Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie and this is Episode 349.

Elf Gifu's Tale.

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Successful Kings don't rule alone. This is especially true for kings who had as much

going on as Canute did and one of Canute's most influential right-hand men was actually

his queen. Emma was more than just an advisor. She was wielding considerable power in her

own right and power that likely expanded every time Canute journeyed out of England.

But Queen Emma wasn't Canute's only wife. Canute had been married previously, Delph Gifu

of Northampton. Elf Gifu was from a noble family of the Midlands and she had familial

links to the Lords of Northumbria and to top it off she was part of the powerful wolf

dynasty which had wielded so much power in the days of King Athol red. And so when King

Swain forkbeard invaded England all those years ago, it made a lot of sense to marry

his younger son, Canute, to Elf Gifu because their marriage would seal the alliance between

forkbeard and the wolf dynasty. Soon thereafter Elf Gifu gave birth to a son who they named

Swain after his grandfather. And that cemented the dynastic alliance between the powerful

invading dynasty and the locally powerful Midlands dynasty. But this was the age of Athol

red. And the only thing that was guaranteed during this period was that there were no

guarantees. And shortly after the birth several major figures in the wolf dynasty were

...