The BRUTAL Murder Of King Edward The Martyr

One of the most forgotten and untold moments in English history is the murder of an Anglo-Saxon King, Edward the Martyr. In 978 he was murdered at where one of England's most spectacular fortifications stands today, Corfe Castle in Dorset. He had only been on the throne for less than 3 years, and the events of his murder are not the clearest. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle denotes how Edward was killed or martyred, and that there was no worse deed for the English race, this shows that in Anglo-Saxon society there would have been outrage at the murder of the King. So join us today as we look at the savage murder and assassination of Edward the Martyr. To support our channel, please make sure to subscribe. Edward the Martyr was born around 962, and was the oldest son of Edgar the Peaceful, who reigned over as King of the English from 959 to 975. As a King his father consolidated political unity, and his reign was noted for its stability. His father died when he was around 32, and Edward succeeded his father when he was in his teenage years. He was known as the King's son, but was not the son of Queen Elfrith, Edgar's third wife. His mother was Ethel Flade, who was possibly a nun at a Benedictine Abbey in Wiltshire. Although he was Edgar's first son, he was not considered the heir to the throne, as his father had remarried twice and was happy with Elfrith, and they had another son called Ethelred, later becoming Ethelred the Unready. Ethelred was Edward's half brother, and with a mother who was Queen, he was seen as a valid contender to the throne following Edgar's death. When Edgar the Peaceful died on the 8th July 975, the family erupted over a dispute centering around power and who the rightful heir to the throne was. When Edgar died, Edward was just around 13, and was considered the successor to the throne. He was the oldest son of the previous king, but his legitimacy was questioned and disputed, whilst people supported his younger brother to take up the role. Ethelred was also a legitimate heir, but he was only around 6 or 7 when his father died, so Edward being older became the more favoured choice. The boys being very young, both needed councils to help them govern, and there were bids for power led by different factions at court, and also by Ethelred's mother, the widow of Edgar the Peaceful, and Edward's stepmother Elfrith. There was a clear divide as to whether Edward or Ethelred should have been king, and the law didn't offer much help. The Queen continued to support her son Ethelred, and the influential Bishop Dunstan supported Edward. Edward would be chosen to be the next King of England, and was anointed by Archbishop of Canterbury Dunstan. It was agreed that the dispute would be settled in a compromise, with Ethelred being given land in return for his older half brother Edward taking the throne. Not much is known about Edward's personality or his ability to lead England as King. According to one account from a priest based at Ramsey Abbey, he had a furious temper and scared those around him, and he was a very fiery individual. Another account written by Osborne of Canterbury, a Benedictine monk, says that Edward was actually a very nice king, and he was held in high regard by those around him and his subjects. After Edward's succession, it was noted in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that a comet appeared, as did a famine which hit England, and other disturbances occurred. During his three years on the throne, although he became king during a power struggle, his short kingship did not quash fears of disorder, rebellion or political manipulation and treachery. When he was in power, anti-monastic reactions took place, this involved members of the court taking their chance to reclaim their power, which they had lost during the reign of Edward's father Edgar. Edgar had increased land ownership and power of the church, and this caused outrage with normal landowners who weren't connected to religion. The situation of Edward being king and having a tenuous and weak reign was seen as a perfect time for nobles to take control and attack the monasteries and churches, and to take property and land back. These landowners continued with their attacks, and they got stronger in the north, which caused political issues with the south. Some of the higher ranking nobles became entwined with the conflict, and Elphir was one of the main leaders of the anti-monastic attacks. This whole episode and argument seemed to plunge England towards a possible civil war, and King Edward's leadership was not strong enough to quash this and deal with these actions. Even with influential Bishop Dunstan behind him, they could not prevent these attacks on the monasteries and the church. This crisis stained Edward's reign as king, and very few charters survive from his reign. This means that even despite Edward's short reign, we don't know much about how the king changed or influenced England as a whole. It was clear though that by 978, the young King Edward wasn't the greatest or strongest, being still only a teenager. However in March of that year, he made the decision to go and visit his half-brother at Corfe Castle. Now Corfe Castle and the ruins that we see today are the ruins that the castle created following the Norman Conquest, which was later fortified in stone as the subsequent centuries arrived. However we know at the time that the Anglo-Saxon nobility treated the site of Corfe Castle as a residence, and there have been Saxon postholes found on the site that indicate a Saxon hall. So Edward on the 18th March 978 travelled to Corfe to visit his half-brother, and he arrived in the evening with a small council of men who were met at the gates of the hall or settlement by Elfrith's advisors. The former queen and stepmother to the king was also at the settlement along with Athelred. It was normal for groups to greet those at the gates of a settlement or castle, and the king's arrival would have been announced to the rest of the household. Edward expected a huge welcome being the king, however what would happen would actually be the opposite, and King Edward would soon become Edward the Martyr. There are different accounts of what happened next as the king arrived at the gates of the settlement. At the gates, Edward who was waiting to be allowed entry was assassinated. Whilst being offered a drink of mead from behind whilst the king was still on his horse, he was stabbed by someone from behind. The king was dying on his horse, which following the attack bolted into the darkness with the king's body being dragged along the ground. Although we don't know for certain what actually happened with the king's assassination, it's clear that as darkness approached, the king of England was brutally slain on his horse in a cowardly manner. The Anglo-Saxon chronicle states of the assassination, men murdered him, but God exalted him. In life he was an earthly king, after death he is now a heavenly saint. In Archbishop Wolfson II's writing, around 1016 he said of the murder. A very great betrayal of a lord, it is also in the world, that a man betray his lord to death, or drive him living from the land, and both have come to pass in this land. Edward was betrayed, and then killed, and after that burned. Now we know for certain really that King Edward or Edward the Martyr was stabbed whilst visiting his half-brother. However much speculation surrounds who organised or ordered the murder of the king. Many sources point towards his stepmother Elfrith, who it's believed could have plotted the killing, and also may have allowed the murder to escape unpunished and not face justice. Edward's half-brother Afelred could not have organised the murder as he was far too young, but his mother certainly could have. It's believed that the former queen wanted to kill the king in order to put her own son on the throne, and this treachery does seem to make sense. Another suspicion points towards Elphir, one of the leaders of the anti-monastic protests who was also linked to the murder, as at the time Edward was becoming close to ruling on its own and not needing a council, and in order to protect his own influence, he could have ordered the murder. Edward's body was placed at Wareham nearby for a year before being disinterred. This was arranged by Elphir, possibly seen as a gesture of apology, and he was taken to Shaftesbury Abbey and reburied. The reburial was a grand public event, and in the year 1001, Edward's relics were kept within a nunnery at Shaftesbury. A cult would emerge about Edward the Martyr after his death, and he became a saint with miracles allegedly occurring at his tomb. His remains once he was reinterred also were said to have been intact. During the dissolution of the monasteries, Edward's bones were taken from their resting place and hidden, being discovered allegedly in 1931 in the ruins of Shaftesbury Abbey. Today they are kept in the Orthodox Church of St Edward the Martyr in Brookwood in Surrey. So although a boy king, Edward the Martyr had a very short reign as King of England during the Saxon period. He ruled for under three years, and his assassination is one that is linked to political treachery and scheming. Whether his stepmother did organise the murder of him is something that's up to debate, however the assassination and murder of a king in any sense is shocking. Edward the Martyr's life and kingship isn't the most clear, however the cunning execution of a young teenage monarch is one that deserves to be remembered in the long timeline of English history. Once again thanks for watching. To support our channel, please make sure to subscribe. Once again thanks for watching.