ENGLAND, King Edmund II^{[1, 2]}

988 - 1016  (28 years)  Submit Photo / Document

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• Name	ENGLAND, Edmund
  Prefix	King
  Suffix	II
  Nickname	Ironside
  Birth	22 Jul 988	Wessex, Anglo-Saxon Kingdom, Great Britian   [2]
  Gender	Male
  _TAG	Reviewed on FS
  Death	30 Nov 1016	London, Middlesex, England   [2, 3]
  Burial	Dec 1016	Glastenbury Abbe, England
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I68693	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
  Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

  
  

  Father	ENGLAND, King Ethelred ,   b. 19 Mar 968, Wessex, England Wessex, Englandd. 23 Apr 1016, London, London, England (Age 48 years)
  Mother	ENGLAND, Queen Alfgifu ,   b. 968, Essex, England Essex, Englandd. 17 Nov 1002, Wherwell Abbey, Hampshire, England (Age 34 years)
  Marriage	985	Essex, England   [4]
  Notes	MARRIAGE: Also shown as Married , , Wessex, England. ~SEALING_SPOUSE: Also shown as SealSp 9 Jun 1933, SLAKE.
  Family ID	F32281	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	ENGLAND, Queen Ealdgyth ,   b. 986, Essex, England Essex, Englandd. 30 Nov 1016, Tower Hill, London, England (Age 30 years)
  Marriage	Aug 1015	London, Middlesex, England   [2]
  Notes	MARRIAGE: Also shown as Married London, Middlesex, England.
  Children	2 sons
  + 1. ATHELING, Edward ,   b. 1016, Essex, England Essex, Englandd. 19 Apr 1057, London, Middlesex, England (Age 41 years)   2. ENGLAND, King Edward Atheling III ,   b. 23 Sep 1016, Kingdom of Wessex Kingdom of Wessexd. 19 Apr 1057, London, Middlesex, England (Age 40 years)
  Family ID	F32454	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

  
  

• Notes

  --Other Fields Ref Number: 6090 (Proofed) Edmund, Ironside, King of England, was chosen King by the people of London, but Canute, 2nd of Denmark, finally won out as King, leaving Edmund to rule the South of England until his death. SUFFIX: Also shown as Ironside, King of the South England Edmund Ironside From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Edmund II of England)Edmund II (died 30 November 1016), usually known as Edmund 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.[1] 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[edit] 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[edit] 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, 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.[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 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.[1] King of England[edit] Æthelred died on 23 April 1016, and the citizens and councillors in London chose Edmund as king and probably crowned him. He 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 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.[1] Death[edit] 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 sordid version of events, which included Edmund’s murder by suffering multiple stab wounds whilst on a privy tending to a call of nature.[6] 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, it is thought Edmund’s cause of death may possibly have been caused by wounds received in battle or by some disease, but it is certainly a possibility 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, any remains of a monument or crypt would have been plundered and the location of his remains is unclear. Reputation[edit] 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[edit] Edmund had two children by Ealdgyth, Edward the Exile and Edmund. 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.[7] 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 stlll 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. 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 cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut the Great.[1] He fought five battles against the Danes, ending in defeat against Cnut 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, and Cnut became the king of all England. 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 cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut the Great.