Saint Edward the Confessor: Last King of Wessex

Edward the Confessor's reign led to a significant turning point in English history - the invasion of William the Conqueror (or William the Bastard, depending on your opinion) and the rule of the House of Normandy - but few of us know much about him, apart from thinking that he must be really holy or guilty (we're not sure which). Probably even fewer know that he is considered to be the last king of Wessex, that he was canonised, and that his saint's day is celebrated on October 13 in the Church of England calendar.

It's that final point that is the impetus for what turned out to be a longer blog post than I intended. Read on as we take a quick look at the complicated history of the 11th century and ask whether Edward deserves his status as England's only monarch-saint.

Edward was born around 1003 into the Anglo-Saxon monarchy. He was the younger son of King Ethelred the Unready and his second wife, Emma of Normandy, behind a line of older half brothers. His mother's connections to Normandy and her subsequent political machinations would prove pivotal in the fate of Edward and England.

Edward's formative years were shaped by the Danish invasions that marked the early 11th century. After his father's reign ended due to the conquests of Sweyn Forkbeard and his son Cnut, Edward and his family sought refuge in Normandy. During Edward's teen years, England was a political football, ruled by Sweyn, then Ethelred (invited back again), Edward's half brother, Edmund Ironside, and finally Cnut in 1016, whereupon Edward's mother threw in her lot with the Danes and married Cnut, leaving Edward and his siblings in political and familial exile that would last nearly a quarter of a century.

We don't have any first hand evidence for Edward's ambitions, or indeed much about his movements during those years, though the tradition around his canonisation says it was during this period that he became intensely pious. It would be nice to think that he turned his back on the political turmoil around him and found spiritual solace - but in those times, turning one's back was probably asking for a dagger in it. I suspect he was biding his time and trying to stay alive. Back in England, his mother focused all her ambitions on her new family with Cnut, and the birth of a son meant that Edward's chances of ascending to the throne were slim. He made a few gestures such as signing himself as the King of England on a couple of charters and had support from figures such as Robert, Abbot of Jumieges. Sources also tell us that Robert, Duke of Normandy, attempted an invasion of England on his behalf, but this was thwarted by the weather. However, at this point, it looked like England would remain a territory of the Kings of Denmark.

Edward meeting with Robert of Normandy: Bayeaux tapestry. Source: Wikimedia commons

Cnut died in 1035, and his and Emma's son, Harthacnut, succeeded him as King of Denmark. Denmark had its own problems, so Harthacnut made his elder half-brother Harald Harefoot regent of England, while Emma held Wessex on Harthacnut's behalf. This arrangement apparently did not suit Emma, who remembered she had sons in Normandy and invited Edward and Alfred back to England to counter Harefoot's political weight. All did not go well. Alfred was captured by Godwin, Earl of Wessex, who turned him over to Harold Harefoot, who in turn had Alfred blinded with red-hot pokers. Alfred died soon after as a result of his wounds. After some nominal fighting, Edward retreated back to Normandy where his mother joined him in exile after Harald Harefoot became King of England in 1037 - not to solace Edward, but to demand his support for Harthacnut. Perhaps not surprisingly, Edward refused. However, before Harthacnut could launch an invasion to reclaim England, Harald Harefoot died, leaving Harthacnut and his mother to return in peace to take the throne.

It seems Edward's lukewarmness towards his brother's kingship was not detrimental to his prospects, or Emma had a lot of influence with Harthacnut (or perhaps Harthacnut actually disapproved of Emma's behaviour towards her first family), because in 1041, the childless king invited Edward to England as his heir. Apparently Earl Godwin had a hand in this. Whether Godwin thought his role as kingmaker would weigh more than his role in the murder of Edward's brother, or maybe the complicated and fraught relations within the Danish, English and Norman royal families made him conclude blood ties were weak, I'm not sure. Whatever the reason, with Godwin's support, Edward succeeded him as king in 1042, and he was crowned in 1043 in Winchester Cathedral, the royal seat of the West Saxons. As soon as the crown was firmly on his head, Edward deprived his mother of her properties and sent her into exile.

Edward's second task, after revenge on his mother, was to attempt to strengthen the House of Wessex after the period of Danish rule. However, he was dependent on the powerful earls in the region and, despite Earl Godwin's horrific torture of his brother, he married Godwin's daughter, Edith, in 1045. The shenanigans of Godwin's family are a blog post in their own right, but suffice it to say that they effectively ruled southern England. Because of this, Edward concentrated his early efforts on the Church and foreign policy. During this time, Edward also initiated the building of Westminster Abbey, in the Norman style, intended as a royal burial place. It's not the building we have today - that was torn down by Henry III in 1245 to make way for his own legacy. Nevertheless, it cemented Edward's reputation as a son of the church as well as strengthening the interplay of royal and ecclesiastical power, becoming the site for coronations of future English monarchs. He also rewarded Abbot Robert with the bishopric of London in 1043.

