 Ælfric was the son of an earl of Kent and became a monk of Abingdon Abbey in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire).He was very likely Abbot of Abingdon before becoming Abbot of St Albans Abbey around 975, although some historians do not believe that he held the office of Abbot at Abingdon.Although the "Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis", or "History of the Church of Abingdon", names Ælfric as abbot, the abbatial lists do not record him as such.