Monthly Archives: September 2019

Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Norway, and England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Sweyn Forkbeard, from an architectural element in the Swansea Guildhall, Swansea, Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

Born about 960, Sweyn Forkbeard was the son of Harald Bluetooth, King of Denmark and Norway and probably his first wife Gunhild of Wenden. Harald Bluetooth, who unified Denmark and Norway in the tenth century and eventually lost Norway, was the inspiration for the name of the wireless technology company Bluetooth. The Bluetooth logo    is a bind rune merging the runes  Runic letter ior.svg (Hagall) (ᚼ) and Runic letter berkanan.svg (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), Harald’s initials.

Besides Gunhild, Harald Bluetooth had two other wives: Tove of the Obotrites and Gyrid Olafsdottir of Sweden. Harald had three other children besides Sweyn but there is no certainty which of his wives were their mothers.

Sweyn Forkbeard’s siblings:

In 986, Sweyn became King of Denmark. Sweyn and Olav I, King of Norway sailed up the River Thames and raided London in 994. Æthelred II, King of the English and his council bought them off with 22,000 pounds of gold and silver, thereby instituting the policy of paying regular protection money called Danegeld to the Danes. These raids and the subsequent payment of Danegeld continued for several years.

Sweyn later made an alliance with Olof Skötkonung, King of Sweden, and Eirik Hákonarson, Jarl of Lade and together they ambushed Sweyn’s former ally Olav I, King of Norway in the Baltic Sea. Norway was divided up among the three victors.

Sweyn Forkbeard invading England; Credit – Wikipedia

According to The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in 1002 Æthelred II, King of the English was told that the Danish men in England “would faithlessly take his life, and then all his councilors, and possess his kingdom afterward.” In response, Æthelred “ordered slain all the Danish men who were in England.” St. Brice’s Day Massacre occurred on November 13, 1002, the feast day of St. Brice, fifth-century Bishop of Tours. There was a significant loss of life including Gunhilde, the sister of Sweyn Forkbeard. In retaliation, Sweyn attacked England during 1003 – 1004, burning Norwich but a famine in 1005 caused him to retreat. The Danish invaders returned and within a few years, all of England came under Danish rule. On Christmas Day in 1013, Sweyn was formally proclaimed King of England. Æthelred had fled to the Isle of Wight and then to Normandy.

Sweyn’s marriage history is sketchy. Sigrid Storråda (the Haughty) supposedly was the daughter of Skogul-Tosti, a powerful Swedish nobleman and the widow of Eric the Victorious, King of Sweden. Gunhilda of Wenden supposedly was a Polish or Slavic princess. Both women are mentioned in the Norse sagas but there is very little information about them in medieval chronicles. Sweyn had seven known children but which of the two women are their mothers is uncertain.

Sweyn Forkbeard’s daughter, Estrid Svendsdatter, was the mother of King Sweyn II of Denmark. Her descendants have reigned in Denmark ever since. One of her descendants, Margaret of Denmark, married James III, King of Scots in 1469, introducing Sweyn’s bloodline into the Scottish royal house. In 1603, James VI, King of Scots inherited the English throne upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I. Since that time, all English and British monarchs have been Sweyn’s descendants.

Swen Forkbeard by Lorenz Frølich, circa 1883-1886. The work was made as decoration in Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark and was inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry from the 1000s; Credit – Wikipedia

Sweyn made his English base in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire and he began to organize his new kingdom. However, his reign was short-lived as he suddenly died in Gainsborough on February 3, 1014, at around the age of 54. Although there are reports that Sweyn died after a fall from his horse, a 2015 study speculated that he may have died from Brugada Syndrome, a genetic disorder in which the electrical activity in the heart is abnormal. It increases the risk of abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death. The study showed that perhaps up to fourteen Danish kings who suddenly died at a relatively young age without being ill possibly died of Brugada Syndrome.

Sweyn’s father Harald Bluetooth had named Roskilde the capital of Denmark in 960 and a small wooden church dedicated to the Holy Trinity was built on the site of the current Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial site of the Danish monarchs. Harald Bluetooth was buried at the Holy Trinity Church. Sweyn Forkbeard was first buried in England and his remains were later moved to Denmark where they were interred near his father at the Holy Trinity Church. However, their tombs have never been found.

