- 924-946: King of England
- AKA: Eadmund I the Magnificent
- 946: Assassinated at St Augustine's Day mass
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Edmund of Wessex, King of England, was born 922 in England, United Kingdom (Wessex) to Edward the Elder (c870-924) and Eadgifu of Kent (c902-968) and died 26 May 946 St Augustine's Day mass of murder. He married Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury (-944) 940 JL in England, United Kingdom. He married Æthelflæd of Damerham (c925-c975) 944 JL in England, United Kingdom.
Biography
Edmund I, King of Britain, ("Deed-Doer") Reign 939-946
Son of English King, Edward the Elder (c870-924), he succeeded his half-brother. Athelstan (895-939), on the latter's death. As a young warrior he had participated in Atherlstan's victory at Brunanburh (937), but soon after his accession he had to face renewed military threats.
House of Wessex
He was of the royal English dynasty called House of Wessex, a family originating in the southwest corner of England and gradually increased in power and prestiege. The House became rulers of all the country with the reign of Alfred the Great in 871 and lasting until Edmund Ironside in 1016. This period of the English monarchy is known as the Saxon period.
Threat from Northumbria
Map of kingdoms and sub-kingdoms in the tenth century
In 940, Olaf Guthfrithsson, King of Dublin, who was defeated in the battle at Brunanburh, came down from Northumbria to reclaim his lost lands in York. Arbitration with the archbishops award Northumbria back to Olaf. When Olaf died, Edmund marched forth (942) and reconquered the area of the Five Boroughs (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Stamford) in the Midlands. It appears that the Christianized Anglo-Danish population here has more than happy to be free from their Irish-Norse rulers. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle celebrated this victory in poem:
Long had the Danes under the Norsemen
Been subjected by force to heathen bondage,
Until finally liberated by the valour of Edward's son,
King Edmund, protector of warriors."
More Campaigns
- 944 Reconquers Yorkshire and Northumbria.
- 945 Reconquers Strathclyde, and independent kingdom covering the whole of south-west Scotland. But in treaty he cedes the territory to Malcolm I of Scotland (bef900-954).
Louis IV of France
One of Edmund's last political movements of which there is some knowledge is his role in the restoration of Louis IV of France to the throne. Louis, son of Charles the Simple and Edmund's half-sister Eadgifu of Wessex (902-aft955), had resided at the West-Saxon court for some time until 936, when he returned to be crowned King of France. In the summer of 945, he was captured by the Norsemen of Rouen and subsequently released to Duke Hugh the Great, who held him in custody. The chronicler Richerus claims that Eadgifu wrote letters both to Edmund and to Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor in which she requested support for her son. Edmund responded to her plea by sending angry threats to Hugh.[4] Flodoard's Annales, one of Richerus' sources, report:
Edmund, king of the English, sent messengers to Duke Hugh about the restoration of King Louis, and the duke accordingly made a public agreement with his nephews and other leading men of his kingdom. [...] Hugh, duke of the Franks, allying himself with Hugh the Black, son of Richard, and the other leading men of the kingdom, restored to the kingdom King Louis.
Outlaw Murder
After he had narrowly escaped death while hunting near the Cheddar Gorge, Edmund installed St Dunstan as Abbot of Glastonbury, and supported Dunstan's revival of monasticism in England.
Edmund might have gone on to greater achievements had he not been murdered. by an outlaw called Leofa. On 26 May 946, Edmund was murdered by Leofa, an exiled thief, while attending St Augustine's Day mass in Pucklechurch (South Gloucestershire).
He was succeeded by his younger brother, Eadred of Wessex (c924-955).
Marriage and Family
1st Marriage: Saint Elfgifu of Shaftesbury
Edmund probably married his first wife Ælfgifu around the time of his accession to the throne, as their second son was born in 943. Their sons Eadwig and Edgar both became kings of England.[1] Ælfgifu's father is not known, but her mother is identified by a charter of Edgar which confirms a grant by his grandmother Wynflæd of land to Shaftesbury Abbey.[2] Ælfgifu was also a benefactor of Shaftesbury Abbey; when she died in 944 she was buried there and venerated as a saint.[3][lower-alpha 1]
Edmund's sons later ruled England as:
- Eadwig of Wessex (c941-959), King of England from 955 until 957, king of only Wessex and Kent from 957 until his death on 1 October 959.
- Edgar I the Peaceful (943-975), king of Mercia and Northumbria from 957 until his brother's death in 959, then king of England from 959 until 975.
2nd Marriage: Athelfled of Damerham
Edmund had no known children by his second wife, Æthelflæd, who died after 991. Her father Ælfgar became ealdorman of Essex in 946. Edmund presented him with a sword lavishly decorated with gold and silver, which Ælfgar later presented to King Eadred. Æthelflæd's second husband was Æthelstan Rota, a south-east Mercian ealdorman, and her will survives.[5]
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Eadwig of Wessex (c941-959) | |||
| Edgar I the Peaceful (943-975) | 943 | 8 July 975 Winchester | Æthelflæd Wulthryth Ælfthryth (c945-c1000) |
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Athelstan (895-939) | 895 Wessex | 27 October 929 Gloucestershire, England | |
| Edith the Poleworth (c896-) | 896 England | Ireland | Sitric Cáech (c890-927) |
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Ælfweard of Wessex (904–924) | 904 Wessex, England | 2 August 924 Oxford, Oxfordshire, England | |
| Eadgifu of Wessex (902-aft955) | 902 | 955 | Charles the Simple (879-929) Herbert III de Vermandois (c913-c982) |
| Eadgyth of Wessex (910-946) | 910 | 26 January 946 | Otto I von Sachsen (912-973) |
| Eadhilda of Wessex (-937) | 937 | Hugh the Great (898-956) | |
| Ælfgifu of Wessex (-) | |||
| Eadflæd of Wessex (-) | |||
| Edwin Ætheling (c912-933) | 912 Wessex, England | 933 England | |
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Edmund of Wessex (922-946) | 922 England, United Kingdom (Wessex) | 26 May 946 Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom | Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury (-944) Æthelflæd of Damerham (c925-c975) |
| Eadred of Wessex (c924-955) | 923 Wessex, England | 23 November 955 Frome, Somerset, England | |
| Edburga of Winchester (c925-960) | 925 Wessex, England | 15 June 960 | |
See Also
Bibliography
- Abels, Richard (1988). Lordship and Military Obligation in Anglo-Saxon England. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-05794-4.
