General Notes

Edgar (b. 943/44 - d. 8 July 975), king of the Mercians and Northumbrians from 957 who became king of the West Saxons, or Wessex, in 959 and is reckoned as king of all England from that year.  He was efficient and tolerant of local customs, and his reign was peaceful.  He was most important as a patron of the English monastic revival.

The younger son of Edmund I, king of the English, Edgar was made king of the Mercians and Northumbrians in place of Eadwig, his brother, who was deposed.  On Eadwig's death (1 Oct 959), Edgar succeeded to the West Saxon throne.  His ecclesiastical policy was also that of the archbishop of Canterbury, St. Dunstan, who insisted on strict observance of the Benedictine Rule.  The king supported Archbishop Oswald of York and Bishop Aethelwold of Winchester in founding abbeys.  Edgar's laws were the first in England to prescribe penalties fro nonpayment of tithes and Peter's pence, the annual contribution made by Roman Catholics for support of the Holy See.  [Encyclopaedia Britannica]