Sweyn’s younger son succeeded him as Harold II, King of Denmark, and his elder son Cnut (the Great), was proclaimed King of England by the Danes in England. However, leading English noblemen sent a deputation to Æthelred II to negotiate his restoration to the throne. Æthelred returned from exile in Normandy in the spring of 1014 and managed to drive Cnut out of England. In 1016, following the deaths of Æthelred and his son Edmund Ironside, Cnut became King of England. He succeeded his brother as King of Denmark in 1019.  He eventually also became King of Norway, and also ruled parts of Sweden, Pomerania, and Schleswig. Cnut and his sons Harold Harefoot and Harthacnut ruled England from 1016 – 1042. After Harthacnut’s death, the English throne reverted to the House of Wessex under Æthelred II’s younger son Edward the Confessor.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

England: House of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Ashley, M. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Pub.
  • Cannon, J. and Griffiths, R. (1988). The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Da.wikipedia.org. (2019). Svend Tveskæg. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svend_Tvesk%C3%A6g [Accessed 26 Feb. 2019].
  • Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London: Duckworth.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Sweyn Forkbeard. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweyn_Forkbeard [Accessed 26 Feb. 2019].
  • Flantzer, S. (2015). Æthelred II (the Unready), King of the English. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/aethelred-ii-the-unready-king-of-the-english/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2019].
  • Williamson, D. (1998). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Emma of Normandy, Queen of England, Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Emma of Normandy, Queen of England, Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Emma of Normandy was the queen consort of two Kings of England and the mother of two Kings of England. Born in Normandy around 985, she was the eldest daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy, and his second wife Gunnora de Crêpon. Richard and Gunnora met shortly after the death of his childless first wife. Gunnora was living with her sister Seinfreda and her husband, the local forester. Richard had heard how beautiful Seinfreda was and stopped by her home while hunting. He ordered Seinfreda to come to his bed but she substituted her unmarried sister Gunnora. Richard was pleased with Gunnora and the couple went on to have three sons and three daughters. The Dukes of Normandy recognized marriage by cohabitation. However, Richard was prevented from nominating his son Robert as Archbishop of Rouen because, in the eyes of the Church, his children were illegitimate, and so the couple married.

Emma had five siblings:

Æthelred II, King of the English; Credit – Wikipedia

Shortly after the death of his first wife, Æthelred II, King of the English sent an emissary to Normandy to ask for Emma’s hand in marriage. The marriage would benefit both Æthelred and Emma’s brother Richard II, Duke of Normandy. Viking raids on England were often based in Normandy and Æthelred hoped to quell the Viking threat. Richard hoped to improve relations with the English in the wake of the recent conflict. This marriage would also prove important in the future because it gave Richard II’s grandson, William the Conqueror, the basis of his claim to the throne of England.

During Lent 1002, Emma and her entourage arrived in England. It is probable that she married Æthelred sometime after Easter, most likely in April. Emma was given the Anglo-Saxon name of Ælfgifu, to be used for formal and official matters, and became Queen of England.

Emma with her sons Edward and Alfred; Credit – Wikipedia

Emma and Æthelred had three children:

Emma also became the stepmother to Æthelred’s children from his first marriage to Ælfgifu of York. All of Æthelred’s sons were named after Æthelred’s predecessors. Ætheling was used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the kingship.

In 1013, Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and Norway launched an invasion with the goal of also becoming King of England. As Sweyn’s forces approached southern England, Emma and her children were sent to the Isle of Wight for safety. Æthelred soon followed them to the Isle of Wight and in August 1013, he sent Emma and their children to safety in Normandy. By the end of 1013, English resistance had collapsed and Sweyn had conquered the country, became King of England, and forced Æthelred into exile in Normandy.

Sweyn Forkbeard’s reign did not last long as he died on February 3, 1014. The Danes in England swore their allegiance to Sweyn’s son Cnut the Great but leading English noblemen sent a deputation to Æthelred to negotiate his restoration to the throne. Æthelred launched an attack against Cnut and his allies. However, Cnut’s army had not completed its preparations and in April 1014, he decided to withdraw from England without a fight. Æthelred returned to England and reigned until his death in London on April 23, 1016.

Æthelred was succeeded by his eldest surviving son from his first marriage Edmund II (Ironside). After Æthelred’s death, Cnut attacked London and demanded a large sum of money for Emma’s ransom. London held out and Cnut was forced to retreat from London but he did not leave England. Edmund fought five battles against the Danes, ending in his defeat on October 18, 1016, at the Battle of Assandun. Edmund and Cnut agreed to divide the Kingdom of England with Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the rest. However, Edmund died on November 30, 1016, leaving two young sons. Cnut became the king of all England and exiled the remaining members of Edmund’s family.

