Talk:Eadric, Ealdorman of Wessex

Ambiguity

"It is possible that Eadric was the father of Æthelweard (historian), if true then he had at least four children the others would be Ælfweard, Ælfgifu and Ælfwaru. This identification rests on Ælfgifu's possession of the estate of Risborough, which had belonged to Eadric's mother, Æthelgyth."

It is not clear if Eadric had at least three children. Is the paternity of Ælfweard, Ælfgifu and Ælfwaru conditional on the paternity of Æthelweard, or is merely the number of children Eadric had conditional on his being the father of Æthelweard? Therefore, it is also unclear what identification depends on Ælfgifu's estate. Her identification as his daughter? Srnec (talk) 23:46, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

As I remember it, the will of an Ælfgifu names her siblings Ælfweard, Æthelweard and Ælfwaru, and mentions Risborough. This leads to the hypothesis that Ælfgifu and her documented siblings are descendants of Æthelfrith of Mercia and his wife Æthelgyth. Then two additional independent hypotheses come into play, 1) that Æthelweard of the will is identical to Æthelweard the Historian (who was grandchild's grandchild of king Æthelred I), and 2) that Ælfgifu is identical to Ælfgifu, wife of Eadwig, whose mother was Æthelgifu and who was forced to divorce because of consanguinity. Based on process of elimination (eliminating the brothers with known children not including these four, or a known wife) and some interpretations of land inheritance rules, Eadric ends up the most likely known child of Æthelfrith and his wife Æthelgyth to be husband of Æthelgifu and father of queen Ælfgifu along with her siblings Ælfweard, Ælfwaru and Æthelweard (the Historian). So, Eadric as father of Æthelweard is based in part on the will, plus some additional hypotheses as well. An alternative reconstruction makes Æthelgifu, mother of queen Ælfgifu and her siblings, an otherwise unknown sister of Eadric. Agricolae (talk) 22:36, 5 December 2018 (UTC)