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Edward the Martyr

Edward the Martyr (also Edward II ; English Edward the Martyr ; 962 - March 18, 978 ) - king of England in the years 975 - 978 . Representative of the Wessex dynasty . The son of Edgar the Peaceful and his first wife, Ethelfleda. Canonized in 1001 . Revered as a saint in the Orthodox , Catholic and Anglican churches .

Edward the Martyr
Ēadwēard se Martyr
Edward the Martyr
King of england
July 8, 975 - March 18, 978
PredecessorEdgar
SuccessorEthelred II
BirthOK. 962
Wessex
DeathMarch 18, 978 ( 0978-03-18 )
Korf Castle , Perbek , Dorset , Kingdom of England
Burial place
KindWessex dynasty
FatherEdgar
MotherEthelfleda
Religion

Crowned in Kingston in 975. On March 18, 978 (according to another version, in 979 ), the young king was invited to the Korf castle in Dorset , where Prince Ethelred and his mother Elftrita , the second wife of the late Edgar, lived at that time. Servants of the Elftrites surrounded Edward in an imaginary greeting, suddenly grabbed his hands, and one thrust a dagger into the king's chest. Edward fell out of the saddle, and the horse carried him to the forest near the castle. During the fall, the king’s leg caught on the stirrup, and frightened eyewitnesses could observe how the body of the mortally wounded ruler dragged along the ground behind the horse. When finally the people of the king caught up and stopped the horse, Edward was already dead.

In 1982, the relics of Edward were transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia , which placed them in the church of St. Edward the Martyr at the Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey . After the reunification of the ROCOR and the Russian Orthodox Church, it is under the jurisdiction of the Synod of Opposing .

Content

  • 1 Biography
    • 1.1 Origin and inheritance
    • 1.2 Disputes surrounding inheritance
    • 1.3 Edward's Board
    • 1.4 Death
  • 2 Posthumous veneration
    • 2.1 Reburial and early cult
    • 2.2 Late cult
  • 3 notes
  • 4 Literature
  • 5 Links

Biography

Origin and inheritance

Edward's date of birth is unknown, but he was the eldest of Edgar's three children. Most likely, he was still a teenager when he inherited his father, who died at 32 years old in 975 [1] . It is known that Edward was the son of King Edgar, but was not the son of Elfrida, his third wife. This, but nothing more, is known from the Anglo-Saxon documents [2] [3] .

Later sources of dubious reliability refer to the identity of Edward's mother. The earliest of these sources is the biography of Dunstan , written by Osbert of Canterbury in the 1080s. Osburn writes that Edward's mother was a nun from Wilton Abbey , who was seduced by the king [2] [4] . When Edmer wrote about the life of Dunstan several decades later, he outlined a different story about Edward's origin, which denied that Edward was the son of a bond between Edgar and the nun, and represented him as Ethelfleda, daughter of the “Eldormen of East Anglia” whom Edgar had married in years reign of Mercia (between 957 and the death of Edwig in 959) [5] . Additional information can be obtained from the biography of the daughter of Edgar Saint Edith of Wilton from Goscelin and the chronicles of John of Worcester and William of Malmesbury [2] [6] . All these various sources suggest that Edward's mother was a noble woman named Ethelfleda, with the second name “Candida” or “Eneda” - “White” or “White Duck” [7] .

In the 966 charter, Elftrita, whom Edgar married in 964, is described as the “legal wife” of the king, and their eldest son Edmund, as the legal son. Edward is marked as royal son [3] [8] . However, the genealogy created around 969 in Glastonbury Abbey gives Edward superiority over Edmund and Ethelred [9] . Elftrita was an Eldorman widow from eastern England and possibly Edgar's third wife [10] . The contradictions in the identification of Edward's mother, and the fact that Edmund seems to have been regarded as the rightful heir until his death in 971, suggest that Edmund could have been an illegitimate child [11] .

