EDWY (bef943-959)
1 EDWY (bef943-959) [14618]. Born bef 0943. Died Oct 0959.1
2 Edmund the ELDER1,2,3 (aft921-946) [14617]. Born btw 0921 and 0923.2,3 Died 26 May 0946, Pucklekirk (Pucklechurch), Gloucestershire.2,3 Buried Glastonbury.4
We know that the father of King Edgar was Edmund the Elder. As noted below, he was also known as "the Deed-Doer" and "the Magnificent." From The English Cyclopaedia edited by Charles Knight, 1856, we learn the following about Edmund:
1. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his third wife Edgiva.
2. He was likely born sometime before 923. (Other sources, see below, report 921.)
3. Edmund died May 26, 946 in Pucklekirk, Gloucestershire.
3. Edmund's father, Edward the Elder, died in 925.
4. Edmund had a brother, Edred, who succeeded him.
The current online edition of Encyclopedia Britannica reports a birth date for Edmund of 921 and also gives his place of death as Pucklechurch. Wife Edgiva is here shown as Eadgifu.
Early British Kingdoms by David Nash Ford, 2014, reports that Edmund had only two wives, the first being the mother of King Edgar, here shown as St. Aelfgith. (Edgiva, Eadgifu and St. Aelfgith all appear to be the same person.) She died in 944. Edmund's second wife was Ethelflaed. We also learn that Edmund was buried at Glastonbury.
4 Edward the ELDER (875-bef925) [14620]. Born 0875.5 Died btw 0924 and 0925, Farrington, Berkshire.2,6,7 Buried New Minster, Winchester.6
The History of the Anglo-Saxons by Sharon Turner, 1823, reports on Edward's families. Edward had a son named Athelstan but the identity of the mother is uncertain. With his first wife (name unknown) Edward had two sons, Ethelward and Edwin, and six daughters. With his second wife (or third according to other sources, named Edgiva as we have already seen), Edward had two more sons, Edmund (the Elder) and Edred. as well as three more daughters.
8 Alfred the GREAT6,8,9,10,11 (849-899) [14625]. Born 0849, Wantage in Oxfordshire.9,11 Marr EALSWITHA 0868.10 Died 0899.9 Buried Wincester.9
The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature edited by David Scott Kastan, 2006, contains a lengthy chapter on Alfred. Contrary to the BBC History Site, this reports that Alfred was born in Berkshire. This also reports that Alfred's father, Aethelwulf, died in 858 and that Aethelwulf's father was King Egbert who died in 839. Another brother of Alfred's is identified here as Aethelstan who died early in the 1850s. I have been able to confirm that Aethelred and Aethelstan were two different individuals and there was another brother named Ethelbald also known as Aethelbald. Alfred himself is sometimes shown as Aelfred.
From the BBC history site:
"Alfred the Great (849 AD - 899 AD) - King of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex and one of the outstanding figures of English history, as much for his social and educational reforms as for his military successes against the Danes. He is the only English monarch known as "the Great".
Alfred was born at Wantage in Oxfordshire in 849, fourth or fifth son of Aethelwulf, king of the West Saxons. Following the wishes of their father, the sons succeeded to the kingship in turn. At a time when the country was under threat from Danish raids, this was aimed at preventing a child inheriting the throne with the related weaknesses in leadership. In 870 AD the Danes attacked the only remaining independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Wessex, whose forces were commanded by Alfred's older brother, King Aelthelred, and himself.
In 871 AD, Alfred defeated the Danes at the battle of Ashdown in Berkshire. The following year, he succeeded his brother as king. Despite his success at Ashdown, the Danes continued to devastate Wessex and Alfred was forced to withdraw to the Somerset marshes, where he continued guerrilla warfare against his enemies. In 878 AD, he again defeated the Danes in the battle of Edington. They made peace and Guthrum, their king, was baptised with Afred as his sponsor. In 866 AD, Alfred negotiated a treaty with the Danes. England was divided, with the north and the east (between the Rivers Thames and Tees) declared to be Danish territory - later known as 'Danelaw'. Alfred therefore gained control of areas of West Mercia and Kent which had been beyond the boundaries of Wessex.
Alfred built up the defences of his kingdom to ensure that it was not threatened by the Danes again. He reorganized his army and built a series of well-defended settlements across southern England. He also established a navy for use against the Danish raiders who continued to harass the coast.
As an administrator Alfred advocated justice and order and established a code of laws and a reformed coinage. He had a strong belief in the importance of education and learnt Latin in his late thirties. He then arranged, and himself took part in, the translation of books from the Latin to Anglo-Saxon.
By the 890's Alfred's charters and coinage were referring to him as 'king of the English'. He died in October 899 AD and was buried at his capital city of Winchester.
9 EALSWITHA10,12 ( -c. 905) [14640]. Died c. 0905.10
5 EDGIVA2,3 ( - ) [14621].
Edgiva is the third wife of Edward the Elder.
3 ST. AELFGITH4 ( -944) [14623]. Died 0944.4
Sources
| 1 | "English Monarchs-Kings and Queens of England (website)". |
| 2 | "The English Cyclopaedia edited by Charles Knight, 1856". |
| 3 | "Online edition of Encyclopedia Britannica". |
| 4 | "Early British Kingdoms by David Nash Ford, 2014". |
| 5 | "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists who Came to America Before 1700,". |
| 6 | "History of the Monarchy-Kings and Queens of England". |
| 7 | "The Universal Chronologist, and Historical Register by William Henry Ireland and Joseph Martin, 1826". |
| 8 | "The Collegiate, School and Family History of England by Edward Farr, 1848 ". |
| 10 | "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weiss, 1992". |
| 11 | "Fast Facts on the Kings and Queens of England by David L. Tunis, 2005". |
| 12 | "The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature edited by David Scott Kastan, 2006". |