- Ashdowne, Richard; Howlett, David; Latham, R. E. (2018). Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources H-P. 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-726631-1.
- Beaven, Murray (1918). "King Edmund I and the Danes of York". English Historical Review 33: 1–9. DOI:10.1093/ehr/XXXIII.CXXIX.1. ISSN 0013-8266.
- Blair, John (2005). The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-921117-3.
- Blunt, Christopher (1971). "The Crowned Bust Coinage of Edmund 939–946". The British Numismatic Journal 40: 17–21. ISSN 0143-8956.
- Blunt, Christopher; Stewart, Ian; Lyon, Stewart (1989). Coinage in Tenth-Century England: From Edward the Elder to Edgar's Reform. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-726060-9.
- Breeze, Andrew (1997). "Armes Prydein, Hywel Dda and the Reign of Edmund of Wessex". Études Celtique 33: 209–222. DOI:10.3406/ecelt.1997.2119. ISSN 0373-1928.
- Brooks, Nicholas (1984). The Early History of the Church of Canterbury. Leicester: Leicester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7185-1182-1.
- Brooks, Nicholas (1992). "The Career of St Dunstan". In Ramsay, Nigel; Sparks, Margaret; Tatton-Brown, Tim. St Dunstan: His Life, Times and Cult. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. pp. 1–23. ISBN 978-0-85115-301-8.
- Brooks, Nicholas; Kelly, Susan, eds (2013). Charters of Christ Church Canterbury Part 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press for the British Academy. ISBN 978-0-19-726535-2.
- Campbell, Alistair, ed (1973). Charters of Rochester. London: Oxford University Press for the British Academy. ISBN 978-0-19-725936-8.
- Campbell, James (1978). "England, France, Flanders and Germany: Some Comparisons and Connections". In Hill, David. Ethelred the Unready: Papers from the Millenary Conference. Oxford: B.A.R. pp. 255–270. ISBN 978-0-86054-043-4.
- Brooks, Nicholas; Kelly, Susan, eds (2013). Charters of Christ Church Canterbury Part 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press for the British Academy. ISBN 978-0-19-726535-2.
- Campbell, Alistair, ed (1973). Charters of Rochester. London: Oxford University Press for the British Academy. ISBN 978-0-19-725936-8.
- Williams, Ann (1982). "Princeps Merciorum Gentis:the Family, Career and Connections of Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia". Anglo-Saxon England 10: 143–172. DOI:10.1017/S0263675100003240. ISSN 0263-6751.
- Williams, Ann (1999). Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England, c. 500–1066. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0-312-22090-7.
- Williams, Ann (2004). "Edmund I (920/21–946)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8501. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-8501. Retrieved 28 August 2021. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
External Links
- wikipedia:en:Edmund I
- Eadmund I, King of England at thePeerage
- Edmund I "the Magnificent", king of The English - Geni.com
- Edmund I at Find A Grave
- Anglo-Saxon and Danish Kings of England - Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
- Edmund I at the official website of the British monarchy
- Edmund 14 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Ancestry Trees
Contemporary References Sources
Some of the best contemporary sources for his life include:
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - This is a collection of annals in Old English that were kept from the 9th to the 12th century. The Chronicle provides a detailed account of events during Edward's reign.
- Asser's Life of King Alfred: Asser was a Welsh monk who wrote a biography of King Alfred the Great, who was King Edmund's successor. In his biography, Asser provides some information about King Edmund's reign, including his battles against the Vikings.
- The Life of St. Edmund: This hagiography, written in the 10th century, describes the life and death of King Edmund, who was later canonized as a saint. The Life of St. Edmund provides some details about Edmund's reign, as well as his martyrdom at the hands of the Vikings.
- Coinage: Some coins minted during King Edmund's reign still exist today, providing a physical record of his reign.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Citations
Here is a citation (Year 941) from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a contemporary source, in Old English and its translation into modern English. This passage describes a battle between King Edward and King Olaf, and the subsequent defeat of Edward's army. It also mentions the Danes taking control of the kingdom of the Mercians: In the original Old English This passage describes the events of the year 944, including King Edmund's ascension to the throne of the West Saxons after his father's death. The passage also notes that there was significant violence that year, with an army going to Northumbria and killing many people.
"Her Eadmund cyning feng to Westseaxna rice æfter his fæder gewealde; and on þy ilcan geare for se here to Norðanhymbra lande and þær micel wæl geslogon."
Translation: "In this year, King Edmund took over the kingdom of the West Saxons after his father's death. And in that same year, the army went to the land of the Northumbrians and there killed many people."
Royal Succession Charts
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Æthelstan |
King of the English 939–946 |
Succeeded by Eadred |
References
- ^ Williams 2004.
- ^ Kelly 1996, pp. 56, 104; S 744
- ^ Kelly 1996, pp. xiii–xiv and n. 6, 110–111.
- ^ Campbell 1973, pp. xxvi, 33–34; Trousdale 2007, p. 144; Keynes 2002.
- ^ Williams 2004; Hart 1992, p. 591.
Footnotes (including sources)
Rtol, MainTour
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