Edward the Elder

King of the Anglo-Saxons, Forgotten Son of Alfred

Michael John Key

• Publisher: Amberley Publishing
• Year: 2019
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781445684789
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

Edward the Elder succeeded his father Alfred the Great to the kingdom of Wessex, but was largely overlooked by his contemporaries (at least in terms of the historical record) and to a greater or lesser extent by later historians. He is the forgotten son of Alfred. Edward deserves to be recognised for his contribution to Anglo-Saxon history and a new assessment of his reign is overdue. He proved equal to the task of cementing and extending the advances made by his father, and paved the way for the eventual unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the nation-state of England. The course of English medieval history after his death was a direct outcome of military successes during his reign.Edward was a ruthlessly efficient military strategist and commander, a strong and stable ruler and administrator, and the most powerful figure during the early decades of the tenth century. He and his famous sister Æthelflæd constructed fortresses to guard against Viking attacks and Edward conquered the southern Danelaw. He should be acknowledged as a great Anglo-Saxon king in his own right, and is entitled to stand comparison with every English monarch in the millennium that has passed since his reign.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Acknowledgements
• Maps and Tables
• Some Introductory Notes
• 1 - Forgotten Son
• 2 - West Saxon Heritage
• 3 - The Young Edward
• 4 - The Ætheling
• 5 - Succession
• 6 - Æthelwold’s Rebellion
• 7 - Early Kingship
• 8 - The Battle of the Holme
• 9 - Winchester Politics and the New Minster
• 10 - Wessex, Mercia, and the Danelaw
• 11 - Church Reform
• 12 - The Peace of Tiddingford
• 13 - Æthelred, Æthelflæd, and the Battle of Tettenhall
• 14 - Anglo-Saxon Warfare
• 15 - The Danelaw Campaign – First Phase 912–914
• 16 - Edward’s Administration
• 17 - The Danelaw Campaign Second Phase 915–916
• 18 - Events in the North
• 19 - Further Advances into the Danelaw – 917
• 20 - Edward, Æthelflæd, and Mercia
• 21 - Last Years
• 22 - Death and Succession
• 23 - Edward’s Legacy
• Plates
• Notes
• Bibliography