Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor[a] (Old English: Ēadƿeard Andettere

Edward the Confessor
[æːɑdwæɑrˠd ɑndetere]; Latin: Eduardus Confessor [ɛdʊˈardʊs kõː
ˈfɛssɔr], Ecclesiastical Latin: [eduˈardus konˈfessor]; c. 1003 – 5
January 1066), also known as Saint Edward the Confessor, was
among the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England. Usually considered
the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.

Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of

Normandy. He succeeded Cnut the Great's son – and his own half
brother – Harthacnut. He restored the rule of the House of Wessex
after the period of Danish rule since Cnut (better known as Canute)
conquered England in 1016. When Edward died in 1066, he was
succeeded by Harold Godwinson, who was defeated and killed in the
same year by the Normans under William the Conqueror at the
Battle of Hastings. Edgar the Ætheling, who was of the House of
Wessex, was proclaimed king after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 EDWARD(US) REX: Edward the
Confessor, enthroned, opening
but never ruled and was deposed after about eight weeks.
scene of the Bayeux Tapestry
Historians disagree about Edward's fairly long (24-year) reign. His King of England
nickname reflects the traditional image of him as unworldly and Reign 8 June 1042 – 5
pious. Confessor reflects his reputation as a saint who did not suffer January 1066
martyrdom, as opposed to his uncle, King Edward the Martyr. Some
Coronation 3 April 1043,
portray Edward the Confessor's reign as leading to the disintegration
of royal power in England and the advance in power of the House of Winchester
Godwin, because of the infighting that began after his death with no Cathedral
heirs to the throne. Biographers Frank Barlow and Peter Rex, on the Predecessor Harthacnut
other hand, portray Edward as a successful king, one who was
Successor Harold Godwinson
energetic, resourceful and sometimes ruthless; they argue that the
Norman conquest shortly after his death tarnished his image.[1][2] Born c. 1003–1005
However, Richard Mortimer argues that the return of the Godwins Islip, Oxfordshire,
from exile in 1052 "meant the effective end of his exercise of
England
power", citing Edward's reduced activity as implying "a withdrawal
from affairs".[3] Died 5 January 1066
(aged 60–63)
About a century later, in 1161, Pope Alexander III canonised the London, England
king. Saint Edward was one of England's national saints until King
Burial Westminster Abbey,
Edward III adopted Saint George as the national patron saint in
about 1350. Saint Edward's feast day is 13 October, celebrated by England
both the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Spouse Edith of Wessex
Wales. House Wessex
Father Æthelred the
Unready
Contents Mother Emma of Normandy
Early years and exile
Early reign Saint Edward
Crisis of 1051–52
Later reign
Succession
Westminster Abbey
Canonisation
Appearance and character
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
Further reading
External links

King of England
Early years and exile Born circa 1003—1005
Islip, Oxfordshire,
Edward was the seventh son of Æthelred the Unready, and the first England
by his second wife, Emma of Normandy. Edward was born between
Died 5 January 1066
1003 and 1005 in Islip, Oxfordshire,[1] and is first recorded as a
'witness' to two charters in 1005. He had one full brother, Alfred, and London
a sister, Godgifu. In charters he was always listed behind his older Resting Westminster Abbey
half-brothers, showing that he ranked behind them.[4] place

During his childhood, England was the target of Viking raids and Venerated in Catholic Church
invasions under Sweyn Forkbeard and his son, Cnut. Following Church of England
Sweyn's seizure of the throne in 1013, Emma fled to Normandy,
Canonized 1161 by Pope
followed by Edward and Alfred, and then by Æthelred. Sweyn died
in February 1014, and leading Englishmen invited Æthelred back on Alexander III
condition that he promised to rule 'more justly' than before. Æthelred Feast October 13
agreed, sending Edward back with his ambassadors.[5] Æthelred died Attributes crown
in April 1016, and he was succeeded by Edward's older half-brother
Edmund Ironside, who carried on the fight against Sweyn's son, scepter
Cnut. According to Scandinavian tradition, Edward fought alongside ring
Edmund; as Edward was at most thirteen years old at the time, the
Patronage kings, difficult
story is disputed.[6][7] Edmund died in November 1016, and Cnut
marriages, separated
became undisputed king. Edward then again went into exile with his
brother and sister; in 1017 his mother married Cnut.[1] In the same spouses, and the
year, Cnut had Edward's last surviving elder half-brother, Eadwig, British Royal Family
executed,[8] leaving Edward as the leading Anglo-Saxon claimant to
the throne.

