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Eadwig

File:Eadwig_-_MS_Royal_14_B_VI.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Also known as Eadwig the Fair, Edwy, Edwig, Edwig of England, Edwig, king of England, Edwig, king of the English, Eadwig of England, Eadwig, king of England

Eadwig (also Edwy or Eadwig All-Fair, 1 October 959) was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were young children when their father was killed trying to rescue his seneschal from attack by an outlawed thief on 26 May 946. As Edmund's sons were too young to rule he was succeeded by his brother Eadred, who suffered from ill health and died unmarried in his early 30s.

AI overview

Eadwig was King of England for about four years in the mid-10th century, ruling from 955 until his death in 959 at a young age. He became king after his uncle Eadred died, following the earlier death of their father Edmund I when Eadwig was still a child.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

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Key facts

Royalty.succession
King of the English
Royalty.image
Eadwig - MS Royal 14 B VI.jpg
Royalty.caption
Eadwig in the early fourteenth-century
Royalty.alt
Early fourteenth-century portrait of Eadwig
Royalty.reign
23 November 955 – 1 October 959
Royalty.predecessor
Eadred
Royalty.successor
Edgar
Royalty.house
Wessex
Royalty.birth_date
940/941
Royalty.death_date
1 October 959 (aged )
Royalty.burial_place
New Minster, Winchester
Royalty.spouse
Ælfgifu (annulled)
Royalty.father
Edmund I
Royalty.mother
Ælfgifu

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Eadwig.jpg
Show 4 more facts
Commons category
Eadwig of England
date of death
0959-10-01
date of birth
0940-00-00
P12749
Q153499
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~32 min read

Article

17 sections
Contents
  • Background
  • Family and early life
  • Reign
  • Eadwig's marriage
  • Early reign 955–957
  • Division of the kingdom 957–959
  • Charters
  • Coinage
  • Religion
  • Death
  • Reputation
  • In art and literature
  • Notes
  • References
  • Sources
  • Further reading
  • External links

Eadwig (also Edwy or Eadwig All-Fair, 1 October 959) was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund&nbsp;I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were young children when their father was killed trying to rescue his seneschal from attack by an outlawed thief on 26 May 946. As Edmund's sons were too young to rule he was succeeded by his brother Eadred, who suffered from ill health and died unmarried in his early 30s.

Eadwig became king in 955 aged about fifteen and was no more than twenty when he died in 959. He clashed at the beginning of his reign with Dunstan, the powerful Abbot of Glastonbury and future Archbishop of Canterbury, and exiled him to Flanders. He later came to be seen as an enemy of monasteries, but most historians think that this reputation is unfair. In 956, he issued more than sixty charters transferring land, a yearly total unmatched by any other European king before the twelfth century, and this is seen by some historians as either an attempt to buy support or rewarding his favourites at the expense of the powerful old guard of the previous reign.

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