Edmund Ironside

Edmund II of England

Edmund II or Eadmund II (c. 988/993 – November 30, 1016), King of England from April 23 to November 30, 1016, was surnamed "Ironside" for his efforts to fend off the Danish invasion led by King Canute.

Family

Edmund was the second son of King êthelred II and his first wife, êlflaed of Northumbria. He had three brothers, the elder being êthelstan, and the younger two being êdred and Ecgbert. His mother was dead by 996, and his father remarried twice more.

êthelstan died in 1014, leaving Edmund as heir. A power-struggle began between Edmund and his father, and in 1015 King êthelred had two of Edmund's allies, Sigeferth and Morcar, executed. Edmund then took Sigeferth's widow, êldgyth, from the nunnery where she had been imprisoned and married her in defiance of his father. During this time, Canute the Great attacked England with his forces.

Royal and military history

Upon the death of êthelred II, who had earlier been stricken ill, on April 23, 1016, with little support from the London nobility, Edmund succeeded to the throne. Canute, however, enjoyed greater support throughout England, especially from the Southampton nobility.

When Edmund forcefully recovered Wessex from Canute’s previous invasion in 1015, Canute responded by laying siege to London; however, Edmund’s defence was successful. Despite the victory, conflict continued until Edmund was defeated, but not killed, on October 18 by Canute at Ashingdon in Essex. The site of the battle is given as Assandun in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and recent research suggests that this in fact refers to Ashdon, in north Essex, some two miles to the east of Saffron Walden. After the battle the two kings negotiated a peace in which Edmund kept Wessex while Canute held the lands north of the River Thames. In addition, they agreed that if one of them should perish, territories belonging to the deceased would be ceded to the living.

Death

On November 30, 1016, King Edmund II died of natural causes in Oxford or London, and his territories were ceded to Canute who then became king of England. Edmund was buried at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset.

Heirs

Edmund had two children by êldgyth: Edward the Exile and Edmund, who both escaped to Hungary.

Shakespearean play?

Edmund Ironside is also the name of an anonymous play about the king that has recently been attributed to Shakespeare on stylistic grounds.[citation needed] The attribution is not widely accepted.