To the brother of Edmund Ethelred, the position of the heir to the crown could pass [12] [1] [9] . In a charter to one of Winchester's abbeys, the names of Elftrit and her son Ethelred [1] . When Edgar died on July 8, 975, Ethelred might have been nine, and Edward was only a few years older [13] .

Disputes surrounding inheritance

Edgar was a strong ruler who carried out monastic reforms, perhaps not desired by the church and the nobility, relying on the main clergymen of the time: Dunstan , Archbishop of Canterbury ; Oswald of Worcester , Archbishop of York ; and Bishop ельthelwold of Winchester . Giving the reformed Benedictine monasteries the lands necessary for their support, he deprived them of many of the lower nobility, and rewrote the leases and land loans in favor of the monasteries. The white clergy, many of whom were representatives of the nobility, were expelled from the new monasteries. During the life of King Edgar, strong support was given to reforms, but after his death, the discontent provoked by these changes came out [14] [11] [12] [15] [16] .

All leading figures supported reforms, but now they were not united. Relations between Archbishop Dunstan and Bishop Ethelwold could be tense [17] . Archbishop Oswald was at odds with Elfhir, the edormen of Mercia [18] [19] , and Elfhir and his relatives competed for power with Ethelwin, the eldormen of East Anglia [20] [21] . Dunstan was said to question the wedding of Edgar to the Dowager Queen Elfrid and the legitimacy of their son Ethelred [22] .

These leaders had different opinions about who inherited Edgar: Edward or Ethelred. Neither the law nor the precedents gave sufficient guidance. The choice between the sons of Edward the Elder divided the kingdom, and Edgar's older brother Edwig was forced to give most of the kingdom to him [23] . The Dowager Queen, of course, supported the claims of her son Ethelred, together with Bishop Ethelwold; Dunstan supported Edward, as did Archbishop Oswald. It is likely that the Eldormen Elfhir and his relatives supported Ethelred, and Ethelvin and his relatives supported Edward, although some historians have stated the opposite [24] .

Subsequent sources suggest that the notion of legitimacy played a role in the argumentation, as did the relative ages of the two candidates. Over time, Edward was anointed by archbishops Dunstan and Oswald in Kingston-on-Thames , most likely in 975 [25] [13] . There is evidence that the decision was the result of a compromise. Ethelred took possession of the lands that usually belonged to the sons of the king, some of which were granted by Edgar to the Abingdon Abbey and were now forcibly taken away [25] [26] .

Edward's board

 
Penny minted on Edward's board at Stamford, Lincolnshire

After recording the accession to the throne of Edward , the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles report on the comet that appeared, followed by famine and “numerous disturbances” [27] . "Numerous indignations," sometimes called the anti-monarchist reaction, began shortly after Edgar's death. At this time, the experienced Eldormen Oslak from Northumbia, who successfully ruled most of northern England, was exiled for unknown reasons [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] . After Oslak, the place of the Eldormen was taken by Tored, either the son of Oslak, or the son of Gunnar, mentioned in the Chronicles in 966 [33] [34] .

Edward, or rather the one who ruled the country on his behalf, also appointed a number of Eldormen to posts in Wessex . Little is known about the two of them, and it is difficult to determine which party they belonged to. Edwin, probably the ruler of Sussex, and possibly part of Kent and Surrey , was buried in Abingdon, and the abbey, which was patronized by Elfhir. Ethelmer, who ruled Hampshire , owned land in Rutland , possibly having ties to Ethelwin.

The third Eldormen Ethelward , best known for his exposition of Latin history, ruled in the west. Ethelward was a descendant of King Ethelred I and possibly the brother of the wife of King Edwig. He most likely was a supporter of Edward [35] [36] .

