Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor was the King of England from 1042 to 1066. He is the son of Aethelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy making him Princess Katharine's cousin. [1]

Edward would become King in 1042 after his half-brother, the King Hardicanute, dies at a wedding (perhaps due to poison). Immediately after becoming King, he locks up his mother, Emma, in a nunnery. [2]

He became a mentor to Prince Canmore after he was banished in 1040. [3] By 1057, with help from the English, Canmore would go on to defeat Macbeth and seize the Scottish throne. ("City of Stone" Part Four)

Westminster Abbey, built by Edward the Confessor, was consecrated just a week before he died of natural causes. [4] He was succeeded in 1066 by his brother-in-law, Harold Godwinson. [5]

Characteristics

The Royal Family Tree

Fergus Mór                           Monarch of: Dalriada Scotland England Norway   Hunters in Black                                                                                                                                     Kenneth mac Alpin           Donald mac Alpin                                                                           Aodh           Constantine I                             Constantine II           Donald II                             Indulf           Maol Chalvim I           Queen Katharine                   Richard of Normandy                                                                                                                                                                             Culen   Duff   Kenneth II   Prince Malcolm   Princess Elena   Mary   Aethelred the Unready   Emma of Normandy   Canute   Elfgiva                                                                                                                                                                         Constantine III   Kenneth III   Ruaidri   Maol Chalvim II   Princess Katharine   Tom (Guardian)   Edmund Ironside   Edward the Confessor   Hardicanute   Harold Harefoot                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Maíl Brigti   Bodhe   Findlaech     Doada   Olith           Bethoc             Árni Arnmódsson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Gillecomgain     MacBodhe     Gruoch   Macbeth   Thorfinn   Ingibjorg     Duncan                       William the Conqueror                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Luach   Paul Thorfinnson   Erlend Thorfinnson       Malcolm Canmore   Margaret   Donalbain               William Rufus                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Donald Canmore   Donnchad                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Edward   Edmund   Edelred   Edgar   Alexandair   Dauid   Mary   Edith   Henry I                                                                                                           Magnus Olafsson                                                                                                                                                                   Sigurd Magnusson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Edward I                                                   Robert the Bruce                                                                                                                                 Stuart Canmore, the Renaissance Hunter                                                                                                                                                                       James VI of Scotland I of England                                                                               Angus Canmore                                                                                                                                                           Jackson Canmore           Fiona Canmore                                           Aron Canmore                                           Charles Canmore                                                                     Jason Canmore   Robyn Canmore   John Castaway

Real World Background

Edward the Confessor was the son of Ethelred the Unready (978-1016) and Emma of Normandy, the daughter of Duke Richard of Normandy. In 1016, after his father was overthrown by Canute of Denmark (who then ruled England from 1016 to 1035), Edward fled to his mother's homeland of Normandy, and remained there until the reign of Canute's son, Hardicanute (1040-1042), when he was invited home. After Hardicanute (also spelled Harthacanute) died in 1042, Edward succeeded him to the throne. Edward was dominated by the powerful Earl Godwin of Wessex (whose daughter Edith he married) and his sons during the early part of his reign; he banished them temporarily in 1051, but they returned to favor soon afterwards. Thanks to his youth in Normandy, Edward preferred the Normans over the English, and had many Norman favorites at his court; he also promised the throne of England after his death to his cousin, Duke William of Normandy.

Edward offered refuge at his court to the young Canmore (maybe remembering his own exile in Normandy and identifying with Canmore's plight thereby), and helped him in his war against Macbeth in 1054-1057 (though the more immediate help came from Canmore's kinsman, Earl Siward of Northumbria). William Shakespeare mentions Edward in his play Macbeth, but keeps him off-stage.

An extremely pious king, Edward the Confessor had Westminster Abbey built; it was consecrated a few days before his death on January 5, 1066. Since he had never had children, the Witan (the royal council of England) bestowed the crown upon Harold Godwinson, Earl Godwin's oldest surviving son and Edward's brother-in-law; Duke William, angered at this act, invaded England, defeated and slew Harold at the Battle of Hastings, and became King of England as William the Conqueror. Edward was canonized in 1161.

See Also

• Edward the Confessor at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia