Kings and Queens

England's Fifth King: King Edgar

King Edgar The Peaceful succeeded his brother King Eadwig in 959.

Background

King Edgar came to power in 959, uniting a fractured England and introducing a period of calm and stability, something unheard of in medieval kingship.

He was born in the year 943 to King Edmund I and his first wife, Lady Aelgifu of Shaftesbury. Together the couple had three children, two boys, Lords Eadwig and Edgar as well as a daughter.

Sadly, Kind Edmund I’s reign had been short-lived and had lasted only six years until his sudden death in the year 946. At this time, both Lord Eadwig and Lord Edgar had been too young to inherit England and thus the throne was passed on to King Edmund I’s younger brother Lord Eadred who would rule for just short of a decade until his own death in the year 955.

Once their uncle King Eadred had died, the succession rights now passed on to Lord Eadwig, as King Edmund I’s eldest son. Whilst he was entitled as the eldest brother to be the king, his rule had proved to be deeply unpopular and his reign had been characterised by conflict and instability.

In particular, King Eadwig had clashed with the nobility as well as significant members of the Church including St Dunstan and the Archbishop Lord Oda. As a result of these divisions, in the year 957, kingdoms Mercia and Northumbria had switched their allegiance to the younger brother of the king, Lord Edgar.

Life as King

With all the popular support backing Lord Edgar but Lord Eadwig still rightfully the king, the kingdom of England had found itself split along the line of the River Thames with King Eadwig retaining control of Wessex and Kent whilst Lord Edgar had become new king of the north.

Only two years after the monarchical fracture, the matter would be resolved as King Eadwig died in October of 959, which had left a young sixteen year old Lord Edgar, already a popular figure in his own right, to become the King of England.

In his first act as king, Lord Edgar had united the two halves of England which were now governed in unity under his sole control.

King Edgar would, unlike his predecessors, rule for a fairly considerable time, during which, he would create stability and continuity unlike anything which had been achieved since the time of the first King, Athelstan.

King Edgar would rule peacefully from October of 959 until his own death in the year 975, and as a result he would become known as King Edgar the Peaceful.

From the beginning of King Edgar The Peaceful's reign, he was keen to reverse the former King Eawig's divisive policies and repair the fractious relationships, particularly with the Church.

Almost immediately, King Edgar The Peaceful had recalled St Dunstan from his exile which was imposed on him by King Eadwig and had made him the Bishop of Worcester. He would subsequently become the Bishop of London and later still be promoted to become the Archbishop of Canterbury. This had been very significant, particularly for King Edgar The Peaceful as St Dunstan would serve him as one of his most valuable advisors.

The years of stability which had been created during King Edgar The Peaceful's reign, had allowed for the development of laws and institutions which would later have formed the basis of King Cnut’s governance as he had observed that he wanted the nation to “steadfastly observe Edgar’s laws, which all men have chosen and sworn at Oxford”. Thus demonstrating how King Edgar The Peaceful’s rule had became a blueprint for kingship in later generations.