Individual
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____ Edward "Atheling"
Birth: 1016 Wessex
Death: 1057 London, England
Burial: St. Paul Cathedral, London, England
Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Exile
Edward the Exile (1016 – late August 1057), also called Edward Ćtheling, was the son
of King Edmund Ironside and of Ealdgyth. He spent most of his life in exile following
the defeat of his father by Canute the Great.
Exile[edit]
After the Danish conquest of England in 1016, Canute had Edward, said to be only a
few months old, and his brother, Edmund, sent to the Swedish court of Olof
Skötkonung[1][2] (who was either Canute's half-brother or stepbrother), supposedly
with instructions to have the children murdered. Instead, the two boys were secretly
sent either to Kiev,[3] where Olof's daughter Ingigerd was the Queen, or to Poland,
where Canute's uncle Boleslaw I Chrobry was duke.[4] Later Edward made his way to
Hungary, probably in the retinue of Ingigerd's son-in-law, András in 1046, whom he
supported in his successful bid for the Hungarian throne.[citation needed]
Return[edit]
On hearing the news of his being alive, Edward the Confessor recalled him to England
in 1056 and made him his heir. Edward offered the last chance of an undisputed
succession within the Saxon royal house. News of Edward's existence came at a time
when the old Anglo-Saxon Monarchy, restored after a long period of Danish
domination, was heading for catastrophe. The Confessor, personally devout but
politically weak and without children, was unable to make an effective stand against
the steady advance of the powerful and ambitious sons of Godwin, Earl of Wessex.
From across the Channel William, Duke of Normandy, also had an eye on the
succession. Edward the Exile appeared at just the right time. Approved by both king
and by the Witan, the Council of the Realm, he offered a way out of the impasse, a
counter both to the Godwinsons and to William, and one with a legitimacy that could
not be readily challenged.
Edward, who had been in the custody of Henry III, the Holy Roman Emperor, finally
came back to England at the end of August 1057. But he died within two days of his
arrival. The exact cause of Edward's death remains unclear, but he had many powerful
enemies, and there is a strong possibility that he was murdered, although by whom is
not known with any certainty. It is known, though, that his access to the king was
blocked soon after his arrival in England for some unexplained reason, at a time when
the Godwinsons, in the person of Harold, were once again in the ascendant. This turn
of events left the throne of England to be disputed by Earl Harold and Duke William,
ultimately leading to the Norman Conquest of England. He was buried in Old St Paul's
Cathedral.
Family[edit]
Edward's wife was named Agatha, whose origins are disputed.[5] Their children were:
Edgar Ćtheling (c. 1051 - c. 1126) - Elected King of England after the Battle of
Hastings but submitted to William the Conqueror.
Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045 - 16 November 1093) - Married King Malcolm III of
Scotland.
Cristina (c. 1057 - c. 1093) - Abbess at Romsey Abbey.
Edward's grandchild Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of
England, continuing the Anglo-Saxon line into the post-Conquest English monarchy.
Parents
____ Edmund II "Ironside" (ABT 988 - 30 Nov 1016)
OF MERCIA Ealgyth (Ealdgyth) (Algitha) (ABT 993 - )
Siblings
____ Edward "Atheling" (1016 - 1057)
Marriage To VON BRAUNSCHWEIG (BRUNSWICK) Agatha (ABT 1028 - AFT 1066)
m. ABT 1041
Notes
Parents
VON BRAUNSCHWEIG Liudolf (Ludwig) (ABT 1006 - 23 Apr 1038)
VON EGISHEIM Gertrude (ABT 1000 - 21 Jul 1077)
Children by VON BRAUNSCHWEIG (BRUNSWICK) Agatha ABT 1028 - AFT 1066
OF SCOTLAND Margaret "Atheling" "Saint" (ABT 1048 - 16 Nov 1093)
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