Edwin, son of Edward the Elder
Encyclopedia
Edwin was the younger son of King Edward the Elder
and Ælfflæd
, his second wife. He drowned
at sea in circumstances which are unclear.
Edward the Elder died in 924, leaving five sons by three marriages. Of these, Edmund
and Eadred were infants and thus excluded from the succession. Edward's careful work of expansion was undone when the Mercia
ns chose Edward's oldest son Æthelstan—probably raised in Mercia at the court of Æthelflæd—to be their king while the West Saxons picked Ælfweard
, elder son of Edward's second wife Ælfflæd, who was perhaps Edward's own choice as successor. Ælfweard's "sudden and convenient" death followed six weeks after that of his father, but Æthelstan appears not to have been recognised as king by the West Saxons until a year after his father's death, suggesting that there was considerable resistance to him and perhaps also support for Edwin.
The contemporary evidence for Edwin's life is very limited. At some point during the reign of his half-brother Æthelstan, Edwin witnessed a charter, S 1417, at New Minster, Winchester
, granting lands to one Alfred, a thegn
(minister) of King Æthelstan. Edwin witnesses the charter immediately after his half-brother and is described as ætheling (clito). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
states that Edwin drowned at sea in 933. The Francian Annales Bertiniani
compiled by Folcuin provide more detail:
Later writers such as William of Malmesbury
and Simeon of Durham rewrote Edwin's death. Sir Frank Stenton
saw their reports as suggesting that "a rebellion against Athelstan may have been organised within the royal house itself". Simeon's version baldly states that "King Æthelstan commanded that his brother Edwin be drowned at sea". William's account is much longer and associates Edwin's death with an earlier plot to blind Æthelstan and replace him with Edwin. In this version, Æthelstan is convinced by jealous courtiers to have Edwin sent to sea in a leaky boat, without oars, without food, and without water. Despairing, Edwin throws himself into the sea and drowns.
The Annales Bertiniani say that the monks of Saint Bertin were granted a monastery at Bath by "King Æthelstan" in 944—in fact King Edmund, Æthelstan having died in 939—in gratitude for their care of Edwin's remains.
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
and Ælfflæd
Ælfflæd, wife of Edward the Elder
Ælfflæd was the second wife of Edward the Elder, king of the English.Ælfflæd was the daughter of an ealdorman Æthelhelm. There were several contemporaries of this name, but some historians, including Pauline Stafford and David H. Kelley, have identified him as Æthelhelm, a son of Edward's uncle,...
, his second wife. He drowned
Drowning
Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by water entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia....
at sea in circumstances which are unclear.
Edward the Elder died in 924, leaving five sons by three marriages. Of these, Edmund
Edmund I of England
Edmund I , called the Elder, the Deed-doer, the Just, or the Magnificent, was King of England from 939 until his death. He was a son of Edward the Elder and half-brother of Athelstan. Athelstan died on 27 October 939, and Edmund succeeded him as king.-Military threats:Shortly after his...
and Eadred were infants and thus excluded from the succession. Edward's careful work of expansion was undone when the Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
ns chose Edward's oldest son Æthelstan—probably raised in Mercia at the court of Æthelflæd—to be their king while the West Saxons picked Ælfweard
Ælfweard of Wessex
Ælfweard was the second son of Edward the Elder, the eldest born to his second wife Ælfflæd.-Kingship and death:The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle simply states that Ælfweard died soon after his father's death on 17 July 924 and that they were buried together at Winchester Cathedral...
, elder son of Edward's second wife Ælfflæd, who was perhaps Edward's own choice as successor. Ælfweard's "sudden and convenient" death followed six weeks after that of his father, but Æthelstan appears not to have been recognised as king by the West Saxons until a year after his father's death, suggesting that there was considerable resistance to him and perhaps also support for Edwin.
The contemporary evidence for Edwin's life is very limited. At some point during the reign of his half-brother Æthelstan, Edwin witnessed a charter, S 1417, at New Minster, Winchester
New Minster, Winchester
The New Minster, Winchester was a royal Benedictine abbey founded in 901 in Winchester in the English county of Hampshire.Alfred the Great had intended to build the monastery, but only got around to buying the land. His son, Edward the Elder, finished the project according to Alfred's wishes, with...
, granting lands to one Alfred, a thegn
Thegn
The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...
(minister) of King Æthelstan. Edwin witnesses the charter immediately after his half-brother and is described as ætheling (clito). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
states that Edwin drowned at sea in 933. The Francian Annales Bertiniani
Annales Bertiniani
Annales Bertiniani, or The Annals of St. Bertin, are late Carolingian, Frankish annals that were found in the monastery of St. Bertin, after which they are named. Their account is taken to cover the period 830-82, thus continuing the Royal Frankish Annals , from which, however, it has circulated...
compiled by Folcuin provide more detail:
Later writers such as William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
and Simeon of Durham rewrote Edwin's death. Sir Frank Stenton
Frank Stenton
Sir Frank Merry Stenton was a 20th century historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society . He was the author of Anglo-Saxon England, a volume of the Oxford History of England, first published in 1943 and widely considered a classic history of the period...
saw their reports as suggesting that "a rebellion against Athelstan may have been organised within the royal house itself". Simeon's version baldly states that "King Æthelstan commanded that his brother Edwin be drowned at sea". William's account is much longer and associates Edwin's death with an earlier plot to blind Æthelstan and replace him with Edwin. In this version, Æthelstan is convinced by jealous courtiers to have Edwin sent to sea in a leaky boat, without oars, without food, and without water. Despairing, Edwin throws himself into the sea and drowns.
The Annales Bertiniani say that the monks of Saint Bertin were granted a monastery at Bath by "King Æthelstan" in 944—in fact King Edmund, Æthelstan having died in 939—in gratitude for their care of Edwin's remains.