In some places, the white clergy returned to the monasteries. Their main adversary was Bishop Ethelwold, and Dunstan, it seems, did not particularly support his fellow reformers at this time [17] . In general, large landowners took the opportunity to return many of the lands granted by Edgar to the monasteries, and forced the abbots to rewrite leases and loans in favor of the local nobility. The leader in this regard was the Eldormen Elfhir, who attacked a network of monasteries in Mercia [19] . Elfhir rival Ethelwin, fiercely defending Ramsey Abbey , which was owned by his family, meanwhile brutally abused Ili Abbey and other monasteries [37] [21] [31] . At some point in these unrest, Elfhir and ельthelvin went into a state close to open war. This could have been caused by Elfhir's Abmitations in eastern England and his attacks on Ramsey Abbey. Ethelwin, with the support of his relative Brichtnot , the Eldormen of Essex, and others, gathered an army, and Elfhir retreated [38] .

 
In the 19th century image, Edward the Martyr takes a bowl of honey from the widow of Edgar Elftrita, not knowing that she is plotting for his murder.

From the reign of Edward there were few charters , perhaps three, so not much is known about his short reign. On the other hand, many charters remained during the reign of his father Edgar and half-brother Ethelred. All charters that have come down to us are drawn up in Wessex ; two relate to Crediton , where Edward Sideman [28] [17] [39] was a bishop . Under Edgar's reign, coin stamps were made only in Winchester and from there distributed to other kingdom mints. Under Edward’s rule, stamps were also allowed in York and Lincoln . The general impression was that the power of royalty in the north and in the middle of the country decreased [17] [40] . The government apparatus continued to function, councils and cathedrals gathered in Kirtlington in Oxfordshire after Easter 977, and the next year again in Calne in Wiltshire . In the meeting in Kalne, some advisers were killed and others injured when the floor of their room broke through [39] [41] [21] [42] .

Death

The most detailed version of the Anglo-Saxon chronicles says that Edward was killed on March 18, 978 while visiting Elftrita and Ethelred, possibly not far from the hill on which the ruins of Korf Castle now stand. It also says that he was buried in Worham "without any royal honors." The compiler of this version of the Chronicle , called the Peterborough Chronicle, says:

“Since the British came to the island of Britain, they have not committed acts that are worse than this. People killed him, but God magnified him: in life - the earthly king, and after death - the heavenly saint. Earthly relatives did not avenge his death, but Heavenly Father took revenge in full ” [43] [28] [44] .

Original text
No worse deed for the English race was done than this was, since they first sought out the land of Britain. Men murdered him, but God exalted him. In life he was an earthly king; after death he is now a heavenly saint. His earthly relatives would not avenge him, but his Heavenly Father has much avenged him.

Other versions of the Chronicles contain less detail, the oldest text only indicates that he was killed, while the version of the 1040s says that he died the death of a martyr [32] .

 
Korf Castle

Another early source, the biography of Oswald of Worcester, attributed to Burtfet of Ramsey, adds that Edward was killed by Ethelred's advisers who attacked him when he got off his horse. The source also writes that he was buried in Worham without ceremony [45] [13] . Archbishop Wulfstan mentions the death of the king in his Sermo Lupi ad Anglos , written no later than 1016. According to a recent study, his words are translated (into modern English) like this:

"And a great betrayal of the master also exists in this world, when a man puts his master to death ... Edward was betrayed and killed, and then burned ..." [46]

Original text
And a very great betrayal of a lord it is also in the world, that a man betray his lord to death ... Edward was betrayed, and then killed, and after that burned ...
 
Elfrid watches the death of Edward :; from the Victorian Book of Martyrs book by John Fox

Later sources farther from events, such as the 11th century work Passio S. Eadwardi and John of Worcester , claim that Elfrida only organized the assassination of the king, while Henryk Huntingdon writes that she killed Edward herself [47] [13] [ 48] .