Perhaps during these years of consolidation, Edward was always planning revenge on Godwin. After all, he had a long lesson in patience during his formative years. The chance came in 1051, when the clergy and monks of Canterbury elected a relative of Godwin as Archbishop. Edward rejected this and appointed Robert, who promptly accused Godwin of being in illegal possession of church lands, and as things escalated, of plotting to kill the king himself. Negotiations between the sides soon collapsed. Apparently, when Edward declared Godwin could have peace if he could restore Alfred and his companions alive and well, the earl saw the writing on the wall and fled with his sons into exile. Edith, who as well as being the enemy's daughter had committed the ultimate queenly sin of being childless, was sent to a nunnery.

But the pendulum of fate swung swiftly in these years. In 1052, Godwin returned with an army, and the king, lacking support, was forced to return the earldoms to Godwin's family, take back Edith and remove Robert. I'll spare you more confusing details (if it's the Dark Ages, how come we have so much information about them?) but by 1057, Godwin's house controlled most of England apart from Mercia (though Godwin died in 1053). Edward seems to have withdrawn from politics at this time, spending his days attending church and hunting, perhaps as he had done in Normandy all those years ago. One notable foray back into politics is his support of Malcolm, son of the murdered Scottish king Duncan I, and his role in sending an expedition up north which resulted in the defeat and death of Macbeth.

Were these the actions of a saintly king, ultimately detached from worldly power and content with the vicissitudes of life, those of a man biding his time until his return to power, or simply a human being trying to stay alive? Perhaps that depends on whether you are a cynical historian or a hagiographer. Edward certainly managed an impressive twenty-four years as at least nominal king of England - and that after surviving the same length of time in exile as a potential rival to the throne with a target on his back. Be that as at may, eventually, in 1065, he suffered a series of strokes, brought on, some suggest, by the continuing political humiliations, and was unable to attend the consecration of his new church at Westminster in December of that year.

Finally comes the part that leads to 1066 and all that. Theoretically, William of Normandy was Edward's intended heir. However, many historians agree that in the end, Edward entrusted the kingdom to Godwin's son and Edward's brother-in-law - yes, the infamous Harold Godwinson - and Queen Edith shortly before he died at Westminster on 5 January 1066. On 6 January he was buried in Westminster Abbey and Harold was crowned on the same day. The rest is where history begins for many a British schoolchild who, given what I had to trawl through to write this, should probably be thankful.

Edward the Confessor: the Wilton diptych. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Edward the Saint

Edward the Confessor was the only king of England to be canonised by the pope, but he was part of a tradition of Anglo-Saxon and Wessex saints, such as Edward the Martyr (murdered at Corfe Castle) and Aldhelm. Many historians see his canonisation as political, although others argue that his cult began so early that it must have had something credible to build on. For example, he is credited with being the first king to cure scrofula, 'the king's evil' with his touch. Others posit that the monks at Westminster, grateful to their patron, had a good deal to do with enhancing his reputation. In the twelfth century, the prior of Westminster Abbey began to campaign in earnest for canonisation, converting Edward's biography into a hagiography for 'proof'. For example, Edith's childlessness now became a result of Edward's vow of celibacy. One legend tells how one day, towards the end of his reign, Edward met a beggar to whom he gave a gold ring for alms. Shortly afterwards, two English pilgrims were stranded in the Holy Land and received help from an old man who revealed that he was John the Evangelist. The man gave them Edward's ring to return and sent them home with a message that he would soon meet Edward in heaven.

After Henry II supported the correct side in the papal election of 1159, Edward's cause coincidentally gained traction, and he was canonised in 1161 as a Confessor - someone who is not a martyr but is believed to have lived a saintly life. He got to be England's national saint for a while, until Edward III decided the military Saint George was more manly, then poor Edward had his chapel at Windsor rededicated to George.

Was Edward indeed a saintly man, who we might say walked the kingly version of the Church of England's great Via Media in the turbulent Dark Ages? Surrounded by family members willing to torture and assassinate one another, does his relative lenience towards those who wronged him bespeak a person trying to live the Gospel? Or was he just a survivor who seemed a good candidate for an English monarch-saint to rival those boasted by other European monarchies?

Today, the shrine of Saint Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey remains where it was after the final translation of his body to a chapel east of the sanctuary on 13 October 1269. Thus October 13 becomes the day of his commemoration. Each October the abbey holds a week of festivities and prayer in his honour. Edward is also regarded as a patron saint of difficult marriages. Perhaps on consideration, he should be the patron saint of children with overbearing mothers.

Here is the prayer for Saint Edward the Confessor:

O God, who called your servant Edward to an an earthly throne That he might advance your heavenly kingdom, and gave him zeal for your Church and love for your people: Mercifully grant that we who commemorate him this day may be fruitful in good works, and attain to the glorious crown of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Further reading

A few online sources to get you started:

The Wikipedia article on Edward the Confessor isn't a bad starting point.

Historic UK

This Westminster Abbey page gives more information on his life as a saint, and that of his wife, Edith

I admit to not having watched the whole of this yet, but Youtube has a documentary entitled Edward the Confessor, the Saint Saxon King that seems to be a good overview.

If this wetted your appetite to get an in-depth look at Edward's reign, two well-known books are the biography "Edward the Confessor" by David A. Carpenter and "The Kings and Queens of England" by Alison Weir.

King Edward meets the mysterious beggar. Source: nationalarchives.gov.uk