Edward spent a quarter of a century in exile, probably mainly in Normandy, although there is no evidence of
his location until the early 1030s. He probably received support from his sister Godgifu, who married Drogo
of Mantes, count of Vexin in about 1024. In the early 1030s, Edward witnessed four charters in Normandy,
signing two of them as king of England. According to William of Jumièges, the Norman chronicler, Robert
I, Duke of Normandy attempted an invasion of England to place Edward on the throne in about 1034 but it
was blown off course to Jersey. He also received support for his claim to the throne from several continental
abbots, particularly Robert, abbot of the Norman abbey of Jumièges, who later became Edward's
Archbishop of Canterbury.[9] Edward was said to have developed an intense personal piety during this
period, but modern historians regard this as a product of the later medieval campaign for his canonisation. In
Frank Barlow's view "in his lifestyle would seem to have been that of a typical member of the rustic
nobility".[1][10] He appeared to have a slim prospect of acceding to the English throne during this period,
and his ambitious mother was more interested in supporting Harthacnut, her son by Cnut.[1][11]

Cnut died in 1035, and Harthacnut succeeded him as king of Denmark. It is unclear whether he intended to
keep England as well, but he was too busy defending his position in Denmark to come to England to assert
his claim to the throne. It was therefore decided that his elder half-brother Harold Harefoot should act as
regent, while Emma held Wessex on Harthacnut's behalf.[12] In 1036, Edward and his brother Alfred
separately came to England. Emma later claimed that they came in response to a letter forged by Harold
inviting them to visit her, but historians believe that she probably did invite them in an effort to counter
Harold's growing popularity.[1][13] Alfred was captured by Godwin, Earl of Wessex who turned him over to
Harold Harefoot. He had Alfred blinded by forcing red-hot pokers into his eyes to make him unsuitable for
kingship, and Alfred died soon after as a result of his wounds. The murder is thought to be the source of
much of Edward's hatred for Godwin and one of the primary reasons for Godwin's banishment in autumn
1051.[10] Edward is said to have fought a successful skirmish near Southampton, and then retreated back to
Normandy.[14][b] He thus showed his prudence, but he had some reputation as a soldier in Normandy and
Scandinavia.[16]

In 1037, Harold was accepted as king, and the following year he expelled Emma, who retreated to Bruges.
She then summoned Edward and demanded his help for Harthacnut, but he refused as he had no resources to
launch an invasion, and disclaimed any interest for himself in the throne.[1][16] Harthacnut, his position in
Denmark now secure, planned an invasion, but Harold died in 1040, and Harthacnut was able to cross
unopposed, with his mother, to take the English throne.[17]

In 1041, Harthacnut invited Edward back to England, probably as heir because he knew he had not long to
live.[12] The 12th-century Quadripartitus, in an account regarded as convincing by historian John
Maddicott, states that he was recalled by the intervention of Bishop Ælfwine of Winchester and Earl
Godwin. Edward met "the thegns of all England" at Hursteshever, probably modern Hurst Spit opposite the
Isle of Wight. There he was received as king in return for his oath that he would continue the laws of
Cnut.[18] According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Edward was sworn in as king alongside Harthacnut, but a
diploma issued by Harthacnut in 1042 describes him as the king's brother.[19][20]

