35 Facts About Edmund I

Edmund I was the elder son of King Edward the Elder and his third wife, Queen Eadgifu, and a grandson of King Alfred the Great.

Edmund I's sons were young children when he was killed in a brawl with an outlaw at Pucklechurch in Gloucestershire, and he was succeeded by his younger brother Eadred, who died in 955 and was followed by Edmund's sons in succession.

Edmund I was initially forced to accept the reverse, the first major setback for the West Saxon dynasty since Alfred's reign, but he was able to recover his position following Anlaf's death in 941.

In 942, Edmund I took back control of the Five Boroughs and in 944 he regained control over the whole of England when he expelled the Viking kings of York.

Edmund I continued his brother's friendly relations with Continental rulers, several of whom were married to his half-sisters.

Unlike the close relatives of previous kings, his mother and brother attested many of Edmund I's charters, suggesting a high degree of family cooperation.

Edmund I was an active legislator, and three of his codes survive.

The major religious movement of the tenth century, the English Benedictine Reform, reached its peak under Edgar, but Edmund I's reign was important in its early stages.

Unlike the circle of his son Edgar, Edmund I did not take the view that Benedictine monasticism was the only worthwhile religious life, and he patronised unreformed establishments.

Edmund I then styled himself in charters as king of the English, and soon afterwards Welsh kings and the kings of Scotland and Strathclyde acknowledged his overlordship.

Edmund I, who was born in 920 or 921, was Eadgifu's elder son.

Brunanburh saved England from destruction as a united kingdom, and it helped to ensure that Edmund I would succeed smoothly to the throne, but it did not preserve him from challenges to his rule once he became king.

When Edmund I died, his successor Eadred faced further revolts in Northumbria, which were not finally defeated until 954.

Edmund I then gave the kingdom to Malcolm I of Scotland in return for a pledge to defend it on land and on sea, a decision variously interpreted by historians.

Edmund I carried on his brother's Continental policies and maintained his alliances, especially with his nephew King Louis IV of West Francia and Otto I, King of East Francia and future Holy Roman Emperor.

Edmund I's name is in the confraternity book of Pfafers Abbey in Switzerland, perhaps at the request of Archbishop Oda when staying there on his way to or from Rome to collect his pallium.

Eadgifu and Eadred attested many of Edmund I's charters, showing a high degree of family cooperation; initially Eadgifu attested first, but from sometime in late 943 or early 944 Eadred took precedence, perhaps reflecting his growing authority.

The period from around 925 to 975 was the golden age of Anglo-Saxon royal charters, when they were at their peak as instruments of royal government, and the scribes who drew up most of Edmund I's charters constituted a royal secretariat which he inherited from his brother.

The main coin designs in Edmund I's reign were H types, with a cross or other decoration on the obverse surrounded by a circular inscription including the king's name, and the moneyer's name horizontally on the reverse.

Edmund I's reign saw an increase in regional diversity of the coinage which lasted for twenty years until a return to relative unity of design early in Edgar's reign.

Edmund I was one of the few Anglo-Saxon kings to promulgate laws concerned with sorcery and idolatry, and the code condemns false witness and the use of magical drugs.

The relationship between Anglo-Saxon kings and their leading men was personal; kings were lords and protectors in return for pledges of loyalty and obedience, and this is spelled out in terms based on Carolingian legislation for the first time in III Edmund I, issued at Colyton in Devon.

The military historian Richard Abels argues that "all" shall swear does not mean literally all, but should be understood to mean those men qualified to take oaths administered by royal reeves at shire courts, that is the middling and great landholders, and that Edmund I's oath united his diverse peoples by binding them all to him personally.

III Edmund I was concerned to prevent theft, especially cattle rustling.

Edmund I visited the shrine of St Cuthbert in Chester-le-Street church, probably on his way to Scotland in 945.

Edmund I prayed at the shrine and commended himself and his army to the saint.

Edmund I's men gave 60 pounds to the shrine, and Edmund placed two gold bracelets on the saint's body and wrapped two costly around it.

Edmund I "granted peace and law better than any it ever had to the whole territory of St Cuthbert".

Edmund I's show of respect and support for the shrine reflected both the political power of the community of St Cuthbert in the north and southern reverence for him.

Edmund I was concerned to support religion, but was not committed to a particular ideology of religious development.

When Gerard of Brogne reformed the Abbey of Saint Bertin by imposing the Benedictine rule in 944, monks who rejected the changes fled to England and Edmund I gave them a church owned by the crown at Bath.

Edmund I's reign saw the development of a new style of the native square minuscule script, which was used in mid-century royal diplomas.

Edmund I was borne to Glastonbury, and buried by the abbot, St Dunstan.

Edmund I's sons were still young children, so he was succeeded as king by his brother Eadred, who was in turn succeeded by Edmund's elder son Eadwig in 955.

Edmund I argues that "King Edmund's legislation shows an ambition towards tighter control of the localities through increased cooperation between all levels of government, and that king and archbishop were working closely together in restructuring the English administrative framework".