Saint Edward "the Martyr", King of England

963 - 978  (15 years)

• Name	Edward
  Relationship	with Robert Alan Roy
  Birth	962/63  [2, 3, 4, 6, 7]
  General Information	According to Panton (2011) "Edward’s brief, three-year reign as king of the English was marked by growing opposition to the monasteries and ended in violence. Scholars agree that he was the son of King Edgar of England, but they are less certain about his legitimacy and about his mother, who was probably Aethelflaed Eneda, whom Edgar later married. He was chosen as the new ruler when his father died in 975, but the accession was contested by Aelfthryth (or Elfrida), Edgar’s second wife, who advanced the cause of Aethelred, her own seven-year-old child, later known as Aethelred the Unready. Although the decision in favor of the older boy was made by the witan (the king’s group of advisors), Aelfthryth refused to accept defeat and allied herself with men who opposed her late husband’s policy of granting land to religious bodies, primarily because they wanted it for themselves. Edward sided with the church and appeared to be popular with his people, but he was only 13 when he succeeded to the throne, and there is little doubt that the inexperience of youth was reflected in some of his judgments."  [3]
  Crowned	8 Jul 975	Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England   [3, 6, 7]
  Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar the Peaceful but was not his father's acknowledged heir. On Edgar's death, the leadership of England was contested, with some supporting Edward's claim to be king and others supporting his younger half-brother Æthelred the Unready, recognized as a legitimate son of Edgar. Edward was chosen as king and was crowned by his main clerical supporters, the archbishops Dunstan of Canterbury and Oswald of York on 8 Jul 975 at Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England.
  Age: 13
  History	976  [5]
  	Widespread famine struck England in 976, and it led to a breakdown in the rule of law; disgruntled, fearful, and opportunistic Anglo-Saxons took to violence, even sacking monasteries, which had grown more rich and powerful with Dunstan’s advocacy.
  Death	18 Mar 978	Corfe Castle, Corfe Castle, Dorsetshire, England   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  	During a hunting expedition, the king called at Corfe Castle, where Ælfthryth and Æthelred were living. His stepmother offered him mead, and while he was drinking, she or one of her retinue stabbed him. He rode off, mortally wounded, but slumped from his horse; his foot caught in a stirrup and he was dragged into a bog, where, according to legend, the location of his body was revealed to searchers by a pillar of light This was the result of a plot hatched by his step-mother Ælfthryth so her son Æthelred II the Unrede could become king. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle "No worse deed for the English race was done than this was, since they first sought out the land of Britain. Men murdered him, but God exalted him. In life he was an earthly king; after death he is now a heavenly saint. His earthly relatives would not avenge him, but his Heavenly Father has much avenged him". [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  Canonized	1001  [4]
  He was canonized in 1001 and his feast day is 20th November.
  Burial	—	Wareham Priory, Dorsetshire, England   [6, 7]
  	During the sixteenth century and English Reformation, King Henry VIII led the dissolution of the monasteries and many holy places were demolished. Edward's remains were hidden so as to avoid desecration. In 1931, the relics were recovered by Wilson-Claridge during an archaeological excavation; their identity was confirmed by Dr. T. E. A. Stowell, an osteologist. In 1970, examinations performed on the relics suggested that the young man had died in the same manner as Edward. Wilson-Claridge wanted the relics to go to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. His brother, however, wanted them to be returned to Shaftesbury Abbey. For decades, the relics were kept in a cutlery box in a bank vault at the Midland Bank in Woking, Surrey because of the unresolved dispute about which of two churches should have them. In time, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was victorious and placed the relics in a church in Brookwood Cemetery in Woking, with the enshrinement ceremony occurring in September 1984. The St Edward Brotherhood of monks was organized there as well. The church is now named St Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church, and it is under the jurisdiction of a traditionalist Greek Orthodox community. However, while the bones are of approximately the right date, they are of a man in his late twenties or early thirties rather than a youth in his mid teens. [7]
  Person ID	I22417
  Last Modified	26 Aug 2021

  
  

  Father	Edgar "the Peaceful", King of England,   b. 943, Kingdom of Wessex, England d. 8 Jul 975, Winchester, Hampshire, England (Age 32 years)
  Mother	Æthelfæda the Fair
  Marriage	961	England
  Age at Marriage	He : ~ 18 years - She : ??.
  Family ID	F2231	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Crowned - 8 Jul 975 - Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England Death - 18 Mar 978 - Corfe Castle, Corfe Castle, Dorsetshire, England Burial - — - Wareham Priory, Dorsetshire, England  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  Coin of Edward the Martyr

  
  

• Sources

  [S1461] Burke, John and John Bernard Burke. The Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales with their Descendants, Sovereigns and Subjects , (London: E. Churton, 1848). [S1939] Cannon, John. Oxford: The Kings and Queens of Britain, (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001). [S1940] Panton, Kenneth J. Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy, (Lanham, UK: Scarecrow Press, 2011). [S65] Sewell, Robert James. Sewell: A History of the Sewell Family from the Earliest Times, (unknown: manuscript, March 2008). [S1941] Soud, David. Kings & Queens of Great Britain, (San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press, 2017). [S1682] Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families, (London: Vintage Books, 1989). [S304] Wikipedia, Edward the Martyr.