King of England Edmund Ironside II

• Preferred Name: King of England Edmund Ironside II^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37]}
  
• Gender: M
  
• OUTLAWED+BY+CNUT: 1017 in London, England
  
• Note+3: 30 NOV 1016 in Murdered at the instigation of his brother-in-law Edric at LATI: N9.8386 LONG: E86.0253
  
• Birth: 22 JUL 988 in Wessex, England at LATI: N1.8523 LONG: E0.6147 with note: research
  
• REMOVED+WIDOW+EALDGYTH+FROM+MALMESBURY: ABT AUG 1015 with note: Description: Edmund raised a revolt against his father took Ealdgyth, the widow of Sigeferth, from the Malmesbury monastery, and married her without his fathers permission.
  
• Burial: ABT 3 DEC 1016 in Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury, Somerset, England at LATI: N1.1467 LONG: E2.7153 with note: research
  
• BANNISHED+FROM+ENGLAND+BY+CNUT: 1016 in London, England
  
• A+COUNTRY+DIVIDED+-+CONFLICTING+KINGS: APR 1016 with note: Description: Æthelred died on 23 April 1016, the citizens and councillors in London chose Edmund as king and probably crowned him, while the rest of the Witan, meeting at Southampton, elected Cnut.
  
• FSID: KNXX-WBQ
  
• MURDERED+BY+CNUT: 1017 in England with note: Description: After being allowed to return and live in England, Eadwig was murdered at instigation of Cnut. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadwig_%C3%86theling
  
• Death: 30 NOV 1016 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England at LATI: N51.75 LONG: W1.25 with note: research
  
• Coronation: APR 1016
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Eadwig Ætheling (also known as Eadwy or Edwy ) was the fifth of the six sons of King ÆtEdmund Ironside, was King of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marred by a war he had inherited from his father, his cognomen "Ironside" was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut the Great.
  
  Edmund was not expected to be King of England; however, by 1014 two elder brothers had died, making him the oldest male heir. His father, Æthelred, was usurped by Sweyn Forkbeard in that same year, but Sweyn died shortly thereafter, paving the way for Æthelred and his family to return to the throne, which they did but not without opposition. In the process they forced Sweyn's son, Cnut, back to Denmark, where he assembled an invasion force to re-conquer England. It would not arrive for another year.
  
  After regaining the throne, the royal family set about strengthening its hold on the country with the assistance of Eadric Streona (Edmund's brother-in-law). People who had sided with the Danes in 1014 were punished, and some were killed. In one case, two brothers, Morcar and Sigeferth, were killed and their possessions, along with Sigferth's wife, were taken by Edmund. Edmund unofficially became the Earl of the East Midlands and took Ealdgyth for his wife.
  
  Cnut returned to England in August 1015. Over the next few months, Cnut pillaged most of England. Edmund joined Æthelred to defend London, but he died on 23 April 1016, making Edmund King. It was not until the summer of 1016 that any serious fighting was done: Edmund fought five battles against the Danes, ending in his defeat on 18 October at the Battle of Assandun, after which they agreed to divide the kingdom, Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the rest of the country. Edmund died shortly afterwards on 30 November, leaving two sons, Edward and Edmund; however, Cnut became the king of all England, and exiled the remaining members of Edmund's family.
  
  Early life
  The exact date of Edmund's birth is unclear, but it could have been no later than 993 when he was a signatory to charters along with his two elder brothers. He was the third of the six sons of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu, who was probably the daughter of Earl Thored of Northumbria. His elder brothers were Æthelstan (died 1014) and Egbert (died c. 1005), and younger ones, Eadred, Eadwig and Edgar. He had four sisters, Eadgyth (or Edith), Ælfgifu, Wulfhilda, and the Abbess of Wherwell Abbey. His mother died around 1000, after which his father remarried, this time to Emma of Normandy, who had two sons, Edward the Confessor and Alfred and a daughter Goda.
  
  Æthelstan and Edmund were close, and they probably felt threatened by Emma's ambitions for her sons. The Life of Edward the Confessor, written fifty years later, claimed that when Emma was pregnant with him, all Englishmen promised that if the child was a boy they would accept him as king. However that claim may just be propaganda.
  
  Warrior prince
  When Sweyn Forkbeard seized the throne at the end of 1013 and Æthelred fled to Normandy, the brothers do not appear to have followed him, but stayed in England. Æthelstan died in June 1014 and left Edmund a sword which had belonged to king Offa of Mercia. His will also reflected the close relationship between the brothers and the nobility of the east midlands.
  
  Sweyn died in February 1014, and the Five Boroughs accepted his son Cnut, who married a kinswoman of Sigeferth and Morcar, as king. However, Æthelred returned to England and launched a surprise attack which defeated the Vikings and forced Cnut to flee England. In 1015 Sigeferth and Morcar came to an assembly in Oxford, probably hoping for a royal pardon, but they were murdered by Eadric Streona. King Æthelred then ordered that Sigeferth's widow, Ealdgyth, be seized and brought to Malmesbury Abbey, but Edmund seized and married her in defiance of his father, probably to consolidate his power base in the east midlands. He then received the submission of the people of the Five Boroughs. At the same time, Cnut launched a new invasion of England. In late 1015 Edmund raised an army, possibly assisted by his wife's and mother's links with the midlands and the north, but the Mercians under Eadric Streona joined the West Saxons in submitting to Cnut. In early 1016 the army assembled by Edmund dispersed when Æthelred did not appear to lead it, probably due to illness. Edmund then raised a new army and in conjunction with Earl Uhtred of Northumbria ravaged Eadric Streona's Mercian territories, but when Cnut occupied Northumbria Uhtred submitted to him, only to be killed by Cnut. Edmund went to London.
  
  King of England
  Æthelred died on 23 April 1016, and the citizens and councilors in London chose Edmund as king and probably crowned him. He then mounted a last-ditch effort to revive the defense of England. While the Danes laid siege to London, Edmund headed for Wessex, where the people submitted to him and he gathered an army. He fought inconclusive battles against the Danes and their English supporters at Penselwood in Somerset and Sherston in Wiltshire. He then raised the siege of London and defeated the Danes near Brentford. They renewed the siege while Edmund went to Wessex to raise further troops, returning to again relieve London, defeat the Danes at Otford, and pursue Cnut into Kent. Eadric Streona now went over to Edmund, but at the decisive Battle of Assandun on 18 October, Eadric and his men fled and Cnut decisively defeated Edmund. There may have been one further battle in the Forest of Dean, after which the two kings negotiated a peace dividing the country between them. Edmund received Wessex while Cnut took Mercia and probably Northumbria. Both the 'Historia Anglorum' by Henry of Huntingdon and the Norse 'Knytlingsaga' say that at this time Cnut and Edmund also became sworn brothers and agreed that which ever brother outlived the other would inherit the dead brother's kingdom, becoming king of all.
  
