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Born 962, died 978
Ruled 975–8
King Edgar's eldest son, product of his marriage to his first wife Ethelfleda, Edward was only about 13 when his father died in 975.
His accession to the throne was opposed by his stepmother Queen Elfrida, Edgar's third wife, who was determined that the crown should go to her own son Ethelred, then aged seven. However, Edward's claim was supported by the clergy, including St Dunstan, the archbishop of Canterbury, and by most of the nobility, and so the boy was crowned by St Dunstan on 8 July. Little is known about his reign, although the sparse evidence suggests almost a state of civil war in England.
Edward was king for less than four years. On 18 March 979, he was hunting in Dorset and called at Corfe Castle where his stepmother Elfrida lived. There, while drinking a glass of mead on horseback, offered to him at the castle gate, the 17-year-old monarch was murdered, stabbed in the back by two servants. He was buried at Shaftesbury abbey, where miracles were recorded at his tomb. He was eventually canonised.
Edward the Martyr, king of England
http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=ge
t&type=person&id=EdwardtheMartyr
Concise but detailed biography of the short-lived king, with an interesting discussion of how both Edward and Ethelred were pawns in a political game.
Edward the Elder edited by N J Higham and D H Hill (Routledge, 2001)
The period of Edward's reign is notably lacking in primary materials for historians. But by drawing on sources as diverse as literature, archaeology, coins and textiles, this book brings together a rich variety of scholarship to offer new insight into the world of Edward the Elder. With this wealth of perspectives, it offers a broad picture of his reign and how he relates to the politics and culture of the Anglo-Saxon period.
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The Age of Athelstan: Britain's forgotten history by Paul Hill (Tempus, 2004)
Athelstan is one of history's forgotten monarchs. A grandson of Alfred the Great, his achievements outshine many of our most famous kings. He began his reign as king of the Anglo-Saxons in the south of England, and ended as the self-styled king of all Britain. During his reign there was a tremendous power struggle between the English, Scots, Norse-Irish, Danes and Welsh, culminating in 937 in a battle the importance of which was not equalled until Hastings - the lost battle of Brunanburh.
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Corfe Castle
On the A351 between Wareham and Swanage in Dorset, in an area popularly known as the Isle of Purbeck
The site of Edward's murder, the ruins that can be seen today are mainly from the reign of King John, whose favourite residence this was. The castle is now owned by the National Trust.
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