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| Depiction in the Bayeux Tapestry (c. 1067) |
Birth name: Ēadweard Æþeling of Ƿestseaxna rīċe
Born: c. 1003 - 1005, Islip, Wessex, Kingdom of England
Father: King Æthelred of England 'The Unready'
Mother: Lady Emma of Normandy
House: Wessex
Nationality: English
Religion: Catholicism
Claim: Child of Æthelred 'The Unready'
Reign: 08 June 1042 - 05 January 1066 (23 years)
Coronation: 03 April 1043
Predecessor: Harthacnut 'Tough-Knot'
Successor: Harold II
Died: 05 January 1066 (aged 60-63), Westminster, Middlesex, Kingdom of England
Cause: Stroke
Burial: Westminster Abbey
Motto: N/A
Spouse(s):
- Lady Edith of Wessex (m. 1045 - 1066)
Children:
- N/A
Appearance:
He was described as very tall and possessing 'milky white' hair. He was also described as handsome, with rosy cheeks, long fingers, a full beard, and clear skin.
Character:
For the most part, Edward is described as having a just personality, as well as being dignified and gracious. He was also known to be frequently deep in thought, but friendly to those around him.
Edward was well known for his piety and devotion to Christianity, perhaps even taking a vow of chastity. His religion brought him great comfort during his many years of exile.
He also enjoyed hunting.
However, he could also be known for his temper should someone get on the wrong side of him, being compared to a lion. He did also have a resentful side, as seen in his behaviour towards his mother who he viewed as having abandoned him. He also greatly disliked his in-laws for the majority of his married life, though eventually became close to his brother-in-laws.
His relationship with his wife also appears to have been strained due to her Godwin ties.
Despite being well liked and considered just, he did display some degree of corruption by accepting bribes.
Biography:
The exact date of Edward's birth is unknown, but it was likely some time between 1003 and 1005. He was born in the Kingdom of England and was his father's, King Æthelred of England, ninth child, and first with his second wife, Lady Emma of Normandy. From the time he was born, Edward was technically very far down in the line of succession. He would also go on to have two younger siblings from his parents' marriage, and another two younger siblings from his mother's re-marriage.
Not much is known about Edward's early childhood, but he and many other members of his family were forced to flee England upon the Danish invasion of England lead by Sweyn Forkbeard in 1014, who would go on to become the new King of England, replacing his father, Æthelred. However, Sweyn was only able to rule England for five weeks due to being suddenly killed in a horse riding accident. His father was able to re-claim the throne, and Edward was also able to return to England.
Unfortunately, his father would also die a year later, and Edward's older half-brother, Edmund Ironside, claimed the throne, with Edward likely supporting his brother's claim.
In 1016, Edmund also died, and further Viking invasions once again led to Danish control of the kingdom, with Sweyn's son, Cnut, becoming the new King of England. Edward was once again forced to flee into mainland Europe where he would begin his life in exile. Many of his siblings were also forced into hiding, while both him and his brothers were hunted down due to the claim they had on the English throne.
Meanwhile, Edward's mother, Emma, married Cnut, and the two of them would go on to have two children together. It's possible that she agreed to marry Cnut in exchange for her sparing her children's lives. But with most of his elder brothers now deceased, many within Europe, including Edward himself, believed him to be the rightful king, and he would even sign charters under that title. His mother had practically all but abandoned him, instead, supporting the claim of her son by Cnut, Harthacnut.
In 1035, after the death of Cnut, Harold Harefoot, the son of Cnut and his first wife, was able to claim the throne of England instead. While Harthacnut was the favoured heir at the time, he was distracted by affairs in Denmark and was unable to secure his position in England. Harold would go on to be accepted as the new King of the English and would go on to rule England for the next five years.
During this time in 1036, Emma invited Edward and his younger brother Alfred back to England, likely in the hope that they would support Harthacnut's war against Harold, but this would ultimately end in tragedy. Alfred would be captured by Godwin, the powerful Earl of Wessex, and blinded to prevent him from claiming the throne. Alfred would then die from his wounds. This caused Edward to develop a deep hatred for Godwin, and though attempts were made on his own life, he was able to successfully defend himself and flee back to the continent.
At this point, Edward began to display a complete lack of interest in seizing the English throne, and refused to help his mother when she was exiled by King Harold Harefoot. However, Harold's reign would not last long, and Harthacnut was able to successfully invade and rule the whole of England. Despite their disputes, Harthacnut and Edward were able to make peace, and Edward was finally welcomed back into England once again, with Harthacnut likely recognising Edward as his heir.
Harthacnut died in 1042, and Edward ascended to the throne with a great degree of popular support. One of his first acts as King was to punish his mother for her failings towards him, and she was personally stripped of her property and treasure. He also had the monumental task of restoring order to England after frequent back-and-forth fighting between Anglo-Saxon and Danish claimants to powerful positions.
To cement a powerful alliance, Edward married the daughter of Godwin, Lady Edith of Wessex in 1045, despite his great dislike for the noble family. The marriage itself likely remained unconsummated, possibly due to Edward undertaking a vow of chastity, and as a result, the two of them would have no children together.
The feud that existed between Edward and the Godwins did not end with Edward's marriage. In 1051, a power struggle emerged as Godwin refused to do what was commanded of him, and was even accused by the Archbishop of Canterbury of plotting to kill the king. Godwin attempted to rebel, but his army refused to go against Edward, and instead, he and his sons were forced to flee the kingdom. Meanwhile, Edward had his wife sent to a nunnery, and had perhaps began considering having their marriage annulled. Godwin's exile, however, created the possibility of civil war, as Godwin was garnering support overseas. A civil war would also leave England open to further Viking raids and invasions. So both Edward and Godwin reluctantly made peace for the sake of the kingdom. Godwin's lands and titles were restored, and Edith was reinstated as queen consort.
