Wikipedia article of the day for February 18, 2026

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 18, 2026 is Ælfwynn, wife of Æthelstan Half-King.
Ælfwynn (died 8 July 983) was a member of a wealthy Anglo-Saxon family in Huntingdonshire. In about 932 she married Æthelstan, the powerful ealdorman of East Anglia, who was called the Half-King because monarchs were said to depend on his advice. Ælfwynn is chiefly known for having been foster-mother to the future king Edgar (ruled 959-975), following his mother's death in 944, when he was an infant. Æthelstan was a leading supporter of the monastic reform movement; Edgar's upbringing in reforming circles profoundly influenced him, and he became a strong ally of the movement as king. Ælfwynn had four sons, and the youngest, Æthelwine, became the chief secular magnate and a leading monastic reformer like his father. In 966 he was a co-founder of Ramsey Abbey. Ælfwynn donated her estates to the foundation in the same year, including one given to her by Edgar, and was probably buried there. She may have played a crucial role in Ramsey's establishment.