Edmund (Wessex) of England (bef. 990 - 1016)

Born before 0990 in Wessex, England

Ancestors

Husband of Ealdgyth (Unknown) of Mercia — married Aug 1015 (to 30 Nov 1016) in Malmesbury, Wiltshire

Descendants

Died 30 Nov 1016 after age 26 in England

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Edmund II (Wessex) of England is a member of the House of Wessex.

Biography

Birth, Name and Earlier Life

Edmund was the third son of Æthelred the Unready and his first wife Ælfgifu.^[1] His birth date is uncertain, but was likely to have been before 990:^[2] his name is listed as subscribing charters from 993 onwards,^[1] suggesting he was beyond infancy by then.

Edmund was from soon after his death, if not in his lifetime, known as "Ironside" because of his fighting prowess.^[3]

In 1014 Edmund's brother Æthelstan bequeathed him some of his estates, along with a trumpet coated in silver and two swords, one of which had belonged to King Offa of Mercia.^[4]

Marriage and Children

In 1015 Eadric Streona ordered the killing of Sigeferth and his brother Morcar. According to the E manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Æthelred the Unready subsequently arranged for Sigeferth's widow Ældgyth to be held at Malmesbury. Edmund secured the lands of Sigeferth and Morcar, and, against the wishes of his father Æthelred, made Ældgyth his wife.^[5] Edmund and Ældgyth had two sons, who may have been twins given the dates of the marriage and of Edmund's death:^[2]

• Edmund^[1][2][6]
• Edward^[1][2][6][5]

War against Cnut

Around this time, Cnut of Denmark landed in England. Edmund raised an army in the Midlands and the North of England. Eadric Streona submitted to Cnut, taking 40 ships from the fleet of Æthelred the Unready with him. Edmund's army dispersed when Æthelred - who was ill - failed to join them. Edmund assembled another army in 1016, but this achieved little. He and Uhtred of Northumbria then raided parts of Mercia. Uhtred left off the raiding when he heard that Cnut was seizing Yorkshire, but had to surrender to Cnut, only to be executed.^[5]

Reign

Edmund then went to London, where his father died on 23 April 1016, and was proclaimed king by Æthelred's councillors. Cnut's forces besieged London. Edmund meanwhile went to Wessex, where he was recognised as king. There followed a series of battles against the Danish forces, who were supported by Eadric Streona. Edmund relieved London, only for it to be unsuccessfully besieged again by Cnut's forces. With another army, Edmund drove Danish forces out of Kent. Eadric Streona switched sides and went over to Edmund. The Danes turned to raiding in East Anglia and Mercia. Battle was joined at Assandun in Essex. During the fighting, Eadric Streona abandoned the fray, leading to Edmund's defeat and the death of some of Edmund's most prominent supporters.^[5]

Edmund went to Gloucestershire, pursued by Cnut. Eadric Streona had rejoined him, and, with other advisers, counselled Edmund to come to terms with Cnut. This they did, with Edmund making a payment to Cnut, and England being divided, Edmund holding Wessex and Cnut holding Mercia^[5] and probably Northumbria too.^[1]

Death

Edmund died soon after, on 30 November (St Andrew's Day) 1016. He was buried at Glastonbury Abbey.^[5] The tomb was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII.^[7] His name is on a mortuary casket in Winchester Cathedral, where his remains may now be located.^[8][9]

Edmund's sons left England soon after his death,^[1] finding refuge from Cnut in Hungary.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by M K Lawson for 'Edmund II [known as Edmund Ironside]', print and online 2004
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Charles Cawley. EADMUND, son of ÆTHELRED II, entry in "Medieval Lands" database (accessed 15 May 2021)
3. ↑ Michael Swanton (translator and editor). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, revised edition, Phoenix Press, 2000, pp. 187-188
4. ↑ Dorothy Whitelock (ed.). English Historical Documents, Volume I, c.500-1042, 2nd edition, Eyre Methuen, 1979, pp. 593-596
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5} Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 145-153
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by M K Lawson for 'Edward Ætheling [called Edward the Exile]', print and online 2004
7. ↑ Wikipedia: Edmund Ironside
8. ↑ 'The riddle of Winchester Cathedral's skeletons', BBC News website, 18 May 2019, accessed 15 May 2021
9. ↑ 'Who lies in the mortuary chests at Winchester Cathedral?', Medievalists.net, accessed 15 May 2021
10. ↑ Frank Stenton. Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 1971, p. 397

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by M K Lawson for 'Edmund II [known as Edmund Ironside]', print and online 2004
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 16, pp. 403-405, entry for 'EDMUND or EADMUND, called Ironside', Wikisource
• Cawley, Charles. EADMUND, son of ÆTHELRED II, entry in "Medieval Lands" database (accessed 15 May 2021)
• Stenton, Frank. Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 1971, pp. 389-393
• Wikipedia: Edmund Ironside