English King Edward the Confessor
Summation by D. A. Sharpe
Edward the Confessor was born
January 5, 1003, being among the last of the Anglo-Saxon Kings of England.
ÒÓThe Confessor" Edward
is the son of 3rd great grandfather of ÒCount PoitouÓ William, the 14th great grand uncle
of husband of my 7th great grandmother, Alice Carpenter
The penultimate Anglo-Saxon king,
Edward III was the oldest son (and seventh son) of Aethelred II and Emma. He
had gone to Normandy in 1013, when his father and mother had fled from England.
He stayed there during the reign of Canute and, at his death in 1035, led an
abortive attempt to capture the crown for himself. He was recalled, for some
reason, to the court of Hardicanute, his half-brother. His Christian faith was
Roman Catholic.
Canute had placed the local control
of the shires into the hands of several powerful earls: Leofric of Mercia (Lady
Godiva's husband), Siward of Northumbria and Godwin of Wessex, the most
formidable of all. Through Godwin's influence, Edward took the throne at the
untimely death of Hardicanute in 1042. In 1045, he married Godwin's only
daughter, Edith.
Resulting from the connections made
during Edward's years in Normandy, he surrounded himself wthe
his Norman favorites and was unduly influenced by them. This Norman
"affinity" produced great displeasure among the Saxon nobles. The
anti-Norman faction was led by (who else?) Godwin of Wessex and his son, Harold
Godwinsson, took every available opportunity to undermine the kingÕs favorites.
Edward sought to revenge himself on Godwin by insulting his own wife and
Godwin's daughter, Edith, and confining her to the monastery of Wherwell.
Disputes also arose over the issue of royal patronage and Edward's inclination
to reward his Norman friends.
A Norman, Robert Champart, who had been Bishop of
London, was made Archbishop of Canterbury by Edward in 1051, a promotion that
displeased Godwin immensely. The Godwins were banished from the kingdom after
staging an unsuccessful rebellion against the king but returned, landing a
force invading the south of England in1052. They received great popular
support, and in the face of this, the king was forced to restore the Godwins to
favor in 1053.
Edward's greatest achievement was
the construction of a new cathedral, where virtually all English monarchs, from
William the Conqueror onward, would be crowned. It was determined that the
minster should not be built in London, and so a place was found to the west of
the city (hence "Westminster"). The new church was consecrated at
Christmas,1065, but Edward could not attend due to illness.
On his deathbed, Edward named Harold as his successor,
instead of the legitimate heir, his grandson, Edgar the Aetheling. The question
of succession had been an issue for some years, and remained unsettled at
Edward's death in January, 1066. It was neatly
resolved, however, by William the Conqueror, just nine months later.
Edward and William were first
cousins, once removed. The
ancestor in common to them was King Richard I, the grandfather of Edward and
the great grandfather of William.
There is some question as to what
kind of person Edward was. After his death, he was the object of a religious
cult, and was canonized in 1161, but that could be viewed as a strictly
political move. Some say, probably correctly, that he was a weak, but violent
man, and that his reputation for saintliness was overstated, possibly a sham
perpetrated by the monks of Westminster in the twelfth century. Others seem to
think that he was deeply religious man and a patient and peaceable ruler.
Source: http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon20.html
King Edward died January 5,1066 (age 63) in London, England.
His burial was at
Westminster Abbey. About a century later, in 1161, Pope Alexander III canonized the late king. Saint Edward was one of
England's national saints until King Edward III adopted Saint George as the national patron saint in about
1350. Saint Edward's feast day is 13 October, celebrated by both the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
Compiled by
Dwight Albert (D. A.) Sharpe
805 Derting Road East
Aurora, TX 76078-3712
D. A. with his spiritual
provider,
Pastor George D. Pearsons
Eagle Mountain International
Church
Fort Worth, Texas