[1] He fought five battles against the Danes, ending in defeat against Cnut 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, and Cnut became the king of all England. BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%20Kings.htm#Edmunddied1016B, as of 10/24/2014 EADMUND, son of ÆTHELRED II King of England & his first wife Ælflæd ([990]-30 Nov 1016, bur Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset[1875]). Florence of Worcester’s genealogies name "Ælfgiva, comitis Ægelberhti filia" as mother of King Æthelred’s three sons "Eadmundum, Eadwium et Æthelstanum" and his daughter "Eadgitham"[1876]. Roger of Wendover records the birth in 981 of "rex Ethelredus…filium…Eadmundum"[1877], but this date is probably inaccurate if it is correct (as shown above) that Eadmund was his father’s third son, given King Æthelred’s birth in [966]. "Eadmundus filius regis/clito/ætheling" subscribed charters of King Æthelred II dated between 993 and 1015, the last dated 1015 being signed "Eadmund regie indolis soboles"[1878]. His name was listed after his brother Ecgberht, before the latter's disappearance from the records in 1005, consistent with Edmund being the third son. He subscribed his father's charter dated 1002 which granted land at Codicote, Hertfordshire to Ælthelm, signing third among the brothers[1879], and "Eadmundus clito" subscribed his father's 1006 charter making grants to St Alban's, also signing third[1880]. Ætheling Æthelstan, under his will dated [1014], made bequests to "…my brother Eadmund, my brother Eadwig…"[1881]. After the murder of the brothers Sigeferth and Morcar, leading thegns in northern England, Edmund abducted and married Sigeferth's widow against his father's wishes. In Sep 1015, he proceeded north to retake the properties of his wife's first husband which had been confiscated by the king[1882]. In early 1016, Edmund devastated northwest Mercia in alliance with Uhtred Earl of Northumbria, but returned to London to rejoin his father shortly before he died. He was immediately proclaimed king on his father's death in 1016 by an assembly of northern notables and burghers of London[1883], succeeding as EDMUND "Ironside" King of England, crowned at Old St Paul's Cathedral in Apr 1016. The Witan had offered the throne to Knud of Denmark, to whom a group of nobles and church dignitaries from southern England swore allegiance at Southampton[1884]. King Edmund reconquered Wessex from Danish forces, and relieved London from the siege imposed by a Danish fleet. The Danes turned their attention to Mercia, Eadric "Streona/the Acquisitor" defecting back to King Edmund's forces at Aylesford only to betray him again at Ashingdon in Essex where Danish forces finally defeated King Edmund in Oct 1016[1885]. At Alney, near Deerhurst, Edmund agreed a compromise division of the country with Canute, Edmund taking Wessex and Canute the north, but King Edmund died before this could be implemented. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the death on St Andrew's day 1016 of King Edmund and his burial at Glastonbury[1886]. According to Henry of Huntingdon, King Edmund was murdered by the son of Eadric Streona[1887]. m (Malmesbury, Wiltshire [Jun/Aug] 1015) as her second husband, ÆLDGYTH, widow of SIGEFERTH, daughter of --- . The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that "prince Edmund…abducted [Siferth's widow] against the king's will and made her his wife" but does not name her[1888]. Simeon of Durham records that Edmund married "Algitha widow of Sigeferth" in 1015[1889]. According to Ronay, she was the daughter of Olof "Skotkonung" King of Sweden and his concubine Edla of Vindland, but the author cites no primary source to support this suggestion[1890]. If the assertion is correct, it is surprising that Ældgyth is not mentioned with the Swedish king's other children in the Saga of Olaf Haraldson[1891]. In addition, there would be no explanation for Ældgyth's first marriage to an obscure Northumbrian nobleman, especially as King Olof's two known daughters made high-profile marriages with the Grand Prince of Kiev and the king of Norway. Simeon of Durham records that, after Ældgyth's first husband was murdered on the orders of Eadric "Streona/the Acquisitor" Ealdorman of Mercia, Ældgyth was arrested and brought to Malmesbury on the orders of King Æthelred II who had confiscated her husband's properties in the north of England[1892]. She was abducted and married, against the king's wishes, by her second husband who proceeded to take possession of her first husband's properties. No mention has been found of Queen Ældgyth after the death of her second husband. King Edmund "Ironside" & his wife had two children: 1. EDMUND ([1016/17]-before 1054). [m [HEDWIG] of Hungary, daughter of --- King of Hungary & his wife ---. 