Early reign
Following Harthacnut's death on 8 June 1042, Godwin, the most
powerful of the English earls, supported Edward, who succeeded to
the throne.[1] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the popularity he
enjoyed at his accession – "before he [Harthacnut] was buried, all
the people chose Edward as king in London."[21] Edward was
crowned at the cathedral of Winchester, the royal seat of the West
Saxons, on 3 April 1043.[22]

Edward complained that his mother had "done less for him than he
wanted before he became king, and also afterwards". In November A sealed writ of Edward the
1043, he rode to Winchester with his three leading earls, Leofric of Confessor
Mercia, Godwin and Siward of Northumbria, to deprive her of her
property, possibly because she was holding on to treasure which
belonged to the king. Her adviser, Stigand, was deprived of his bishopric of Elmham in East Anglia.
However, both were soon restored to favour. Emma died in 1052.[23] Edward's position when he came to the
throne was weak. Effective rule required keeping on terms with the three leading earls, but loyalty to the
ancient house of Wessex had been eroded by the period of Danish rule, and only Leofric was descended
from a family which had served Æthelred. Siward was probably Danish, and although Godwin was English,
he was one of Cnut's new men, married to Cnut's former sister-in-law. However, in his early years Edward
restored the traditional strong monarchy, showing himself, in Frank Barlow's view, "a vigorous and
ambitious man, a true son of the impetuous Æthelred and the formidable Emma."[1]

In 1043, Godwin's eldest son Sweyn was appointed to an earldom in the south-west midlands, and on 23
January 1045 Edward married Godwin's daughter Edith. Soon afterwards, her brother Harold and her Danish
cousin Beorn Estrithson, were also given earldoms in southern England. Godwin and his family now ruled
subordinately all of Southern England. However, in 1047 Sweyn was banished for abducting the abbess of
Leominster. In 1049, he returned to try to regain his earldom, but this was said to have been opposed by
Harold and Beorn, probably because they had been given Sweyn's land in his absence. Sweyn murdered his
cousin Beorn and went again into exile, and Edward's nephew Ralph was given Beorn's earldom, but the
following year Sweyn's father was able to secure his reinstatement.[24]

The wealth of Edward's lands exceeded that of the greatest earls, but they were scattered among the southern
earldoms. He had no personal powerbase, and it seems he did not attempt to build one. In 1050–51 he even
paid off the fourteen foreign ships which constituted his standing navy and abolished the tax raised to pay
for it.[1][25] However, in ecclesiastical and foreign affairs he was able to follow his own policy. King
Magnus I of Norway aspired to the English throne, and in 1045 and 1046, fearing an invasion, Edward took
command of the fleet at Sandwich. Beorn's elder brother, Sweyn II of Denmark "submitted himself to
Edward as a son", hoping for his help in his battle with Magnus for control of Denmark, but in 1047 Edward
rejected Godwin's demand that he send aid to Sweyn, and it was only Magnus's death in October that saved
England from attack and allowed Sweyn to take the Danish throne.[1]

Modern historians reject the traditional view that Edward mainly employed Norman favourites, but he did
have foreigners in his household, including a few Normans, who became unpopular. Chief among them was
Robert, abbot of the Norman abbey of Jumièges, who had known Edward from the 1030s and came to
England with him in 1041, becoming bishop of London in 1043. According to the Vita Edwardi, he became
"always the most powerful confidential adviser to the king".[26][27][c]

