Edgar Ætheling facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Edgar Ætheling
Edgar, from an illuminated tree of the family of Edmund Ironside
King of the English (aspirant)
Reign	After 14 October – early December 1066
Predecessor	Harold II
Successor	William I
Born	c. 1052 Kingdom of Hungary
Died	in or after 1125 (aged over 70)
House	House of Wessex
Father	Edward the Exile
Mother	Agatha

Edgar Ætheling (born around 1052 – died in or after 1125) was a very important person in English history. He was the last male member of the old royal family of Cerdic of Wessex. In 1066, after the Battle of Hastings, some English leaders chose him to be the King of England. However, he was never officially crowned.

Edgar's Family and Early Life

Edgar was born in a country called Kingdom of Hungary. His father, Edward the Exile, had lived there for most of his life. Edward was sent away from England after his own father, King Edmund Ironside, died and the Danish king Cnut the Great took over England in 1016.

Who were Edgar's royal ancestors?

Edgar's grandfather, Edmund, and his great-grandfather, Æthelred the Unready, were both kings of England. His great-great-grandfather, Edgar the Peaceful, was also a king. So, Edgar came from a long line of English rulers.

Edgar's mother and sisters

Edgar's mother was Agatha. We don't know exactly who she was, but some say she was related to a powerful European emperor or a Hungarian saint. Edgar was the only son, but he had two sisters: Margaret and Cristina.

Returning to England and a big problem

In 1057, Edgar's family came back to England. Sadly, his father died almost right away. This left Edgar as the only male member of the royal family, besides the king. However, the king didn't do much to make sure Edgar would become the next ruler. Many powerful people wanted the throne, including Harold Godwinson from England, and foreign rulers like William II of Normandy, Sweyn II of Denmark, and Harald III of Norway.

The Fight for the Throne in 1066

When King Edward the Confessor died in January 1066, Edgar was still very young, only in his early teens. He was seen as too young to lead an army effectively. This was a big problem because everyone knew there would be a war over who would be the next king.

Why Harold Godwinson became king

Since Edgar was too young and didn't have strong family members to support him, the English leaders (called the Witenagemot) chose Harold Godwinson to be king. They believed Harold was the best person to defend England from the foreign invaders.

After the Battle of Hastings

After Harold died at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, some English leaders thought about making Edgar king. Powerful figures like Archbishop Stigand and Archbishop Ealdred were involved. However, their support for Edgar was weak. They hadn't chosen him before, and they didn't fight well against William of Normandy.

As William's army got closer to London, Edgar's supporters started to give up. In early December, the remaining English leaders decided to meet William and surrender. They quietly set aside Edgar's claim to the throne. Edgar, along with other lords, showed respect to King William at his coronation that December.

Edgar's Exile and Fight Against the Normans

After William became king, he kept Edgar close to him. In 1067, William took Edgar and other English leaders to his home in Normandy.

Rebellions and Scottish support

In 1068, Edgar might have been involved in a rebellion, or perhaps he was trying to go back to Hungary. Either way, he ended up in Scotland with his mother and sisters. The Scottish King, Malcolm III, married Edgar's sister Margaret. Malcolm agreed to help Edgar try to get the English throne back.

In 1069, a big rebellion started in northern England. Edgar returned to lead it. They had some early wins against William's forces in York. But William defeated them, and Edgar had to go back to Scotland for safety.

Later that year, a Danish fleet arrived, causing more English uprisings. Edgar joined forces with Northumbrian rebels and the Danes. They took control of Northumbria. However, a small attack led by Edgar went badly, and he barely escaped. William then fought his way into Northumbria, defeated the rebels, and destroyed the land. Edgar returned to Scotland again.

Peace with William and a new plan

Edgar stayed in Scotland until 1072. Then, William invaded Scotland and forced King Malcolm to agree to his rule. Part of their agreement was that Edgar had to leave Scotland.

Edgar then went to Flanders, a region whose leader was against the Normans. But in 1074, he was able to return to Scotland. Soon after, the King of France, Philip I, who also didn't like William, offered Edgar a castle and land near Normandy. Edgar set sail for France, but a storm wrecked his ships on the English coast. Many of his men were caught, but Edgar managed to escape back to Scotland by land. After this disaster, Malcolm convinced Edgar to make peace with William and give up his dream of becoming king of England.

Edgar's Journey to Italy

In 1086, Edgar was not happy with how William treated him. He decided to leave England and travel to a place called Norman Apulia in Italy with some followers. The Domesday Book, a record of England's lands, shows Edgar owned only two small estates at this time. It seems he gave up his English properties when he left, not planning to return. But his adventure in the Mediterranean didn't go well, and Edgar came back to England a few years later.

Norman and Scottish Royal Conflicts

After King William I died in 1087, Edgar supported William's oldest son, Robert Curthose, who became Duke of Normandy. Edgar was against William's second son, William Rufus, who became King of England. Edgar was one of Robert's main advisers. However, Robert and his allies lost the war against William in 1091. As a result, Edgar lost lands that Robert had given him. Unhappy, Edgar went back to Scotland.

Helping in Scotland

In 1091, Edgar helped Malcolm and Robert Curthose make peace with William Rufus. But soon after, Robert left England, and Edgar went with him to Normandy.

In 1093, Edgar went to Scotland again for William, to talk with Malcolm. This led to war, and Malcolm was killed. Malcolm's brother, Donald Bán, became king and removed English and French people from power. This upset the Anglo-Norman rulers. William helped Malcolm's son, Duncan, become king, but Donald soon got the throne back and Duncan was killed.

In 1097, Edgar led an army into Scotland to help another of Malcolm's sons. Donald was removed, and Edgar successfully put his nephew, also named Edgar, on the Scottish throne.

Edgar and the First Crusade

Some stories say that Edgar commanded an English fleet that helped the First Crusade in the region of Syria. The crews supposedly burned their ships and marched to Jerusalem. However, this is unlikely because of the timing.

Pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Another historian, William of Malmesbury, wrote that Edgar made a pilgrimage (a religious journey) to Jerusalem in 1102. It's possible that the stories about the fleet were confused with Edgar's later trip. Some historians also think Edgar might have served in the Varangian Guard, a special army unit for the Byzantine Emperor, which had many English soldiers. But there's no strong proof for this. William of Malmesbury said that on his way back from Jerusalem, Edgar received valuable gifts from emperors, but he chose to return home.

Edgar's Later Life

Back in Europe, Edgar again supported Robert Curthose against his youngest brother, Henry I, who was now King of England. Edgar was captured at the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106. Robert was imprisoned for life, but Edgar was lucky. King Henry pardoned him and let him go.

Family connections and final years

Edgar's niece, Edith (who changed her name to Matilda), married King Henry I in 1100. Edgar is thought to have traveled to Scotland one more time around 1120. He lived to see the tragic death at sea of William Adeling, the son of his niece Edith and Henry I's heir, in November 1120.

According to historical records, Edgar was still alive in 1125. He was described as "growing old in the country in privacy and quiet." Edgar died sometime after this, but the exact date and where he was buried are unknown.

Edgar's child

A chronicle from 1291 mentions that Edgar had one child, a daughter named Margaret Lovel. She was married twice and had estates in southern Scotland.

There are also two mentions of an "Edgar Adeling" in records from 1158 and 1167. Historian Edward Augustus Freeman wondered if this was the same Edgar (who would have been over 100!), his son, or another person with the title Ætheling.

See also

In Spanish: Edgar Atheling para niños