  Death
  On 30 November 1016, the festival of St Andrew, Edmund died. The location of his death is uncertain though it is generally accepted that it occurred in London, rather than in Oxford where Henry of Huntingdon claimed it to be in his sordid version of events, which included Edmund’s murder by suffering multiple stab wounds whilst on a privy tending to a call of nature. Geoffrey Gaimar states a similar occurrence with the weapon being a crossbow, but with a number of other medieval chroniclers including the Encomium Emmae Reginae not mentioning murder. Most sources place fault for Edmund's death on Eadric Streona, his brother in law, who had previously betrayed him multiple times. It is possible he died of natural causes but highly unlikely. He was a young man in good health and Cnut had too much to gain from his death. Because they were now sworn brothers Cnut could not simply kill him directly, as was his normal style, he could not be directly implicated in Edmund's death.
  
  Edmund was buried near his grandfather Edgar at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, however, the abbey was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, any remains of a monument or crypt would have been plundered and the location of his remains is unclear.
  
  Reputation
  In the view of M. K. Lawson, the intensity of Edmund's struggle against the Danes in 1016 is only matched by Alfred the Great's in 871, and contrasts with Æthelred's failure. Edmund's success in raising one army after another suggests that there was little wrong with the organs of government under competent leadership. He was "probably a highly determined, skilled and indeed inspiring leader of men". Cnut visited his tomb on the anniversary of his death and laid a cloak decorated with peacocks on it to assist in his salvation, peacocks symbolizing resurrection.
  
  Descendants
  After Edmund's death Cnut went about eliminating all actual and potential claimants to the throne of England. This included murdering Edmund's younger brother Eadwig. Edmund's two very young sons by Ealdgyth, Edmund (about a year old) and Edward the Exile (only a newborn), were a potential problem. Because Cnut was now Edmund's brother, not even his own countrymen would be understanding if he murdered his sworn-brother's children. His solution was to send them into exile, and once they were out of his 'protection' well how could he possibly be held responsible for anything that might befall them. According to John of Worcester, Cnut sent them to the king of Sweden where he probably hoped they would be murdered, but the Swedish king instead forwarded them, together with his daughter, on to Kiev. The two boys eventually ended up in Hungary where Edmund died but Edward prospered. Edward "the Exile" returned to England in 1057 only to die within a few days of his arrival. His son Edgar the Ætheling was briefly proclaimed king after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but later submitted to William the Conqueror. Edgar would live a long and eventful life; fighting in rebellion against William the Conqueror from 1067-1075; fighting alongside the Conqueror's son Robert of Normandy in campaigns in Sicily (1085-1087); and accompanying Robert on the First Crusade (1099-1103). He was still alive in 1125.
  
  In 1070 Edward the Exile's daughter, Margaret, became Queen consort to Malcolm III of Scotland. Through her and her decedents, Edmund is the direct ancestor of every subsequent Scottish monarch, every English monarch from Henry II onward, and every monarch of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom, down to the present.
  
  The above information comes from Wikipedia:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Ironside
  
  as well as "The Henry Project" https://fasg.org/projects/henryproject/data/edmun002.htm
  
  and "The Lost King of England, The East European Adventures of Edward the Exile" by Gabriel Ronay.
  
  Wikipedia bio
  Edmund Ironside
  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  For other uses, see Edmund Ironside (disambiguation).
  Edmund
  EdmundIronside Canutethe Dane1.jpg
  Matthew Paris's (early 13th-century) impressi
  
  Edmund II
  Edmund Ironside or Edmund II (Old English: Eadmund II Isen-Healf; c. 989 - 30 November 1016) was King of England from 23 April to 18 October 1016 and of Wessex from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His c
  
  Who He Was
  Edmund Ironside or Edmund II (Old English: Eadmund II Isen-Healf; c. 989 - 30 November 1016) was King of England from 23 April to 18 October 1016 and of Wessex from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His c
  
  === Murdered on the orders of King Canute. ===
  Murdered on the orders of King Canute.
  
  === EDWARD THE CONFESSOR U. OF CAL. PRESS ===
  EDWARD THE CONFESSOR U. OF CAL. PRESS
  
  === Reigned Apr-Nov 1016 murdered at the ins ===
  Reigned Apr-Nov 1016 murdered at the instigation of his brother-in-law Edric King of England
  
  === Name Prefix: Prince
  Name Suffix: Name Prefix: Prince
  Name Suffix: Of Saxon England
  
  === Family info ===
  Family:
  
  Son of Æthelred "the Unready", King of the English and Ælfgifu of York
  Husband of Ealdgyth, queen Consort of England
  Father of Edmund, Ætheling of England and Edward 'the Exile', Ætheling of England
  Brother of Æthelstan; Eadwig; Ecgberht; Eadred; Eadgar; Eadgyth, Lady Of Mercia; Wulfhilda, Lady Of East Anglia; NN Abbess of Wherwell; NN wife of Æthelstan and Ælfgifu « less
  Half brother of Ælfred Ætheling; Edward The Confessor, king of the English and Godgifu
  
  === Murdered by orders of Canute the Great. ===
  Murdered by orders of Canute the Great.
  
  === Edmund, Ironsides, was born in 989 and s ===
  Edmund, Ironsides, was born in 989 and succeeded his father in April 1016. In this year he fought six battles, but through treachery he was completely overthrown at Assandun, in Essex. He and Canute the Dane agreed to divide the kingdom. He was chosen king of England by the Londoners on his father's death, April, 1016, while Canute was elected at Southampton by the Witan. Edmund hastily levied an army in the west, defeated Canute twice, raised the siege of London, and again routed the Danes. Levying a fresh army, he defeated them at Otford, his last victory. At Ashingdon in Essex, after a desperate fight, he was routed. By compromise with Canute, the latter retained Mercia and Northumbria, Edmund all the south and the headship, the survivor to succeed to the whole. A few weeks later Edmund died, in 1016, and Canute became King of England without a rival. It is said that the traitorous Edric Streona perhaps murdered Edmund on November 30, 1016, shortly after peace was made. Edmund married Ealgyth, widow of Sigefrith the Dane. She died in 1014.
  
  === Edmund II, called Ironside (981?-1016), ===
  Edmund II, called Ironside (981?-1016), Saxon king of the English (1016), son of King Ethelred the Unready. When Ethelred died, Edmund was chosen king by the people of London, but Canute II, king of Denmark, who was leading an invasion of England, secured the support of the council (witenagemot) at Southampton and of Edric (flourished 1001-17), Ethelred's son-in-law. Edmund met the Danes in battle, winning several engagements and relieving Canute's siege of London. He was defeated at Assandun (now Ashington), however, through the treachery of Edric, who had pretended to desert Canute. A truce was arranged between Canute and Edmund; Edmund was permitted to rule the south of England until his death later in the year, when it reverted to Canute.
  
