Kevin Patrick Mostyn Family - Person Sheet
Kevin Patrick Mostyn Family - Person Sheet
NameEdgar 'the Peaceful' King Of England, 31G Grandfather
FatherEdmund 'the Magnificent' King Of England (~921-946)
MotherSaint Elfgifu Queen Of England (-944)
Web Notes notes for Edgar 'the Peaceful' King Of England
From "Debrett's Kings and Queens of Britain" by David Williamson, ISBN 0-86350-101-X, p. 25-6:
Edgar had been associated in the government since 957, Mercia and the Danelaw being under his special supervision. He was only 15 or 16 when his brother's death left him as sole ruler. He was the last great king of his dynasty. In all things he was guided by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, who virtually occupied the position of chief minister of the crown. All the other rulers of Britain submitted to Edgar's overlordship. The North Welsh princes agreed to pay a tribute of 300 wolves' heads for 4 years running, and the goodwill of Kenneth II, King of Scots, was secured by the cession of Lothian, while a limited autonomy was allowed to the Danes in the north.
Edgar's 1st marriage took place when he was about 18 in 961. Ethelfleda was the daughter of Ealdorman Ordmaer and it seems likely she died in childbirth the following year, leaving one son, Edward. Edgar then formed an attachment for a girl named Wulfthrith, said to have been a nun (probably a lay sister) at Wilton. She bore him a daughter at Kemsing, Kent. The girl, Eadgyth or Edith, eventually became Abbess of Wilton, where she died on 16 Sep 984, still in her early 20's. She is regarded as an Anglo-Saxon saint.
Edgar's 2d marriage took place in 964. The lady was Elfthrith (Elfrida), the widow of his friend Ethelwold, Ealdorman of East Anglia, and the daughter of Ealdorman of Devon. She was an able woman and was destined to play a prominent part in future events.
Edgar is presumed to have been consecrated king at Kingston in the traditional manner soon after his accession, but in 937 Dunstan conceived the idea of a much grander ceremony based on the imperial coronations of the Holy Roman Emperors. A Coronation Order was carefully drawn up and it has formed the basis of all coronations since, not only in England, but in France and other Continental countries, too. On Whit Sunday 11 May 973 Edgar was solemnly anointed and crowned at Bath Abbey by Dunstan and Oswald, Archbishop of York. His wife Elfrida was also anointed and crowned as no other Saxon queen had been, with the exception of King Ethelwulf's 2d wife, Judith, who had been consecrated queen immediately after her marriage in France in 856. The coronation was followed by a great banquet at which the King and Queen presided over separate tables.
The celebrations over, Edgar proceeded to Chester, where he received the homage of 6 or 8 subject kings from Wales, Scotland and the north, who, as a token of their submission, rowed him in state on the River Dee from his palace to the monastery of St John the Baptist and back in a great cavalcade of many boats.
Edgar lived only another 2 years, dying on 8 Jul 975 and being buried beside his father at Glastonbury Abbey. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is fulsome in its praise, but with typical English xenophobia adds that "he loved evil foreign customs and brought too firmly heathen manners within this land, and attracted hither foreigners and enticed harmful people to this country."
Reigned 959-975. The first King of a united England. He allowed his Danish subjects to retain Danish laws. Edgar promoted a monastic revival and encouraged trade by reforming the currency. He improved defense by organizing coastal naval patrols and a system for manning warships. Although he succeeded on 1st October 959, he was not crowned until 973 because St Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, disapproved of his way of life.
Edgar had been associated in the government since 957, Mercia and the Danelaw being under his special supervision. He was only 15 or 16 when his brother's death left him as sole ruler. He was the last great king of his dynasty. In all things he was guided by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, who virtually occupied the position of chief minister of the crown. All the other rulers of Britain submitted to Edgar's overlordship. The North Welsh princes agreed to pay a tribute of 300 wolves' heads for 4 years running, and the goodwill of Kenneth II, King of Scots, was secured by the cession of Lothian, while a limited autonomy was allowed to the Danes in the north.
Edgar's 1st marriage took place when he was about 18 in 961. Ethelfleda was the daughter of Ealdorman Ordmaer and it seems likely she died in childbirth the following year, leaving one son, Edward. Edgar then formed an attachment for a girl named Wulfthrith, said to have been a nun (probably a lay sister) at Wilton. She bore him a daughter at Kemsing, Kent. The girl, Eadgyth or Edith, eventually became Abbess of Wilton, where she died on 16 Sep 984, still in her early 20's. She is regarded as an Anglo-Saxon saint.
Edgar's 2d marriage took place in 964. The lady was Elfthrith (Elfrida), the widow of his friend Ethelwold, Ealdorman of East Anglia, and the daughter of Ealdorman of Devon. She was an able woman and was destined to play a prominent part in future events.
Edgar is presumed to have been consecrated king at Kingston in the traditional manner soon after his accession, but in 937 Dunstan conceived the idea of a much grander ceremony based on the imperial coronations of the Holy Roman Emperors. A Coronation Order was carefully drawn up and it has formed the basis of all coronations since, not only in England, but in France and other Continental countries, too. On Whit Sunday 11 May 973 Edgar was solemnly anointed and crowned at Bath Abbey by Dunstan and Oswald, Archbishop of York. His wife Elfrida was also anointed and crowned as no other Saxon queen had been, with the exception of King Ethelwulf's 2d wife, Judith, who had been consecrated queen immediately after her marriage in France in 856. The coronation was followed by a great banquet at which the King and Queen presided over separate tables.
The celebrations over, Edgar proceeded to Chester, where he received the homage of 6 or 8 subject kings from Wales, Scotland and the north, who, as a token of their submission, rowed him in state on the River Dee from his palace to the monastery of St John the Baptist and back in a great cavalcade of many boats.
Edgar lived only another 2 years, dying on 8 Jul 975 and being buried beside his father at Glastonbury Abbey. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is fulsome in its praise, but with typical English xenophobia adds that "he loved evil foreign customs and brought too firmly heathen manners within this land, and attracted hither foreigners and enticed harmful people to this country."
Reigned 959-975. The first King of a united England. He allowed his Danish subjects to retain Danish laws. Edgar promoted a monastic revival and encouraged trade by reforming the currency. He improved defense by organizing coastal naval patrols and a system for manning warships. Although he succeeded on 1st October 959, he was not crowned until 973 because St Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, disapproved of his way of life.