Eadulf

Eadulf is a masculine given name of Old English origin. It is typically rendered in Latinized form as Eadulphus or Eadulph, and it is often expressed in various spellings such as Eadwulf or Eadwulfus in medieval documents. The name combines elements meaning “prosperity, wealth” (ead) and “wolf” (wulf), yielding a meaning along the lines of “prosperous wolf.”

In medieval sources, the name occurs in several contexts, but the best-attested figure is Eadulf, a Northumbrian monk who accompanied Saint Ansgar on missions to Denmark and Sweden in the 9th century. He is mentioned in Rimbert’s Vita Ansgarii, the primary hagiographical source for Ansgar’s activities, and is often cited as the English companion who supported the early Scandinavian mission.

Beyond this figure, Eadulf appears in various Latin and Old English records from the early medieval period, sometimes with episcopal or clerical associations, and in some cases the name is rendered in its variant forms such as Eadwulf. However, specific details about many individuals named Eadulf are scarce, and some references may refer to different spellings of the same name or to distinct persons in different regions.

Today, Eadulf is rarely used as a given name, and it is primarily of interest to scholars of Anglo-Saxon onomastics and medieval hagiography. The name’s historical usage reflects the broader patterns of Germanic personal naming in early medieval England and its continental connections.