Crisis of 1051–52
In ecclesiastical appointments, Edward and his advisers showed a
bias against candidates with local connections, and when the clergy
and monks of Canterbury elected a relative of Godwin as
Archbishop of Canterbury in 1051, Edward rejected him and
appointed Robert of Jumièges, who claimed that Godwin was in
illegal possession of some archiepiscopal estates. In September
1051, Edward was visited by his brother-in-law, Godgifu's second
husband, Eustace II of Boulogne. His men caused an affray in
Dover, and Edward ordered Godwin as earl of Kent to punish the
town's burgesses, but he took their side and refused. Edward seized
the chance to bring his over-mighty earl to heel. Archbishop Robert
accused Godwin of plotting to kill the king, just as he had killed his
Edward's seal: SIGILLVM
brother Alfred in 1036, while Leofric and Siward supported the king
EADWARDI ANGLORVM BASILEI
and called up their vassals. Sweyn and Harold called up their own
(Seal of Edward crowned/King of the
vassals, but neither side wanted a fight, and Godwin and Sweyn English).
appear to have each given a son as hostage, who were sent to
Normandy. The Godwins' position disintegrated as their men were
not willing to fight the king. When Stigand, who was acting as intermediary, conveyed the king's jest that
Godwin could have his peace if he could restore Alfred and his companions alive and well, Godwin and his
sons fled, going to Flanders and Ireland.[1] Edward repudiated Edith and sent her to a nunnery, perhaps
because she was childless,[29] and Archbishop Robert urged her divorce.[1]

Sweyn went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem (dying on his way back), but Godwin and his other sons returned
with an army following a year later, and received considerable support, while Leofric and Siward failed to
support the king. Both sides were concerned that a civil war would leave the country open to foreign
invasion. The king was furious, but he was forced to give way and restore Godwin and Harold to their
earldoms, while Robert of Jumièges and other Frenchmen fled, fearing Godwin's vengeance. Edith was
restored as queen, and Stigand, who had again acted as an intermediary between the two sides in the crisis,
was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in Robert's place. Stigand retained his existing bishopric of
Winchester, and his pluralism was a continuing source of dispute with the pope.[1][30] [d]

Later reign
Until the mid-1050s Edward was able to structure his earldoms so as
to prevent the Godwins from becoming dominant. Godwin died in
1053, and although Harold succeeded to his earldom of Wessex,
none of his other brothers were earls at this date. His house was then
weaker than it had been since Edward's succession, but a succession
of deaths from 1055 to 1057 completely changed the control of
earldoms. In 1055, Siward died, but his son was considered too
young to command Northumbria, and Harold's brother, Tostig, was
appointed. In 1057, Leofric and Ralph died, and Leofric's son Ælfgar
succeeded as Earl of Mercia, while Harold's brother Gyrth
succeeded Ælfgar as Earl of East Anglia. The fourth surviving
Godwin brother, Leofwine, was given an earldom in the south-east
Penny of Edward the Confessor
carved out of Harold's territory, and Harold received Ralph's
territory in compensation. Thus by 1057, the Godwin brothers
controlled all of England subordinately apart from Mercia. It is not
known whether Edward approved of this transformation or whether he had to accept it, but from this time he
seems to have begun to withdraw from active politics, devoting himself to hunting, which he pursued each
day after attending church.[1][32]

In the 1050s, Edward pursued an aggressive and generally successful policy in dealing with Scotland and
Wales. Malcolm Canmore was an exile at Edward's court after his father, Duncan I, was killed in battle in
1040, against men led by Macbeth who seized the Scottish throne. In 1054, Edward sent Siward to invade
Scotland. He defeated Macbeth, and Malcolm, who had accompanied the expedition, gained control of
southern Scotland. By 1058, Malcolm had killed Macbeth in battle and had taken the Scottish throne. In
1059, he visited Edward, but in 1061, he started raiding Northumbria with the aim of adding it to his
territory.[1][33]

In 1053, Edward ordered the assassination of the south Welsh Prince Rhys ap Rhydderch in reprisal for a
raid on England, and Rhys's head was delivered to him.[1] In 1055, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn established
himself as the ruler of Wales, and allied himself with Ælfgar of Mercia, who had been outlawed for treason.
They defeated Earl Ralph at Hereford, and Harold had to collect forces from nearly all of England to drive
the invaders back into Wales. Peace was concluded with the reinstatement of Ælfgar, who was able to
succeed as Earl of Mercia on his father's death in 1057. Gruffydd swore an oath to be a faithful under-king
of Edward. Ælfgar likely died in 1062, and his young son Edwin was allowed to succeed as Earl of Mercia,
but Harold then launched a surprise attack on Gruffydd. He escaped, but when Harold and Tostig attacked
again the following year, he retreated and was killed by Welsh enemies. Edward and Harold were then able
to impose vassalage on some Welsh princes.[34][35]

