swuklink: King Edward (the Confessor) of England

EDWARD THE CONFESSOR(c.1003-66), King of England (1042-66)

Surnamed 'the Confessor' for his piety, the 'Anglisc' king by descent only had spent a quarter of a century in exile in Normandy under the protection of his maternal uncle Duke Richard II. Edward developed a familiarity with and fondness for Normandy and its customs which would greatly influence his rule of England, particularly in his sympathies for Norman favourites to the frustration his Saxon and Danish magnates alike.

During the Danish invasion of England in 1013, Edward, his brother Alfred, and king Ethelred the Unready were taken to Normandy by Edward's mother Emma, to seek shelter in the duchy ruled by her brother Richard II.

Edward and his brother Alfred returned to England in 1036 in an abortive attempt to wrest the throne from the Danish Harold Harefoot. After Alfred's capture and death, Edward escaped and returned to Normandy.

In 1041, he was invited back to England by his half-brother Harthacanute (the son of Emma and Canute) to share the throne. He became king on Harthacanute's death on June 8th, 1042.

Edward's Norman favourites caused much resentment amongst the magnates of the realm whose opposition was led by the powerful Godwin, Earl of Wessex. On January 23rd, 1045, Edward married Edith of Wessex, Earl Godwin's daughter.

For religious reasons, Edward refused to consummate the marriage.

Earl Godwin was exiled in September 1051. During his exile, William, Duke of Normandy visited the Confessor and later claimed that the childless Edward had promised him the throne of England on his death (a doubtful fact because such a promise would have to have been approved by the Witan and was thus not in Edward's gift to give).

The banished earl returned in force the following year with his sons Harold and Tostig. With the rebels supported by supported by Kent, Surrey, Sussex and the navy, the Confessor was forced to reinstate the Godwin family estates.

Earl Godwin died in 1053, but his son Harold accumulated even greater territories and wealth than his father and, on Edward's death in January, 1066, became king of England with the approval of the witan.

In hindsight, the Confessor's reign was a transition between a Saxon England dominated by the former kingdom of Wessex as it was since the reign of Alfred the Great and the Norman rule which followed the conquest of 1066 as Edward's favourites introduced a powerful Norman influence into government and leadership of the Church. The growth in power of the great earldoms established by Canute set the scene for the power struggle between the monarch and the magnates during the Norman and following dynasties.

Godwin, Earl of Wessex

The most powerful man in the kingdom which he virtually ruled because of the king's piety, Godwin attracted the envy of many barons. His son Harold succeeded him and became king on Edward's death.

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circa 1003		Birth of Edward (later King Edward the Confessor) to King Ethelred the Unready at Islip, Oxfordshire
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1013		Ethelred the Unready, Edward (later king Edward the Confessor) and his brother Alfred taken to Normandy by Emma to shelter from the Danish invasion under the protection of her brother Richard II
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1036		Edward (later king Edward the Confessor) and his brother Alfred return to England in an abortive attempt to wrest the throne from the Danish Harold Harefoot. Alfred is captured and dies, Edward escapes and returns to Normandy.
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1040		Hardicanute becomes King of England
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1041		Harthacanute recalls his half-brother, Edward the Confessor, from Normandy to the English court
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1042.Jun.08		Death of King Hardicanute - Canutes last son - Edward (the Confessor) becomes king of England One of his first acts is to confiscate the estates of his mother, Emma of Normandy
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1043.Apr.03		Crowning of Edward the Confessor as king of England at Winchester Cathedral
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1044		The Confessor brings Robert, abbott of Jumieges, to London
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1045		Marriage of King Edward the Confessor to Edith, daughter of the powerful Earl Godwin
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1051		Edward the Confessor was said to have promised the English crown to Willliam, Duke of Normandy
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1052		Banished Godwin of Wessex lands in S England with Harold and Tostig, supported by Kent, Surrey, Sussex and the navy - The Confessor is forced to reinstate the Godwin family estates
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1052		Godwin's fleet recruits men from the Cinque Ports of Hastings, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich, sails up the Thames gaining the support of London and forces Edward the Confessor to send his Norman advisers back to France
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1053.Apr.14		Death of Earl Godwin of Wessex at Winchester
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1063		The Confessor orders Harold and Tostig to invade Wales
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1066.Jan.05		Death of Edward the Confessor His legitimate heir was Edgar Atheling but it is claimed he nominated Harold Godwinson as his successor on his death bed
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1161		Edward the Confessor canonised

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Godwin, Earl of Wessex
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EDWARD THE CONFESSOR

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