General Notes

Source: Weis, Frederick Lewis, Ancestral Roots, Seventh Edition,Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, [1992], 1-16.

Edward the Elder (died 924), king of Wessex (899-924), son of KingAlfred. He succeeded as king of the Angles and Saxons in 899, despite arebellion led by his cousin Ethelwald with the support of the Danes ofNorthumbria and East Anglia. After a protracted struggle he defeated theDanes, and in 912, on the death of his brother-in-law Ethelred, aldermanof Mercia, he annexed the cities of London and Oxford and their environs.The Danes submitted formally in 918, and soon thereafter the sovereigntyof Edward was acknowledged by the North Welsh, the Scots, theNorthumbrians, and the Welsh of Strathclyde. Edward was succeeded by hisson Athelstan. Microsoft (R) Encarta.

"As the king [EDWARD THE ELDER] had many daughters, he gave Edgiva toCharles, king of France, the son of Lewis the Stammerer, son of Charlesthe Bald, whose daughter, as I have repeatedly, Ethelwulf had married onhis return from Rome."
   --- William of Malmesbury, *Chronicle of the Kings of England*, c1135, tr John Allen Giles, London (Henry G Bohn) 1847, p 124.

NOTE: He defeated the Danes (918), taking East Anglia, and also conquered Mercia
(918) and Northumbria (920).



1st person~researcher verified: Jim Young, P.O. Box 101, Ellsworth, OH, 44416, email: Tyrrian@US5.com

NAME: AKA: "Elder", Edward was a "Bretwala" ie: King of Kin gs

   He succeeded as king of the Angles and Saxons in 899, de spite a rebellion led by his cousin Ethelwald (died 902) wi th the support of the Danes of Northumbria and East Anglia . After a protracted struggle he defeated the Danes, and i n 912, on the death of his brother-in-law Ethelred, ealderm an of Mercia, he annexed the cities of London and Oxford an d their environs.
  The Danes submitted formally in 918, and soon thereafte r the sovereignty of Eadward was acknowledged by the Nort h Welsh, the Scots, the Northumbrians, and the Welsh of Str athclyde. Eadward was succeeded by his son Ethelstan.
   Athelstan, d. 939, king of WESSEX (924-39). He built hi s kingdom on foundations laid by his grandfather ALFRED an d by 937 he was overlord of all England. Popular and able , he issued laws that attempted to impose royal authority o n customary law.

NAME: AKA: "Elder", Edward was a "Bretwala" ie: King of Kin gs

   He succeeded as king of the Angles and Saxons in 899, de spite a rebellion led by his cousin Ethelwald (died 902) wi th the support of the Danes of Northumbria and East Anglia . After a protracted struggle he defeated the Danes, and i n 912, on the death of his brother-in-law Ethelred, ealderm an of Mercia, he annexed the cities of London and Oxford an d their environs.
  The Danes submitted formally in 918, and soon thereafte r the sovereignty of Eadward was acknowledged by the Nort h Welsh, the Scots, the Northumbrians, and the Welsh of Str athclyde. Eadward was succeeded by his son Ethelstan.
   Athelstan, d. 939, king of WESSEX (924-39). He built hi s kingdom on foundations laid by his grandfather ALFRED an d by 937 he was overlord of all England. Popular and able , he issued laws that attempted to impose royal authority o n customary law.

!King of the Angles and Saxons 899-924. [Funk & Wagnalls]

WAITE, NEWLIN LINES

!901 - takes title "King of the Angles and Saxons.
910 - takes possession of London and Oxford
913 - recaptures Essex from the Danes
[The Timetables of History]

!As skilled a soldier as his father though not so dedicated a scholar. [The History of England]

!A vigorous and active ruler, he repulsed a dangerous inroad of the Northmen from France, summoned no doubt by the cry of distress from their brethren in England. On the death of his sister Ethelfleda in 918 he came boldly to the front.  Annexing Mercia to Wessex, and thus gathering the whole strength of the kingdom into his single hand, he undertook the systematic reduction of the Danelaw.  Edward's Mercian troops had already seized Manchester, when in 924 the whole of the North suddenly laid itself at his feet.  Not merely Northumbria but the Scots and the Britons of Strathclyde "chose him to father and lord."  The triumph was his last.  He died in 925. [WBH - England]

!Overlord of England by the time of his death. [Leaders & Landmarks, Vol. II, p. 23]