In October 1065, Harold's brother, Tostig, Earl of Northumbria, was

hunting with the king when his thegns in Northumbria rebelled
against his rule, which they claimed was oppressive, and killed some
200 of his followers. They nominated Morcar, the brother of Edwin
of Mercia, as earl and invited the brothers to join them in marching
south. They met Harold at Northampton, and Tostig accused Harold
before the king of conspiring with the rebels. Tostig seems to have
been a favourite with the king and queen, who demanded that the Harold meeting Edward shortly
revolt be suppressed, but neither Harold nor anyone else would fight before Edward's death, depicted in
to support Tostig. Edward was forced to submit to his banishment, scene 25 of the Bayeux Tapestry
and the humiliation may have caused a series of strokes which led to
his death.[1][36] He was too weak to attend the dedication of his new
church at Westminster, which was then still incomplete, on 28 December.[37][38]

Edward probably entrusted the kingdom to Harold and Edith shortly before he died on 5 January 1066. On 6
January he was buried in Westminster Abbey, and Harold was crowned on the same day.[1]

Succession
Starting as early as William of Malmesbury in the early 12th century, historians have puzzled over Edward's
intentions for the succession. One school of thought supports the Norman case that Edward always intended
William the Conqueror to be his heir, accepting the medieval claim that Edward had already decided to be
celibate before he married, but most historians believe that he hoped to have an heir by Edith at least until
his quarrel with Godwin in 1051. William may have visited Edward during Godwin's exile, and he is
thought to have promised William the succession at this time, but historians disagree how seriously he
meant the promise, and whether he later changed his mind.[e]

Edmund Ironside's son, Edward Ætheling, had the best claim to be considered Edward's heir. He had been
taken as a young child to Hungary, and in 1054 Bishop Ealdred of Worcester visited the Holy Roman
Emperor, Henry III to secure his return, probably with a view to becoming Edward's heir. The exile returned
to England in 1057 with his family but died almost immediately.[39] His son Edgar, who was then about 6
years old, was brought up at the English court. He was given the designation Ætheling, meaning
throneworthy, which may mean that Edward considered making him his heir, and he was briefly declared
king after Harold's death in 1066.[40] However, Edgar was absent from witness lists of Edward's diplomas,
and there is no evidence in the Domesday Book that he was a substantial landowner, which suggests that he
was marginalised at the end of Edward's reign.[41]

After the mid-1050s, Edward seems to have withdrawn from affairs as he became increasingly dependent on
the Godwins, and he may have become reconciled to the idea that one of them would succeed him. The
Normans claimed that Edward sent Harold to Normandy in about 1064 to confirm the promise of the
succession to William. The strongest evidence comes from a Norman apologist, William of Poitiers.
According to his account, shortly before the Battle of Hastings, Harold sent William an envoy who admitted
that Edward had promised the throne to William but argued that this was over-ridden by his deathbed
promise to Harold. In reply, William did not dispute the deathbed promise but argued that Edward's prior
promise to him took precedence.[42] In Stephen Baxter's view, Edward's "handling of the succession issue
was dangerously indecisive, and contributed to one of the greatest catastrophes to which the English have
ever succumbed."[43]
Westminster Abbey
Edward's Norman sympathies are most clearly seen in the major
building project of his reign, Westminster Abbey, the first Norman
Romanesque church in England. This was commenced between
1042 and 1052 as a royal burial church, consecrated on 28 December
1065, completed after his death in about 1090, and demolished in
1245 to make way for Henry III's new building, which still stands. It
was very similar to Jumièges Abbey, which was built at the same Edward's funeral depicted in scene
time. Robert of Jumièges must have been closely involved in both 26 of the Bayeux Tapestry
buildings, although it is not clear which is the original and which the
copy.[38] Edward does not appear to have been interested in books
and associated arts, but his abbey played a vital role in the development of English Romanesque
architecture, showing that he was an innovating and generous patron of the church.[44]