Modern historians offer various versions of the death of Edward, among which there are three main ones. According to the first, Edward was killed, as described in the biography of Oswald, by a nobleman from Ethelred's entourage, either as a result of a personal quarrel, or in a desire to elevate his master to the throne [49] [48] . In the biography of Oswald, Edward is shown as a fickle youth who, as Frank Stanton writes: “offended many important people with an unbearable riot of speech and behavior. Long after he was counted among the saints, people remembered that the flashes of his rage disturbed everyone who knew him, especially members of his own family ” [50] .

According to the second version, Elfrid was involved in the murder, either planning it, or allowing the murderers to go unpunished [51] [52] .

Proponents of the third scenario note that in 978, Edward was almost ready for independent management of the country, and suggest that the murder was Eldormen Elfhir, who wanted to maintain his influence and prevent Edward's revenge for Elfhir’s actions at the beginning of his reign [53] . John also notes this and interprets Elfhir’s participation in the reburial as repentance for the murder [54] .

Posthumous veneration

Reburial and Early Cult

 
The great seal of the Shaftesbury Abbey, where the relics of Edward were stored until the English Reformation

Edward's body lay in Warham for a year, until it was removed from the grave. The reburial was initiated by Elfhir, perhaps as a sign of reconciliation. According to the biography of Oswald, the body was found imperishable. It was transferred to the Shaftesbury Abbey , a nunnery associated with the royal family, which Alfred the Great granted the lands to and where it was believed that the grandmother of Edward and Эthelred Elfgif Shaftesbury spent the last years of his life.

The reburial of the remains of Edward was accompanied by a ceremony. Later sources, such as Passio S. Eadwardi , provide more detailed versions of the events. The source said that Edward’s body was hidden in a swamp, where it was discovered due to the light emanating from it. "Passio" dates the reburial on February 18 [55] [56] [51] [57] [13] .

Saint Edward the Martyr, King of England.
Saint Edward the Martyr, King of England
 
Birth

OK. 962

Death

March 18, 978 ( 0978-03-18 )

Corf , Dorset , England
Is reveredin Orthodoxy ,
Catholicism
Anglicanism
In the faceand
Main shrinerelics in Shaftesbury Abbey , destroyed
Day of Remembrance

In 1001, the relics of Edward (he was considered a saint, although he was not canonized) were transferred to a more significant place in the Shaftesbury monastery. It is believed that the ceremony was led by the then archbishop of Sherborne Wolfsig III (Woolsin), accompanied by a senior clergyman named Elsinus in Passio . King Ethelred, preoccupied with the threat of a Danish invasion, did not attend the ceremony personally, but at the end of 1001 granted the nuns from Shuffstbury land in Bradford-on-Avon ; these events are considered related. The 13th-century saints calendar dates body transfer to June 20 [58] [59] .

The spread of the cult of Edward is explained in different ways. Sometimes it is perceived as a popular movement, or the result of a political attack on Ethelred by former supporters of Edward. On the contrary, Ethelred was seen as one of the key forces in promoting the cult of Edward and his sister Edifi (Edita Wilton). Some sources claim that he legally established the observance of the holidays of Edward. It is unclear whether this innovation, probably prepared by Wulfstan II, belongs to the reign of Ethelred. It could be made public by Knud . David Rollason draws attention to the increased importance of other royal blood saints at this time. Among them are the nephews of King Kent Egbert I , who were killed by him in the struggle for power, and the saints from Mercia Kinehelm and Wigstan [60] [61] [51] [13] [62] .

Late Cult

During the Reformation in England in the 16th century, Henry VIII proclaimed the dissolution of monasteries and many holy places were destroyed. The relics of Edward were hidden and escaped desecration [63] .

In 1931, the relics were discovered by Wilson-Clarridge during archaeological excavations; that the remains belong to Edward was confirmed by osteologist Stowell. As a result of research, it was found that, most likely, the young man was killed in the same way as Edward [64] . Wilson-Clarridge wanted the relics to be transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia . His brother, however, wished to bring them back to Shaftesbury Abbey. For several decades, the relics lay in the bank of Woking , Surrey , because of an unresolved dispute: which church should be transferred.

