EDWARD THE CONFESSOR
Feast day 13 October
Born to King Ethelred the Unready and his Norman wife Emma, in 1003, Edward, the young prince was educated at Ely until he was exiled to Normandy by the appearance of the Scandinavian leaders Sweyn and Cnut, who became successive kings of England. But his fortunes changed when, in 1041 he was chosen by Hathacnut to be his successor and Edward was acclaimed king the following year.
Historians have argued greatly over Edward, some see him as a weak king who through indecision brought on the Norman conquest, others see his strength and cunning which kept his kingdom peaceful while the Danish and Norman lords struggled for power. His holy reputation came about because through his reign Edward was always accessible to his subjects, generous to the poor and his supposedly unconsummated marriage to Edith, daughter of Earl Godwin of Wessex. Like many holy men he was reputed to have seen visions and he cured scrofula -the King's Evil, by his touch. In 1049-50 he sent bishops to Leo IX's councils in Rome and in 1061 received legates from the Pope, thus strengthening the links between the Old English Church and the Papacy.
Perhaps his greatest legacy was his involvement in the building of Westminster Abbey, although he sometimes promoted secular clerks to bishoprics, it should not imply his lack of esteem for monasticism. It is said that Edward donated as much as one tenth of his income and endowed many grants of land, in various counties, to the great Romanesque church, 300 feet long, with a nave of twelve bays. It was finished and consecrated just before the King died, but he was too ill to attend. One of the stories of Edward to come down to us was that he gave his ring to a beggar near Westminster, two years later English pilgrims in the Holy Land - or some say India met an old man who said he was John the Apostle. He gave them the ring to return to Edward and warn him of his impending death in six months time.
Edward died in 1066 and was buried in the great church at Westminster where his relics remain undisturbed to this day. On his deathbed, unable to speak Edward was said to have pointed to Harold as his successor, but William of Normandy also laid claim to the throne, it was not till after the bloody battle of Senlac that the English throne was in strong hands. Through the centuries it is doubtful that England has ever been ruled by such a good and holy monarch as the last great Saxon king, Edward the Confessor.
John Hayward.
