Edgar the Peaceful

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Edgar the Peaceful
King of England

Reign	October 1, 959 – July 8, 975
Predecessor	Edwy
Successor	Edward the Martyr
Spouse	Æthelflæd, Wulfthryth and Ælfthryth
Issue
Edward the Martyr Ethelred the Unready
Father	Edmund I
Mother	Elgiva
Born	943/944 Wessex, England
Died	July 8, 975 Winchester, Wessex, England
Burial	Glastonbury Abbey

For other uses, see Eadgar.

Edgar I the Peaceful or the Peaceable (c. Aug 7, 943 – July 8, 975) was the younger son of Edmund I of England. His cognomen, "the Peaceable", was not necessarily a comment on the deeds of his life, for he was a strong leader, shown by the seizure of the Northumbrian and Mercian kingdoms from his older brother, Edwy, in 958. Edgar was held to be king north of the Thames by a conclave of his nobles, and the aspirational ruler set himself to succeed to the English throne. With Edwy's death in October 959, Edgar immediately recalled Dunstan (eventually canonised as St. Dunstan) from exile to have him made Bishop of Worcester (and the Bishop of London after, and finally the Archbishop of Canterbury). The allegation Dunstan at first refused to crown Edgar because of disapproval for his way of life is a discreet reference in popular histories to Edgar's mistress,^{[citation needed]} Wulfthryth (later a nun at Wilton), who bore him a daughter Eadgyth. Dunstan remained Edgar's advisor throughout his reign.

Edgar's reign was a peaceful one, and it is probably fair to say that it saw the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England at its height. Although the political unity of England was the achievement of his predecessors, it was Edgar who saw to its consolidation. By the end of Edgar's reign there was practically no likelihood of any recession back to its state of rival kingships, and the division of its domains.

The Monastic Reform Movement that restored the Benedictine Rule to England's undisciplined monastic communities saw its height during the time of Dunstan, Aethelwold and Oswald. However, the extent and importance of the movement is still debated amongst academics.

Edgar was crowned at Bath, but not until 973, in an imperial ceremony planned not as the initiation, but as the culmination of his reign (a move that must have taken a great deal of preliminary diplomacy). This service, devised by Dunstan himself and celebrated with a poem in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle forms the basis of the present-day British coronation ceremony. The symbolic coronation was an important step; other kings of Britain came and gave their allegiance to Edgar shortly afterwards at Chester. Six kings in Britain, including the kings of Scotland and of Strathclyde, pledged their faith that they would be the king's liege-men on sea and land. Later chroniclers made the kings into eight, all plying the oars of Edgar's state barge on the River Dee. Such embellishments may not be factual, but the main outlines of the "submission at Chester" appear true.

Edgar had several children. He died on July 8, 975 at Winchester, and was buried at Glastonbury Abbey. He left two sons, the eldest named Edward, the son of his first wife Ethelfleda (not to be confused with Ethelfleda, Lady of the Mercians), and Ethelred, the youngest, the child of his second wife Ælfthryth. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward.

From Edgar’s death to the Norman Conquest there was not a single succession to the throne that was not contested. Although perhaps a simplification, Edgar’s death did seem to be the beginning of the end for Anglo-Saxon England that resulted in three 11th century successful conquests, two Danish and one Norman.

[edit] Genealogy

For a more complete genealogy including ancestors and descendants, see House of Wessex family tree.

Diagram based on the information found on Wikipedia

[edit] External links

Medieval Sourcebook: Anglo-Saxon Dooms: laws of King Edgar, a fragment
Edgar of England At Find A Grave
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry

Preceded by Edwy	King of England 959–975	Succeeded by Edward the Martyr

v • d • e English Monarchs

Overlords (or Bretwaldas) of the English	Aelle of Sussex · Ceawlin of Wessex · Æthelberht of Kent · Rædwald of East Anglia · Edwin of Deira · Oswald of Bernicia · Oswy of Northumbria · Wulfhere of Mercia · Æthelred of Mercia · Ethelbald of Mercia^¶ · Offa of Mercia · Cœnwulf of Mercia · Egbert of Wessex

Monarchs (pre-Conquest) of England	Alfred the Great · Edward the Elder · Ælfweard · Athelstan^¶ · Edmund the Magnificent^¶ · Edred^¶ · Edwy the Fair^¶ · Edgar the Peaceable^¶ · Edward the Martyr · Ethelred the Unready · Sweyn Forkbeard · Edmund Ironside · Canute^¶ · Harold Harefoot · Harthacanute · Edward the Confessor · Harold Godwinson · Edgar the Atheling

Monarchs (post-Conquest) of England	William I the Conqueror · William II Rufus · Henry I · Stephen · Matilda · Henry II · Richard I the Lionheart · John^† · Henry III^† · Edward I^† · Edward II^† · Edward III^† · Richard II^† · Henry IV Bolingbroke^† · Henry V^† · Henry VI^† · Edward IV^† · Edward V^† · Richard III^† · Henry VII^† · Henry VIII^† · Edward VI^† · Jane^† · Mary I^† · Elizabeth I^† · James I^‡ · Charles I^‡ · Commonwealth · Charles II^‡ · James II^‡ · William III^‡ with Mary II^‡ · William III^‡ · Anne^‡

^¶ Also King/Overlord of Great Britain. ^† Also Lord/Monarch of Ireland. ^‡ Also Monarch of Scotland and Ireland.