  === bp 9 Jun 1936 ===
  bp 9 Jun 1936
  === Life Sketch ===
  Eadwig Ætheling (also known as Eadwy or Edwy ) was the fifth of the six sons of King ÆtEdmund Ironside, was King of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marred by a war he had inherited from his father, his cognomen "Ironside" was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut the Great.
  
  Edmund was not expected to be King of England; however, by 1014 two elder brothers had died, making him the oldest male heir. His father, Æthelred, was usurped by Sweyn Forkbeard in that same year, but Sweyn died shortly thereafter, paving the way for Æthelred and his family to return to the throne, which they did but not without opposition. In the process they forced Sweyn's son, Cnut, back to Denmark, where he assembled an invasion force to re-conquer England. It would not arrive for another year.
  
  After regaining the throne, the royal family set about strengthening its hold on the country with the assistance of Eadric Streona (Edmund's brother-in-law). People who had sided with the Danes in 1014 were punished, and some were killed. In one case, two brothers, Morcar and Sigeferth, were killed and their possessions, along with Sigferth's wife, were taken by Edmund. Edmund unofficially became the Earl of the East Midlands and took Ealdgyth for his wife.
  
  Cnut returned to England in August 1015. Over the next few months, Cnut pillaged most of England. Edmund joined Æthelred to defend London, but he died on 23 April 1016, making Edmund King. It was not until the summer of 1016 that any serious fighting was done: Edmund fought five battles against the Danes, ending in his defeat on 18 October at the Battle of Assandun, after which they agreed to divide the kingdom, Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the rest of the country. Edmund died shortly afterwards on 30 November, leaving two sons, Edward and Edmund; however, Cnut became the king of all England, and exiled the remaining members of Edmund's family.
  
  Early life
  The exact date of Edmund's birth is unclear, but it could have been no later than 993 when he was a signatory to charters along with his two elder brothers. He was the third of the six sons of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu, who was probably the daughter of Earl Thored of Northumbria. His elder brothers were Æthelstan (died 1014) and Egbert (died c. 1005), and younger ones, Eadred, Eadwig and Edgar. He had four sisters, Eadgyth (or Edith), Ælfgifu, Wulfhilda, and the Abbess of Wherwell Abbey. His mother died around 1000, after which his father remarried, this time to Emma of Normandy, who had two sons, Edward the Confessor and Alfred and a daughter Goda.
  
  Æthelstan and Edmund were close, and they probably felt threatened by Emma's ambitions for her sons. The Life of Edward the Confessor, written fifty years later, claimed that when Emma was pregnant with him, all Englishmen promised that if the child was a boy they would accept him as king. However that claim may just be propaganda.
  
  Warrior prince
  When Sweyn Forkbeard seized the throne at the end of 1013 and Æthelred fled to Normandy, the brothers do not appear to have followed him, but stayed in England. Æthelstan died in June 1014 and left Edmund a sword which had belonged to king Offa of Mercia. His will also reflected the close relationship between the brothers and the nobility of the east midlands.
  
  Sweyn died in February 1014, and the Five Boroughs accepted his son Cnut, who married a kinswoman of Sigeferth and Morcar, as king. However, Æthelred returned to England and launched a surprise attack which defeated the Vikings and forced Cnut to flee England. In 1015 Sigeferth and Morcar came to an assembly in Oxford, probably hoping for a royal pardon, but they were murdered by Eadric Streona. King Æthelred then ordered that Sigeferth's widow, Ealdgyth, be seized and brought to Malmesbury Abbey, but Edmund seized and married her in defiance of his father, probably to consolidate his power base in the east midlands. He then received the submission of the people of the Five Boroughs. At the same time, Cnut launched a new invasion of England. In late 1015 Edmund raised an army, possibly assisted by his wife's and mother's links with the midlands and the north, but the Mercians under Eadric Streona joined the West Saxons in submitting to Cnut. In early 1016 the army assembled by Edmund dispersed when Æthelred did not appear to lead it, probably due to illness. Edmund then raised a new army and in conjunction with Earl Uhtred of Northumbria ravaged Eadric Streona's Mercian territories, but when Cnut occupied Northumbria Uhtred submitted to him, only to be killed by Cnut. Edmund went to London.
  
  King of England
  Æthelred died on 23 April 1016, and the citizens and councilors in London chose Edmund as king and probably crowned him. He then mounted a last-ditch effort to revive the defense of England. While the Danes laid siege to London, Edmund headed for Wessex, where the people submitted to him and he gathered an army. He fought inconclusive battles against the Danes and their English supporters at Penselwood in Somerset and Sherston in Wiltshire. He then raised the siege of London and defeated the Danes near Brentford. They renewed the siege while Edmund went to Wessex to raise further troops, returning to again relieve London, defeat the Danes at Otford, and pursue Cnut into Kent. Eadric Streona now went over to Edmund, but at the decisive Battle of Assandun on 18 October, Eadric and his men fled and Cnut decisively defeated Edmund. There may have been one further battle in the Forest of Dean, after which the two kings negotiated a peace dividing the country between them. Edmund received Wessex while Cnut took Mercia and probably Northumbria. Both the 'Historia Anglorum' by Henry of Huntingdon and the Norse 'Knytlingsaga' say that at this time Cnut and Edmund also became sworn brothers and agreed that which ever brother outlived the other would inherit the dead brother's kingdom, becoming king of all.
  
  Death
  On 30 November 1016, the festival of St Andrew, Edmund died. The location of his death is uncertain though it is generally accepted that it occurred in London, rather than in Oxford where Henry of Huntingdon claimed it to be in his sordid version of events, which included Edmund’s murder by suffering multiple stab wounds whilst on a privy tending to a call of nature. Geoffrey Gaimar states a similar occurrence with the weapon being a crossbow, but with a number of other medieval chroniclers including the Encomium Emmae Reginae not mentioning murder. Most sources place fault for Edmund's death on Eadric Streona, his brother in law, who had previously betrayed him multiple times. It is possible he died of natural causes but highly unlikely. He was a young man in good health and Cnut had too much to gain from his death. Because they were now sworn brothers Cnut could not simply kill him directly, as was his normal style, he could not be directly implicated in Edmund's death.
  
  Edmund was buried near his grandfather Edgar at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, however, the abbey was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, any remains of a monument or crypt would have been plundered and the location of his remains is unclear.
  
  Reputation
  In the view of M. K. Lawson, the intensity of Edmund's struggle against the Danes in 1016 is only matched by Alfred the Great's in 871, and contrasts with Æthelred's failure. Edmund's success in raising one army after another suggests that there was little wrong with the organs of government under competent leadership. He was "probably a highly determined, skilled and indeed inspiring leader of men". Cnut visited his tomb on the anniversary of his death and laid a cloak decorated with peacocks on it to assist in his salvation, peacocks symbolizing resurrection.
  
