Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury

Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
Queen consort of the English
Tenurec. 939–944
Diedc. 944
Burial
SpouseEdmund I, King of the English
IssueKing Eadwig
King Edgar
MotherWynflaed
Saint

Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
Venerated inCatholic Church
Feast18 May

Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury (died 944) was the first wife of King Edmund I (r. 939–946). She was Queen of the English from her marriage in around 939 until her death in 944. Ælfgifu and Edmund were the parents of two future English kings, Eadwig (r. 955–959) and Edgar (r. 959–975). Like her mother Wynflaed, Ælfgifu had a close and special if unknown connection with the royal nunnery of Shaftesbury (Dorset), founded by King Alfred, where she was buried and soon revered as a saint. According to a pre-Conquest tradition from Winchester, her feast day is 18 May.