Eadwig of England

Eadwig
Eadwig in the early fourteenth century Genealogical Roll of the Kings of England
King of the English
Tenure	23 November 955 – 1 October 959
Predecessor	Eadred
Successor	Edgar
Born	c. 941 Wessex, England
Died	1 October 959(959-10-01) (around 18) Gloucester, England
Burial	Winchester Cathedral
Spouse	Ælfgifu (annulled)
House	Wessex
Father	Edmund, King of England
Mother	Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
Religion	Catholicism (pre-reformation)

Eadwig, also spelled Edwy (died 1 October 959), usually called the All-Fair, was King of England from 955 until his premature death in 959.

The elder son of King Edmund I and his Queen Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury, Eadwig became King in 955 following the death of his uncle Eadred. Eadwig's short reign was tarnished by disputes with nobles and men of the church, including Dunstan and Archbishop Oda.

Eadwig died in 959, having ruled less than four years. He was buried in the capital Winchester. His brother Edgar the Peaceful succeeded him.

According to one legend, the feud with Dunstan began on the day of Eadwig's consecration, when he failed to attend a meeting of nobles. When Dunstan eventually found the young monarch, he was cavorting with a noblewoman named Æthelgifu and refused to return with the bishop. Infuriated by this, Dunstan dragged Eadwig back and forced him to renounce the girl as a "strumpet". Later realizing that he had provoked the king, Dunstan fled to the apparent sanctuary of his cloister, but Eadwig, incited by Æthelgifu, followed him and plundered the monastery. Though Dunstan managed to escape, he refused to return to England until after Eadwig's death.

The contemporary record of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports Eadwig's accession and Dunstan fleeing England, but does not explain why Dunstan fled. Thus this report of a feud between Eadwig and Dunstan could either have been based on a true incident of a political quarrel for power between a young king and powerful church officials who wished to control the king and who later spread this legend to blacken his reputation, or it could be mere folklore; the Chronicle also tells of Odo putting aside the King's marriage on the grounds Eadwig and his wife were "too related".

The account of the quarrel with Dunstan and Cynesige, bishop of Lichfield at the coronation feast is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and in the later chronicle of John of Worcester and was written by monks supportive of Dunstan's position. The "cavorting" in question consisted of Eadwig (then only 16) being away from the feast with Ælfgifu and her mother Æthelgifu. He later married Ælfgifu, who seems to have been the sister of Æthelweard the Chronicler. Æthelweard describes himself as the "grandson's grandson" of King Æthelred I. Eadwig was the son of King Edmund the Magnificent, grandson of King Edward the Elder, great-grandson of King Alfred the Great, and therefore great-great-nephew of King Æthelred I. Eadwig and Ælfgifu were therefore third cousins once removed.