2. EDWARD ([1016/17]-London 19 Apr 1057, bur London St Paul's). m (Kiev[1917] [1040/45]) AGATHA, daughter of --- ([1025/35]-). ** from http://sbaldw.home.mindspring.com/hproject/prov/edmun002.htm Eadmund "Ironside" King of England, 1016. Eadmund appears as a witness to a charter of his father in 998, when he was certainly still a child ["Ego Eadmund clito" Codex Dipl. Sax. 3: 308 (#700)]. Earlier charters supposedly witnessed by Eadmund are either doubtful or misdated [ibid., 3: 204 (#643), 250 (#672), 270 (#684), 303 (#698); the last of these, #698 from 997, was undoubted by Kemble, called spurious by Whitelock, and called authentic by Finberg; see Sawyer (1968), 273 (#891)]. Eadmund emerges from obscurity in 1015, when he married the widow of Sigeferth, a thegn of the Seven Boroughs, and took possession of the estates of Sigeferth and his brother Morkere, who had been murdered earlier that year [ASC(E) s.a. 1015; John Worc., s.a. 1015 (1: 170); Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 179 (1: 213)]. In April 1016 he was chosen as king by the witan and people of London after the death of his father Æthelred II ["& þa æfter his ende. ealle þa witan þe on Lundene wæron. & seo buruh waru gecuron Eadmunde to cyninge. & he his rice heard lice wærode þa hwila þe his tima wæs." ASC(D,E,F) s.a. 1016 (1: 148-9) ("And then, after his [i.e., Æthelred's] end, all the councillors who were in London, and the garrison chose Edmund for king, and he resolutely defended his kingdom for as long as his time was." ASC(Eng), 149); John Worc., s.a. 1016 (1: 173); Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 180 (1: 215)]. Meanwhile, Cnut had been chosen king of most of the rest of England [John Worc., s.a. 1016 (1: 173)]. After several months of fighting, the two opponents made peace, and at a conference in October or November, they divided the kingdom between them, with Eadmund getting the southern part, including Wessex [ASC(D,E,F) s.a. 1016; John Worc., s.a. 1016 (1: 178); Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 180 (1: 217); see Freeman (1870-9), 1: 705-11]. However, Eadmund died on 30 November of the same year [see below], and Cnut succeeded to the entire kingdom. Although late sources say that Eadmund was murdered, contemporary sources do not hint at any foul play [see Freeman (1870-9), 1: 711-7]. Date of birth: Probably 988×996. Place of birth: Unknown. Since Eadmund had two younger brothers by 998, he was not born any later than 996. Since his father Æthelred II was born about 968, and Eadmund had two older brothers, he is unlikely to have been born before 988. A birth somewhere near the middle of the range 988×996 seems likely. Date of death: 30 November 1016. Place of death: London. Place of burial: Glastonbury. ["Ða to Sce. Andreas mæssan forðferde Eadmund cyng, & is be byrged mid his ealdan fæder Eadgare on Glæstingabyri." ASC(D,E,F) (1: 152-3) ("Then, on St. Andrew's Day, King Edmund passed away, and is buried with his grandfather Edgar in Glastonbury" ASC(Eng), 152-3); "Post hæc, rex Eadmundus Ferreum Latus, circa festivitatem S. Andreæ Apostoli, XV. indictione, decessit Lundoniæ, sed cum avo suo, rege pacifico Eadgaro, sepultus est Gleastoniæ:" John Worc., s.a. 1016 (1: 179); "Nec multo post, in festo sancti Andreæ, ambiguum quo casu extinctus, Glastoniæ juxta Edgarum avum suum sepultus est." Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 180 (1: 217)] Father: Æthelred II "the Unready", d. 23 April 1016, king of England, 978×9-1013, 1014-6. Mother: Ælfgifu (?). Spouse: m. 1015, Ealdgyth, living 1016. In 1015, Eadmund married Ealdgyth, widow of Sigeferth, thegn of the Seven Boroughs, who with his brother Morkere had been murdered earlier in the year ["Hoc anno, cum apud Oxenafordam magnam haberetur placitum, perfidus dux Edricus Streona digniores et potentiores ministros ex Seovenburhgensibus, Sigeferthum et Morkerum, filios Earngrimi, in cameram suam dolose suscepit, et occulte eos ibi necari jussit; quorum facultates rex Ægelredus accepit, et derelictam Sigeferthi, Aldgitham, ad Maidulfi Urbem deduci præcepit: quæ cum ibi custodiretur, venit illuc Eadmundus clito, et, contra voluntatem sui patris, illam sibi uxorem accepit, ..." John Worc. s.a. 1015 (1: 170); ASC(E) s.a. 1015; Wm. Malmes., c. 179 (1: 213); only John of Worcester gives the name of Sigeferth's widow]. Children: Only Eadweard is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ["Her on þisum geare com Ædward æðeling Eadmundes sunu cynges hider to lande." ASC(E) s.a. 1057; "Her com Eadward æþeling to Englalande se wæs Eadwerdes broðor sunu kynges Eadmund cing" ASC(D) s.a. 1057]. Adam of Bremen, writing in the second half of the eleventh century, makes Eadmund's sons plural, and states that they were condemned to exile in Russia, but does not give their names ["Frater Adelradi Emund, vir bellicosus, in gratiam victoris veneno sublatus est; filii eius in Ruzziam exilio dampnati." Adam of Bremen, ii, 51, MGH SS 7: 324; note that Adam mistakenly makes Eadmund a brother of Æthelred]. The second son is named Eadmund by most twelfth century Anglo-Norman sources, but William of Malmesbury calls him Eadwig ["..., Eadwardum et Eadmundum, regis Eadmundi filios, ... quorum unus, scilicet Eadmundus, processu temporis ibidem vitam finivit; Eadwardus vero Agatham, filiam germani imperatoris Heinrici, in matrimonium accepit, ..." John Worc. s.a. 1017 (1: 181); "... Eadmundus successit, qui duos filios, Eadmundum et Eadwardum, ex quadam nobilis prosapiæ foemina habuit; ..." John Worc., 1: 275; "Filii ejus Edwius et Edwardus, missi ad regem Swevorum ut perimerentur, sed miseratione ejus conservati, Hunorum regem petierunt; ubi, dum benigne aliquo tempore habiti essent, major diem obiit, minor Agatham reginæ sororem in matrimonium accepit." Wm. Malmes., Gesta Regum, c. 180 (vol. 1, p. 218); "Eduardum vero et Edmundum filios Edmundi, elegantes albeolos, in Daciam relegavit, et Sueno regi Danorum fratri suo, ut eos interficeret, mandavit. At ille generosos et innocentes pueros nequiter necare contempsit, sed orta occasione regi Hunorum illos quasi nepotes suos obsides dedit. Ibi Edmundus clito immatura morte obiit. Eduardus vero Dei nutu filiam regis in matrimonium accepit, et super Hunos regnavit. Edgarum vero Adelinum, et Margaritam reginam Scotorum, et Christianam sanctimonialem genuit; ..." OV, i (vol. 1, p. 178); "At puerulos filios Edmundi ferire metuens præ pudore, ad regem Suavorum eos interficiendos transmisit. Rex vero Suavorum nobilium puerorum miseratus ærumnam, ad Hungariorum regem eos destinat nutriendos. Quos ipse benigne accepit, benignius fovit, benignissime sibi in filios adoptavit. Porro Edmundo filiam suam dedit uxorem; Edwardo filiam germani sui Henrici imperatoris in matrimonium junxit. Sed paulo post Edmundus de temporalibus ad æterna transfertur: Edwardus sospitate et prosperitate fruitur." Ailred of Rievaulx, Genealogia Regum Anglorum, PL 195: 733]. Geoffrey Gaimar incorrectly calls the sons Eadgar and Æthelred ["Li vns ert Edgar apelez, / Li altres out nun Edelret:" ("One was called Eadgar, / The other's name was Æthelred") Gaimar 4516-7]. Eadmund is consistently named first, and was possibly the elder son. Because of the short period between the marriage and death of Eadmund Ironside, it must be the case that either the sons were twins or one of them was born posthumously. MALE Eadmund, b. 1016, d. 10 January, bef. 1057; perhaps m. NN of Hungary. Eadmund is apparently the only case in this dynasty of a son receiving the same name as the father. He is generally believed to have died in Hungary ["Eadmundus in adolescentia mortuus est in Ungaria." John Worc., 1: 275]. Eadmund was deceased (apparently without issue) at the time that Eadweard came to England in 1057. An eleventh century addition to the Crowland Psalter gives his date of death as 10 January [Keynes (1985), 359-60]. Ailred of