Background
The early 12th-century historian John of Worcester writes that Eadric the Wild was a son of one Ælfric, whom he identifies as a brother of Eadric Streona, ealdorman of Mercia under King Æthelred the Unready. While five of Eadric Streona's brothers appear to attest witness-lists of King Æthelred's charters, no Ælfric makes a plausible candidate for identification with a brother of the ealdorman. It is possible that Ælfric was not a brother but a nephew of the ealdorman. If so, Eadric (the Wild) would belong to the same generation as his cousin Siward son of Æthelgar, who was himself a grandson of Eadric Streona.
Because Eadric's name is a common one in pre-Conquest England, identification with any of the landholders of this name listed in Domesday Book remains a ticklish affair. Nevertheless, it would seem that he held extensively in Shropshire and also held roughly 12 hides in Herefordshire. He is probably the Eadric son of Ælfric who held two estates from Much Wenlock Priory (Shropshire). Eadric and his cousin Siward ranked as the wealthiest thegns in Shropshire TRE.
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