  Descendants
  After Edmund's death Cnut went about eliminating all actual and potential claimants to the throne of England. This included murdering Edmund's younger brother Eadwig. Edmund's two very young sons by Ealdgyth, Edmund (about a year old) and Edward the Exile (only a newborn), were a potential problem. Because Cnut was now Edmund's brother, not even his own countrymen would be understanding if he murdered his sworn-brother's children. His solution was to send them into exile, and once they were out of his 'protection' well how could he possibly be held responsible for anything that might befall them. According to John of Worcester, Cnut sent them to the king of Sweden where he probably hoped they would be murdered, but the Swedish king instead forwarded them, together with his daughter, on to Kiev. The two boys eventually ended up in Hungary where Edmund died but Edward prospered. Edward "the Exile" returned to England in 1057 only to die within a few days of his arrival. His son Edgar the Ætheling was briefly proclaimed king after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but later submitted to William the Conqueror. Edgar would live a long and eventful life; fighting in rebellion against William the Conqueror from 1067-1075; fighting alongside the Conqueror's son Robert of Normandy in campaigns in Sicily (1085-1087); and accompanying Robert on the First Crusade (1099-1103). He was still alive in 1125.
  
  In 1070 Edward the Exile's daughter, Margaret, became Queen consort to Malcolm III of Scotland. Through her and her decedents, Edmund is the direct ancestor of every subsequent Scottish monarch, every English monarch from Henry II onward, and every monarch of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom, down to the present.
  
  The above information comes from Wikipedia:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Ironside
  
  as well as "The Henry Project" https://fasg.org/projects/henryproject/data/edmun002.htm
  
  and "The Lost King of England, The East European Adventures of Edward the Exile" by Gabriel Ronay.
  
  Wikipedia bio
  Edmund Ironside
  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  For other uses, see Edmund Ironside (disambiguation).
  Edmund
  EdmundIronside Canutethe Dane1.jpg
  Matthew Paris's (early 13th-century) impressi
  
  Edmund II
  Edmund Ironside or Edmund II (Old English: Eadmund II Isen-Healf; c. 989 – 30 November 1016) was King of England from 23 April to 18 October 1016 and of Wessex from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His c
  
  Who He Was
  Edmund Ironside or Edmund II (Old English: Eadmund II Isen-Healf; c. 989 – 30 November 1016) was King of England from 23 April to 18 October 1016 and of Wessex from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His c
  
  === Edmund, Ironsides, was born in 989 and s ===
  Edmund, Ironsides, was born in 989 and succeeded his father in April 1016. In this year he fought six battles, but through treachery he was completely overthrown at Assandun, in Essex. He and Canute the Dane agreed to divide the kingdom. He was chosen king of England by the Londoners on his father's death, April, 1016, while Canute was elected at Southampton by the Witan. Edmund hastily levied an army in the west, defeated Canute twice, raised the siege of London, and again routed the Danes. Levying a fresh army, he defeated them at Otford, his last victory. At Ashingdon in Essex, after a desperate fight, he was routed. By compromise with Canute, the latter retained Mercia and Northumbria, Edmund all the south and the headship, the survivor to succeed to the whole. A few weeks later Edmund died, in 1016, and Canute became King of England without a rival. It is said that the traitorous Edric Streona perhaps murdered Edmund on November 30, 1016, shortly after peace was made. Edmund married Ealgyth, widow of Sigefrith the Dane. She died in 1014.
  
  === Reigned Apr-Nov 1016 murdered at the ins ===
  Reigned Apr-Nov 1016 murdered at the instigation of his brother-in-law Edric King of England
  
  === EDWARD THE CONFESSOR U. OF CAL. PRESS ===
  EDWARD THE CONFESSOR U. OF CAL. PRESS
  
  === Murdered by orders of Canute the Great. ===
  Murdered by orders of Canute the Great.
  
  === Name Prefix: Prince
  Name Suffix: Name Prefix: Prince
  Name Suffix: Of Saxon England
  
  === Family info ===
  Family:
  
  Son of Æthelred "the Unready", King of the English and Ælfgifu of York
  Husband of Ealdgyth, queen Consort of England
  Father of Edmund, Ætheling of England and Edward 'the Exile', Ætheling of England
  Brother of Æthelstan; Eadwig; Ecgberht; Eadred; Eadgar; Eadgyth, Lady Of Mercia; Wulfhilda, Lady Of East Anglia; NN Abbess of Wherwell; NN wife of Æthelstan and Ælfgifu « less
  Half brother of Ælfred Ætheling; Edward The Confessor, king of the English and Godgifu
  
  === bp 9 Jun 1936 ===
  bp 9 Jun 1936
  
  === Murdered on the orders of King Canute. ===
  Murdered on the orders of King Canute.
  
  === Edmund II, called Ironside (981?-1016), ===
  Edmund II, called Ironside (981?-1016), Saxon king of the English (1016), son of King Ethelred the Unready. When Ethelred died, Edmund was chosen king by the people of London, but Canute II, king of Denmark, who was leading an invasion of England, secured the support of the council (witenagemot) at Southampton and of Edric (flourished 1001-17), Ethelred's son-in-law. Edmund met the Danes in battle, winning several engagements and relieving Canute's siege of London. He was defeated at Assandun (now Ashington), however, through the treachery of Edric, who had pretended to desert Canute. A truce was arranged between Canute and Edmund; Edmund was permitted to rule the south of England until his death later in the year, when it reverted to Canute.

• m. ABT AUG 1015

1. King Edward the Atheling, b. 1016 in Wessex     d. 19 APR 1057 in London, Middlesex, England

1. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Edmund II "Ironside" King -
   Author: Royal Index, University of Hull, England, Internet, Internet, www.dcs.hull.ac.uk
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2332880681
   
2. Title: Eadwig Ætheling From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadwig_%C3%86theling;
   Note: Eadwig Ætheling (sometimes also known as Eadwy or Edwy ) (died 1017) was the fifth of the six sons of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu.[1] Eadwig is recorded as a witness to charters from 993.[2] When Sweyn Forkbeard conquered England in 1013, Æthelred fled to Normandy, but Eadwig, who had previously rarely been associated with his elder brothers, Æthelstan and Edmund, remained behind with them in England.[3] Sweyn died in February 1014, and Æthelred was restored to the throne. Æthelstan died in June 1014 and Æthelred in April 1016, leaving Edmund and Sweyn's son Cnut to dispute the throne. In October 1016 Cnut and Edmund agreed to divide England between them, but Edmund died a month later, leaving Cnut as undisputed king. Eadwig, who was now the last surviving son by his father's first marriage, was banished in 1016 and then outlawed in 1017 by Cnut, however he was reconciled with Cnut the same year and allowed to live in England, but was murdered soon after at the instigation of Cnut, possibly after attempting to rally resistance in the south west.[4] The Anglo-Saxon claim to the throne then passed to the elder son of Æthelred's second marriage, the future Edward the Confessor. Eadwig was buried at Tavistock Abbey a place built by his uncle Ordwulf.
   
