Ælfgifu facts for kids

Ælfgifu (also spelled Ælfgyfu, Elfgifa, Elfgiva, or Elgiva) is an old Anglo-Saxon name for girls. It comes from two Old English words: ælf, meaning "elf," and gifu, meaning "gift." So, the name basically means "elf gift," like a special present from an elf!

When Emma of Normandy became queen of England in the year 1002, she was given the Anglo-Saxon name Ælfgifu. She used this name for official royal duties. Emma later became the mother of Edward the Confessor, who was a famous king of England.

Over time, the name Ælfgifu was written in many different ways, especially in Latin documents. Some of these older spellings include Aelueua, Alueua, Elgiva, and Elueua.

Famous People Named Ælfgifu

Many important women in Anglo-Saxon history were named Ælfgifu. Here are some of them:

Royal Connections

• Ælfgifu of Northampton: She was the first wife of Cnut the Great, a powerful king of England, Denmark, and Norway. Her name was later changed to Álfífa in Old Norse, which is an old language from Scandinavia.
• Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury: She was the wife of Edmund I of England, who was a king of England in the 900s. She is also known as an Anglo-Saxon saint.
• Ælfgifu of York: She was the first wife of Æthelred the Unready, another king of England.
• Ælfgifu, wife of Eadwig: She was the wife of Eadwig, who was also a king of England.
  • Her story inspired a play! As Elgiva, she was the main character in a play called Edwy and Elgiva. This play was written in 1790 by Frances Burney.
• Emma of Normandy: As mentioned, she adopted the name Ælfgifu when she married King Æthelred the Unready.

Other Notable Ælfgifus

• Ælfgifu, wife of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia: She was married to a powerful earl (a type of noble leader) from Mercia, an important kingdom in Anglo-Saxon England.
• Ælfgifu, daughter of Godwin, Earl of Wessex: She was the daughter of a very influential earl named Godwin. She was also the sister of Harold II of England, who was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England before the Norman Conquest.
• Ælfgifu, daughter of Æthelred the Unready: She was another daughter of King Æthelred the Unready. She married Uhtred, Earl of Northumbria, a strong earl from the northern part of England.
• Ælfgyva, a woman in the Bayeux Tapestry: The Bayeux Tapestry is a famous embroidered cloth that tells the story of the Norman Conquest of England. It shows a woman named Ælfgyva, but we don't know much about who she was.

See Also

• Elgiva (fly)

This page or section lists people with the given name Ælfgifu. If a page link brought you here, you might want to go back and fix it so that it goes directly to the correct page.