In the end, the relics were transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and placed at Brookwood Cemetery in Woking [64] . The monastic brotherhood of St. Edward was also organized [64] .

In Orthodoxy, Eduard is considered a martyr , a saint who died in the name of love for Christ [64] . Edward was not officially canonized, but is also revered as a saint in Catholicism and Anglicanism. [64] His day on the calendar of saints is March 18, the day of his death. In Orthodoxy, he is also revered for the second time on September 3.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1 2 3 Higham, 1997 , p. 7.
  2. ↑ 1 2 3 Hart (1), 2004 , p. 783.
  3. ↑ 1 2 Williams, 2003 , p. 2.
  4. ↑ Williams, 2003 , p. 3.
  5. ↑ Williams, 2003 , pp. 3-4.
  6. ↑ Williams, 2003 , pp. 4-5.
  7. ↑ Higham, 1997 , p. 6.
  8. ↑ John, 1996 , p. 7, 120.
  9. ↑ 1 2 Williams, 2003 , p. 8.
  10. ↑ Stafford, 1989 , p. 52-57.
  11. ↑ 1 2 Hart (1), 2004 .
  12. ↑ 1 2 Miller (1), 1999 .
  13. ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Miller (2), 1999 .
  14. ↑ John, 1996 , p. 113-9.
  15. ↑ Higham, 1997 , pp. 2-4.
  16. ↑ Fisher, 1952 , pp. 254-255, 266.
  17. ↑ 1 2 3 4 Hart (1), 2004 , p. 784.
  18. ↑ Higham, 1997 , p. 9.
  19. ↑ 1 2 Williams, 2004 .
  20. ↑ Higham, 1997 , pp. 4-5, 9.
  21. ↑ 1 2 3 Hart (2), 2004 .
  22. ↑ Higham, 1997 , pp. 7-8.
  23. ↑ Higham, 1997 , pp. 9-12.
  24. ↑ Higem, Miller, and Williams suggest that Elfhir supported Ethelred, while Hart believes that Ethelred was supported by Ethelwin's party.
  25. ↑ 1 2 Williams, 2003 , p. 10.
  26. ↑ Land grab is enacted in charter S 937 .
  27. ↑ Swanton, 1998 , pp. 121-122.
  28. ↑ 1 2 3 Williams, 2003 , p. eleven.
  29. ↑ Higham, 1997 , p. 10.
  30. ↑ Fisher, 1952 , p. 268.
  31. ↑ 1 2 Dales, 1988 , p. one hundred.
  32. ↑ 1 2 Swanton, 1998 , p. 121.
  33. ↑ Williams, 2003 , p. 24.
  34. ↑ Swanton, 1998 , p. 119.
  35. ↑ Higham, 1997 , pp. 11-12.
  36. ↑ Williams, 2003 , pp. 9-10, 17, 22.
  37. ↑ Fisher, 1952 .
  38. ↑ Williams, 2003 , pp. 10-11.
  39. ↑ 1 2 Swanton, 1998 , p. 122.
  40. ↑ Higham, 1997 , pp. 11, 13.
  41. ↑ Dales, 1988 , p. 102.
  42. ↑ Higham, 1997 , p. 13.
  43. ↑ Swanton, 1998 , p. 123.
  44. ↑ Higham, 1997 , pp. 17-18.
  45. ↑ Williams, 2003 , pp. 11-12.
  46. ↑ Modern English translation from the Electronic Sermo Lupi ad Anglos website Archived on November 7, 2008. .
  47. ↑ Williams, 2003 , pp. 12-13.
  48. ↑ 1 2 Dales, 1988 , p. 103.
  49. ↑ Williams, 2003 , p. 12.
  50. ↑ Stenton, 1971 , p. 372.
  51. ↑ 1 2 3 Hart (1), 2004 , p. 785.
  52. ↑ Higham, 1997 , p. fourteen.
  53. ↑ Higham, 1997 , p. 12.
  54. ↑ John, 1996 , p. 119-21.
  55. ↑ Stafford, 1989 , p. 59.
  56. ↑ Ridyard, 1988 , pp. 155-156.
  57. ↑ Williams, 2003 , p. 16.
  58. ↑ Williams, 2003 , pp. 15-16.
  59. ↑ Ridyard, 1988 , pp. 156-157.
  60. ↑ Williams, 2003 , pp. 14-17.
  61. ↑ Rollason, 1982 , pp. 53-57.
  62. ↑ Ridyard, 1988 , pp. 154-157.
  63. ↑ Serfes, Nektarios The Life Of Among The Saints Edward The Martyr, King Of England (neopr.) . Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church. Date of treatment February 18, 2014.
  64. ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 St Edward the Martyr (neopr.) . Necropolis Notables . The Brookwood Cemetery Society. Date of treatment February 18, 2014. Archived December 22, 2015.

