Леофрик Мерсийский: Эрл, основатель монастырей и сподвижник королей

Earl of Mercia

Leofric (died 31 August or 30 September 1057) was an Earl of Mercia. He founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock and was a very powerful earl under King Cnut and his successors. Leofric was the husband of Lady Godiva.

Leofric was the son of Leofwine, Ealdorman of the Hwicce, 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. It adds that Northman was killed on Cnut's orders along with Eadric and others. Becoming Earl of Mercia, which occurred sometime before 1032, However, Harold died in 1040 and was then 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. This command must have tested Leofric's loyalty, since Worcester was the cathedral city of the Hwicce, his people. When Harthacnut suddenly died in 1042, he was succeeded by his half brother Edward the Confessor. Leofric loyally supported Edward when he came under threat at Gloucester, from Earl Godwin, in 1051. Leofric and Earl Siward of Northumbria gathered a great army to meet Godwin. Edward's advisors counseled him that battle would be folly, as there'd 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. In the end the issue was resolved by less violent means; in accordance with Leofric's advice the settlement of the dispute was referred to the Witenagemot, Leofric was succeeded by his son Ælfgar as earl.

Earl Leofric and Godiva were noted for great generosity to religious houses. In 1043 he founded and endowed a Benedictine monastery at Coventry. John of Worcester tells us that "He and his wife, the noble Countess Godgifu, a worshipper of God and devout lover of St Mary ever virgin, built the monastery there from the foundations out of their own patrimony, and endowed it adequately with lands and made it so rich in various ornaments that in no monastery in England might be found the abundance of gold, silver, gems and precious stones that was at that time in its possession." and the endowment of the minster at Stow St Mary, Lincolnshire. They are commemorated as benefactors of other monasteries as well, at Leominster, Chester, Much Wenlock, and Evesham. Historians disagree extensively on the character of Leofric. Folklore tends to depict him as an unfeeling overlord who imposed over taxation, whereas many historians object to this, and consider it as part of the Lady Godiva myth; they suggest that he was a strong and respected leader. There is also great disagreement over his reputation as a military leader: some historians believe Leofric to have been weak in this respect, but others go as far as to give him the title 'Hammer of the Welsh'.

A prose account of Leofric's life, entitled Visio Leofrici or the Vision of Leofric, was written in Old English, surviving in MS Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (CCCC) 367. It is split into four episodes, each of which depicts one of Leofric's miraculous visions. The last of these four has been noted for its similarities to the account of Leofric's vision in Osbert's later account of the life of Edward the Confessor.

On screen, Leofric was portrayed by Roy Travers in the British silent short Lady Godiva (1928), George Nader in the film Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955), and Tony Steedman in the BBC TV series Hereward the Wake (1965). He also may have inspired the character "Leofric", played by Adrian Bower in the BBC series The Last Kingdom.