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- Edmund I (Old English: Eadmund) (922 - 26 May 946), called the Elder, the Deed-doer, the Just, or the Magnificent, was King of England from 939 until his death. He was a son of Edward the Elder and half-brother of Athelstan. Athelstan died on 27 October 939, and Edmund succeeded him as king.
Military threats
Shortly after his proclamation as king he had to face several military threats. King Olaf III Guthfrithson conquered Northumbria and invaded the Midlands. When Olaf died in 942 Edmund reconquered the Midlands. In 943 he became the god-father of King Olaf of York. In 944, Edmund was successful in reconquering Northumbria. In the same year his ally Olaf of York lost his throne and left for Dublin in Ireland. Olaf became the king of Dublin as Olaf Cuaran and continued to be allied to his god-father. In 945 Edmund conquered Strathclyde but ceded the territory to King Malcolm I of Scotland in exchange for a treaty of mutual military support. Edmund thus established a policy of safe borders and peaceful relationships with Scotland. During his reign, the revival of monasteries in England began.
Louis IV of France
One of Edmund's last political movements of which we have some knowledge is his role in the restoration of Louis IV of France to the throne. Louis, son of Charles the Simple and Edmund's half-sister Eadgifu, had resided at the West-Saxon court for some time until 936, when he returned to be crowned King of France. In the summer of 945, he was captured by the Norsemen of Rouen and subsequently released to Duke Hugh the Great, who however, held him in custody. The chronicler Richerus claims that Eadgifu wrote letters both to Edmund and to Otto I in which she requested support for her son; Edmund responded to her plea by sending angry threats to Hugh, who however, brushed them aside. Flodoard's Annales, one of Richerus' sources, report:
Edmund, king of the English, sent messengers to Duke Hugh about the restoration of King Louis, and the duke accordingly made a public agreement with his nephews and other leading men of his kingdom. [...] Hugh, duke of the Franks, allying himself with Hugh the Black, son of Richard, and the other leading men of the kingdom, restored to the kingdom King Louis.
Death and succession
On 26 May 946, Edmund was murdered by Leofa, an exiled thief, while celebrating St Augustine's Mass Day in Pucklechurch (South Gloucestershire). John of Worcester and William of Malmesbury add some lively detail by suggesting that Edmund had been feasting with his nobles, when he spotted Leofa in the crowd. He attacked the intruder in person, but in the event, Edmund and Leofa were both killed.
Edmund's sister Eadgyth, wife to Otto I, died (earlier) the same year, as Flodoard's Annales for 946 report.
Edmund was succeeded as king by his brother Edred, king from 946 until 955. Edmund's sons later ruled England as:
Eadwig of England, King from 955 until 957, king of only Wessex and Kingdom of Kent from 957 until his death on 1 October 959.
Edgar of England, king of only Mercia and Northumbria from 957 until his brother's death in 959, then king of England from 959 until 975.
He married, firstly, Ælfgifu circa 940. He married, secondly, Æthelflæd, daughter of Ælfgar, Ealdorman of the Wilsaetas, circa 946.
Eadmund I, King of England also went by the nick-name of Edmund 'the Elder'. He succeeded to the title of King Eadmund I of England on 27 October 939. He was crowned King of England on 29 November 939 at Kingston-upon-Thames, London, England.
Edmund was the half-brother of Athelstan and was only 18 years old on his accession. When Vikings from Ireland invaded, the Archbishop of Canterbury arranged a treaty between them and the English and this divided the country. Later Edmund defeated these Vikings and regained the lost territory. Edmund had allies in the Welsh princes and together they laid waste to Strathclyde. Edmund was warlike and an effective monarch. An interesting story about Edmund concerns Dunstan, who in later years became Archbishop of Canterbury. Edmund and Dunstan were good companions but treacherous courtiers wrongly discredited Dunstan and he was so upset that he contemplated leaving the country he loved so much. Just afterwards, the year was 943, he and Edmund were out riding at Cheddar when Edmund's horse reared up and bolted towards the cliffs of the Gorge. When all seemed lost, the thought struck Edmund of the evil done to Dunstan by the courtiers. He struggled and managed to regain control of his horse and thus avoid the cliffs. He called Dunstan and straightway rode with him to Glastonbury and immediately appointed his good friend as Abbot there.
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920 - 946 (~ 26 years)
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