Eadric Streona is one of the great traitors and villains in English History. His duplicity as Edmund Ironside and Cnut tussled for the throne was something quite remarkable. And Eadric's treachery started long before that, during the reign of Edmund's father, Aethelred The Unready. In 1005, Eadric set a trap for an Ealdorman named Aelfhelm where, during a hunt, an accomplice of Eadric leapt out and murdered Aelfhelm. This was merely a sign of things to come. Becoming Ealdorman of Mercia in 1007, Eadric then married a daughter of King Aethelred in 1009, proving that Eadric was a man with growing influence. Eadric wasn't the only member of his family who was beginning to make himself known at the court of Aethelred. Evidently, Eadric's brother, Brihtric, also had the ear of the king and he began to whisper accusations about a man named Wulfnoth, who was the father of the future Earl Godwin and grandfather to the would be Harold II, to the king and Aethelred had Wulfnoth exiled. Furious, Wulfnoth seized some ships and began to ravage the south coast. This was an opportunity that Brihtric had been hoping for and he took a number of ships also, substantially more than Wulfnoth's small fleet, and he set sail, hoping to smash Wulfnoth's rebellion and take glory for himself. However, Brihtric's ships feel victim to a terrible storm and was soon finished off by Wulfnoth.
These shambolic scenes now served as a distraction to a far bigger problem for Aethelred; the Viking invasions. Led by Thurkil The Tall, the Vikings, around this time, launched another brutal raid, sacking the Isle of Wight, Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire and other places. Aethelred tried to launch a counterattack but such was his lack of authority and the disunity that gripped his subjects, the Vikings were essentially allowed to do as they pleased until winter set in. Throughout 1010 and 1011, things continued in much the same vain with Aethelred, somewhat desperately, calling his advisers together, including Eadric, and seeking some sort of resolution to the invaders devastating his country. Matters became even more pressing when the Vikings seized the Archbishop of Canterbury and took him hostage. Shortly before Easter 1012, Eadric came to the king as he and other nobles tried to raise the ransom for the Archbishop's release. However, the brave Archbishop demanded that no ransom was paid for him, perhaps recognising it would serve no long term gain for the English as further attacks were guaranteed to follow. Angry at the Archbishop's defiance, his Viking captors, in a drunken rage, had him murdered. Eadric's efforts, however strong or otherwise they might have been, were too late.
Between November 1013 and February 1014, king Aethelred was briefly deposed by Sweyn Forkbeard but on Sweyn's sudden death, he was recalled. But it seemed he and Eadric had learned nothing as the king continued to make bad decisions and Eadric continued to look after himself over the good of the nation. In 1015, Eadric tricked two thanes named Sigeferth and Morcar into meeting him and had them murdered. Aethelred then unscrupulously seized their property and ordered Sigeferth's widow to be brought to him. However, before the king decided what to do with her, his son, Edmund Ironside, married her without his permission and also stole the property that had been seized by the king. Such was the chaotic nature of England at this time. By now, Aethelred was falling into poor health and was no match for his energetic young son. The country was now at a tipping point with Sweyn's son, Cnut, leading the Viking presence in England and Aethelred on the cusp of death. In the North, Edmund gathered his forces whilst Eadric seized 40 ships and, showing no shame, joined Cnut. On 23rd April 1016, Aethelred died and the struggle for control over England began in earnest with Eadric right at the heart of it.
Edmund was proactive in his bid to defeat Cnut, meeting the enemy in numerous battles and skirmishes and defeating the Vikings at the Battle of Brentford. It was shortly after this that Eadric switched sides and joined Edmund's forces at Aylesford. Whether Edmund fully trusted him is unsure. It's possible that, after relentless campaigning in which he would have sustained heavy losses, Edmund would have simply been too relieved to gain a new ally to care about Eadric's questionable loyalty. The Anglo Saxon Chronicles was strong in it's condemnation of Edmund accepting Eadric's offer of friendship. The Chronicles described Edmund's forgiveness of Eadric as being ill-advised to the point that nothing else compared. And it wasn't long before Eadric proved the point. In October 1016, Cnut and Edmund met at the Battle of Ashingdon. The fighting was fierce but Edmund may have won the day had it not been for Eadric. During the battle, with Edmund appearing to be on top, Eadric spread a rumour that the English king had been killed. He then pretended to flee and chaos in the English ranks followed. Cnut and the Vikings took full advantage and won a decisive victory.
Following Ashingdon, another skirmish broke out before talks were held between Edmund and Cnut. Cnut obviously had the upper hand and, from the discussions, it was established that he was now the real power in England. Cnut would then hold total control over England when Edmund died in mysterious circumstances in late November 1016. Famously, a story goes that Edmund was brutally murdered whilst going to the toilet. Whilst I'm not sure if that story is correct, it would certainly seem as though the timing of Edmund's death was a little too convenient to have been an accident or illness. It would also seem most likely that it was Eadric who was the man behind Edmund's death. Now that he was firmly on the winning side, Eadric did not want Edmund spoiling that and so he had to be removed. However, Cnut knew full well he couldn't trust Eadric and in 1017, he had Eadric executed.
Greedy, self serving and treacherous, Eadric is a remarkable man for all the wrong reasons. The chronicler, John of Worcester, writing a century after Eadric's death, described him as " a man, indeed, of low origin, but his smooth tongue gained him wealth and high rank, and, gifted with a subtle genius and persuasive eloquence, he surpassed all his contemporaries in malice and perfidy, as well as in pride and cruelty." And William of Malmesbury described Eadric as This fellow was the refuse of mankind, the reproach of the English; an abandoned glutton, a cunning miscreant;"
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