!Ignored his niece's claims to Mercia following her mother, Ethelfleda's death. This was an act of despotism -- the expedient policy of Wessex for a century and a quarter. [Knight's Popular History of England, Vol. 1, p. 144]

!Son of Alfred; m.1. Ecgwyn (mother of Athelstan); m.2. Aelfflaed (mother of Aelfweard); reigned 899-924. [Chronicle of the Royal Family, chart]

!East Anglia, 902.  Emerged triumphant as king of Wessex after the death of his cousin and rival, Aethelwold, in battle with Edward's Kentish allies.  When Edward succeeded in October 899, Aethelwold seized the royal palace at Wimbornein Dorset after kidnapping a nun for his gratification.  He then sought refuge with the Danes, begging them to help him overthrow his cousin, Edward.  In response to Danish attacke Edward launched a punitive strike into the Danelaw. The Kentish forces were defeated in a battle at Holme, but not before they had killed both Aethelwold and his ally, the Danish king of East Anglia. [Chronicle of the Royal Family, p. 16]

!By 918, Ethelfleda and Edward controlled all England south of the River Mersey and the Humber, and most of the Danelaw had disappeared. [Kings and Queens, Book 1, p. 8]

It is possible that Alfred or his son Edward redistributed the hundreds in order to facilitate the collection of ship-money. [Victoria History of Suffolk, p. 157]

   Edward I is sometimes referred to as "the English Justinian".  He had a love for justice, honor, and order in his affairs.
   At one point in his reign, he faced a declaration of war with France and rebellions from the Welsh and Scots.  He decided that the only way to overcome his difficulties would be to elicit the support of his people.  In 1295 he called together a parliament consisting of representatives of the nobility, the church, and the common people.  This "Model Parliament" marked the beginning of parliamentary government in England, a system which has continued to the present day.
   "What touches all, should be approved by all, and it is also clear that common dangers should be met by measures agreed upon in common." Edward proclaimed.  He restricted the power of the king by accepting the rule that taxes could not be levied or laws made except by the consent of parliament.

King of England, 899-924; son of Alfred the Great and Ealhswitha; m.3, 919, Eadgifu; d. 924. [Ancestral Roots, p. 2]

Edward was a Bretwala (king of Kings). [Royalty for Commoners, p. 119]

917 - Edward the Elder expelled a Danish garrison that was occupying Colchester. Edward repaired Colchester's walls and effectively re-established the town. [Colchester, p. 7]

Edward the Elder had many daughters and he gave Edgiva to Charles, king of France. [William of Malmesbury, Chronicle of the Kings of England, c. 1135, trans. John Allen Giles, London (Henry G. Bohn) 1847, p. 124]

King of England; son of Alfred the Great and Ealhswith; m. Edgiva; father of Edmund, King of England. [WFT Vol 1 Ped 986]

In May 918 Edward ordered a burh to be built at 'Wigingamere,' which has been identified with Wigmore. But as this fortification as well as a similar one at Towcester was erected to check the raids from Danish Mercia and East Anglia, the place referred to can hardly be Wigmore in Herefordshire, the future seat of the great house of Mortimer. It was more probably Waymere Castle near Bishop's Stortford. [The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Herefordshire, p. 349]

"On the death of Alfred, his elder son Edward was duly chosen king by the Witan. ... When Alfred had received the crown in 871, his nephews, the sons of his elder brother Aethelred I, had been set aside as minors, incapable of taking up the burden of the Danish war. One of them, Aethelwald, who must by now have been a middle-aged man, many years older than the Aetheling Edward, made a bold bid for the crown. ... The chronology of King Edward's reign is very difficult to determine, as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle -- our main source -- is demonstrably incorrect by two, or three, or even five years at several times. The dates given for its events are therefore in many cases doubtful. Apparently, however, the war between Edward and the Danes who followed his cousin extended only over the two years 901-2 ... On the side of the Danes there fell their two kings, Aethelwald and Eric, with three other chiefs of name; the English lost Sigehelm and Sigewulf, the two ealdormen of East and West Kent, an abbot named Kenwulf, and many important thegns. Of the Danish men there were the more slain, but they had possession of the place of carnage. It was no small gain to be rid of the traitor Aethelwald, even at a great sacrifice... In the next year (903) a treaty was made between Edward and the Danes at Yttingaford (Linslade?), and brought the war to an end in its third summer." [Sir Charles Oman, "A History of England Before the Norman Conquest", p. 492-4] [Gordon Fisher <fishergm@vax1.acs.jmu.edu]

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