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Leofric (died 31 August or 30 September 1057) was an Earl of Mercia. He founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock. Leofric is most remembered as the husband of Lady Godiva. ==Life== Leofric was the son of Leofwine, Ealdorman of the Hwicce, who witnessed a charter in 997 for King Æthelred II. Leofric had three brothers: Northman, Edwin and Godwine. It is likely that Northman is the same as ''Northman Miles'' ("Northman the knight") to whom King Æthelred II granted the village of Twywell in Northamptonshire in 1013 .〔Baxter, ''Earls of Mercia'', p. 31; ''PASE'', s.v. (Northman 5 ); (Sawyer 931 )〕 Northman, according to the Chronicle of Crowland Abbey, the reliability of which is often doubted by historians, says he was a retainer (knight) of Eadric Streona, the Earl of Mercia.〔Baxter, ''Earls of Mercia'', pp. 29–30, and n. 45 for reference〕 It adds that Northman had been killed upon Cnut's orders along with Eadric and others for this reason.〔 Cnut "made Leofric ealdorman in place of his brother Northman, and afterwards held him in great affection."〔Darlington et al (eds.), ''Chronicle'', vol. ii, pp. 504, 505〕 Becoming Earl of Mercia made him one of the most powerful men in the land, second only to the ambitious Earl Godwin of Wessex, among the mighty earls. Leofric may have had some connection by marriage to Ælfgifu of Northampton, the first wife of Cnut, which might help to explain why he was the chief supporter of her son Harold Harefoot against Harthacnut, Cnut's son by Emma of Normandy, when Cnut died in 1035.〔M. Lapidge, ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England'' (1999), p.282; ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' 1036 E.〕 However, Harold died in 1040 and was succeeded by his brother Harthacnut, who made himself unpopular by implementing heavy taxation during his short reign. Two of his tax-collectors were killed at Worcester by angry locals. The king was so enraged by this that in 1041 he ordered Leofric and his other earls to plunder and burn the city, and lay waste to the surrounding area.〔''The Chronicle of John of Worcester'' ed. and trans. R.R. Darlington, P. McGurk and J. Bray (Clarendon Press: Oxford 1995), pp.533.〕 This command must have sorely tested Leofric, since Worcester was the cathedral city of the Hwicce, his people. When Harthacnut died suddenly in 1042, he was succeeded by his half-brother Edward the Confessor. Leofric loyally supported Edward when Edward came under threat at Gloucester, from Earl Godwin, in 1051. Leofric and Earl Siward of Northumbria gathered a great army to meet that of Godwin. His advisors counseled Edward that battle would be folly, since there would be important members of the nobility on both sides; the loss of these men, should many die in battle, would leave England open to its enemies. So in the end the issue was resolved by less bloody means: Earl Godwin and his family were outlawed for a time. Earl Leofric's power was then at its height. But in 1055 Leofric's own son Ælfgar was outlawed, "without any fault", says the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. Ælfgar raised an army in Ireland and Wales and brought it to Hereford, where he clashed with the army of Earl Ralph of Herefordshire and severely damaged the town. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' wryly comments "And then when they had done most harm, it was decided to reinstate Earl Ælfgar". Leofric died in 1057 at his estate at Kings Bromley in Staffordshire. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', he died on 30 September, but the chronicler of Worcester gives the date as 31 August. Both agree that he was buried at Coventry.〔''The Chronicle of John of Worcester'' ed. and trans. R.R. Darlington, P. McGurk and J. Bray (Clarendon Press: Oxford 1995), pp.582-3.〕 Leofric was succeeded by his son Ælfgar as earl. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Leofric, Earl of Mercia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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