Forgotten Rulers From History: Edmund I

Not to be confused with Edmund II Ironside who ruled in the following century, or even the famous Edmund The Martyr, the king of East of Anglia who was tied to a tree and shot full of arrows by the Vikings in the 9th century, Edmund I, who reigned from 939 to 946, is another example in a long line of under appreciated Anglo Saxon kings. His reign undoubtedly would have had its fair share of challenges. Edmund's predecessors Alfred The Great, Edward The Elder and Aethelstan had all ruled magnificently and were beginning to bring unity to the Anglo Saxon kingdoms as one nation that would become known as England began to emerge.

But by the time Edmund came to the throne, this fledgling nation was in danger of being torn apart. Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby and Stamford had all fallen back into the hands of the Vikings. However, in 942, Edmund recaptured these territories, aided by the death of the Viking leader, King Olaf of Dublin. The following year, Edmund attempted to follow up these successes by capturing Tamworth but was repelled by the Vikings with a bloody battle being fought which saw both sides sustaining heavy losses. Times were tough for Edmund and he was forced to march on Leicester which was still being targeted by the Vikings. This campaign was successful and one of the Viking leaders, another Olaf, converted to Christianity.

In 944, Edmund was in highly problematic Northumbria where he managed to drive out two Scandinavian kings. Further north still, Edmund managed to maintain decent relations with the Scottish king Malcolm I which would have been important to him. During the reign of Edmund's half-brother Aethelstan, the Scots had caused major problems and it wasn't until the spectacular victory at Brunanburh that Aethelstan managed to subdue them. So it was wise for Edmund to try and keep the Scots on good terms. 

Edmund was the son of Edward The Elder and he had numerous siblings (although some had different mothers). Edmund involved them in his political life, with them overseeing some of the king's charters. This included Edmund's brother and successor, Eadred. It may be that Edmund was preparing Eadred for the eventuality that one day he might become king. Edmund did have two sons, Eadwig and Edgar, who were both extremely young during Edmund's reign. In Edgar's case, he was probably little more than a toddler when his father died in 946. In these days of Viking raids, a king may die suddenly and child rulers would have been far from ideal. By the 940s, Eadred was a young man and would be far better suited to become king. If this was Edmund's line of thinking, then it was clearly a wise course of action to take. As it turned out, Eadred did indeed succeed as king in 946 although both Eadwig and Edgar would have their turns at being king also (Edgar far more successfully than Eadwig).

Edmund seems to have died in violent fashion. It is said that Edmund was coming to the aid of one of his followers who was falling foul of a thief. In the ensuing melee, Edward was stabbed. It is also possible that this may have been a targeted attack. It was a sad way to end what had been a promising reign of a king still only in his mid 20s. Edmund had ruled to the best of his ability. Politically sensible and a capable commander, if Edmund had not died so suddenly, it's a reasonable bet he would be spoken about in the same breath as the likes of his father Edward The Elder and half brother Aethelstan