Canonisation
Edward the Confessor was the first Anglo-Saxon and the only king of
England to be canonised, but he was part of a tradition of (uncanonised)
English royal saints, such as Eadburh of Winchester, a daughter of Edward
the Elder, Edith of Wilton, a daughter of Edgar the Peaceful, and the boy-
king Edward the Martyr.[45] With his proneness to fits of rage and his love
of hunting, Edward the Confessor is regarded by most historians as an
unlikely saint, and his canonisation as political, although some argue that his
cult started so early that it must have had something credible to build on.[46]

Edward displayed a worldly attitude in his church appointments. When he

appointed Robert of Jumièges as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1051, he
chose the leading craftsman Spearhafoc to replace Robert as Bishop of
London. Robert refused to consecrate him, saying that the pope had
forbidden it, but Spearhafoc occupied the bishopric for several months with
The left panel of the Wilton
Edward's support. After the Godwins fled the country, Edward expelled
Diptych, where Edward Spearhafoc, who fled with a large store of gold and gems which he had been
(centre), with Edmund the given to make Edward a crown.[47] Stigand was the first archbishop of
Martyr (left) and John the Canterbury not to be a monk in almost a hundred years, and he was said to
Baptist, are depicted have been excommunicated by several popes because he held Canterbury
presenting Richard II to the and Winchester in plurality. Several bishops sought consecration abroad
Virgin Mary and Christ Child. because of the irregularity of Stigand's position.[48] Edward usually
preferred clerks to monks for the most important and richest bishoprics, and
he probably accepted gifts from candidates for bishoprics and abbacies.
However, his appointments were generally respectable.[1] When Odda of Deerhurst died without heirs in
1056, Edward seized lands which Odda had granted to Pershore Abbey and gave them to his Westminster
foundation; historian Ann Williams observes that "the Confessor did not in the 11th century have the saintly
reputation which he later enjoyed, largely through the efforts of the Westminster monks themselves".[49]

After 1066, there was a subdued cult of Edward as a saint, possibly discouraged by the early Norman abbots
of Westminster,[50] which gradually increased in the early 12th century.[51] Osbert of Clare, the prior of
Westminster Abbey, then started to campaign for Edward's canonisation, aiming to increase the wealth and
power of the Abbey. By 1138, he had converted the Vita Ædwardi, the life of Edward commissioned by his
widow, into a conventional saint's life.[50] He seized on an ambiguous passage which might have meant that
their marriage was chaste, perhaps to give the idea that Edith's childlessness was not her fault, to claim that
Edward had been celibate.[52] In 1139, Osbert went to Rome to petition for Edward's canonisation with the
support of King Stephen, but he lacked the full support of the English hierarchy and Stephen had quarrelled
with the church, so Pope Innocent II postponed a decision, declaring that Osbert lacked sufficient
testimonials of Edward's holiness.[53]

In 1159, there was a disputed election to the papacy, and Henry II's support helped to secure recognition of
Pope Alexander III. In 1160, a new abbot of Westminster, Laurence, seized the opportunity to renew
Edward's claim. This time, it had the full support of the king and the English hierarchy, and a grateful pope
issued the bull of canonisation on 7 February 1161,[1] the result of a conjunction of the interests of
Westminster Abbey, King Henry II and Pope Alexander III[54] He was called 'Confessor' as the name for
someone who was believed to have lived a saintly life but was not a martyr.[55] In the 1230s, King Henry III
became attached to the cult of Saint Edward, and he commissioned a new life by Matthew Paris.[56] Henry
also constructed a grand new tomb for Edward in a rebuilt Westminster Abbey in 1269.[37] He named his
eldest son after him.