3. Title: Legacy NFS Source: King of England Edmund II - death: 30 November 1016;
   Author: Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America bef 1760, Frederick Lewis Weis, 7th ed Genealogical Publishing, Baltimore 1992, Page number: line 1 pp 1-4
   Note: death: 30 November 1016; @NS0562021@NS0562022@ birth: 0989; England, United Kingdom @NS0562021@NS0562022@
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2030202765
   
4. Title: Britannica - Pepin III
   Publication: Name: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pippin-III;
   Note: Pippin III, also spelled Pepin, byname Pippin the Short, French Pépin le Bref, German Pippin der Kurze, (born c. 714—died September 24, 768, Saint-Denis, Neustria [now in France]), the first king of the Frankish Carolingian dynasty and the father of Charlemagne. A son of Charles Martel, Pippin became sole de facto ruler of the Franks in 747 and then, on the deposition of Childeric III in 751, king of the Franks. He was the first Frankish king to be anointed—first by St. Boniface and later (754) by Pope Stephen II.
   Page: K
   
5. Title: Magna Charta Surities
   Author: Fredrick Lewis Weis: The Magna Charta Surities, 1215 The Baron Named in the Magna Charta, 1215 [5th Edition]; Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 2009
   Page: K
   
6. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Edmund II "Ironside" King of England -
   Author: Family History Library archive record (family group sheet)
   Note: Source: Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings & Nobles, Eng. 104, p. 350; The Royal Line of Succession, A16A225, p. 7; Hist. of the Anglo-Saxons, Eng. 36, v. 2, p. 279-286; Dict. of Nat. Biogr., Eng. Pub. A, v. 16, p. 403-405; (over) (Gen. Soc. - HEC) Submitter: Rosalia E. A. Kelsch Est.
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3244547632
   
7. Title: Edmund II King of England
   Author: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edmund-II
   Publication: Name: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edmund-II;
   Note: Information on Edmund's life
   Page: Information on Edmund's life
   
8. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Edmund Ethelreding II, King of England - death: 30 November 1016; Essex, England, United Kingdom
   Author: Anglo Saxon Chronicles (15 May 2001, in the Britiannia Internet Magazine, www.britannia.com/history/docs/asintro2.html), Internet
   Note: death: 30 November 1016; Essex, England, United Kingdom death: 30 November 1016; Essex, England, United Kingdom
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2637146932
   
9. Title: History of Britain, Volume 1
   Author: Simon Schama, A History of Britain: at the edge of the world? Volume 1: 3000 BC-AD 1603 (New York, New York: Hyperion, 77 West 66th Street, New York, New York, 10023-6298, 2000), Page 69.
   
10. Title: List of English monarchs From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_monarchs;
    Note: This list of kings and queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, one of the petty kingdoms to rule a portion of modern England. While Alfred was not the first king to lay claim to rule all of the English, his rule represents the first unbroken line of Kings to rule the whole of England, the House of Wessex. The last monarch of a distinct kingdom of England was Queen Anne, who became Queen of Great Britain when England merged with Scotland to form a union in 1707. For monarchs after Queen Anne, see List of British monarchs. Arguments are made for a few different kings deemed to control enough of the ancient kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons to be deemed the first King of England. For example, Offa, king of Mercia, and Egbert, king of Wessex, are sometimes described as kings of England by popular writers, but not by all historians.[citation needed] In the late eighth century Offa achieved a dominance over southern England that did not survive his death in 796. In 829 Egbert conquered Mercia, but he soon lost control of it. By the late ninth century Wessex was the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdom. Its king, Alfred the Great, was overlord of western Mercia and used the title King of the Angles and Saxons, but he never ruled eastern and northern England, which was then the Danelaw. His son Edward the Elder conquered the eastern Danelaw, but Edward's son Æthelstan became the first king to rule the whole of England when he conquered Northumbria in 927, and he is regarded by some modern historians as the first king of England. The Principality of Wales was incorporated into the Kingdom of England under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, and in 1301 King Edward I invested his eldest son, the future King Edward II, as Prince of Wales. Since that time, except for King Edward III, the eldest sons of all English monarchs have borne this title. After the death of Queen Elizabeth I without issue, in 1603, the crowns of England and Scotland were joined in personal union under King James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England. By royal proclamation, James styled himself "King of Great Britain", but no such kingdom was created until 1707, when England underwent legislative union with Scotland to form the new Kingdom of Great Britain, during the reign of Queen Anne.
    Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_monarchs
    
11. Title: Web: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-Current
    Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/9289/records/11045139;
    
12. Title: Ælfgifu of York From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (his mother)
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfgifu_of_York#Daughters;
    Note: Ælfgifu of York (fl. c. 970 – 1002) was the first wife of Æthelred the Unready (r. 968–1016), by whom she bore many offspring, including Edmund Ironside. It is most probable that she was a daughter of Thored, Earl of southern Northumbria. Based largely on the careers of her sons, Ælfgifu's marriage has been dated approximately to the (mid-)980s.[8] Considering Thored's authority as earl of York and apparently, the tenure of that office without royal appointment, the union would have signified an important step for the West-Saxon royal family by which it secured a foothold in the north.[9] Such a politically weighty union would help explain the close connections maintained by Ælfgifu's eldest sons Edmund and Æthelstan with noble families based in the northern Danelaw.[10] The marriage produced six sons, all of whom were named after Æthelred's predecessors, and an unknown number of daughters. The eldest sons Æthelstan, Ecgberht, Eadred and Edmund first attest charters in 993, while the younger sons Eadwig and Edgar first make an appearance in them in 997 and 1001 respectively.[11] Some of these sons seem to have spent part of their childhood in fosterage elsewhere, possibly with Æthelred's mother Ælfthryth.[12] Edmund Ironside outlived his father and became king. In 1016 he suffered several defeats against Cnut and in October they agreed to share the kingdom, but Edmund died within six weeks and Cnut became king of all England. Æthelred gave three of his daughters in marriage to ealdormen, presumably in order to secure the loyalties of his nobles and so to consolidate a defence system against Viking attacks.[13] Sons Æthelstan (born before 993, d. 1014) Ecgberht (born before 993, d. 1005) Edmund (II) Ironside (born before 993, d. 1016) Eadred (d. 1012 x 1015) Eadwig (born before 997, exiled and killed 1017) Edgar (born before 1001, d. 1012 x 1015) Daughters Eadgyth (born before 993), married Eadric Streona, ealdorman of Mercia.[14] Ælfgifu, married ealdorman Uhtred of Northumbria.[15] (possibly) Wulfhild, who married Ulfcytel (Snillingr) (d. 1016), apparently ealdorman of East Anglia.[16] possibly an unnamed daughter who married the Æthelstan who was killed fighting the Danes at the Battle of Ringmere in 1010. He is called Æthelred's aðum, meaning either son-in-law or brother-in-law.[16] Ann Williams, however, argues that the latter meaning is the appropriate one and refers to Æthelstan as being Ælfgifu's brother.[8] possibly unnamed daughter, who became abbess of Wherwell.
    Page: his mother
    