Literature

  • Eduard Martyr // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
  • Dales, Douglas J. Dunstan: Saint and Statesman. - Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 1988 .-- ISBN 0-7188-2704-X .
  • Fisher, DJV The Anti-Monastic Reaction in the Reign of Edward the Martyr // Cambridge Historical Journal. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952 .-- T. 10 , no. 3 . - S. 254-270 .
  • Hart, Cyril. Edward [St Edward called Edward the Martyr] ( p . 962–978) // Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
  • Hart, Cyril. Æthelwine [Ethelwine, Æthelwine Dei Amicus] ( d . 992) // Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. - T. 17. - P. 783-785.
  • Higham, Nick. The Death of Anglo-Saxon England. - Stroud: Sutton, 1997 .-- ISBN 0-7509-2469-1 .
  • Miller, Sean. Edgar // The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England / Michael, Lapidge. - Oxford: Blackwell, 1999 .-- P. 158-159. - ISBN 0-631-22492-0 .
  • Miller, Sean. Edward the Martyr // The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England / Michael, Lapidge. - Oxford: Blackwell, 1999 .-- P. 163. - ISBN 0-631-22492-0 .
  • John, Eric. Reassessing Anglo-Saxon England. - Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996 .-- ISBN 0-7190-4867-2 .
  • Ridyard, Susan J. The Royal Saints of Anglo-Saxon England: A Study of West Saxon and East Anglian Cults. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. - (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought). - ISBN 0-521-30772-4 .
  • Rollason, DW The Mildrith Legend: A Study in Early Medieval Hagiography in England. - Leicester University Press, 1982. - (Studies in the Early History of Britain). - ISBN 0-7185-1201-4 .
  • Stafford, Pauline. Unification and Conquest: A Political and Social History of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. - London: Edward Arnold, 1989 .-- ISBN 0-7131-6532-4 .
  • Stenton, Frank. Anglo-Saxon England. - 3rd. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971. - ISBN 0-19-280139-2 .
  • Swanton, Michael. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. - Psychology Press, 1998. - 364 p. - ISBN 9780415921299 .
  • Williams, Ann. Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King. - London: Hambeldon & London, 2003 .-- ISBN 1-85285-382-4 .
  • Williams, Ann. Ælfhere ( d . 983) // Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Links

  • The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 920-1014
  • Ryzhov K. Eduard Martyr // All the monarchs of the world. Western Europe. - M .: Veche, 1999 .-- 656 p. - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-7838-0374-X .
  • Oliver Goldsmith. History of England (translated by F. Silonov). Chapter III. The Danes invasion: from the end of the Seven Kingdom to the invasion of William the Conqueror (832-1066)
  • Northern Europe // Rulers of the World. Chronological and genealogical tables on world history in 4 vols. / Compiled by V.V. Erlikhman . - T. 2.
Source - https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eduard_Martyr&oldid=102078531


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