Eadric Aelfricson

Also called Eadric the Wild, Eadric Sylvaticus, and Eadric Cild, he was a Saxon lord of Mercia, who held extensive lands in Shropshire and Herefordshire. He is best remembered as the leader of Saxon resistance to Norman rule in the Welsh Marches.

Eadric did not fight at the battle of Hastings and did not, at first, resist the Normans. He even appeared at King William's court - summoned there because William wished to see the renowned beauty of Eadric's Faerie-bride Goda. However, Eadric quarreled with his Norman neighbors and soon took up arms against them.

While King William was fighting an uprising in the North, Eadric made an alliance with the great Welsh chieftains Bleddyn of Gwynedd and Rhiwallon of Powys. Together they raided Norman settlements in Herefordshire and Shropshire, even attacking Shrewsbury castle. After suppressing the Northern rebellion, King William turned his attention to Eadric. His Welsh allies were defeated and Eadric was forced to submit to the king.

Having sworn oaths and given his son as a hostage, Eadric rode with the King against the Scots. Soon after, it is said, he disappeared from the hills and fields of Men, seeking his lord Faerie-wife. He has not been seen again.