Edward the Confessor

The topic of today’s post is going to be Edward the Confessor and the lead up to 1066.  This period marks a huge turning point in the history of Britain and sets the scene for study of the Norman period and Medieval England.  I am going to begin by using the BBC’s History website which has a wealth of information concerning British history, providing useful links and images to accompany the text, and David Starkey’s The Monarchy of England.

Edward the Confessor was one of the most famous of Anglo-Saxon Kings, and ascended to the throne in 1042 following the death of King Hardicanute.  I am most familiar with him as the founder of Westminster Abbey (although the building which we are now familiar with was begun in 1245).  Hardicanute was the son of King Cnut, both of whom were Kings of Denmark.  King Cnut was a Viking who invaded England in 1016 and claimed the English throne from King Æthelred.  In order to secure his position, Cnut married King Æthelred’s widow, Emma, murdering much of the family and leaving Edward, Æthelred’s son, to flee to Normandy for protection.  Richard II, the Duke of Normandy, where Edward stayed, was Emma’s brother and William I’s father, illustrating the early formation of the connections which led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Following the death of Hardicanut, his half brother, Edward I returned to England to claim the throne.  In order to secure his position as King, he married Edith Godwine – a supposedly unhappy marriage in which at one point when the Godwines had fallen from favour, Edward stripped his wife of her lands and sent her to a nunnery.  The Godwines were an extremely powerful family of the nobility and held great influence in England at this time.  Because of this, it was important for Edward to have the support of the Godwines, hence the initial reason for the marriage.  As a side note, one fact which I was unaware of is that Edward received the title of ‘Confessor’ as a result of his inability to produce an heir.  Later priests and chroniclers accepted this as evidence of his voluntary celibacy, although this is widely debated, and canonised him.

Tensions between Edward and the Godwines persisted throughout the period.  Brothers Tostig and Harold Godwinson became bitter rivals.  On his death bed, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that in the presence of Edith, Edward said to Harold, ‘I commend this woman and all of England to your protection’ – a statement which Anglo-Saxon recorders felt was tantamount to the naming of an heir.  Edward died on 5^th of January and was buried in Westminster Abbey the following day.  His death, however, had left England without a King and with uncertainties remaining as to who was to be his heir, three claimants arose.  This will be the topic of my next post.