Edward the Elder, king of the Anglo-Saxons

Also known as Edward I.

Events

Date of Birth: probably the 870s.

Place of Birth: unknown.

The estimated date is given by Miller.

Date of Death: 17 July 924.

Place of Death: Farndon, near Chester.

The date and place are given by Miller.

Place of Burial: New Minster, Winchester.

The place is given by Miller.

Relationships

Father: Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons (about 848 - 899).

This relationship is given by Miller. It is recorded in charters S342a, S348, S351, S356, S357, S358, S359, S370, S384, S499, S1443, and in the will of King Alfred (S1507); in Asser’s Vita Alfredi 75; in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle s.a. 901 (A, D); in Æthelweard’s Chronicle (prologue, iv. 3, iv. 4, in the New Minster Liber Vitae (Stowe MS 944 Fol 14r.3.xi; Fol 8r.1); and in other sources.

Mother: Ealhswith (died 902).

This relationship is given by Miller. It is recorded in charter S363, in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle s.a. 903 (D), in Asser’s Vita Alfredi 75, in the New Minster Liber Vitae (Stowe MS 944 Fol 9r.1), and in other sources.

Spouse: Ecgwynn. Married in the 890s.

This relationship is given by Miller.

Spouse: Ælfflæd (died 918). Married by 901.

This relationship is given by Miller.

Spouse: Eadgifu (died in or after 966). Married by 920.

This relationship is given by Miller.

Children (by Ecgwynn):

(Complete source citations for the children on this page are currently outside the scope of this project. Most information below comes from Oxford Dictionary of National Biography articles and Baldwin.)

Æthelstan (about 893 - 27 October 939), king of England.

Edith married Sihtric.

Children (by Ælfflæd):

Ælfweard (died about August 924). King.

Eadwine (died 933).

Eadflæd, a nun.

Æthelhild, a lay recluse.

Eadgifu (died in or after 951) married Charles the Simple, king of the Franks, between 916 and 919.

Eadhild married Hugh the Great, duke of the Franks in 926.

Eadgyth (about 911 - 946) married Otto I, future German emperor, in 929 or 930.

Eadgifu married Louis of Aquitaine. [Baldwin expresses doubt that she existed.]

Children (by Eadgifu):

Eadburh (born between 921 and 924 - died between 951 and 953), a nun at Winchester. Later known as Saint Eadburh.

Edmund I (about 922 - 26 May 946), king of the English 939-946. Married (1) Ælfgifu; married (2) Æthelflæd.

Eadred (died 23 November 955), king of the English 946-955.

References

Anglo-Saxons.net [Gives transcriptions of Old English charters]

Asser. Life of King Alfred (William Henry Stevenson ed.) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1904).

Baldwin, Stewart. “Eadweard (Edward) "the Elder"” in The Henry Project. [accessed 8 June 2014]

British Library Digitised Manuscripts.

“Edward 2” on the Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England website. [accessed 9 June 2014]

Foot, Sarah. “Æthelstan (893/4-939)” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Giles, J.A. (trans. and ed.) “Ethelwerd’s Chronicle” in Old English Chronicles (London: George Bell & Sons, 1906).

Keynes, Simon. “Eadwig (c.940-959)” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Miller, Sean. “Edward [Edward the Elder] (870s?-924)” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Nelson, Janet L. “Eadgifu (d. in or after 951)” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Plummer, Charles (ed.) Two of the Saxon Chronicles Parallel: A Revised Text (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1892-1899).

Stafford, Pauline. “Eadgifu (b. in or before 904, d. in or before 966)” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Stafford, Pauline. “Eadgyth (c.911-946)” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Williams, Ann. “Eadred (d.955)” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Williams, Ann. “Edgar (943/4-975)” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Williams, Ann. “Edmund I (920/1-946)” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Yorke, Barbara. “Eadburh (921x4-951x3)” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (Oxford University Press, 2004).