Surnamed: "The Peaceable"
Parents: Edmund I, king of England, and Ælfgifu of Shaftsbury
Parents: Edmund I, king of England, and Ælfgifu of Shaftsbury
Date of Birth: 7 August 943
Royal House: Wessex
Spouse: (1) Æthelflæd, then (2) Wulthryth, then (3) Ælgthryth, daughter of Ordgar
Predecessor: Eadwig
Reign: 959 – 975
Summary: The youngest son of Edmund the Magnificent, it took many years for him to succeed in making a name of himself in England. For his early years, little is known, but he was elected king in contest of his elder brother Eadwig, who was king in the north, in the year 957 when he was only around fourteen years old. A group of nobles supported by Dunstan, a Benedictine monk, elected Edgar king, and Eadwig had to negotiate a division of the kingdom for the final two years of his life. Thus, in East Anglia, a half-brother ruled, while in Wessex and Kent, Eadwig ruled. Edgar ruled Northumbia and Mercia, the two largest components of the realm. When Eadwig died in 959, Edgar inherited the lot of England and kept it unified throughout this reign.
As his first act, Edgar installed Dunstan as the bishop of Worcester. He eventually became archbishop of Canterbury and was canonized. Edgar may have killed his nephew and rival in East Anglia due to love, though historical sources are sparse and historians are conflicted over the matter. The king was crowned at Bath in 973 with his wife, setting a precedent of king-queen coronation in England. He had waited to be crowned for when his reign was at its height. Six kings in Great Britain came to pledge fealty to Edgar at his coronation, including the king of Scots and the king of Strathclyde. Edgar died two years after his formal coronation and was buried at Glastonbury Abbey. His eldest son, Edward, who was probably illegitimate, succeeded him but was later murdered through the assistance of his younger brother, Æthelred. Edgar's reign was the last peaceful and uncontested reign in England until the reign of Henry II.
Date of Death: 8 July 975
Successor: Edward the Martyr
Other Monarchs Who Died Today:
Royal House: Wessex
Spouse: (1) Æthelflæd, then (2) Wulthryth, then (3) Ælgthryth, daughter of Ordgar
Predecessor: Eadwig
Reign: 959 – 975
Summary: The youngest son of Edmund the Magnificent, it took many years for him to succeed in making a name of himself in England. For his early years, little is known, but he was elected king in contest of his elder brother Eadwig, who was king in the north, in the year 957 when he was only around fourteen years old. A group of nobles supported by Dunstan, a Benedictine monk, elected Edgar king, and Eadwig had to negotiate a division of the kingdom for the final two years of his life. Thus, in East Anglia, a half-brother ruled, while in Wessex and Kent, Eadwig ruled. Edgar ruled Northumbia and Mercia, the two largest components of the realm. When Eadwig died in 959, Edgar inherited the lot of England and kept it unified throughout this reign.
As his first act, Edgar installed Dunstan as the bishop of Worcester. He eventually became archbishop of Canterbury and was canonized. Edgar may have killed his nephew and rival in East Anglia due to love, though historical sources are sparse and historians are conflicted over the matter. The king was crowned at Bath in 973 with his wife, setting a precedent of king-queen coronation in England. He had waited to be crowned for when his reign was at its height. Six kings in Great Britain came to pledge fealty to Edgar at his coronation, including the king of Scots and the king of Strathclyde. Edgar died two years after his formal coronation and was buried at Glastonbury Abbey. His eldest son, Edward, who was probably illegitimate, succeeded him but was later murdered through the assistance of his younger brother, Æthelred. Edgar's reign was the last peaceful and uncontested reign in England until the reign of Henry II.
Date of Death: 8 July 975
Successor: Edward the Martyr
Other Monarchs Who Died Today:
- Pepin, king of Italy (810)
- Eugene III, pope of Rome (1153)
- Gregory XV, pope of Rome (1623)
- William IV, king of the United Kingdom (1837)
- Oscar I, king of Sweden and Norway (1859)
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