Edgar'the Peaceable', King of England^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}

944 - 975  (31 years)

• Name	Edgar'the Peaceable'
  Suffix	King of England
  Born	944	Wessex, England
  Gender	Male
  Characteristics	Dwarfish but formidable
  Occupation	01 Oct 959
  	King of the English: 1 Oct 959 to 8 Jul 975 Preceded by Eadwig Succeeded by his son Edward 'the Martyr'
  History	973	Bath Abbey, Bath, Somerset, England
  	Edgar 'the Peaceable', King of England is crowned at Bath, some 14 years after gaining the throne, in an imperious ceremony, emulating that of his Holy Roman Emperor uncle (by marriage) Otto I crowned 962 in the Eternal city of Rome, and to celebrate the culmination of his reign. He also summoned Celtic princes to row him down river, an impressive sight but no more than show as the rule of 'Britain' had dissipated. Edgar had sworn justice and order as his coronation oath, he delivered them with an iron fist. 'Peaceable' was probably not how his subjects experienced his rule. One ambitious act he did achieve in 973 was to issue a 'single currency' for a 'single people'. Foreign, obsolete or coins lacking the required silver purity were declared illegal tender. Regularly the silver coins of his kingdom were recalled for re-stamping, for which of course Edgar would take a cut on reissue, a license to 'imprint' money. The penalty for forgery was raised from mutilation to death. Estates were also quantified and audited for tax. There was nothing comparable to Edgar's monetary efficiency in western christendom. He might not have been 'Caesar' but he had a solid treasury.
  Died	8 Jul 975	Winchester, Hampshire, England
  Buried	Glastonbury, Somerset, England
  Notes	!Colonial and Revolutionary Lineages of America (973 D2ah) Vol. 2 Saxon King of the English. During the rule of his brother, King Edwy, Edgar was chosen by the Mericians and Northumbrians to be their sovereign. One of his first acts was to recall the monastic reformer St. Dunstan, whom Edwy had exiled; Edgar subsequently made Dunstan bishop of Worcester and London and archbishop of Canterbury. In 959 at the age of sixteen years he succeeded his brother Eadwig as King of the West Saxons and the entire English Kingdom. His reign was not eventful, though it was a period of national consolidation, peace and orderly government; reformation of the clergy, improvement of the judiciary system, and formation of a fleet to defend the coast against the Scandinavian Vikings. Eadgar did not interfere with the Danish districts in England, but granted them self-government in their districts. This conciliatory policy met with signal success, and the Danish population lived peacefully under his supremacy. He made alliance with Otto I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and received many gifts from him. His fame had spread abroad and he was respected by the Kings on the continent. Or died in 1016?
  Person ID	I1748532097	Red1st
  Last Modified	19 Dec 2008

  
  

  Father	Edmund I'the Elder', King of England,   b. 921, Wessex, England ,   d. 26 May 946, Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire, England  (Age 25 years)
  Mother	St Ælfgifu (Elgiva) of Shaftesbury, Queen consort of England,   b. Abt 922, Wessex, England ,   d. 944  (Age ~ 22 years)
  Family ID	F672151665	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Æthelflæd (Athelflaed ,Wulfthryth)
  Children	1. Edward'the Martyr', King of England,   b. Abt 962,   d. 18 Mar 978, Corfe (Carfe) Castle, Corfe Castle, Dorset, England  (Age ~ 16 years)   2. Eadgyth (Edith),   b. Bef 964, Wessex, England ,   d. 15 Sep 984, Wilton Abbey, Wilton, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England  (Age ~ 20 years)
  Family ID	F672264444	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Ælfthryth (Aelfrida ,Alfthryth ,Elfthryth), Queen of England,   b. Abt 945, Devon, England ,   d. 1000  (Age ~ 55 years)
  Married	964  [5]
  Children	1. Eadmund, Prince of England,   b. Abt 967,   d. 972  (Age ~ 5 years) + 2. Ethelred (Æthelred) II'the Unready', King of England,   b. Abt 967, Wessex, England ,   d. 22 Apr 1016, London, Middlesex, England  (Age ~ 49 years)
  Last Modified	19 Dec 2008 21:11:34
  Family ID	F672151511	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 944 - Wessex, England History - 973 - Bath Abbey, Bath, Somerset, England Died - 8 Jul 975 - Winchester, Hampshire, England Buried - - Glastonbury, Somerset, England  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  Edgar 'the Peaceable' Detail of an engraving of Edgar (artist unknown) The Royal Collection © 2006, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

  
  

• Sources

  [S25458533028] Darrin Lythgoe. [S25458533589] Dictionary of National Biography, 1st Ed., Ed: Leslie Stephen et al, (Oxford University Press, 1885 to 1900, c. 50 Vols), His own article. [S25458533641] II: Domesday Descendants, K S B Keats-Rohan, (Boydell Press, 2002), Edgar rex, p. 1102. [S25458533684] Tim Powys-Lybbe. [S25458533589] Dictionary of National Biography, 1st Ed., Ed: Leslie Stephen et al, (Oxford University Press, 1885 to 1900, c. 50 Vols), Edgar the Peaceable's article.