Fair", King of England Edwy "The

Fair", King of England Edwy "The

Male Abt 940 - 959  (19 years)

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  • Name Fair", King of England Edwy "The  [1
    Born Abt 940  Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 1 Oct 959 
    Person ID I5709  My Genealogy
    Last Modified 21 Jan 2022 

    Father England, King of England Edmund I "The Magnificent" King of,   b. 920/21, Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 26 May 946, Pucklechurch, Glastonbury, Gloucestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 25 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Mother of England, Saint Ælfgifu (Elgiva) Princess,   b. Abt 922, Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 944, Shaflebury Abbey, Dorset, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 22 years) 
    Relationship natural 
    Family ID F1977  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 England, Elgiva Queen of 
    Last Modified 21 Jan 2022 
    Family ID F1886  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 England, CONCUBINE Mrs-Edwy of 
    Last Modified 21 Jan 2022 
    Family ID F1887  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - Abt 940 - Wessex, England Link to Google Earth
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  • Notes 


    • Biographical Text:
      On the death of Eadred, who had no children, Eadwig was chosen to be king since he was the oldest of the children in the natural line of the House of Wessex. He became king at 16 and displayed some of the tendencies one could expect in one so young, royalty or not. Historians have not treated Eadwig especially well, and it is unfortunate for him that he ran afoul of the influential Bishop Dunstan (friend and advisor to the recently deceased king, Eadred, future Archbishop of Canterbury and future saint), early in his reign. An incident, which occurred on the day of Eadwig's consecration as king, purportedly, illustrates the character of the young king. According to the report of the reliable William of Malmesbury, all the dignitaries and officials of the kingdom were meeting to discuss state business, when the absence of the new king was noticed. Dunstan was dispatched, along with another bishop, to find the missing youth. He was found with his mind on matters other than those of state, in the company of the daughter of a noble woman of the kingdom. Malmesbury writes, Dunstan, " regardless of the royal indignation, dragged the lascivious boy from the chamber and...compelling him to repudiate the strumpet made him his enemy forever." The record of this incident was picked up by future monastic chroniclers and made to be the definitive word on the character of Eadwig, mainly because of St. Dunstan's role in it.

      Dunstan was, after that incident, never exactly a favorite of Eadwig's, and it may be fair to say that Eadwig even hated Dunstan, for he apparently exiled him soon after this. Eadwig went on to marry Ælgifu, the girl with whom he was keeping company at the time of Dunstan's intrusion. For her part, " the strumpet" was eventually referred to as among "the most illustrious of women", and Eadwig, in his short reign, was generous in making grants to the church and other religious institutions. He died, possibly of the Wessex family ailment, when he was only 20.

  • Sources 
    1. [S327] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ancestral File (TM).