13. Title: UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current
    Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/60526/records/262424;
    
14. Title: Wikipedia: Eadwig Ætheling
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadwig_Ætheling;
    Note: Biographical information for Eadwig Ætheling
    
15. Title: Lt-Col. W. H. Turton: "The Plantagenet Ancestry" Genealogic Publishing Company, Inc. Baltimore, 1993 (Orig 1928)
    Author: Genealogic Publishing Company, Inc. Baltimore, 1993 (Orig 1928)
    Note: relationships, dates
    Page: Correct person
    
16. Title: Edmund II, "Find A Grave Index"
    Author: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVC-GSKZ : 13 April 2023), Ironside, ; Burial, Glastonbury, Mendip District, Somerset, England, Glastonbury Abbey; citing record ID 11670714, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
    Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVC-GSKZ;
    Page: Find A Grave Index
    
17. Title: Legacy NFS Source: King of England Edmund II - death: 30 November 1016;
    Author: University of Hull Royal Database (England), Brian Tompsett, Dept of Computer Science, copyright 1994, 1995, 1996
    Note: death: 30 November 1016; birth: 0989; England, United Kingdom
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2030202740
    
18. Title: Royal Family History
    Publication: Name: http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=edmund2;
    Note: Record contains birth, parents, death, and brief history of reign.
    Page: Individual matches date of death matchs
    
19. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Edwig Prince Of ENGLAND -
    Author: Ancestral File (R), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998, Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2041640822
    
20. Title: Edmund Ironside From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Ironside;
    Note: Edmund Ironside (c. 990 – 30 November 1016; Old English: Ēadmund, Latin: Edmundus; sometimes also known as Edmund II[a]) was King of the English from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marred by a war he had inherited from his father; his cognomen "Ironside" was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut the Great.[1] Edmund was not expected to be King of England; however, by June 1014 two elder brothers had died, making him heir apparent. At the end of the same year, England was conquered by Sweyn Forkbeard, who died shortly thereafter. Æthelred was able to reclaim the throne, despite opposition. Sweyn's son, Cnut, was defeated and returned to Denmark, where he assembled an invasion force to re-conquer England. It would not arrive for another year. After regaining the throne, the royal family set about strengthening its hold on the country with the assistance of Eadric Streona (Edmund's brother-in-law). People who had sided with the Danes in 1014 were punished, and some were killed. In one case, two brothers, Morcar and Sigeferth, were killed and their possessions were taken by Æthelred. Sigeferth's widow Ealdgyth was imprisoned within a monastery, but she had already captured Edmund's attention. Cnut returned to England in August 1015. Over the next few months, Cnut pillaged most of England. Edmund joined Æthelred to defend London, but in 1016 Edmund unofficially named himself the Earl of the East Midlands and raised a revolt against his father. Without the king's permission he took Ealdgyth from the monastery, and married her; it would have been a politically advantageous marriage, since she was a member of one of the strongest families in the Midlands. Æthelred died on 23 April 1016, making Edmund king. It was not until the summer of 1016 that any serious fighting was done: Edmund fought five battles against the Danes, ending in his defeat on 18 October at the Battle of Assandun, after which they agreed to divide the kingdom, Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the rest of the country. Edmund died shortly afterwards on 30 November, leaving two sons, Edward and Edmund; however, Cnut became the king of all England, and exiled the remaining members of Edmund's family. The exact date of Edmund's birth is unclear, but it could have been no later than 993 when he was a signatory to charters along with his two elder brothers. He was the third of the six sons of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu, who was probably the daughter of Earl Thored of Northumbria. His elder brothers were Æthelstan (died 1014) and Egbert (died c. 1005), and younger ones, Eadred, Eadwig and Edgar.[1] He had four sisters, Eadgyth (or Edith), Ælfgifu, Wulfhilda, and the Abbess of Wherwell Abbey. His mother died around 1000,[2] after which his father remarried, this time to Emma of Normandy, who had two sons, Edward the Confessor and Alfred and a daughter Goda. Æthelstan and Edmund were close, and they probably felt threatened by Emma's ambitions for her sons.[3] The Life of Edward the Confessor, written fifty years later, claimed that when Emma was pregnant with him, all Englishmen promised that if the child was a boy they would accept him as king.[1] However that claim may just be propaganda. Warrior prince When Sweyn Forkbeard seized the throne at the end of 1013 and Æthelred fled to Normandy, the brothers do not appear to have followed him, but stayed in England. Æthelstan died in June 1014 and left Edmund a sword which had belonged to king Offa of Mercia.[1] His will also reflected the close relationship between the brothers and the nobility of the East Midlands.[4] Sweyn died in February 1014, and the Five Boroughs accepted his son Cnut as king. However, Æthelred returned to England and launched a surprise attack which defeated the Vikings and forced Cnut to flee England. In 1015 Sigeferth and Morcar came to an assembly in Oxford, probably hoping for a royal pardon, but they were murdered by Eadric Streona. King Æthelred then ordered that Sigeferth's widow, Ealdgyth, be seized and brought to Malmesbury Abbey, but Edmund seized and married her in defiance of his father, probably to consolidate his power base in the East Midlands.[5] He then received the submission of the people of the Five Boroughs. At the same time, Cnut launched a new invasion of England. In late 1015 Edmund raised an army, possibly assisted by his wife's and mother's links with the midlands and the north, but the Mercians under Eadric Streona joined the West Saxons in submitting to Cnut. In early 1016 the army assembled by Edmund dispersed when Æthelred did not appear to lead it, probably because of illness. Edmund then raised a new army and in conjunction with Earl Uhtred of Northumbria ravaged Eadric Streona's Mercian territories, but when Cnut occupied Northumbria Uhtred submitted to him, only to be killed by Cnut. Edmund went to London.[1] King of England Æthelred died on 23 April 1016, and the citizens and councillors in London chose Edmund as king and probably crowned him, while the rest of the Witan, meeting at Southampton, elected Cnut.[6] Edmund then mounted a last-ditch effort to revive the defence of England. While the Danes laid siege to London, Edmund headed for Wessex, where the people submitted to him and he gathered an army. He fought inconclusive battles against the Danes and their English supporters at Penselwood in Somerset and Sherston in Wiltshire. He then raised the siege of London, which had been successfully resisted by the citizens,[6] and defeated the Danes near Brentford. They renewed the siege while Edmund went to Wessex to raise further troops, returning to again relieve London, defeat the Danes at Otford, and pursue Cnut into Kent. Eadric Streona now went over to Edmund, but at the decisive Battle of Assandun on 18 October, Eadric and his men fled and Cnut decisively defeated Edmund. There may have been one further battle in the Forest of Dean, after which the two kings, persuaded by the Witan, negotiated a peace dividing the country between them. Edmund received Wessex while Cnut took Mercia and probably Northumbria.[1] Death On 30 November 1016, Edmund died. The location of his death is uncertain though it is generally accepted that it occurred in London, rather than in Oxford where Henry of Huntingdon claimed it to be in his version of events, which included Edmund's death from multiple stab-wounds whilst he was defecating on a privy.[7] Geoffrey Gaimar narrates a similar occurrence with the weapon being a crossbow; but with a number of other medieval chroniclers, including the Encomium Emmae Reginae, not mentioning murder, it is thought Edmund's cause of death may possibly have been wounds received in battle or some disease. It is certainly possible, however, that he was murdered. Edmund was buried near his grandfather Edgar at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset. However, the abbey was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, and any remains of a monument or crypt would have been plundered; thus the location of his remains is unclear. Reputation In the view of M. K. Lawson, the intensity of Edmund's struggle against the Danes in 1016 is only matched by Alfred the Great's in 871, and contrasts with Æthelred's failure. Edmund's success in raising one army after another suggests that there was little wrong with the organs of government under competent leadership. He was "probably a highly determined, skilled and indeed inspiring leader of men". Cnut visited his tomb on the anniversary of his death and laid a cloak decorated with peacocks on it to assist in his salvation, peacocks symbolising resurrection.[1] Descendants Edmund had two children by Ealdgyth: Edward the Exile and Edmund Ætheling. According to John of Worcester, Cnut sent them to Sweden where he probably hoped they would be murdered and forgotten, but King Olof of Sweden instead forwarded them on to Kiev, where his daughter Ingegerd was the grand princess. The boys eventually ended up in Hungary where Edmund died but Edward prospered. Edward returned from exile to England in 1057 only to die within a few days of his arrival.[1] His son Edgar Ætheling was briefly proclaimed king after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but later submitted to William the Conqueror. Edgar lived a long and eventful life: fighting in rebellion against William the Conqueror from 1067 to 1075; fighting alongside the Conqueror's son Robert Curthose in campaigns in Sicily (1085–1087); and accompanying Robert on the First Crusade (1099–1103). He was still alive in 1125. In 1070 Edward the Exile's daughter, Margaret, became queen of Scotland. Through her and her descendants, Edmund is the ancestor of subsequent British monarchs.[8]
    Page: K
    