Emma and Cnut; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1017, Cnut thought it would be expedient to marry Æthelred’s widow and sent for Emma. It is unclear whether Emma married Cnut by force or if she chose to accept Cnut’s proposal but she returned to England and married Cnut. Her children by Æthelred remained in exile in Normandy.

Emma and Cnut had two children:

Emma and Cnut’s marriage had begun as a loveless, political strategy but Emma’s importance in the affairs of the kingdom grew. Chroniclers often mentioned that Emma was alongside her husband as if they were inseparable from the other one. Cnut became King of Denmark in 1019 and King of Norway in 1028. It was often necessary for Cnut to be absent from England and Emma assumed a form of regency during those periods with the main nobles of the kingdom and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

Cnut the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Cnut died in 1035 and was succeeded in England by Harold Harefoot, his son from his first marriage to Ælfgifu of Northampton, and in Denmark by Harthacnut, his son from his second marriage to Emma. In 1036, Edward the Confessor and Alfred Ætheling, Emma’s sons from her marriage to Æthelred, returned to England from their exile in Normandy to visit their mother. As they made their way to London, they were betrayed. Alfred Ætheling was blinded with a hot iron to his eyes and died soon afterward. Edward escaped the attack and returned to Normandy. It is unclear exactly who was behind the attack on Alfred Ætheling. Some historians claim Harold Harefoot was behind the attack so he could rid himself of two more potential claimants to the English throne by killing Edward and Alfred. Other historians argue that Godwin, Earl of Wessex, who was traveling with Alfred and Edward as their protector, could have been the instigator of the attack.

When Harold Harefoot died in 1040, Harthacnut, King of Denmark also became King of England. Harthacnut lived only two more years and upon his death in 1042, Emma’s surviving son from the marriage to Æthelred, Edward the Confessor, became King of England. Harthacnut’s throne in Denmark was inherited by Magnus I, King of Norway. Emma was present at Edward’s coronation on Easter, April 3, 1043, at the Old Minster in Winchester, England.

Emma died on March 6, 1052, at St. Mary’s Abbey in Winchester, England, aged 66-67. She was buried at the Old Minster in Winchester beside her second husband Cnut and their son Harthacnut. When the Old Minster was demolished in 1093, Emma’s remains were moved to Winchester Cathedral. They were among the remains in the labeled mortuary chests that rest on top of the choir screen.  During the English Civil War, Winchester Cathedral was ransacked and the remains were scattered.  The remains were returned to the mortuary chests but were mixed up. In 2012, an examination of the remains in the chests began. The examination included DNA testing, reassembly of the skeletons, and analysis to determine the sex, age, and other characteristics of the remains. In May 2019, it was announced that Emma’s remains were found in several chests.

Mortuary chest from Winchester Cathedral that claims to contain the remains of Cnut and Emma; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

England: House of Wessex Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Ashley, M. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Pub.
  • Cannon, J. and Griffiths, R. (1988). The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London: Duckworth.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Cnut the Great. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnut_the_Great [Accessed 25 Feb. 2019].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Emma of Normandy. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_of_Normandy [Accessed 25 Feb. 2019].
  • Flantzer, S. (2015). Æthelred II (the Unready), King of the English. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/aethelred-ii-the-unready-king-of-the-english/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2019].
  • Williamson, D. (1998). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Edward the Martyr, King of the English

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Credit – Wikipedia

Edward the Martyr was the eldest son of Edgar the Peaceful, King of the English. He was born around 962 to Æthelflæd who possibly was a nun at Wilton Abbey, a Benedictine abbey in Wiltshire, England, whom Edgar seduced. It is unclear whether Æthelflæd and Edgar married.

Edward had a half-sister through his father’s relationship with Saint Wulfthryth, a noblewoman who may have been abducted from Wilton Abbey by Edgar. Bride abduction was a traditional part of Anglo-Saxon society but whether Edgar took Wulfthryth by force is not known.  It is also uncertain whether Edgar married Wulfthryth. Eventually, Wulfthryth and her daughter Edith returned to Wilton Abbey where Wulfthryth later became the Abbess and Edith became a nun.

