Edgar The Peaceful

 

Edgar is a king who perhaps does not get the credit that is due to him. Edgar became king in 959 on the death of Eadwig. In the previous century, there had been a number of highly capable rulers who were vital in laying the foundations for Modern England. The most notable are Alfred The Great, Edward The Elder and Aethelstan. Some though, including Alfred's father Aethelwulf, have been almost ignored despite them laying the groundwork for the achievements of Alfred and his immediate successors. Edgar's case is slightly different. His reign is best remembered for relative stability in a troubled time. Following him though was the calamitous reign of Aethelred II. And it's largely because of that Edgar is very often ignored. 

 Edgar was born in the mid 940s which means he was only about 15 or 16 when he became king after the death of Eadwig. Eadwig himself died young, around the age of 19. Eadwig's reign got off to a terrible start He was discovered alone with two noblewomen at his coronation feast by Abbot Dunstan who was not impressed and separated the trio. Eadwig didn't forget this and he soon banished Dunstan from his kingdom. Eadwig's reign didn't improve and his rule proved to be unpopular. It could only be hoped that his successor Edgar would do a better job. And it became clear fairly quickly into Edgar's reign that he was indeed more suited for kingship. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle praises him quite lavishly. Nobility and rulers of other kingdoms were happy to pay homage to him. He is praised for having good judgement and he ensured peace throughout the kingdom. What undoubtedly helped Edgar is that there seems to have been a tailing off, during his reign, of Viking activity. For the time being, Viking raids were being directed elsewhere but Edgar took advantage of that to bring prosperity to his kingdom. His laws and the justice he brought to England are impressive and admirable. In fact, just over 40 years after Edgar died, King Cnut made reference to the laws that had been passed during the reign of Edgar and he swore to uphold them. 

No doubt this was Cnut's attempts to appease the Anglo Saxons who were not impressed by being ruled by a Dane. What this indicates is the impressive authority Edgar had as king. Edgar recalled the wise Dunstan, who would become a saint, from exile and made him Archbishop of Canterbury, Between them, Dunstan and Edgar reorganised the church. First by driving out corrupt members of the clergy and then by rebuilding the monasteries that had been devastated by the Vikings.

Edgar is believed to have been married three times, the most important of these relationships were the first and third. His first marriage, with a woman named Aethelflaed, produced a son and heir, Edward The Martyr. His third marriage was to a woman named Elfrida. With her, he'd have two more sons. One died young, but the other would go on to become king Aethelred II in 978 after Elfrida had murdered her own stepson Edward The Martyr, three years after he had succeeded his father, Edgar. It wasn't all blissful peace throughout Edgar's reign. In 966, a noble raised an army and caused considerable damage. And, in the South, Edgar seems to have felt obliged to retaliate to a revolt in Kent, which he did so, in heavy handed fashion. Both crises though ended relatively quickly. Edgar, in 973, was crowned alongside his queen Elfrida. He would have been declared king in a formal ceremony after he succeeded to the throne but this was the first major ceremony. In attendance at the ceremony, was the king of Scots, Kenneth II, who swore loyalty to the king. This again demonstrates the stability of Edgar's reign. This ceremony indicates that Edgar probably thought he had a lot more time left. But just two years after this coronation at Bath, Edgar died aged 31 or 32. So ended Edgar The Peaceful. He ruled justly, wisely and fairly. But little did he know, his premature death would be followed by decades of turmoil. And Edgar's queen had no little part to play in that. It's an interesting thought to ponder if Edgar could have handled a sustained period of Viking rai