How do you pronounce Ælfgifu? An interview with Patricia Bracewell

8/3/2021

How do you pronounce Ælfgifu? An interview with Patricia Bracewell

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Blessed ones,

You will find below my YouTube interview with historical novelist Patricia Bracewell.

We not only talk about her motivations for writing her 'Emma of Normandy trilogy' and the difficulties of writing a story from patchy history records, but we dive into the problematic world of eleventh-century names for a twenty-first-century readership.

How do you pronounce Ælfgifu? How do you spell the king's name: is Ethelred right? What allowances does Patricia make for her audience?

You can let me know what you think of the interview here or on my YouTube channel, to which I know you are just itching to subscribe.

May you be blessed!

7 Comments

jo simister

13/5/2022 07:08:02 pm

very helpful thank you both - I shall now be able to wow my colleagues with authoritative pronunciations!

Christopher Monk

21/5/2022 06:28:35 pm

Glad you found it helpful. Sorry for the late response. My dad died recently so been somewhat distracted.

Maryleigh

14/9/2022 09:35:37 pm

Thank you so much for those pronunciations! I was only looking up how to pronounce Ælfgifu, but I got so much more.

Today, watching the BBC and the dearly departed Queen’s lying-in-state, I became curious about all the titles floating around the Royal Family. One thing led to another, and I also found out that Wessex was an entire Kingdom unto itself!. How this all came to be had to be my next query, which has led me to 11th century England and to your blog. Thanks again.

Christopher Monk

15/9/2022 08:05:22 am

I am glad you have found my blog helpful. May you be blessed. The Medieval Monk ☺️.

Bobbi

27/10/2023 08:10:02 pm

For Thyra, if you look at the Scandinavian pronunciation from today it’s pronounced TOO-ra, where the T at the beginning is slightly soft and you roll the r.

Cheers!

Cade

8/5/2024 02:31:39 am

Ælfgifu is my favorite name!

Christopher Monk

10/7/2024 08:32:04 am

It's one of mine, too. May you be blessed.

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How do you pronounce Ælfgifu? An interview with Patricia Bracewell

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