Edward had two half-brothers through his father’s marriage to Ælfthryth, daughter of Ealdorman Ordgar of Devon:

In 975, King Edgar died and leaving his two surviving sons: Edward around 13 years of age, and Æthelred around 7 years old. Various nobles and clergy formed factions that supported each of the brothers’ succession to the throne. Both boys were too young to have played any significant role in the political maneuvering, and so it was the brothers’ supporters who were responsible for the turmoil which accompanied the choice of a successor to the throne. In the end, Edward’s supporters, mainly Saint Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury and Oswald of Worcester, Archbishop of York, proved more powerful and persuasive, and he was crowned king before the year was out.

King Edward the Martyr; Credit – Wikipedia

During Edward’s short reign, his kingdom was plagued with famine and violent attacks on monasteries by nobles who wanted to reclaim the land that King Edgar had given to the monks. Many monasteries were destroyed and the monks had to flee. The teenage Edward was famous for temper tantrums and insulting influential people due to his lack of diplomatic behavior.

Edward’s reign was short-lived. On March 18, 978, Edward arrived at a hunting lodge probably at or near the mound on which the ruins of Corfe Castle now stand. Aelfthryth, his stepmother, had invited Edward there and she arranged for him to be welcomed with a cup of wine. As Edward drank the wine, he was stabbed in the back while still mounted on his horse. He fell off, but his foot caught in the stirrup and he was dragged to his death. Although Edward’s ten-year-old half-brother Æthelred was not personally suspected of participation in the plot, the specter of his half-brother’s murder hung over him for the rest of his life.

A Victorian-era depiction of Ælfthryth putting her plan of murdering Edward the Martyr into motion; Credit – Wikipedia

Edward was first buried at St. Mary’s Church in Wareham, Dorset, England. In reality, people probably did not miss Edward because of his uncouth behavior. However, people were soon saying miracles occurred at his burial place and he was declared a saint and a martyr. Edward is recognized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Church, and is known as Saint Edward the Martyr.

In 981, Edward’s remains were moved to Shaftesbury Abbey, a convent founded by his great-great-grandfather Alfred the Great, and were buried there with great pomp under the supervision of Saint Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. Many miracles were claimed to occur at the tomb of Saint Edward, including the healing of lepers and the blind. The abbey became the wealthiest Benedictine convent in England and a major pilgrimage site.

In 1539, Edward’s remains were hidden to avoid desecration during the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII. In 1931, some remains were recovered by J.E. Wilson-Claridge during an archaeological excavation of Shaftesbury Abbey. Their identity was confirmed by Dr. T.E.A. Stowell, an osteologist, who said the remains were those of a young man of about 20 who had injuries that corresponded to a person being dragged backward over the pommel of a saddle and having their leg twisted in a stirrup.

In 1970, another examination performed on the remains suggested that death had been caused by the manner in which Edward supposedly had died. However, a later examination showed the remains to be from the same time period as Edward but that they belonged to a man in his late twenties or early thirties rather than a youth in his mid-teens. Nevertheless, Wilson-Claridge donated the remains to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which interred them as King Edward the Martyr in a shrine at St. Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church in Woking, Surrey, England.

The Shrine of St Edward the Martyr in St. Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church; Credit – Wikipedia

England: House of Wessex Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Ashley, M. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Pub.
  • Cannon, J. and Griffiths, R. (1988). The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Clarke, J. (2019). St Edward the Martyr. [online] John-clarke.co.uk. Available at: https://www.john-clarke.co.uk/st_edward_the_martyr.html [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019].
  • Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London: Duckworth.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Edward the Martyr. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Martyr [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2019). Édouard le Martyr. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard_le_Martyr [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019].
  • Williamson, D. (1998). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

Edgar the Peaceful, King of the English

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

From the Illuminated manuscript of The Charter of Edgar to the New Minster, Winchester, 966; Credit – Wikipedia

The reign of Edgar the Peaceful, King of the English brought a period of peace unknown in recent memory. His coronation service written by St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury has formed the basis for the coronation services for English and British monarchs ever since. Born around 943, Edgar the Peaceful, King of the English was the younger son of the two sons Edmund I, King of the English and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury. He had one elder brother:

On May 26, 946, Edgar’s father King Edmund I was murdered while celebrating the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury at a royal hunting lodge in Pucklechurch, north of Bath, England. Because Edmund’s two sons were very young, his 23-year-old brother Eadred succeeded him.  When King Eadred died on November 25, 955, his successor was his nephew, Edgar’s 15-year-old elder brother Eadwig.