Until about 1350, Edmund the Martyr, Gregory the Great, and Edward the Confessor were regarded as
English national saints, but Edward III preferred the more war-like figure of Saint George, and in 1348 he
established the Order of the Garter with Saint George as its patron. It was located at Windsor Castle, and its
chapel of Saint Edward the Confessor was re-dedicated to Saint George, who was acclaimed in 1351 as
patron of the English race.[57] Edward was never a popular saint, but he was important to the Norman
dynasty, which claimed to be the successor of Edward as the last legitimate Anglo-Saxon king.[58]

The shrine of Saint Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey

remains where it was after the final translation of his body to a
0:00 / 0:00
chapel east of the sanctuary on 13 October 1269 by Henry III.[59]
The day of his translation, 13 October (his first translation had also
been on that date in 1163), is regarded as his feast day, and each Audio description of the shrine of
Edward the Confessor by John Hall
October the abbey holds a week of festivities and prayer in his
honour. [60] 13 October is an optional feast day in the Catholic
Church of England and Wales,[61] and the Church of England's
calendar of saints designates it as a Lesser Festival.[62] Edward is also regarded as a patron saint of difficult
marriages.[63] For some time the abbey had claimed that it possessed a set of coronation regalia that Edward
had left for use in all future coronations. Following Edward's canonisation, these were regarded as holy
relics, and thereafter they were used at all English coronations from the 13th century until the destruction of
the regalia by Oliver Cromwell in 1649.[64]

Appearance and character

The Vita Ædwardi Regis states "[H]e was a very proper figure of a man—of outstanding height, and
distinguished by his milky white hair and beard, full face and rosy cheeks, thin white hands, and long
translucent fingers; in all the rest of his body he was an unblemished royal person. Pleasant, but always
dignified, he walked with eyes downcast, most graciously affable to one and all. If some cause aroused his
temper, he seemed as terrible as a lion, but he never revealed his anger by railing.".[65] This, as the historian
Richard Mortimer notes, 'contains obvious elements of the ideal king, expressed in flattering terms – tall and
distinguished, affable, dignified and just.'[66]

Edward was allegedly not above accepting bribes. According to the Ramsey Liber Benefactorum, the
monastery's abbot decided that it would be dangerous to publicly contest a claim brought by "a certain
powerful man", but he claimed he was able to procure a favourable judgment by giving Edward twenty
marks in gold and his wife five marks.[67]
See also
Encomium Emmae Reginae, encomium to Edward's mother
Vita Ædwardi Regis, life commissioned by Edward's wife
Játvarðar Saga, Icelandic saga about the king
List of monarchs of Wessex
List of Catholic saints
Saint Edward the Confessor, patron saint archive
St Edward's Crown
Burial places of British royalty

References

Notes
a. The regnal numbering of English monarchs starts after the Norman conquest, which is why
Edward the Confessor, who was the third King Edward, is not referred to as Edward III.
b. Pauline Stafford believes that Edward joined his mother at Winchester and returned to the
continent after his brother's death.[15]
c. Robert of Jumièges is usually described as Norman, but his origin is unknown, possibly
Frankish.[28]
d. Edward's nephew, Earl Ralph, who had been one of his chief supporters in the crisis of 1051–
52, may have received Sweyn's marcher earldom of Hereford at this time.[31] However, Barlow
2006, states that Ralph received Hereford on Sweyn's first expulsion in 1047.
e. Historians' views are discussed in Baxter 2009, pp. 77–118, which this section is based on.