Rievaulx, who personally knew king David of Scotland, grandson of Eadweard, states that Eadmund married a daughter of the king of Hungary ["Porro Edmundo filiam suam dedit uxorem" Ailred of Rievaulx, Genealogia Regum Anglorum, PL 195: 733; here, "suam" refers to the king of the Hungarians]. See the page of Agatha for a more detailed discussion of Eadmund's possible Hungarian marriage. ** from Great Britain to 1688 (Maurice Ashley, 1961), p 53-- King Ethelred the Unready had a son named Edmund Ironside in whom the spirit of Alfred and Athelstan fitfully glowed. Edmund fought valiantly against Canute when the Danish prince returned with his army but he was defeated at the battle of Ashingdon in Essex. A treaty was then signed dividing the country between Edmund and Canute, but in that same year of 1016 King Edmund suddenly died on St. Andrew's Day, leaving no grown heir, and was buried in the tomb of Edgar the Peaceful at Glastonbury. ** from The World of the Middle Ages (John L. LaMonte) p 199-- Ethelred died in 1016 and the Witan proclaimed his son Edmund Ironsides (1016). Edmund brought to the war a vigor wholly lacking in his father, with the result that the English won several engagements and were able to force from Canute a treaty re-establishing two kingdoms. Edmund held the south and Cantue the north, with the understanding that when either died the other should succeed to the whole kingdom. Hardly had this treaty been arranged than Edmund was treacherously murdered by one of his own men and Canute entered into possession of the realm. ** from A History of the Vikings (Jones) pp 370+ In the Summer of 1015 when Knut's glittering menagerie of ships sailed for England those who should oppose him there had reverted to their normal malpractice. The sinister Eadric Streona for reasons unknown procured the murder of the two foremost noblemen... Siferth and Morcar; king Ethelred abetted him by seizing their property and arresting Siferth's widow; Ethedred's son Edmund rescued the lady, married her in his father's despite, departed for the Five Boroughs, possessed himself of the property, and by consent of the inhabitants, equally resentful of Knut's desertion and Ethelred's revenge, made himself master there... Briefly Edmund combined with Uhtred of Northumbria to devastate Staffordshire, Shropshire, and Cheshire, but Knut carried the war northwards by way of Nottingham to York, and Uhtred had to submit... Knut next turned towards London, but before his ships came up the river Ethelred the Redeless died 'after a lifetime of much hardship and many difficulties,' and the counsellors and citizens chose Edmund his son as their king. A month later the Danes were besieging the city. It was an elaborate operation against a determined enemy, and though the city was invested on all sides, even to the extent that a channel was dug on the south bank of the Thames to permit theDanish ships to get up river, it failed. Edmund had already got away; he collected an army and waged what must have been a sensationally successful campaign to free Wessex, all of whose inhabitants, says the Chronicle, submitted to him. Then he launched a vigorous an unexpected attack upon the army besieging London, driving it smartly back, but in doing so suffered such heavy casualties that he had to withdraw and allow them to renew the siege. London still held out in the face of the worst Knut could do; suddenly he abandoned the siege and having provisioned the host in East Anglia and Mercia sent his ships and the captured livestock to the Medway. The remounted host had arrived in Kent when Edmund caught up with it at Otford, put it to flight, and slew all he could overtake. The outlook for the Danes had so deteriorated that Eadric Streona change sides again and joined Edmund, who took him back into favour. 