Eadwig was an unpopular king whose short reign was marked by conflicts with the nobility and the church. In 957, the Mercians and Northumbrians revolted and chose Edgar as king of the country north of the River Thames. The south of England, however, remained loyal to Eadwig. On October 1, 959, Eadwig died in Gloucester in what some consider suspicious, but certainly unknown circumstances, at around the age of nineteen. As Eadwig did not have children, his 16-year-old brother Edgar succeeded him and reunified England.

Edgar’s marriage history is uncertain. He had relationships with three women but only the third was considered his “lawful wife.

(1) Æthelflæd was the mother of Edgar’s eldest child Edward the Martyr, King of the English who was born around 962. Some sources say that Æthelflæd was a nun at Wilton Abbey, a Benedictine abbey in Wiltshire, England whom Edgar seduced. It is unclear whether Æthelflæd and Edgar married.

(2) Saint Wulfthryth was a noblewoman who may have been abducted from Wilton Abbey by Edgar. She gave birth to a daughter Edith around 963. Bride abduction was a traditional part of Anglo-Saxon society but whether Edgar took Wulfthryth by force is unknown. She did stay with Edgar for at least a year. It is uncertain whether Edgar married Wulfthryth. Eventually, Wulfthryth and Edith returned to Wilton Abbey where Wulfthryth later became the Abbess, and Edith became a nun. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury made Edgar do penance for the crime of abduction by not wearing his crown for seven years. Edgar and Wulfthryth remained on good terms and Edgar gave financial support to Wilton Abbey for the rest of his life.

Edgar’s daughter Edith; Credit – Wikipedia

Edgar’s daughter Edith died on September 15, 984, at around the age of 21, and was buried in the church at Wilton Abbey. Wulfthryth survived her daughter, dying on September 21, 1000. She was buried before the main altar of the Wilton Abbey church. Both Wulfthryth and Edith were regarded as saints locally in Wiltshire after their deaths.

Ruins of the Wilton Abbey church where Wulfthryth and Edith were buried; Credit – Wikipedia

(3) In 964 or 965, Edgar married Ælfthryth, daughter of Ealdorman Ordgar of Devon.  She was the first wife of a king known to have been crowned and anointed as Queen of the Kingdom of England. Ælfthryth was probably linked to the murder of her stepson King Edward the Martyr so that her son Æthelred could become king. Around 986, she founded Wherwell Abbey, a Benedictine convent in Hampshire, England where she retired to live her last years. She died there on November 17 in 1000 or 1001.

Edgar and Ælfthryth had two sons:

Edgar between St. Athelwald, Bishop of Winchester and St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury; Credit – Wikipedia

Because of conflicts, Eadwig, Edgar’s brother, had banished Dunstan, then Abbot of Glastonbury. Upon becoming king, Edgar recalled Dunstan and created him Bishop of Worcester and the Bishop of London. In 959, Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury. He remained Edgar’s chief advisor throughout his reign. Dunstan oversaw reform in the English church. Order was maintained throughout the kingdom and there was respect for the law. A military force patrolled the north and a navy guarded the shores against Viking raids. There was a level of peace in the kingdom unknown for many years.

Although Edgar probably had a coronation at Kingston-on-Thames, the traditional site for Wessex coronations, Dunstan felt there was a need for a major ceremony similar to the coronations of the King of the Franks and the German Emperor. This coronation was delayed for some time as Dunstan was disturbed by Edgar’s personal life and he counseled Edgar as he changed his ways. Dunstan wrote the order of service for Edgar’s coronation based upon ceremonies used by the Kings of the Franks and ceremonies used in the ordination of bishops. The main elements of the British coronation service and the form of the oath taken by the sovereign can be traced to the order of service devised by Dunstan for Edgar’s coronation. Although there have been revisions in the order of the ceremony, the sequence of taking an oath, anointing, investing of regalia, crowning, and enthronement found in the Anglo-Saxon text has remained constant.

The coronation took place at Bath Abbey in Bath, England on May 11, 873. Edgar’s wife Ælfthryth was also crowned and anointed, giving her a status higher than any recent queen. Shortly after the coronation, Edgar held a council in Chester, England. Several Scots and Welsh kings attended and pledged their allegiance to Edgar, including Kenneth II of Scotland, Máel Coluim I of Strathclyde and his father Dyfnwal III, Maccus Haroldson of the Isle of Man and Hebrides, Iago ap Idwal of Gwynedd, Iago’s brother Idwal Fychan and his nephew Hywel ap Ieuaf. Supposedly, these kings rowed Edgar over the River Dee in a boat as a sign of their submission.