Throughout the next and latter years of his reign, Edward completely restructured the whole kingdom in the hopes of preventing the House of Godwin from once again obtaining too much power and influence. However, this failed to have any effect, as Godwin's sons were soon filling the positions of earldoms throughout the kingdom, apart from Mercia. By this point, Edward did not seemed to have cared enough to put up a fight, and paid less and less attention to English politics. Instead, he mainly turned his attention to meddling in Scotland and Wales, ordering the killings and assassinations of their rulers.
It was around this time that Edward's brother-in-law, Harold Godwinson, rose to prominence, and successfully defended England against retaliating Welsh invaders.
The drama involving the Godwin's continued to plague Edward until his death. While Edward seemed to have been close to Tostig Godwinson (the son of Godwin who was Earl of Northumbria), Tostig was very unpopular among both his brothers and the people of Northumbria. His people rebelled against him in front of Edward, and demanded his replacement. With no popular support, Edward was forced to agree to the banishment of his friend, which caused him a great deal of stress. It's possible that this likely contributed to the King's declining health, as he would soon suffer a series of strokes.
Due to having no children, a succession crisis would begin upon his death. Throughout December of 1065, he would drift in and out of comas.
Although nobody knows for sure what happened, according to some stories, when briefly regaining consciousness, Edward nominated Harold Godwinson as his heir before passing away of another stroke in early 1066, officially ending the Wessex dynasty that had ruled England for hundreds of years.
Rule:
Though Edward enjoyed a great degree of popularity, both in his lifetime and through the centuries afterwards, he was not that much of a successful ruler.
His biggest success was largely down to keeping relative peace within his kingdom, knowing when to back down and come to truce agreements for the sake of not plunging England into full-scale war. But most of his military successes can be accredited to the Godwins, and their defence of the kingdom from Vikings, the Welsh, and the Scots.
He never produced an heir, and left the fate of the kingdom hanging in a fine balance by seemingly playing possible heirs against each other. This would result in a succession crisis that would change the course of English history forever.
Trivia:
- His nickname 'the confessor' is likely due to his intense devotion to Christianity while he was in exile, and he could often be found in deep states of prayer. Even during his reign, he was renowned for his piety and religious devotion. His devotion would later lead to him being canonised as a saint.
- To this day, it is not known for certain who Edward desired to be his heir. Some argue that Edward had in fact nominated Harold upon his death, while Norman sources argue that he had chosen William, Duke of Normandy, due to their distant relation, and Edward's personal closeness to the Duchy, both through his mother, and his time in exile there. However, Edward's great-nephew also remained alive and a possible claimant, even being granted the title of Ætheling, which meant he was a recognised heir. We will probably never know for sure what Edward's true intentions were, if he even had any.
Quotes:
N/A
Sainthood
Canonised: 07 February 1161
Feast days: 13 October and 05 January
Shrine: Westminster Abbey
Patronage: England, English monarchs, difficult marriages
Timeline of Reign:
| 1043: Revenge on Dowager Queen Emma - Emma of Normandy stripped of titles and wealth.
| 1051: Crisis of 1051 - Civil war almost occurs due to tensions between Edward and Godwin.
| 1051: Queen Edith sent to a nunnery - Edward considers annulling his marriage.
| 1052: Peace restored - Edward and Godwin agree to peace for the sake of the kingdom.
| 1052: Queen Edith reinstated - Edith allowed to return to her position as queen.
| 1053: Welsh raids in England - Welsh kingdoms begin raids in western England.
| 1053: Assassination of Prince Rhys - Welsh prince murdered on Edward's orders.
| 1054: England invades Scotland - King Macbeth killed and King Malcolm III restored by Edward.
| 1054: Visible supernova - Formation of the Crab Nebula visible to the kingdom.
| 1057: King Gruffydd of Wales allies with Edward - Welsh king swears loyalty oath to Edward.
| 1061: Scottish raids on Northumbria - Scotland begins expansion into northern England.
| 1062: Harold Godwinson invades Wales - King Gruffydd is killed and Wales disintegrates.
| 1065: Northumbrian rebellions - Northumbrian's rebel against their earl, Tostig; 200 people killed.
| 1065: Tostig is banished - Edward forced to banish Tostig, who flees to Norway.
| 1065: Westminster Abbey completed - Rebuilding of the cathedral is completed.
| 1066: Succession crisis - Mystery surrounding Edward's successor begins.
| 1066: Official end of the Wessex Dynasty - With Edward's death, the Wessex rule of England ends,
Sources & Further Reading:
Bayeux Tapestry scene1 EDWARD REX.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. (2013). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bayeux_Tapestry_scene1_EDWARD_REX.jpg
Brain, J. (2019). Edward The Confessor - Historic UK. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Edward-The-Confessor/
Dr Jessica Nelson. (2016). The death of Edward the Confessor and the conflicting claims to the English Crown - History of government. Blog.gov.uk. https://history.blog.gov.uk/2016/01/05/the-death-of-edward-the-confessor-and-the-conflicting-claims-to-the-english-crown/
Edward | King of England [1002?-1066] | Britannica. (2019). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-king-of-England-1002-1066
Edward the Confessor and Edith. (n.d). Westminster Abbey. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/edward-the-confessor-and-edith
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