References

;Attribution *

External links

* {{PASE, 12554, Ordgar 5 Year of birth unknown 971 deaths 10th-century English landowners English landowners History of Devon