A Victorian representation of Edgar being rowed on the River Dee; Credit – Wikipedia

Edgar died on July 8, 975 in Winchester, England, aged 31-32, and was buried at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, England. In 1052, Edgar’s remains were moved within Glastonbury Abbey to a new shrine near the high altar. The shrine was lost when the abbey was left in ruins during the sixteenth century. Edgar was succeeded by his son Edward the Martyr.

Ruins of Glastonbury Abbey; Credit – By Pam Brophy, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9115142

England: House of Wessex Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Ashley, M. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Pub.
  • Cannon, J. and Griffiths, R. (1988). The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • De.wikipedia.org. (2019). Edgar (England). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_(England) [Accessed 20 Feb. 2019].
  • Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London: Duckworth.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Edgar the Peaceful. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_the_Peaceful [Accessed 20 Feb. 2019].
  • Williamson, D. (1998). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Eadwig, King of the English

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Eadwig, King of the English; Credit – Wikipedia

Born about 940, Eadwig, sometimes called Edwy, was a teenage King of the English for less than four years. He was the elder of the two sons of Edmund I, King of the English and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury. Eadwig had one younger brother:

On May 26, 946, Eadwig’s father King Edmund I was murdered while celebrating the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury at a royal hunting lodge in Pucklechurch, north of Bath, England. Because Edmund’s two sons were very young, he was succeeded by his 23-year-old brother Eadred.  When King Eadred died on November 25, 955, his successor was his 15-year-old nephew Eadwig, the elder son of his brother King Edmund I.

King Eadwig; Credit – Wikipedia

The young king almost immediately began arguing with his uncle Eadred’s advisors, particularly with Dunstan, a future Archbishop of Canterbury and saint, who was then Abbot of Glastonbury. According to The Life of St. Dunstan, written around the year 1000 by a monk known only as “B”, the feud with Dunstan began the day of Eadwig’s coronation in 956. Eadwig had left the coronation banquet and Oda, Archbishop of Canterbury sent Dunstan to find Eadwig. The young king had tired of the banquet and had retired to his apartments with  Ælfgifu, a young woman he had fallen in love with, and her mother Æthelgifu. Ælfgifu was Eadwig’s third cousin and this relationship would have precluded marriage on the grounds of consanguinity. When Eadwig refused to return to the banquet, the infuriated Dunstan dragged him back to the banquet. Soon after, Eadwig secretly married Ælfgifu and exiled Dunstan.

Drawing by Samuel Wale, entitled “The Insolent Behaviour of Dunstan to King Edwy on the Day of his Coronation Feast.” in Thomas Mortimer’s New History of England. 3 vols: vol. 1. 1764-6; Credit – Wikipedia

In 957, the Mercians and Northumbrians revolted and chose Eadwig’s brother Edgar as king of the country north of the River Thames. However, the south of England remained loyal to Eadwig. Edgar’s advisers recalled Dunstan from his exile and he was made Bishop of Worcester in 957 and then Bishop of London the following year. In 958, Archbishop Oda annulled Eadwig’s marriage for consanguinity, a decision that was likely more political than religious. A child of Eadwig and Ælfgifu would certainly have had a better claim to the throne than Eadwig’s brother Edgar. This would have affected the power of Oda, Dunstan, and of course Edgar.

On October 1, 959, Eadwig died at around the age of nineteen in Gloucester in what some consider suspicious, but certainly unknown, circumstances. He was buried in the New Minster in Winchester but nothing is known about the later fate of his remains. As Eadwig did not have children, his brother Edgar succeeded him and reunified England. Eadwig’s former wife Ælfgifu appears to have reconciled with King Edgar and she made substantial donations to monasteries. She was buried in the New Minster in Winchester upon her death.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

England: House of Wessex Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Ashley, M. (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Pub.
  • Cannon, J. and Griffiths, R. (1988). The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Dodson, A. (2004). The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London: Duckworth.
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Eadwig. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadwig [Accessed 18 Feb. 2019].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. (2019). Eadwig. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadwig [Accessed 18 Feb. 2019].
  • Williamson, D. (1998). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.