Citations
1. Barlow 2006.
2. Rex 2008, p. 224.
3. Mortimer 2009.
4. Keynes 2009, p. 49.
5. Rex 2008, pp. 13, 19.
6. Barlow 1970, p. 29–36 (https://archive.org/details/edwardconfessor00barl/page/29).
7. Keynes 2009, p. 56.
8. Panton 2011, p. 21.
9. van Houts 2009, pp. 63–75.
10. Howarth 1981.
11. Rex 2008, p. 28.
12. Lawson 2004.
13. Rex 2008, pp. 34–35.
14. Barlow 1970, pp. 44-45 (https://archive.org/details/edwardconfessor00barl/page/44).
15. Stafford 2001, pp. 239–240.
16. Rex 2008, p. 33.
17. Howard 2008, p. 117.
18. Maddicott 2004, pp. 650–666.
19. Mortimer 2009, p. 7.
20. Baxter 2009, p. 101.
21. Giles 1914, p. 114.
22. Barlow 1970, p. 61 (https://archive.org/details/edwardconfessor00barl/page/61).
23. Rex 2008, pp. 48-49.
24. Mortimer 2009, maps between pages 116 and 117.
25. Mortimer 2009, pp. 26–28.
26. van Houts 2009, p. 69.
27. Gem 2009, p. 171.
28. van Houts 2009, p. 70.
29. Williams 2004a.
30. Rex 2008, p. 107.
31. Williams 2004b.
32. Baxter 2009, pp. 103–104.
33. Barrow 2008.
34. Walker 2004.
35. Williams 2004c.
36. Aird 2004.
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38. Fernie 2009, pp. 139–143.
39. Baxter 2009, pp. 96–98.
40. Hooper 2004.
41. Baxter 2009, pp. 98–103.
42. Baxter 2009, pp. 103–114.
43. Baxter 2009, p. 118.
44. Mortimer 2009, p. 23.
45. Bozoky 2009, pp. 178–179.
46. Mortimer 2009, pp. 29–32.
47. Blair 2004.
48. Cowdrey 2004.
49. Williams 1997, p. 11.
50. Barlow 2004.
51. Rex 2008, pp. 214–217.
52. Baxter 2009, pp. 84–85.
53. Bozoky 2009, pp. 180–181.
54. Bozoky 2009, p. 173.
55. Rex 2008, p. 226.
56. Carpenter 2007, pp. 865–891.
57. Summerson 2004.
58. Bozoky 2009, pp. 180–182.
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Further reading
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, tr. Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. 2nd ed. London,
2000.
Aelred of Rievaulx, Life of St. Edward the Confessor, translated Fr. Jerome Bertram (first
English translation) St. Austin Press ISBN 1-901157-75-X
Keynes, Simon (1991). "The Æthelings in Normandy". Anglo-Norman Studies. The Boydell
Press. XIII. ISBN 0 85115 286 4.
Licence, Tom (2016). "Edward the Confessor and the Succession Question: a Fresh Look and
the Sources". Anglo-Norman Studies. 39. ISBN 9781783272211.
O'Brien, Bruce R.: God's peace and king's peace : the laws of Edward the Confessor,
Philadelphia, Pa. : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8122-3461-8
The Waltham Chronicle ed. and trans. Leslie Watkiss and Marjorie Chibnall, Oxford Medieval
Texts, OUP, 1994
William of Malmesbury, The History of the English Kings, i, ed.and trans. R.A.B. Mynors,
R.M.Thomson and M.Winterbottom, Oxford Medieval Texts, OUP 1998

External links
 Edward 15 (http://www.pase.ac.uk/jsp/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=8849) at
Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Westminster Abbey: Edward the Confessor and Edith (https://web.archive.org/web/201102110
52317/http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/burials/edward-the-confessor-and-
edith)
Steven Muhlberger's 'Edward the Confessor and his earls' (http://www.the-orb.net/textbooks/m
uhlberger/edward_conf.html)
Illustrated biography of Edward the Confessor (http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxon_16.ht
m)
BBC History: Edward the Confessor (https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/edward_co
nfessor.shtml)
BBC News: Ancient royal tomb is uncovered (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/44898
42.stm)
Life of St Edward the Confessor, Cambridge Digital Library (http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-
EE-00003-00059/)

Edward the Confessor

House of Wessex
Born: c. 1003 Died: 4 or 5 January 1066

Regnal titles
King of the Succeeded by
Preceded by
English Harold
Harthacnut
1042–1066 Godwinson

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