Edward

Edward (c. 1005-66), king of England (1042-66), known as ‘the Confessor’. Edward was born at Islip (Oxon.), the first recorded child of Æthelred's second marriage: his mother was Emma, daughter of Richard I, count of Normandy. During the Danish conquest of England, Edward took refuge in Normandy, initially in 1013. Emma married King Cnut in 1017, and seems to have been influential in Edward's recall from the long exile in 1041 in the reign of Harthacnut, her son by Cnut. In the following year Edward succeeded his half-brother on the throne. He proved far from the pious nincompoop portrayed by some historians, and should be given credit for keeping his kingdom intact in troubled time, for reconciling the English and Danish elements in the aristocracy, and for accustoming England to regular cultural and political contact with continental Europe. His reign was dominated by his relationship with one of the most extraordinary families in English history, that of Earl Godwine of Wessex, whose daughter Eadgyth married Edward in 1045. Godwine's five sons, Sweyn, Harold, Tostig, Leofwine, and Gyrth, all achieved the rank and office of earl, and Harold succeeded his brother-in-law as king in 1066. In 1051, as a result of quarrels, Edward enforced the exile of the whole Godwine family, and although they returned under arms in the autumn of 1052 they did not do so unconditionally. In their absence Edward had indulged in a degree of Normanization. Godwine's return prompted reaction. Robert of Jumièges, whose promotion to the see of Canterbury in 1051 had caused disaffection, was replaced by Stigand. Godwine himself died in dramatic circumstances at Easter 1053, not long after his return. After Godwine's death, Edward affirmed his overlordship in spectacular fashion, sending Harold on an embassy, and recalling from Hungary his own nephew and namesake Edward the Atheling, presumably as a possible heir. The last decade or so of Edward's reign was a period of relative prosperity. Local government functioned effectively and urban life flourished, notably in London and Winchester. Tax systems and coinage were advanced, sophisticated, and efficient for the age. An outbreak of rebellion in Northumbria in October 1065, resulting in the exile of Tostig, caused the king much grief and seems to have precipitated his final illness. He had spent much treasure on the rebuilding of Westminster abbey, but was too sick to attend the dedication on 28 December. He died in the first week of 1066, on 4 or 5 January, and was buried in the abbey. In the 12th cent. Edward became something of a symbol of reconciliation between Norman and English. His reputation as a lawgiver, largely unmerited, became great, and his personal piety exaggerated. In 1161, he was canonized by Pope Alexander III. The by-name ‘the Confessor’ persisted, as one who suffered for his faith, though initially it was given merely to differentiate him from his half-uncle Edward the Martyr.