Kings and Queens

England's Second King: King Edmund I

King Edmund I was the younger half-brother of King Aethelstan (Athelstan). He succeeded King Aethelstan in 939.

Battle of Brunanburh

Following in the footsteps of his older half-brother, King Aethelstan, Edmund was bound for the role of king when his brother passes away leaving the 18 year old to take charge and lead the Anglo-Saxon kingdom.

Whilst he was still young, he had military experience, most significantly in his involement in the Battle of Brunuanburh, where he fought alongside King Aethelstan, where he succeeded in removing the Scottish rebels and Viking forces.

Challenges as newly appointed King

Edmund was now faced with greater challenges; holding onto the power which his brother had strengthened, and retain the position of being King of all England.

Such a large task was not easy, talks of rebellion could have disturbed the balance of the Kingdom.

The first to cause such a challenge to King Edmund’s supremacy was a man called Olaf Guthfrithson. He was the Viking King of Dublin who had took King Athelstan’s death as an opportunity to take back the city of York with the help of a man called Wulfstan, who was the Archbishop of York. While not only wanting to capture York, Guthfrithson extended Viking rule by invading north-east Mercia and then went on to storm the city of Tamworth.

King Edmund responded by gathering his army, which had met the Viking king’s forces at Leicester as he journeyed back up to the north. Fortunately, an intervention by the Archbishop Wulfstan and the Archbishop of Canterbury had prevented military engagement and rather settled the differences between the two leaders via a treaty.

This treaty proved to be a major setback for King Edmund, since was forced to cede the Five Boroughs of Lincoln, Leicester, Nottingham, Stamford and Derby to the Viking leader, Guthfrithson. Such a reversal of fortunes would have been not only a military hurdle but also a demoralising blow for Edmund who wanted to preserve the dominance which had been secured by his older brother.

However not all hope was lost, because part of the treaty also included the caveat that when the first of the two leaders should die, the survivor would go on to inherit the entire country and would become King of England.

However, for the time being, Olaf had remained in control of northern possessions and proceeded to have Viking coins made in York.

Success for his family

That being said, fortunately for King Edmund this fairly major setback towards his family’s dynasty had proved to be temporary, due to Olad's passing not long afterwards in 941, King Edmund was able to take back all of the Five Boroughs. The King's reclamation of territory had proved to be a significant moment that was celebrated all over with a poem which is documented in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

By the year 944 AD, King Edmund had now recalibrated and recaptured all of the territory which had been lost at the start of his reign as king and thus had regained control of England. Whilst the threat of the Vikings had been suppressed with his expulsion of its leaders from York he, like his brother, Aethelstan, before him, would pass on a kingdom still facing the challenges which the Vikings had continued to pose to the Saxon kingdom.

King Edmund had to keep a watchful eye on all of his possessions, as he was not only maintaining supremacy in England as threats of Viking alliances both in Wales and Scotland could have proved to be a risk to Edmund's kingship.

In Wales, Edmund was initially threatened by Idwal Foel, King of Gwynedd who wanted to take up arms against him: however in 942 he died in battle against King Edmund’s men. Fortunately for King Edmund, Hywel Dda’s takeover had marked a period of more stability, as he had allied himself with the English Crown in order to gain more power for himself in Wales. As a result, King Edmund could maintain his position as overlord of the kings of Wales.

However, further north, Strathclyde appeared to have had formed an alliance with the Vikings, with its leader, Dunmail having supported the former King Olaf. In response, King Edmund marched his forces, which were comprised of both English and Welsh wariors, into Stratchclyde and conquered it. Not long afterwards, the area was ceded to King Malcolm I of Scotland as part of a peace treaty which had also ensured military support.

Meanwhile, Dunmail was ultimately killed on the battlefield and thus Cumbria became absorbed by the Scottish throne.

Relations in the British Isles had reached some kind of balance and stability which was ensured by recapturing the five lost boroughs, King Edmund had also found time to maintain some good relations with his neighbours in Europe.

Further afield, King Edmund’s contacts with his counterparts in Europe had been further strengthened by his sisters’ marriages to members of royalty and nobility on the continent. These connections included his nephew, King Louis IV of France who was the son of Edmund’s half-sister Eadgifu and her husband Charles the Simple of France, whilst King Edmund’s other brother-in-law was Otto I, King of East Francia.

King Edmund would subsequently play a valuable role in restoring his nephew to the French throne, after Louis had requested assistance from his uncle when he was threatened by the Danish Prince, Harald.

Harald later handed Louis over to Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks who had held him prisoner, forcing both King Edmund of England and King Otto of East Francia to intervene.

Louis’ mother Eadgifu had contacted both her brother and her brother-in-law to ask them for help in securing Louis’ release. King Edmund, in response, sent messengers threatening Hugh, which would lead to an agreement forcing the release of Louis and his restoration as the King of France.

Meanwhile, back in England, King Edmund had sought to continue much of the administrative, legal and educational legacy which his brother, King Athelstan had left behind. This included the revival of Latin as well as a notable increase in Welsh book production, leading to a flourishing of academic activity under King Edmund’s rule.

Moreover, the English Benedictine Reform, the major religious force, made strides during his kingship. On his way to visit Scotland, King Edmund had notably visited the shrine of St. Cuthbert and gave gifts as a show of respect. In addition, at this time, there were more women with aristocratic backgrounds whom were turning to a life dedicated to religion: this included Lady Wynflaed, the mother of King Edmund’s first wife.

In his private life, King Edmund had married twice; firstly to Lady Aelgifu of Shaftesbury, with whom he had three children, two boys and a girl. The two sons, Eadwig and Edgar were destined to inherit the throne, although upon his death, they were too young to inherit and he would thus be succeeded by his younger brother Eadred.

Much of King Edmund’s short rule was taken up by the Viking threat which had continued to dominate the rule of subsequent kings.

During his six years as the King of England, Edmund did his upmost to maintain the territorial, diplomatic and administrative legacy left behind by his brother, Aethelstan.

But sadly, his efforts were to be curtailed when, on the Feast of St. Augustine in May 946 he was stabbed to death in a brawl at Pucklechurch in Gloucester.

With his reign as king tragically cut short and his sons too young to inherit the throne, it was passed to his younger brother Eadred, another Anglo-Saxon king who, like his brother’s before him, would devote himself to defending and expanding his Saxon lands against the Vikings and their heathen force.

(this information was adapted from an article written by Jessica Brain on 10th April 2022).