m (Wulfrun)
m
Line 5: Line 5:
 
<center><wz tip="Portrait of Wulfrun as imagined by a 1974 sculptor hired by the local Express & Star to commemorate the Newspaper's 100th birthday (photo taken on May 5, 2018).">[[File:Wulfrun-5May2018.jpg|650px]]</wz></center>
 
<center><wz tip="Portrait of Wulfrun as imagined by a 1974 sculptor hired by the local Express & Star to commemorate the Newspaper's 100th birthday (photo taken on May 5, 2018).">[[File:Wulfrun-5May2018.jpg|650px]]</wz></center>
  
She was a Saxon noblewoman living in the kingdom of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia Mercia], in which capital ([[Tamworth]]) she was captured by the Vikings for a ransom. After her release, she was given by the Saxon king Aethelred some land at a ''Heantun'' (saxon for ''high place''). The royal charter specifying this was recorded in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle Saxon Chronicles], making Wolverhampton's first recorded entry in a historical document. It reads:
+
She was a Saxon noblewoman living in the kingdom of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia Mercia], in which capital ([[Tamworth]]) she was captured by the Vikings for a ransom, which attests of her importance. After her release, she was given by the Saxon king Æthelred some land at a ''Heantun'' (saxon for ''high place''). The royal charter specifying this was recorded in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle Saxon Chronicles], making Wolverhampton's first recorded entry in a historical document. It reads:
  
 
:''“I Ethelred [...] do grant unto a woman, by name Wulfrun, for an eternal heritage, certain portions of land, to wit 10 hides, separated in two places, nine in the place called Heantune, and also one lying in the place which is named in English, Terselcote.”''
 
:''“I Ethelred [...] do grant unto a woman, by name Wulfrun, for an eternal heritage, certain portions of land, to wit 10 hides, separated in two places, nine in the place called Heantune, and also one lying in the place which is named in English, Terselcote.”''

Revision as of 10:16, 12 May 2018

Wulfrun

Wulfrun (latinized as Wulfruna) is the founder of Wolverhampton.

Wulfrun-5May2018.jpg

She was a Saxon noblewoman living in the kingdom of Mercia, in which capital (Tamworth) she was captured by the Vikings for a ransom, which attests of her importance. After her release, she was given by the Saxon king Æthelred some land at a Heantun (saxon for high place). The royal charter specifying this was recorded in the Saxon Chronicles, making Wolverhampton's first recorded entry in a historical document. It reads:

“I Ethelred [...] do grant unto a woman, by name Wulfrun, for an eternal heritage, certain portions of land, to wit 10 hides, separated in two places, nine in the place called Heantune, and also one lying in the place which is named in English, Terselcote.”

Little is known about Wulfrun, but it is believed that she established the collegiate St Peter’s Church (although initially consecrated to Mary) and that the city of Wolverhampton is named after her, with documents such as the Domesday referring to the “Presbiteri de Wlfrune hamtune” and Wlfronohantona. She is therefore a sure and noble symbol of the city.

I work in the Wulfruna building of the University of Wolverhampton, and various other things and places are named in her honor, starting with everybody native or living in Wolverhampton (the Wulfrunians), a memorial commemorating the Wulfruna's well and less interesting others such as an hotel and a shopping centre.