21. Title: Æthelred the Unready From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (his father)
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelred_the_Unready;
    Note: Æthelred II (Old English: Æþelræd, pronounced [æðelræːd];[n 1] c. 966 – 23 April 1016), known as the Unready, was King of the English from 978 to 1013 and again from 1014 until his death. His epithet does not derive from the modern word "unready", but rather from the Old English unræd meaning "poorly advised"; it is a pun on his name, which means "well advised". Æthelred was the son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. He came to the throne at about the age of 12, following the assassination of his older half-brother, Edward the Martyr. His brother's murder was carried out by supporters of his own claim to the throne, although he was too young to have any personal involvement. Æthelred married first Ælfgifu, daughter of Thored, earl of Northumbria, in about 985.[14] Their known children are: Æthelstan Ætheling (died 1014) Ecgberht Ætheling (died c. 1005)[38] Edmund Ironside (King of England, died 1016) Eadred Ætheling (died before 1013) Eadwig Ætheling (executed by Cnut 1017) Edgar Ætheling (died c. 1008)[38] Eadgyth or Edith (married Eadric Streona) Ælfgifu (married Uchtred the Bold, ealdorman of Northumbria) Wulfhild? (married Ulfcytel Snillingr)[39] Abbess of Wherwell Abbey?[39] In 1002 Æthelred married Emma of Normandy, sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. Their children were: Edward the Confessor (King of England, died 1066) Ælfred Ætheling (died 1036–37) Godgifu or Goda of England (married 1. Dreux de Vexin, Count of Mantes, Valois and the Vexin also known as: Drogo of Mantes and 2. Eustace II, Count of Boulogne) All of Æthelred's sons were named after predecessors of Æthelred on the throne.
    Page: his father
    
22. Title: Legacy NFS Source: King of England Edmund II - death: 30 November 1016;
    Author: Ancestry of Richard Plantagenet & Cecily de Neville, Ernst-Friedrich Kraentzler, published by author 1978, Page number: chart 1188
    Note: death: 30 November 1016; birth: 0989; England, United Kingdom
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2030202766
    
23. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Eadmund Ironside -
    Author: The Kings and Queens of Great Britain, Chart., Anne Taute && Brooks Little, Crown Publishing, NY. 1986
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2033102574
    
24. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Eadwig - death:
    Author: 13143.GED, Not Given
    Note: death: Source Media Type: Other Source Media Type: Other
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2737222793
    
25. Title: Web: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-Current
    Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/9289/records/18639563;
    
