Edward (Wessex) of England (abt. 1003 - 1066)

Born about 1003 in Islip, Oxfordshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Eadgyth Godwinsdottir (Wessex) England — married 23 Jan 1045 in England

Died 5 Jan 1066 at about age 63 in England

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Edward (Wessex) of England is a member of the House of Wessex.

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Biography

Birth, Parents and Earlier Years

Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and his second wife Emma. He was their oldest child and was probably born between 1003 and 1005.^[1]

Little is known about his early years. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles record Edward and his brother Alfred being sent overseas in 1013 for safety from invading Danes led by Sweyn. After Sweyn's death the next year, Æthelred the Unready (who had also gone into exile) sent Edward to England to negotiate his (Æthelred's) return as king.^[2] Sweyn died in 1014, and afterwards Sweyn's son Knut invaded England: a Scandinavian saga says that Edward fought alongside his half-brother Edmund Ironside against the invading forces,^[1] but that may not be true - there is no mention of this in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

Exile

After Cnut became king of England, Edward went back into exile, where he remained throughout Cnut's reign. He is recorded as witnessing a charter of about 1030 of Robert II, Duke of Normandy.^[3] His mother Emma returned to England to marry Cnut and this may have been the origin of what was a long-lasting degree of resentment Edward felt towards his mother.^[1]

Cnut died in November 1035. Harthacnut, son of Emma and Knut, was looking after his Scandinavian interests, and Emma's stepson Harold Harefoot secured support for a claim to the English throne. Emma appears to have sought help against Harthacnut from Edward and his brother Alfred.^[1] Edward took ships to the Solent, but returned to Normandy.^[1][3] His brother Alfred also came to England but was captured, blinded and died.^[1]

Emma was herself driven into exile by Harold Harefoot. There she was joined by Edward and Harthacnut. In March 1040 Harod Harefoot died, and Harthacnut became king of England. Edward returned to England the next year, probably as heir apparent - the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles say he was sworn in as king.^[1][4]

King

Harthacnut died, childless, on 8 June 1042. With the support of Godwin, Earl of Wessex, Edward was crowned at Winchester on 3 April - Easter Day - 1043.^[1][4]

In 1043 Edward went to Winchester where he took away many of his mother's possessions, and deprived one of her main advisers, Stigand, of the Bishopric of East Anglia.^[1][3][4] She was later allowed to return to court, but her influence was limited.^[5]

In 1044 Edward banished Cnut's niece Gunnhild and her children. In 1044 and 1045 he took personal charge of ships at Sandwich, probably fearing an invasion by Magnus of Norway.^[1][4]

On 23 January 1045 Edward married Earl Godwin's daughter Eadgyth.^[1][4] The influence of Godwin and his family increased. But relations with the Godwin family were not easy. Godwin's oldest Swein was temporarily banished in 1047 after abducting an abbess: he was pardoned not long after, but, on his return to England, murdered a cousin, and fled the realm, only to receive another pardon.^[1]

In 1048, Kent suffered what was probably the only Viking raid on England during Edward's reign.^[6][7]

Edward was able to appoint a number senior ecclesiastics to senior positions, as abbots and bishops, and made Robert of Jumièges Archbishop of Canterbury. Robert helped to arrange an alliance between Edward and William, Duke of Normandy, the future William the Conqueror.^[1]

Conflict with Earl Godwin and his sons

In September 1051 Edward's brother-in-law, Eustace of Boulogne, came to England and his retinue created a disorder at Dover. Earl Godwin refused to punish the town burgesses. Both Edward and Godwin gathered troops. Robert of Jumièges accused Godwin of planning to kill Edward. Godwin was accused of treason, but he and his sons fled. Edward confined his wife, Godwin's daughter Eadgyth, to a nunnery. In 1052 Godwin and his sons launched attacks on England, and Edward was forced to receive them, and his wife, back. Archbishop Robert of Jumièges went into exile and was replaced by Stigand, who had been closely associated with Edward's mother. The Godwin family influence was now restored.^[1][3][8]

Latter Years

Earl Godwin died in 1053. His unruly son Swein had died the previous year. Edward's brother-in-law Harold became Earl of Wessex.

Edward sought to assert his authority in Wales and Scotland. In 1053, he had a prince of South Wales killed. In 1054, he ordered Siward, Earl of Northumbria, to invade Scotland. Siward defeated Macbeth, and Malcolm Canmore became king.^[1][9]

In 1055 another brother-in-law, Tostig, was made Earl of Northumbria when Siward died.^[9]

A surviving short royal charter from Edward's last years confirms Ealdred, who became Archbishop of York in December 1060,^[10] in possession of his lands and liberties.^[11]

Succession

Edward was childless. There are Norman claims that in 1051 Edward promised the throne to the future William the Conqueror^[1] (this is alleged by William of Poitiers writing during the reign of William the Conqueror):^[12] but this may be no more than invented propaganda: in 1057 Edward arranged for his nephew Edward the Exile to come to England from Hungary, probably to be heir apparent. Edward the Exile died very soon after landing.^[1][13]

Last Year, Death and Canonisation

In 1065 Harold and his brother Tostig quarrelled. Northumbria rebelled against Tostig's governance, and expelled Tostig, and Edward lacked the power to secure his restoration.^[1][14] By now Edward was very ill. He died on 5 January 1066 and was buried on 6 January in front of the high altar of Westminster Abbey, which he had had rebuilt.^[1][3][15] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles include adulatory poetry in praise of him.^[15] Edward's wife died in January 1074-5^[3] and was buried beside her husband in Westminster Abbey.^[16]

A religious cult of him quickly started to develop but attracted limited popular support. During the reign of King Stephen, an unsuccessful attempt was made to persuade the Pope to canonise him. A second attempt, by Henry II, bore fruit, and Edward was canonised in 1161. In 1269 Henry III had Edward's remains transferred to a new and more elaborate tomb^[1] in a special shrine.^[17]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Frank Barlow for 'Edward [St Edward; known as Edward the Confessor]', print and online 2004
2. ↑ Michael Swanton (translator and editor). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, revised edition, Phoenix Press, 2000, pp. 144-145
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Charles Cawley. EADWARD (c.1005-Palace of Westminster 5 Jan 1066, bur Westminster Abbey, entry in "Medieval Lands" database (accessed 14 April 2021)
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 162-165
5. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Simon Keynes for 'Emma [Ælfgifu] (d. 1052)', print and online 2004
6. ↑ Frank Stenton. Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 1971, especially p. 428
7. ↑ Michael Swanton, The Ango-Saxon Chronicles, p. 166
8. ↑ Michael Swanton, The Ango-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 173-183
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 182-185
10. ↑ Frank Barlow. The Godwins, Longman, 2002, p. 63
11. ↑ William Farrer. Early Yorkshire Charters, Vol I, privately printed, 1914, p, 29, Internet Archive
12. ↑ Frank Barlow, The Godwins, pp. 47-48
13. ↑ Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 187-188
14. ↑ Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 190-192
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 192-195
16. ↑ Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, p. 212
17. ↑ 'Edward the Confessor and Edith', Westminster Abbey website, accessed 26 May 2021

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Frank Barlow for 'Edward [St Edward; known as Edward the Confessor]', print and online 2004
• Higham, Nicholas J and Ryan, Martin J. The Anglo-Saxon World, Yale University Press, 2013, paperback 2015, especially pp. 387-400
• Stenton, Frank. Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 1971, especially pp. 423-431 and 560-580
• Wikipedia: Edward the Confessor

See Also:

• Time Team Season 13, Episode 10 "Birthplace Of The Confessor Islip, Oxfordshire", 2006