(1371 words)
  • Stuart Lee (University of Oxford)

Information about Ælfric's life is scarce and can often only be guessed at. No published biography exists (such as Asser's Life of King Alfred for the earlier king of Wessex) and therefore what little information we have has to be drawn from references in his own writings, and our knowledge of the historical events towards the end of the tenth century. Accepted dating, however, places his birth c.950 and his death c.1010.

We can assume that Ælfric was born in, or very near to, the kingdom of Wessex as he spent the remainder of his life there. Similarly, because he was accepted into the monastic school at Winchester, one of the major centres of the Benedictine revival, one can surmise that his family were of at least …


Lee, Stuart. "Aelfric". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001
[, accessed 29 July 2014.]

Articles on Aelfric's works

  1. Catholic Homilies
  2. Letter to Sigeweard
  3. Lives of the Saints
  4. Preface to Genesis