Edward Wessex (abt. 962 - 978)

Born about 0962 in England

Ancestors

Died 18 Mar 0978 at about age 16 in Corfe Castle, Dorset, England

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Edward the Martyr Wessex is a member of the House of Wessex.

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Biography

Edward was the son of King Edgar.^[1][2] His mother was probably Æthelflæd.^[1][3] He was born in about 962.^[1]

Edward succeeded his father to the throne in 975.^[2] His stepmother Ælfthryth sought to have her own son Æthelred the Unready declared king, but Edward was crowned by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury.^[1] Despute Ælfthryth's resistance to his becoming king, Edward is believed to have confirmed her dower rights in Dorset.^[1]

Very soon after Edward's accession a comet appeared. For the next year, 976, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to famine and many (unspecified) disturbances.^[2]

Edward's youth and the shortness of his reign meant that he did not personally have much influence in government. A major figure was Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Western Mercia.^[1][2] Aelfhere is mentioned alongside Edward in Charters.^[4] The regime's authority in northern England may have been limited.^[1] Ælfhere dissolved monasteries and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that many wrongs were committed.^[2][5]

On 18 March 978 Edward was killed at Corfe, Dorset,^[2] where he had gone to visit Ælfthryth. The murderers were some of her retainers. He was buried initially nearby,^[1][3] probably at Wareham.^[2] In 979 or 980 Ealdorman Aelfhere arranged for his reburial at Shaftesbury Abbey.^[1][2][3] He was venerated as a saint and martyr.^[2] He was succeeded by Æthelred the Unready, who became a promoter of Edward's cult. In 1001 Æthelred made a grant to Shaftesbury Abbey, saying the gift was to God and his brother St Edward, who had been responsible for many miracles.^[1]

In Sermo Wulfi ad Anglos (the Sermon of the Wolf to the English) late in the reign of Æthelred the Unready, Archbishop Wulfstan portrayed the misfortunes that had struck England as being punishment for various evil doings and behaviours, among them the killing of Edward:^[6] "Eadweard man forrædde and syððan acwealde and æfter þam forbærnde" - "Edward was plotted against and then killed and then his body was burned."^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Edward [St Edward; called Edward the Martyr]' by Cyril Hart, print and online 2004, revised online 2007
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} Michael Swanton (translator and editor). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, revised edition, Phoenix Press, 2000, pp. 121-125
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Frank Stenton. Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 1971, pp. 372-373
4. ↑ A J Roberton (editor and translator). Anglo-Saxon Charters, Cambridge University Press, reissued 2009, pp. 114-121
5. ↑ James Campbell (ed.). The Anglo-Saxons, Penguin Books, 1991, p. 192
6. ↑ James Campbell (ed.). The Anglo-Saxons, p. 202
7. ↑ Text of sermon in original Old English language here, accessed 30 March 2021; translation by Michael Cayley

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Edward [St Edward; called Edward the Martyr]' by Cyril Hart, print and online 2004, revised online 2007
• Wikipedia: Edward the Martyr
• Catholic Encyclopedia:St Edward the Martyr