'No greater error of judgement,' says the chronicle, 'was ever made than this.' And so it proved. For when the augmented army of edmund encountered Knut's host at Ashingdon in Essex, 'the ealdorman Eadric did as he had so often done before; he and his men were the first to set the example of flight, and thus he betrayed his royal lord and the whole nation.' Ednund Ironside survived and took refuge in Gloucestershire. Knut moved after him, but without more fighting a compromis was reached whereby Edmund should have Wessex and Knut the rest of the country. It was a settlement loaded with the promise of future dissension. Neither Knut nor Edmund could leave matters so. But the death-struggle between them never took place. On St. Andrew's day (30 November) of the same year Edmund died at the age of 22, and in sorrow, necessity, and some relief, the whole realm of England chose Knut for its king. ** from Wikipedia listing for Edmund Ironside, as of 10/24/2014 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 cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut the Great.[1] He fought five battles against the Danes, ending in defeat against Cnut 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, and Cnut became the king of all England. Early life Family Edmund was a signatory to charters from 993. 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 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 probably did not approve of the increasing influence of ealdorman Eadric Streona from 1007, and he seems to have formed a friendship with Sigeferth and Morcar, two of the leading thegns of the Five Boroughs of the East Midlands.[3] Æthelstan and Edmund were close, and they probably felt threatened by Emma's ambitions for her sons.[4] 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] When Sweyn Forkbeard seized the throne at the end of 1013 and Æthelred fled to France, the brothers do not appear to have followed him, but stayed in England. Æthelstan died in June 1014 and left his brother estates and 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.[5] Struggle for power 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.[6] 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.[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. He 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 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.[1] Shortly afterwards, on 30 November 1016, King Edmund died, probably in London. Cnut was now able to seize control as king of England. Edmund was buried at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset. His burial site is now lost. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries, any remains of a monument or crypt were destroyed. The location of his body is unknown. Heirs Edmund had two children by Ealdgyth, Edward the Exile and Edmund. 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. It has more recently been alleged that the two sons were sent to Poland and subsequently from there to Hungary.[7] 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.[8] 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 eventually died in England in 1126. 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] References M. K. Lawson, Edmund II, Oxford Online DNB, 2004 Simon Keynes, Æthelred the Unready, Oxford Online DNB, 2009 Simon Keynes, Æthelstan Ætheling, Oxford Online DNB, 2004 Ryan Lavelle, Aethelred II: King of the English, The History Press, 2008, pp. 172-173 Lavelle, op. cit., p. 172 Lavelle, op. cit., pp. 169-172 MichaelAnne Guido and John P. Ravilious, "From Theophanu to St. Margaret of Scotland: A study of Agatha's ancestry", Foundations, vol. 4(2012), pp. 81-121. M. K. Lawson, Edward Ætheling, Oxford Online DNB, 2004

  
  

• Sources

  [S985] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (TM), (June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998). [S983] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (TM), (June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998). [S984] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical Index. Edmund II OR Ironside King Of ENGLAND; Male; Birth: About OCT 0992 Of Wessex, , , England; Death: 30 NOV 1016; Father: Ethelred II OR The Unready King Of ENGLAND; Mother: Alfgifu OR Aelflaed Queen Of ENGLAND; No source information is available. Record submitted after 1991 by a member of the LDS Church. Search performed using PAF Insight on 26 Sep 2004 [S1002] Brƒderbund Software, Inc., World Family Tree Vol. 1, Ed. 1, (Release date: November 29, 1995), Tree #2243. Date of Import: Jan 23, 1998