26. Title: The Death of Edmund Ironside -A Clerk of Oxford
    Publication: Name: https://aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-death-of-edmund-ironside.html;
    Note: Sunday, 30 November The Death of Edmund Ironside On this day in 1016 Edmund Ironside died, after just seven months as king of England. After the death of his father Æthelred on St George's Day 1016, he had inherited a kingdom half-overrun by a Danish army, and he spent most of his reign fighting Cnut and the Danes for control of England. The last battle was fought at Assandun on 18 October 1016, after which Edmund and Cnut reached a peace-treaty and agreed to divide the kingdom - so at the time of his death Edmund was king only of Wessex, while Cnut held what the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle calls the norðdæle, the northern part of England. Following Edmund's death, as the peace-treaty may have arranged, Cnut became king of the whole country, and went on to rule it for nearly twenty years. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle only observes that Edmund died on St Andrew's Day and was buried with his grandfather, King Edgar, at Glastonbury. It gives no details as to the location or manner of his death, and later sources provide varying information on both. Some sources say he died in Oxford (which was near the northern border of his much-diminished kingdom), others in London (then occupied by Danish ships). We don't know the cause of his death, and it may well have been from natural causes: he died at the end of a year of almost continuous warfare, just six weeks after a heroic performance at the Battle of Assandun, so it's very possible he succumbed to an existing wound. But this simple explanation seems not to have appealed to contemporaries or to later medieval historians. Within a few decades (and perhaps from the first) his death was being blamed on Eadric streona, one of his commanders, a Mercian ealdorman of impressively fluid loyalties. Eadric had betrayed Edmund in the past, and switched allegiance between the Danes and the English and back again more than once in the years before Edmund's death. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle regularly highlights his betrayals, and post-Conquest sources blackened his already pitch-black name by crediting him with a whole range of extra crimes, including but not limited to the St Brice's Day Massacre, the murder of Svein Forkbeard's sister Gunnhild, the death of St Ælfheah, the English defeat in more than one battle against the Danes, and the murder of Edmund. The twelfth-century historians are pretty well agreed that Eadric was largely to blame for the Danish Conquest, and if they could have found some way to blame the Norman Conquest on Eadric, they would probably have done that too. Perhaps surprisingly, no English sources cast suspicion on Cnut or suggest he was involved in his rival's death - quite the opposite, in fact. Cnut was not above executing political opponents (including one of Edmund's brothers, and his own brother-in-law) so it would hardly have been out of the question, and some late Scandinavian sources have no doubt Cnut was responsible. The English historians, however, tell a very different story. The treaty made between Cnut and Edmund, illustrated by their kiss of peace in the thirteenth-century manuscript above, had made them 'partners and pledged-brothers' (feolagan 7 wedbroðra), and William of Malmesbury says that Cnut continued to refer to Edmund as his brother; he even visited Edmund's grave at Glastonbury on the anniversary of his death and presented a rich cloak decorated with peacocks at his tomb. Many later sources go even further, and say that Cnut was not only saddened by his opponent's death, but took it upon himself to avenge Edmund. The earliest incarnation of this story occurs in the Encomium Emmae Reginae, whose author derived much of his information (and surely this story) from members of the Anglo-Danish court of Cnut's son, Harthacnut. It is cited as evidence that Cnut was 'as yet in the flower of youth, but was nevertheless master of indescribable wisdom': It was, accordingly, the case that he loved those whom he had heard to have fought previously for Eadmund faithfully without deceit, and that he so hated those whom he knew to have been deceitful, and to have hesitated between the two sides with fraudulent tergiversation, that on a certain day he ordered the execution of many chiefs for deceit of this kind. One of these was Eadric, who had fled from the war, and to whom, when he asked for a reward for this from the king, pretending to have done it to ensure his victory, the king said sadly: "Shall you, who have deceived your lord with guile, be capable of being true to me? I will return to you a worthy reward, but I will do so to the end that deception may not subsequently be your pleasure." And summoning Eiríkr, his commander, he said: "Pay this man what we owe him; that is to say, kill him, lest he play us false." He, indeed, raised his axe without delay, and cut off his head with a mighty blow, so that soldiers may learn from this example to be faithful, not faithless, to their kings. Encomium Emmae Reginae, ed. and trans. Alistair Campbell (London: Royal Historical Society, 1949), pp.31-3. It's tempting to see this bit of grim wordplay as some classic Viking black humour: Eadric gets his 'reward', but not the reward he was expecting. Cnut did indeed have Eadric killed in 1017, probably not quite as flamboyantly as this - but this sounds to me like the kind of story which might have been in circulation at court, and it might well have some origin in fact. From the twelfth century onwards, historians elaborate not only as to the nature of Eadric's punishment but the manner of poor Edmund's death. Here's Henry of Huntingdon's version, with some even better wordplay: When [Edmund], fearful and most formidable to his enemies, was prospering in his kingdom, he went one night to the lavatory to answer a call of nature. There the son of Ealdorman Eadric, who by his father's plan was concealed in the pit of the privy, struck the king twice with a sharp knife in the private parts, and leaving the weapon in his bowels, fled away. Then Eadric came to King Cnut and saluted him, saying, ‘Hail, sole king!’ When he disclosed what had happened, the king answered, ‘As a reward for your great service, I shall make you higher than all the English nobles.’ Then he ordered him to be beheaded, and his head to be fixed on a stake on London’s highest tower. Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, ed. and trans. by Diana Greenway (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), pp.360-3. 'Higher', get it? Justice with a pun. This story, puns and privies and all, is actually quite a restrained version: as time went on, other medieval historians added lurid details about some kind of bizarre privy-based stabbing machine which Eadric used to kill Edmund, yet more puns about reward/debt/being made 'highest', and Cnut throwing Eadric into the Thames with a catapult. See, and you thought medieval history was boring. Anyway, we will piously hope that this was not actually how Edmund Ironside, valiant scion of the great kings of Wessex, really met his untimely end. Whatever vengeance Cnut may or may not have enacted on his behalf, history did bring him a measure of justice. At the time of his death, he had two infant sons by his wife Ealdgyth. They were taken out of the country, and grew up in exile. One of them married a Hungarian princess and by her became the father of three children, including Margaret of Scotland; and her daughter, in 1100, married Henry I, thus grafting the line of the Anglo-Saxon kings back into the royal family tree. So it's through Edmund Ironside, though only seven months' king, that the English monarchy can today claim descent from the kings of Wessex.
    
27. Title: Ancestry Family Trees
    Author: Ancestry Family Tree
    
28. Title: Findagrave
    Author: “Ironside” Edmund II 30 Nov 1016
    Publication: Name: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11670714/edmund_ii;
    
29. Title: Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-20, 22
    Page: Added from Ancestry.com
    
30. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Prince Eadwig of England -
    Author: Anglo Saxon Bishops, Kings, and Nobles, Searle, William George
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2333200881
    
31. Title: Ancestry and Descendants of Sir Richard Saltonstall
    Author: Saltonstall, Leverett: Ancestry and Descendants of Sir Richard Saltonstall, first Associate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Patentee of ConnecticutRiverside Press, Boston, 1897; ASIN 13000891KR8
    Page: K
    
32. Title: Web: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-Current
    Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/9289/records/14144946;
    
33. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Edmund Ethelreding II, King of England -
    Author: P L Kessler , History Files, The -- The King Lists (1999-2002, Home Publishing, homepages.tesco.net/~plk33/plk33), Internet
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2637146921
    
34. Title: North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000
    Author: Book Title: The royal lineage of the Hamlins : being the branch of the Hamlin family descended through Mary Dun
    Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/61157/records/725860;
    Page: Correct person
    
35. Title: Malcolm Clark Patten: Patten Genealogy: An Elaboration Upon One Line Descending from William Patten of Cambridge, 1635; Powell and Taylor, Newport Beach, 1990
    Author: Malcolm Clark Patten: Patten Genealogy: An Elaboration Upon One Line Descending from William Patten of Cambridge, 1635; Powell and Taylor, Newport Beach, 1990
    Page: K
    
36. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Ironside King Edmund II Wessex - Unknown-Begin:
    Author: "Héraldique européenne", Arnaud Bunel , Coats of Arms for European Royalty and Nobility (http://www.heraldique-europeenne.org, Arnaud Bunel, 1998) , Internet
    Note: Unknown-Begin: "Armigerous" (ahr-MIJ-ehr-us) adjective Bearing or entitled to bear heraldicarms. The reason the notion of a family crest was brought into the languagewas that those who were armigerous (entitled to bear arms) used to put their crest or achieveme NS0030183
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3245576718
    
37. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Edwig Prince Of ENGLAND -
    Author: Ancestral File (R), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998, Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2680860794