Ælfgifu of Northampton  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search  Ælfgifu of Northampton (c. 990 –
after 1040) was the first wife of King Cnut of England and
Denmark, and mother of King Harold I of England (1035–40). She
served as regent of Norway from 1030 to 1035.   Family
background  Ælfgifu was born into an important noble family
based in the Midlands (Mercia). She was a daughter of Ælfhelm,
ealdorman of southern Northumbria, who was killed in 1006.1 John
of Worcester names his wife Wulfrun, but it is possible that he
had her confused with the Wulfrun who was Ælfhelm's mother and
possibly patron of the community at Wolverhampton.2 Another
noteworthy figure who belonged to this family was Ælfhelm's
brother (hence Ælfgifu's uncle) Wulfric Spot, a wealthy nobleman
and patron of Burton Abbey.3 Her cognomen 'of Northampton' is
attached to her in Manuscript D of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in
order to distinguish her from Emma of Normandy, and consequently
adopted by later historians such